Bobbi Brown Obsession

Recently, I've been collecting quite a few Bobbi Brown items. I don't know how it started.. for some reason, BB's base makeup appealed to me.
I'm not a huge fan of the color makeup, like the lipstick, powder shadows and gel liners. The lipstick feels sticky, the eyeshadow (from the shimmering nudes palette) oxidize and change color, even with a primer, and the gel liner doesn't stay put. Maybe I just haven't found the right color products yet.
I've also tried the hydrating eye cream with avocado, did wow me too much. Now that I think of it, I've tried so many BB products without even realizing it.

I recently purchased the Skin Foundation Mineral Makeup in Light to Medium and the Sheer Finish Loose Powder in Soft Sand.
I got kind of annoyed at how the Sheer Finish Pressed Powder kept crumbling whenever the hole in the middle grew too big. It happened to both of the BB pressed powders I've used, so I just gave up and purchased the loose one to use at home and I keep a Lancome Translucence pressed powder in my purse instead...hopefully that won't crumble so easily.

I haven't actually used the loose powder yet, but it's the same color I've been using in the pressed form, so I can't imagine it being that much different. I've done a post of the Skin Foundation and the Tinted Moisturizer in my previous posts if you'd like to read about it.

I've read online that the mineral makeup is very sheer but I wanted to try it anyway, and yes it is sheer. When I first applied it, I barely even noticed anything on my skin, but after a few minutes, it seemed to look better and showed some form of coverage. I think it would work well as a finishing powder for those who prefer fuller coverage on top of their foundation. Otherwise it's a great light makeup to use because it stays very natural. It doesn't oxidize on my skin like the Laura Mercier mineral powder, but oil control isn't superior. It's not that my skin looks super oily, but after a couple hours, there's shine on my nose faster than if I used the Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 foundation.
But overall, I love the feeling of the mineral powder. It's soooo silky and soft and doesn't crease, whereas the Laura Mercier mineral powder, if my forehead gets really oily, I see a bit of it creasing.

I'm going to be heading to Port Canaveral in a couple weeks for a 4 day Bahamas cruise, hopefully I'll find some good deals for Bobbi Brown at the outlet mall and duty free store. Totally interested in trying the shimmer bricks. 

Summer Base Makeup

Summer's practically here in Toronto and it feels like 35C today when you factor in the humidity @__@ Lucky for me, my condo is shielded by another one right in front so it doesn't get too hot inside.
When it comes to summer base makeup, like most people, I like to know it won't melt off my face or feel heavy and icky, especially on hot humid days.

I picked up the Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free with SPF 15 as a spontaneous purchase while I was in Buffalo. This is in shade Light to Medium. I'm glad it's oil free because the last thing I need is more shine in the summer.
I also picked up the new Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 in shade Bisque 250 W $50CAD.
I initially purchased Bisque 320 W which turned my skin orange after 5 minutes!!! I've never had this happen with any of the foundations I've tried with the exception of the Laura Mercier Mineral Foundation. I took it back to the store for a shade lighter which in the end, blended into my skin tone after oxidizing.

The Lancome foudation is very creamy, not like a runny consistency. I find it applies best with a stippling brush and gently pressing it with a sponge to make sure it's properly blended.
If you're looking at buying this foundation, I highly recommend you try it on your skin in-store and let it sit for about 5 minutes before purchasing it.
The wear on this is very good, hence the 24hr, but I wouldn't say it's super long lasting if your skin is oily. When I blot my t-zone, some of the foundation would transfer onto the sheet. Everywhere else though, still looks relatively fresh.My skin doesn't feel like it's melting off and I'm surprised at how it sticks. When I was changing out of my black top, there were no smudges on the collar.

As for the BB TM, it's what you would probably expect out of a tinted moisturizer. I find the coverage is a little more than sheer and it provides a nice even color to my skin. I blend it on with my fingers and use a sponge to tap around to make sure it's blended. The texture is quite creamy but I wish it had a little bit more slip to it. Although oil free, my t-zone and the cheek area next to my nose would look shiny after a few hours.

