I’m a neutral lover at heart but brights are nice to wear in sheer washes mixed in with neutrals. For coordinating brights I don’t there are any rules you need to stick to. Just experiment with different combinations of colors to see what you’re most comfortable with. I mainly pick out colors depending on the occasion or what clothes I’m wearing for the day (one example here with a yellow top, bright coral cheek, coppery bronze eye and nude gold lip). I usually go for something that is as natural as possible and here are a few things I go by:
Brighten the face by applying bronzer first then layer a soft wash of bright pink or coral or peach on top
Mixing pinks and peach blushes together can add depth and dimension
Can you match your lip color to your blush? Sure! For example using different variations of pink can create a pretty coordinated look
You don’t have to match lips and cheeks, having a bright coral cheek with a sheer bright or soft pink lip can work well too
If something is too bright, you can sheer it out with a soft blending brush or by adding a paler shimmer color on top
A few ideas – use these for color ideas rather than the specific name of the brand or product.
* Tip – At a national artist event for NARS, the artist blended Goldfinger with Nepal together and it created the most beautiful soft rose gold shadow. When using bronzer and a bright blush, I usually apply bronzer first, but most artists at events apply bronzer as the final touch.
* Tip – For the eyes, layering colors can be done by applying the lightest shade first, then the cream, and finally the bronzey powder on top. For MAC Fleur Power Blush, I find it so universally flattering it will go with either a bright lip and a pale lip, or the bright and pale mixed together for a softer peachy glow.
* Tip – Mix pinks and peaches by layering them on top of each other on the cheeks. Depending on your mood or preference, you can adjust the color by applying one color more heavily than the other.
* Tip – Coral blushes can be coordinated with either bright pinks or bright peaches for lips since many have both pink and peach mixed in.
You may notice there are no nail polishes featured in any of these looks. I think bright nails can be mixed and matched in almost any combination to work with a variety of looks. I hope you found this mini series helpful. Summer collections are about to trickle in soon – so I’m sure there will plenty of inspiration for all of you in the upcoming months!
If you have any tips or want to share how you wear brighter colors, feel free in the comments! Makeup events with a good artist can be incredibly useful for tips, tricks and ideas on how to incorporate new things with well-used loves 🙂
Bright blushes are a definitely must-have for me, although I usually layer two colors for more depth and dimension. Most of the time I will layer a soft wash of bright over a bronzer. For eyes I don’t really wear brights. The brightest shades I have are golds or pinky-peachy shimmers. I’ll feature a few non-neutrals, but for bright eye colors I’m a bit lacking.
Bright pink blushes (L to R)*: NARS Angelika, MAC Pink Swoon, NARS Desire, Chanel Tweed Fuschia
Bright peaches (also see my peach obsession here): NARS Taj Mahal, MAC Style , Bobbi Brown Coral Shimmer Blush, NARS Gilda
Bright corals (clockwise from left): NARS Cactus Flower Cream Blush, Guerlain Série Noire Blush G, Bobbi Brown Pink Coral Shimmer Wash, MAC Fleur Power
Brighter eye colors for me (not necessarily bright for everyone): NARS Goldfinger, NARS Étrusque, MAC Pink Bronze Pigment* (note the picture has been corrected, it’s Pink Bronze, not Pink Gold), Edward Bess Escape (which isn’t bright but I put it in just for a color reference)
The next and final part of this series will include a few tips and look ideas of how I incorporate brights with neutrals.
* Those who follow me on Twitter know that I no longer have my NARS Angelika Multiple since my Jack Russell pup Lucy ate it. Thanks to all who have asked about her! She is fine and dandy just like the vet assured me over the phone. In fact she is acting like it was any other puppy treat. The picture above at the very top was taken pre-puppy-consumption.
For lips, I like to wear sheer see-through colors for brights. What I like (left to right from above): NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover, Dior Addict in Model 564, NARS Angelika Lip Gloss, Chanel Nakkar Glossimer, Chanel Pink Pulsion Glossimer (see it here) Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer in 08 Bouquet, Bobbi Brown Hot Pink Lip Gloss, Edward Bess Island Rose Compact Rouge.
Swatched on arm, same order, in direct sunlight:
One more view, with flash:
I haven’t done lip-swatches of all the colors yet, but here are the ones I do have:
NARS New Lover (also here), this is a unique shade that looks different on everyone. It looks so different on my hand compared to my lips. See it on Cafe Makeup on Liz who is fairer and slightly cooler toned (here) while this is what it looks like on me below:
Nars Angelika Lip Gloss:
Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer 08 (looks brighter in real life, flash washed out color a bit, all my Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers here they are among my favorite lip glosses, I have almost every color):
Edward Bess Island Rose Compact Rouge (also here and swatched for Karlasugar here):
I apologize if all the links have you clicking in too many places. I’ve just referenced them in case you wanted to see more detailed reviews or comparison from past reviews. Have a happy Friday!
Edward Bess has a beautifully edited, sophisticated and classic beauty line. I first discovered his products while flipping through a Bergdorf Goodman catalog and was instantly intrigued by the sleek black lipstick tubes all lined up in a row. I googled it but to my dismay, found it was only available in NYC. I could not see the items in person. Thanks to LeslieCZ, Alexa, Leanne, Blogdorf Goodman, Fab Over Forty among other Edward Bess fans, I was able to get the scoop. Several gave me wonderful recommendations and urged me to contact the Edward Bess counter Bergdorf Goodman. I’m so glad I did. I’ve never met a more helpful team of artists. On each and every occasion that I’ve called them, they have given helpful descriptions and recommendations over the phone as they listened to me describe my tastes/likes/dislikes. They put me completely at ease ordering items sight-unseen.
