Shimmer Bricks Archives - The Beauty Look Book

Bobbi Brown Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette

May 15, 2014

Bobbi Brown has a new bronzy Raw Sugar Collection out for spring-to-summer. The Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette ($48, limited-edition) has been on my radar for over a month. I finally tracked one down in person – it’s quite a bit different in real life compared to the promotional photos online. From the ads I expected a neutral-cool mix of bronze, champagne and taupe. In real life Raw Sugar is quite a bit warmer with no taupe. I still found the mix to be quite lovely.

The Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette is similar to the Shimmer Bricks for the face. The one for eyes is quite a bit smaller in size measuring about 4 x 1.5 inches. The colors are all neutral earthy tones ranging from pale gold to a medium bronze. The pigment is quite good and easy to control. It is on the shimmery side but I don’t find it overly frosty. The texture is soft and easy to apply and they adhere well to the lids (as long as your lids aren’t dry, I recommend using a base or a cream shadow first).

Tom Ford Incandescent on the nails

Click to see the details of the shimmer:

Swatched:

I’ve been using this one by swiping a fluffy shadow brush like MAC 217 (see my brush essentials here) across the left side mixing multiple colors and applying all over the lids, then taking a smaller contour brush like MAC 226 on the right side over the darkest three browns and applying on top near the lash lines. You can control intensity of color and shimmer depending on how much you apply to the eyes and what brushes you use. A denser brush will pick up more color. You can also use a slightly damp brush to intensify the frost/shimmer.

For those who have previous Shimmer Brick Eye Palettes, Raw Sugar is definitely very different from the others. I only have Sequin which is significantly cooler in tone. I couldn’t fit both palettes on one arm to show you how they look side by side but see my review and swatches here. (Sequin was also limited-edition but you can still find it at Barneys right now.)

I’m really happy with the palette even though it looks completely different than the promo photos. It’s warm but not too warm. Also although it is on the shimmery side I find the warmth makes it wearable and not too frosty. For my olive skin I find cooler toned shimmers can look frosty on my skin because of the contrast.

Bobbi Brown Raw Sugar Shimmer Brick Eye Palette is limited-edition. Several stores near me sold out of this one because they had events so it took me a bit of hunting to find it. You can find it online now at Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdales and Bobbi Brown.

Did you check out anything from the Raw Sugar collection? There are some new bronzers, nail colors and tinted lip balms that I passed on but looked lovely.

13 Comments

Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks in Wild Rose and Rose Gold

January 24, 2012

Bobbi Brown has released two new limited-edition Shimmer Bricks in Wild Rose and Rose Gold ($39 each for .4 oz/10.3 g, hand made in Italy). I first saw the preview on Rouge Deluxe and having a weakness for all things shimmery, immediately ordered these once they arrived on Nordstrom.com. Wild Rose is a soft pinkish rose with high shimmer (on the left) and Rose Gold is a shimmery beige warm pink gold (on the right). Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Bricks can be extremely shimmery and are easy to overdo because they are rich in pigment. I apply with a very light hand and a super fluffy brush in soft layers to avoid that overly-frosted finish. Below are a few shots in direct sunlight where you can see the complex shimmery glow.

Wild Rose is a stunner. It’s a romantic palette of shimmery roses and pinks. I tried swatching each color individually but with the high frost and flash, they all looked the same swatched on my arm. It pulls a bit warmer and darker than Bobbi Brown’s Rose Shimmer Brick (which has pale white strips). After swiping on my fingers and arms I was really worried it would be way too frosty. Today I applied this over NARS G-Spot Multiple and MAC Golden Bronzer as a pink highlight. I was pleasantly surprised how the shimmer softened after the skin warmed up.

Rose Gold is a soft pale rose gold with strips of soft iridescent peach, sandy beige, rose and seashell pinks. Sometimes I feel like designers and artists create rose golds to be extremely rich and almost coppery-like. This Rose Gold Shimmer Brick is a pleasant surprise to be softer and more flesh toned with a hint of rose and gold mixed together. This is lovely as a highlighter. Do not let the swatches below deter you. I would caution you do use with a lighter hand though. I like Bobbi Brown’s blender brushes or MAC’s skunk brushes to apply.

A BIG DISCLAIMER: these were swatched with a very heavy hand. I’m not sure they will be helpful at all because nobody really applies face products with this much intensity. At least not for everyday wear. Do check out reviews on other blogs to get a better idea if you can’t get to a counter to play in person.

A few comparisons for you:

Are these must-haves? As usual, I think it depends. Do you like shimmery pink highlighters? Then yes! If you’re one who doesn’t like any hint of frost then these might be too over the top for you. I do find Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Bricks versatile though. To get that soft glow make sure you use a loose fluffy brush. Try to apply softly in layers by swiping the face in a large sweeping motion rather than packing on the color.

