Quickie Review: Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lipgloss in Black Ruby

I’ve done gone all fancy! After falling in love with a Chanel Glossimer I received as a Christmas gift, I had a hankering to try some more brands of high-end gloss and this little number from Bobbi Brown caught my eye.

 

 

The packaging for the Bobbi Brown glosses is really nothing to write home about. It’s sleek enough I suppose, but there’s something about it that considering it’s price point is a little disappointing. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

 

Here’s a very thin layer of the gloss…

 

 

…and a thicker layer. Bobbi Brown describes this as ‘“crimson with gold pearl’'” which I think is pretty much spot on. The gold sparkles aren’t hugely apparent but they really add to the shine of the product and make it look much more luxurious on the lip.  I would have thought ‘Black Ruby’ would have been a little deeper but I guess this could be described as a slightly blackened red. It’s a beautiful shade and one that'll go well with a simple taupe eye and a slick of eyeliner.



In my opinion, if a gloss doesn’t look better layered you’ve pissed your money away, and I found a perfect pairing for Black Ruby with a 99p liner from LA Colours, of all things! It’s a slightly metallic red-plum shade (the name’s worn off) and this is how I’ve been wearing Black Ruby. This combination got a lot of face time over Christmas!

This is a gorgeous colour and I’m pleased I bought it, but something about this one doesn’t make me want to rush down the to Bobbi Brown counter for more. The shimmer is gorgeous but the sheen of the gloss itself could be more shiny for me. I'd expect something more reflective for a 'high shimmer' gloss. It’s not gritty but I do notice that after wearing it, some glitter/shimmer is left on my lips which quite frankly is annoying.  The gloss is non-sticky, buildable and has a really pleasant mint scent. It’s a pretty darn nice product, but for the price I’d rather spend an extra £3 and get another Chanel Glossimer instead.


Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lipglosses cost £18.00 and I got mine from House of Fraser.

Quickie Review and Before/After: Bobbi Brown Concealer Kit

I’ve tried quite a few cult beauty products in 2013 and decided to see the year out with another, the Bobbi Brown creamy concealer. I’ve heard SO many wonderful things about Bobbi Brown concealers and correctors, and on a bit of a whim decided to try it out some of them! I kind of hate wearing under eye concealer so was hoping this would be light and lovely and still do the trick!

 

galaxy filter yo

 

 

The sales assistants at the Bobbi Brown counter, I have to say, were extremely lovely. She had me matched up and checked out in a couple of minutes and the store was absolutely rammed. Good work, lady.  This is the Concealer Kit in Ivory, which contains the Ivory Creamy Concealer and the Pale Yellow powder. As you can see, both items are peach/yellow toned to help combat the blue tones under the eye. Bobbi Brown does correctors as well, but I already have a cream pigment from Illamasqua –among other brands – that I really like for correcting.

 

 

I got excited with stupid filters, but you can see this is a really small little kit. More on that later, but the words ‘handbag friendly’ were made for this set!

 

 

Let’s do a couple of before and afters, shall we? I do apologise for the horror of the naked face, but I done a bit of smizing for you. I think that’s a good smize.

This a light layer of the concealer pressed in with my finger and then set with the powder, blended with the fluffy brush shown above. As I mentioned, I hate wearing concealer under the eyes because they always crease on me, so I don’t like wearing anything that feels too heavy. I have worn this with a little more layered on and it obviously conceals better, but I just honestly prefer not to wear much there. It’s not exactly dry, but it’s quite thick so I’d still recommend using your finger as opposed to a brush to help it ‘melt’ into the skin. The powder is possiblly a little on the dry side for my liking but you really do only need a touch of it to set the concealer - it does it's job.

 

You can still see some darkness afterwards but my dark circles are pretty nasty at the moment. I really like how this combats the both darkness and also the redness I have around my eye area – you can see on the second before photo I have redness in the corner of my eyes and some under my eye socket as well. So I’m pretty happy with the results! It works nicely on blemishes too, but I tend to touch my face a lot (I know, I know) so it does wear away a little quicker than I would like on them, but that’s probably my own fault.

 

It wears pretty well too – honestly, I’ve never worn a concealer that *doesn’t* crease under the eyes, and this doesn’t claim to be long wearing and it does better than some that do. I apply my makeup at around 7pm in the morning and tend to touch up around 3pm after my lunch break and this needs a little re-blending around that time, so not too bad at all.


I’m going to say this straight – this shit is expensive. You get 5.9 grams for £24.  My last concealer I was using from Collection costs about £4, so it’s a bit ‘ouch’! It is good, but expensive. I’m fine with that because I really like the product, but if I find something else I like equally for cheaper, I’m going to go for the cheaper version! I do find I’m only using a small tiny amount of the concealer but I’m still concerned that I’m going to run out of the concealer way before the powder.

Are you a Bobbi Brown fan? What's your favourite under-eye concealer?

April Favourites

Clockwise from top left:

Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow in Heather Mauve – I’ve been wearing this product a ton this month. It’s not actually a mega stellar product in itself, more that it’s suited my rushed makeup routine, which is to say, it’s sheer, neutral and has a little shimmer, so it’s dead easy to apply on the tube! It’s a grey-taupe with slight purple undertone, so it goes with quite a lot of lip and cheek colours, and it’s great to just throw in my bag.

Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer – A favourite in the blogging community for quite some time now, and it’s easy to see why. It does stay put for ages, it’s not cakey, and it’s dead cheap at around a fiver. This month, for reasons unknown, I’ve had some god-awful acne on my chin and this has taken away any redness whatsoever. And I mean really, really awful spots, they were huge!

Soap and Glory Bright Here, Bright Now – Part illuminator, part primer, part moisturiser. I don’t buy the lifting and firming claims whatsoever, but it keeps my BB cream sticking around a bit longer and adds a really subtle glow. A bit of an odd products but I really like it.

Crown Brush C315-A Soft Taklon Foundation – I won’t like to you folks, I bought this because it looked cool, and I wanted it. As a foundation brush, its actually pretty great. It covers large areas quickly and it’s very thin, so great for contouring with cream or liquid products.

Crown C250-1 Taklon Liner – This is just a really basic, thin liner brush, but I love it. I also have the C250-2, which is the next size up. The bristles are well shaped, it’s synthetic and it’s just the right length to allow for nice fluidity of movement. What more for you want for £1.69?

Bourjois Delice de Poudre in 52 – I have a review of this here, so I won’t say too much about it. Subtle, pretty, smells nice, good price.

ProCharts – £12.99 for 35 charts. I’ve never used actual makeup for face charts before, I’ve just done rough sketches. Learning to use these is a bit of a pain, but I can tell already they’re going to help me so much when planning for shoots.

MAC Sheen Supreme in Korean Candy – I wanted this for ages and it just fell into my basket. Everyone knows I love the Sheen Supremes, I basically just want them all. This particular beauty is a punchy orange-red and I luffs it.

 

What have you been loving this month?