The BB TM is slightly more yellow toned than the Lancome foundation, but both works well for my skin.

Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color

Tim recently went to Las Vegas for a business trip at Zappos and he was nice enough to help me pick up a couple items from Bobbi Brown. It's always such a confusing thing for guys, if they ever have to go into a makeup store.

I saw on the BB website the Marrakesh Chic Collection and fell in love with the Creamy Lip Color in Washed Seashell #52. It's described as a shimmering medium tone nude pink on the website.
This is my first Bobbi Brown lipstick and I'm impressed by the packaging; a sleek black tube that has a nice click when I close the cover. No need to worry that it'll come loose if it fell out of my makeup bag.

It's a nude color indeed, it pretty much matches my lip color and adds a light shimmer on top without changing my lip color. The shimmer looks almost frosty rather than crystal-y shimmer. Great for everyday wear with subtle color on the lips.

My only complaint is the texture/feel of the lipstick. I figured a "creamy lip color" would feel very smooth and soft, but I had to use a bit more pressure to apply. It feels more like I'm applying a lip balm, but it feels sort of sticky on my lips. For comparison, my Laura Mercier gel lip colors are much softer and smoother when applying on my lips.
I don't mind the stickyness too much unless it's windy outside, I wish it didn't feel like I'm wearing a lipgloss. I suppose the stickyness makes up for the lasting power. Also the lipstick has a slight plastic smell to it, which I'm not too fond of.
Oh well, it's still a very beautiful nude pink, as if I didn't have enough lipsticks already, still worth a try since it's cheaper to purchase in the states.

Just a quick EOTD with Lancome Crystal Rose duo eyeshadow. I can't believe how sheer this goes on, sheerer than my beloved Japanese eyeshadows, which I think aren't super pigmented to begin with. Throughout the day, I notice the eyeshadow slowly fading out a bit.. -___-'

Using the Majolica Majorca pink cream shadow as a base helps the pinky beige color stand out a bit more. Also blended the darkest shade on top of MUFE Aqua Liner in 2L and topped it off with Majolica Majorca liquid liner in BR601.

Base Makeup Updated~

I feel a bit disloyal to the Asian cosmetics that I normally like to buy, but sometimes it's hard to look for a new powder or foundation without trying it on. Eyeshadows, blushes etc.. haven't really caught my eyes the past year, maybe a few things but I think it's because I have too many products to finish first.

So I decided to switch to using some American brands. It's also a lot cheaper too, unless you buy it in Canada. For this haul, I only purchased the Bobbi Brown foundation in Canada...$55CAD compared to $45USD, is that ridiculous? Plus our 13% tax on top.
And I got the Sephora round powder brush #41 for only $36, I think it's $45 here? My only complaint is the white bristles...when I load up the brush with the pressed powder, I don't know how much I actually pick up and sometimes I end up powdering too much.

If you've ever been to Holt Renfrew at Yorkdale mall, you might have noticed that Benefit has their Brow Bar there. However, I recently found out that Benefit was being pulled out of Holt and they weren't going to carry the brand anymore...so sad, and I was about to get my brows done.

Since they weren't going to be sold at Holt anymore, there was a mini sale going on with a bunch of the Benefit products, ranging from $15, $20 and $25. The boxed blushes were all $20, cream eyeshadows were $15 and skincare was from $20-25! There were also things like the concealer kits, lipgloss and lip sticks, liquid blushes, eyeshadows and a few other eye brow things.Cheap right? But I only picked up the High Brow.
BTW, if you're in Toronto, head to Holt at Yorkdale, the lady told me the sale ends this week, but I'm not sure if she meant Friday or Saturday.

The High Brow is a unique brow lifting pencil. You basically use it to highlight your brow bone and this helps give your eyes a nice lift. The shade is a pale pink color, I don't think it's very universal and there was only 1 color to choose from.
You draw a line under your brow on the outer half like so...

Then blend away with your finger or brush. I find that 1 swipe is enough, otherwise it gets a bit difficult to blend. The product feels a bit chalky and if I add too much, I can see a white-ish hue under my brows rather than a natural highlight.

Do you know about Murale? If you've never heard of it, it's a beauty boutique opened by Shopppers Drug Mart. They carry a wide variety of products like NARS, Smashbox, Benefit, Cargo and...*gasp* Bobbi Brown!!!! I finally found somewhere that I get purchase Bobbi Brown products...without having to deal with the snooty service at Holt Renfrew, plus you can earn those Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum points at Murale.
I spent about 45mins at Murale getting a mini makeover and trying out their base makeup. The girl was super nice, if you ever go, look for Shannon.
I purchased the Skin Foundation SPF15 in Warm Beige 3.5, which gives a light-medium coverage and leaves a slight dewy finish...which I love. I don't like fully matte makeup.

I also purchased the Sheer Finish Pressed Powder in soft sand when I visited Buffalo. Darn you Canada, why are things so expensive... I got the powder for $34USD and it sells for $45CAD here.

In case you ever need a comparison for online shopping, here I'm comparing the shade with Fit Me 210, they're very similar except Fit Me is a bit more yellow toned.

I LOOOOOVEE my new foundation. I normally use a sponge to blend, but I can get away with using my fingers to blend and the result is a smooth even finish. The Fit Me needed a sponge for better blending.
BB definitely has more coverage than the Fit Me foundation, but a lower SPF.
Lasting power is quite good, my skin was more dewy by the end of an 8-10 hour day but it looked so smooth. The foundation feels quite runny and it also feels very light weight which helps it give a light-medium coverage. 1 full pump is also enough to cover my face without any being wasted.
I used the pressed powder on top and it matted my skin very well, which I wasn't too fond of, but after an hour or so my skin looked more dewy when the oils started to produce on my skin.

BB Shimmering Nudes revisited

The last time (which was last year) that I used the Bobbi Brown Shimmering Nudes, it ended up in failure because of how it looked after a few hours of wear... but now I had to give it another chance, I didn't want it to sit around doing nothing. This time I used a cream base before applying the shadows in hopes that it wouldn't turn muddy and gross.

Using:
Shimmering Nudes 1. Nude Spice, 2. Nude Beach, 3. Espresso
Paul & Joe liner black
Jill Stuart cream shadow 10
Fiberwig
Lavshuca blush (forgot the #)

I first apply the cream shadow on my lid just under the crease.

Using Nude Spice #1, apply it on top and up to the crease.

Using Nude Beach #2, blend it into the crease.

Blend Espresso #3 on the liner, then using Nude Beach, blend on top to soften the liner.

And done! Are my tutorials easy or what? =D
The end result is a nice pearly eye. I've been doing this look for the past 3 days and it hasn't turned muddy or gross at all thanks to the cream shadow base. Now I can love the Shimmering Nudes palette again.

Since the eyes are so pearly, I stuck with a matte blush.. well the only matte-ish blush I have. The blush has very few shimmery glitters in it that it's barely noticable, oh.. but the blush itself is not noticable to begin with, it's very sheer.

I finally got a new brush for the LM mineral powder, the Eco Tools bronzer brush. I know it's not a kabuki brush, but it's cheap! I was gonna get their mineral brush set but I didn't need too many brushes and they were too small anyway.

A nice size for applying the powder. Since the bristles are so dense, I had to bend and mush the bristles around to make the brush more fluffy so the powder application easier. I can't believe how soft this brush is either.

I couldn't find a picture online to show how big the brush is, so incase anyone is wondering, here it is.

Wow I have 600 followers =D Thank you! And I'd like to say hi to all my new readers =) =) =)

Sometimes, I want bigger eyes...