How do they compare to other shades? Swirled all together, I would say Wild Rose is close to Rose and Rose Gold is close to Pink Quartz. The difference is subtle, I’m not sure that it’s all that noticeable on the face, perhaps it depends on skintone. I personally am very pleased.

21 Comments

Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Pink Oyster Shimmer Brick (Asia Exclusive)

June 11, 2010

You all know that I love the unique and the hard-to-find 🙂 I fell in love with the Pink Oyster Shimmer Brick ever since I saw Haru’s review on Rouge Deluxe back in May (see her review here) and knew I had to find it. I am happy to report that she enabled me to get my hands on the Pink Oyster Shimmer Brick from Singapore thanks to a lovely custom purchase and I am forever grateful. (Thanks Iris! xoxo)

The U.S. market received the Beach Shimmer Brick for the summer collection. You can see my review, swatches and comparisons here. I called my in-the-know sales associates here to inquire about it’s possible release here (especially since Neimans sometimes gets exclusives) – but no luck. At this time, you can only get it in Asia. It’s a lovely block of white gold, sandy beige, pale gold, and light pearly pink shimmers. Swirled together it’s absolutely stunning. It’s definitely more of a highlight power – hard to describe but it gives a nice glow.

Here it is swirled, swatched and compared:

Compared to Pink, Platinum Pink, Pink Quartz:

Pink Oyster (Asia Exclusive, Summer 2010):

Platinum Pink (Spring 2009):

Pink Quartz (Holiday 2007):

Pink (Regular Line):

How much did this set me back? After the exchange rates, a little over $50ish USD each (which included shipping for 2 well padded shimmer bricks). Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Definitely yes. Unfortunately, even in my extensive stash of highlighters, I cannot find a dupe. It’s what I wanted NARS Albatross to be (which turns a horrid yellow-gold on me).

16 Comments

Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Beach Shimmer Brick + Shore Cream Eyeshadow

May 15, 2010

I’ve been eagerly anticipating the summer Beach Collection by Bobbi Brown for months ever since I saw the preview sheets at my local counter and it’s finally arrived instore at Nordstrom! The collection also features a few new cream shadows in the metallic and regular formulas. I picked up Beach Shimmer Brick and Shore Cream Shadow.

Beach Shimmer Brick ($38) and Shore Long-Wear Cream Shadow ($22)

The Beach Shimmer Brick is a stunning neutral like many of her other highlighters. It’s a bronzey beige with slight peach tones. The shimmer factor is high in my opinion, so if you like subtle, this may have too much shimmer for your liking.

I compared it to a few other shimmer brick shades when I got home and they all seemed extremely similar. Even after swatching them, I could barely tell the difference – so note, these swatches may indeed be worthless in giving you a good comparison, so I’ll try and compensate by description.

Beach is the most peachy with no pink tones (at least on me)
Sandstone is the most neutral and tan
Beige is the lightest color
Nude is very similar to Beach, just more pink, less brown

Shore Long-Wear Cream Shadow is the perfect nude skin-toned cream eyeshadow I have been searching for. I have quite a few other nude cream shadows, but those who are around Chanel Shell/NC30ish understand the challenge of finding a good nude. Painterly can be a bit pastey looking, Groundwork is a good contour but not quite nude, Layin’ Low can come off orangey if applied too heavily, and Malted can look a bit greyish on our skin.

Shore has a very slight sheen to it, it’s not a full on shimmer like Galaxy, but not a full on matte like Malted. I love it. I would say it’s one step up (darker) than MAC Soft Ochre.

One last view without flash:

Overall thoughts: I really like both, but if you already have Nude or Sandstone Shimmer Bricks, then Beach isn’t really a must have. I do like the shades in the Beach Shimmer Brick individually though – I think they’ll suit darker tan skintones a lot better than her previous shimmer bricks because they have more color.

I personally love Shore, in the container it looks very bland, but I like it on the skin/eyes blended out. I’m a fan of her regular cream shadows because they just melt onto my skin and look very natural.

17 Comments

Uncategorized

Bobbi Brown Cabana Corals Collection Spring 2010

January 31, 2010

Bobbi Brown’s second spring release this year focuses on a coral theme featuring universal modern corals. I was able to check it out in person yesterday and I came home with Shimmer Lipglosses in Sunset Beach, Golden Nectar, Coral Sand, Pot Rouge in Cabo Coral, and Nectar Shimmer Brick.

The counter didn’t have the older Calypso Coral in their tester unit so I decided to get the new one anyways. I compared the new Cabo Coral to the old Calypso Coral and Becca Tuberose. They are pretty similar, the older Calypso Coral has more pink where the new Cabo Coral is more of a straight coral. Becca Tuberose clearly has some pink similar to the Calypso Coral.