The items from Edward Bess are classics and naturally flattering. They are reliable staples in my beauty wardrobe and versatile to create a number of different looks.
Many of you have asked for my own recommendations of what I like from Edward Bess. I thought I’d put together a resource page of what I’ve tried that has been reviewed since I can imagine what a hassle it must be to search through over 600 posts =) I’ve loved almost everything I’ve tried (with the exception of the original mascara). I hope this helps!
Where to buy & info
Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, EdwardBess.com (prices, full collection and other locations on his website)
The Beauty Look Book’s Top Five Favorites from Edward Bess
(only because so many have asked)
Daydream Bronzer (my holy grail)
Pure Impulse Lipstick
Forever Yours Lipstick
Dusk Eyeshadow
Soft Smoke Eyeshadow Trio
Island Rose Compact Rouge (oops, six!)
* Tip – Yes, the price points are high, but Bergdorf Goodman occasionally puts together beauty events and gift-card events, many times with nice gift-with-purchases. Their GWPs are usually one full-sized item (they pick out the item) and occasionally they have a step-up gift. I think their next one is in April.
I have been eagerly waiting for the new eyeshadows Mirage and Storm to arrive from Edward Bess. Like many of his fans, I already own all his other shades in Nude, Intimate, Escape, Dusk, Night, Mystery (see here for swatches) along with both his trios Island Escape (here) and Soft Smoke (here) – all of which I get regular use out of. Those of you who have tried these know how luxurious, classic and naturally flattering they are. As much as I adore these, I have been looking forward to see something new. Gaia from The Non-Blonde and Charlestongirl from Best Things in Beauty satisfied my curiosity while I was waiting for these to arrive at my doorstep. Details, swatches and comparisons below.
Here they are finger swatched: Mirage is a soft luminous peachy shimmer with a slight hint of bronze and Storm is a satiny cool mauve grey silvery color. The pigment is natural but visible. I prefer to apply these with a soft brush but you can see how just my fingers pick up a lot of pigment.
There has been a packaging change with these shadows. The size of the compacts are the same, the only difference is the pan shape. I know many of you are wondering if the texture has changed. From my testing, I believe it has not – these are just as soft, luminous, glowy and blendable as ever. However the two shades for spring do have more shimmer than his previous shades. These retail for $30 each.
Mirage is a beautiful neutral peachy glow with a slight golden/bronze sheen. If you are looking for a true soft peachy-champagne, this is it. I would say this has a higher shimmer intensity compared to his other shadows, but it’s not overly frosty. Below is a comparison to Bobbi Brown Golden Peach Metallic Eyeshadow (which is similar, but more frosty and has a more whitish cast on the skin) and Edward Bess Escape (just for comparison purposes).
Storm is a cool grey color that has a slight mauvish-blue tint on my skin. It goes on a bit more shimmery on the skin than it looks in the compact, but like Mirage, it’s not overly frosty. I’ve compared it to Intimate and Burberry Rosewood. Swatches all the way at the bottom.
Swatched over Urban Decay’s Primer Potion (applied lightly on the arm):
Overall love. These are timeless colors and I am very excited to wear them this spring. Edward Bess can be found in the US at Bergdorf Goodman in NY. Check online at EdwardBess.com for a full list of retailers.
As a side note, many of you have asked me which are my top picks for his eyeshadows. That is a question I cannot answer as I love them all equally. I will say that his Soft Smoke Trio is the one of the few smoky-eye trios that I can pull off. Most traditional smoky eye palettes with cream/grey/black end up being too cool resulting in a tired-look. EB Soft Smoke is pure magic which is difficult to explain – it looks very basic in the compact but gives me the perfect smokey eye.
My makeup bag started this week with only 4 items (EB Daydream, Lancome Juicy Tube, mini blush brush, Chanel Boy Rouge Coco Shine), but since Monday it’s accumulated quite a few more things this long work-week. Today, what is inside my Laura Mercier zebra print makeup bag:
NARS Tzarine Eyeshadow Duo
MAC Blonde MSF (limited edition from January 2009)
Burberry Misty Blush (new for spring, review to come soon)
Chanel Boy Rouge Coco Shine
Laura Mercier Mini Double Sided Brush
MAC Wolf Pearlglide (limited edition from 2008ish)
Lancôme Yayoi Kusama Edition Juicy Tube in Dot Apricot (now at Nordstrom)
Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer (my holy grail bronzer, reviewed numerous times here)
Le Métier de Beauté Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss Ibiza
Le Métier de Beauté Sheer Brilliance Lip Gloss Captiva
I’ve prepped for tomorrow (the night before) so I can get a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning. Here’s what I’m wearing on Tuesday plus what’s inside my Balenciaga First in Anthracite from S/S 2007 (everything except the Jo Malone Colognes fit):
Edward Bess Daydream Bronzer, Sunlight Highlighter
Bobbi Brown Pale Pink Blush (her original packaging), Python & Peony Palette, Lilac Rich Lip Color, Pale Peony Rich Color Gloss
Laura Mercier Lilac Lip Glace
Chanel Cassis Eyeliner, Star Glossimer, Tender Bisque Powder Foundation
Mini Brushes, iPhone, Wallet, Jo Malone Vitamin E Lip Balm sample
The items I’ll wear tomorrow
(look replicated from this past weekend):
Reviews on Bobbi Brown Python & Peony Palette along with the Pale Peony Rich Color Lip Gloss to come soon. Lilac has been previously swatched here.