..and the only way to do that is to add false lashes! I envy these pictures in most magazines, such pretty girly eyes.


One day I need to try real hair falsies, in hopes that it's softer and bends more to my eyes. The Darkness lashes didn't feel comfortable so I took em off pretty much right after putting them on.

Using:
Maquillage GY865
MUFE Aqua Eyes 2L
MM Automatic Liner BK911
BB Gel Liner Granite Ink
Fiberwig Mascara

Using the lighter brown shade, sweep it up towards the crease.

Next, using the darker brown, apply on the lashline and blend up slightly.

Tightline with BB gel liner and line with MM, making sure the line is slightly thicker than normal. This helps the falsies blend in better so it's not as noticable.

Apply Aqua eyes halfway in on the lower lashline.

Use the darker brown shade to smudge the liner so it softens the look.

Add falsies and mascara! Does it look any bigger? Kinda.. well my eyes have a bit more "pop" to them with the false lashes and adding the brown shades on the lower lashline really helps too.

I went shopping during the Victoria Day weekend in Buffalo. Not really a good idea, especially if you're mom and older brother is so SLOW in the morning. We go to the border at 11:30am and waiting in line for 2 hours to get through @__@

I went to some outlet mall on the way to Walden Galleria and picked up a BB gel liner for $15USD, cheap right?
I didn't intend on getting any makeup, but seeing how I never tried BB gel liner before (and the MM liner doesn't go on easily for tightlining) I decided to give this a try.

In comparision to probably my favourite liner, the color is very similiar, minus the glitter.
The liner is black but leans more on the gray side, hence the name granite ink.

I've tried the MAC gel liner before and it just doesn't stay. For some reason it just disappears.
I like and don't like the BB liner. I find it kinda difficult to get a solid line of color without having to go back a few times. But the good thing is the liner really stays on for tight lining, but strangly it doesn't stay on well for regular lining on the upper lashline.

The BB liner smudges if I rub my finger on it whereas the MM doesn't. The BB liner is waterproof but the MM isn't (but it stays put all day).. in a perfect world, I would have a liner that has both of the good qualities..

Bobbi Brown Shimmering Nudes Palette

Finally my review of the BB Shimmering Nudes Palette, took me long enough eh?
I got this as part of a swap with Cuttibebe and I was very excited because it's my first BB item. Can you see that it's broken? I pulled it out of my makeup case too quickly, good thing the shadows stayed in one piece =p
This palette is very pretty in terms of neutrals/nudes. I can't seem to get enough neutral colors especially because I teach. Some people might think this palette is rather blah because the colors don't pop out.
The palette comes with 6 shadows and a liner shadow. The shadows are (from left-right), Nude Beach, Nude Mist, Naked, Nude Glow, Mica, Nude Spice and Espresso. The Naked and Espresso shades are matte while the rest have some sort of shimmer in it. The Nude Mist is supposed to be the Shimmer Wash shadow but it appears more matte.

I don't think this palette is shimmery at all, it looks kinda matte to me. You see how there are shades that seem to have the same tones to them? I use those 2 together. There are shades with pink, purple and brown tones. Unless I have serious eye problems, that's what I see. Even though there are hints of pinks and purples, the shades still remain mostly on the brown side.

I love how the colors apply so smoothly and evenly. The shadows are super soft and if I'm not careful, I might get it everywhere. The brush is great for the palette as it picks up the perfect amount of shadow in 1-2 swipes.
Although the colors are perfect for those neutral OL looks, I'm not particularly fond of this palette. I apply the shadows at 7am and come lunch time, the shadows have turned into a muddy brown shade. Is this oxidizing?? I've tried touching up when this happened, but in the end, it didn't work out...Tim even asked why my eyes looked like they were bruised!

I wish the shadows didn't do that because I really love the colors. Maybe I'll try again with a different primer, but for now, the current neutral palette I reach for would be the NYX shadows and the Lunasol palette from the Anniversary Set.