Those who are scared of bright blush – don’t be afraid to try Bobbi Brown’s Pot Rouges. They are very blendable and are great for both lips and cheeks. I prefer to use them on cheeks though. If you’re still scared or find these are still too bright, look into Trish McEvoy’s Liquid Face Color for a softer peach with a bit of shimmer.

I already had the Nectar Shimmer Brick from Neiman’s Exclusive Release which cost $45 each in a smaller heavy metal magnetized compact. I only found out about the release of the Nectar Shimmer Brick in the regular size after my purchase. I kinda felt like kicking myself for caving into such a splurge but the compact is cute and pretty. I purchased the regular sized Nectar from the new collection as a gift for my sister. It is identical in color to the Neiman’s release.

Apricot Shimmer Brick compared to Nectar Shimmer Brick:

Here are my comparisons to other coral-peachy blushes including Chanel In Love, Bobbi Brown Coral Shimmer Blush, Nars Deep Throat and Nars Torrid.

Here are my swatches of the cheek items:

I also compared the new lipglosses to my other peachy-coral lipglosses. Left to right:

1. Chanel Coral Reef
2. Chanel Candy Glow
3. Bobbi Brown Sandy Beige
4. Coral Sand
5. Golden Nectar
6. Sunset Beach
7. Brightening Peach
8. Nectarine
9. Peach Blossom
10. Sandwash Apricot
11. Love Nectar

Swatched below, please note below is a different order:

My thoughts:

The standouts are the Nectar Shimmer Brick and Lipglosses. I love corals but can’t really pull of stronger corals and oranges (except for cheeks). If you’re a corals fan you will like this collection.
*UPDATE* I also saw the Coral Eye and Lip Palette at Neimans and passed – the only color I was interested in was Burnt Sugar which I already have. The palette itself is gorgeous, I just knew it would be too warm for me.
I passed on all the lipsticks because they looked too orangey for my taste. The Metallic Lip Colors were gorgeous, but I’ve had bad experiences with breakage – they are so soft that about 1/4 of mine have already broken at the base. All the testers were already broken as well.
I’m not quite sure that I think this collection is really “universal”. I do think most women can find at least 1 item they will like. But they aren’t the most unique colors.
I find the corals a bit too monochromatic – I really liked her lipglosses but the lipsticks were all too peachy and orangey. On my face, it would end up looking clown-like.
Although I’m happy she has released the Pink Quartz Shimmerbrick again, it doesn’t quite seem to fit with the theme.
I wish there were eyeshadows featured with the collection or at least recommendations of what to use with the lips and cheeks.
Her website introduces the Cabana Corals collection as “Bobbi’s fresh take on an old-school favorite.” My question is what is the old-school favorite? Is it the Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick or is it the Cabo Coral Pot Rouge as a revamped version of Calypso Coral? While this isn’t a huge deal – I find the message a bit confusing.

Overall – it’s definitely worth checking out especially for that Nectar Shimmerbrick. If you missed out on Pink Quartz the first round, then I highly recommend you get it now. It’s lovely!

As a courtesy, I’d like to ask that these photos NOT be republished on other sites. Thank you!

15 Comments

Uncategorized

Neiman Marcus Holiday Exclusives for Bobbi Brown: Mini Shimmer Bricks & Lipsticks

November 23, 2009

The Bobbi Brown Neiman Marcus exclusives have arrived in-store which include 3 mini shimmer bricks in Nectar, Plum and Sandstone along with the exclusive lipsticks in Pink Nectar and Sand.

The colors are stunning and the packaging is gorgeous, but the bad news is that there is no set price as thought by my SA and price is steep at $45 each. They are extremely tiny and encased in a heavy magnetized metal compact with a velvet pouch. The lipsticks are regular price $22 and come in the same special packaging as the chrome lipsticks in Sand (nude beige) and Pink Nectar (coral-pink). They are also repromoting Port from the Chrome Collection.

There are three ways to get a better deal on these:

* Starting the 22nd until the 29th, you can save 10% off a purchase of $200 or more at Neiman Marcus
* Neiman Marcus will have their Incircle event starting December 7th – there will be a GWP
* Wait for Bergdorf Goodman’s $25 off $100 event starting December 2nd (however do note quantities may be limited)

The Neimans near me said they only received 3 of each shimmer brick and a limited quantity of the lipsticks. I was on the wait list, so my SA called me as soon as they came in.

The colors are indeed stunning but at $45 each, I feel they should have at least been the full size or come with a brush.

Close up of Plum & Nectar:

Size comparison: