Bobbi Brown’s Brights Collection really grabbed our attention with its star product: Bobbi Brown Brights Palette with 35 shades of bright, matte eyeshadows. The pricetag for this dreamboat is $70, which is not quite the deal many of you were looking forward to, because this palette is indeed quite small. It’s just a little shorter in height than UDPP, which makes it around six inches tall. The shadows themselves are approximately dime sized or perhaps even slightly smaller.
BARGAIN BUY OR OVERPRICED?
Let’s discuss whether this is truly a bargain buy or if it’s way overpriced and something you should skip if only for the pricetag. Bobbi Brown consistently releases palettes each season, and they all range around $50-60 a pop. Sometimes they’re all eyeshadows, but other times they are a mix of blushes, eyeshadows, and lip colors. Each Bobbi Brown eyeshadow goes for $20 each for 2.5 grams of shadowy goodness, and if I recall correctly, each shadow is around an inch in each direction.
Now, if you’re a beauty addict, you quite possibly have more shadows than you’ll ever use in your lifetime (cough, that’s me!). Coming from that side of the spectrum, getting 35 colors for $70 isn’t a bad deal–especially because I’m unlikely to use any of these all up. I’ll use as much from one of these as a single $20 eyeshadow in all likelihood. What if you’re not a beauty addict? If you’re just starting out, this is a great opportunity to fill your collection with 35 new shadows. Talk about doubling or tripling your collection in one fell swoop!
I bet a few of you are thinking, “But Coastal Scents has a palette with 88 colors for $20!” I actually can’t personally vouch for it, but I know enough respected beauty bloggers have reviewed it with raves, so I’ll assume it’s true for the purpose of this comparison. You’re totally right–Coastal Scents is a way better deal and bargain. It’s going to be pretty hard for any high end brand to compete with that price tag, even the much adored MAC shadows costs much more.
There is at least one good reason I can think of for going for Bobbi Brown’s instead: size. What? Small size is a good thing? When it comes to traveling it is! Instead of taking several palettes or pots of shadows, you can take 35 vivid colors in a compact palette. It’s truly a travel-friendly way to bring a ton of eye makeup with you without taking up a lot of space.
So in the end…
Yes, the palette is worth it relative to Bobbi Brown products (so we don’t get into a quarrel over pricing, bargains, etc.). The price is in line with comparable Bobbi Brown palettes and products, and I feel this is one of the best measures of “value” aside from comparing against other brands. You just gotta buy what you love, what works for you, and what you see as a better value for you. Overall, Bobbi Brown did a fantastic job of making her mattes smooth, more buttery than chalky, and the majority of the shadows have great color pay off. I found the pinks had the least vivid pay off, but the greens, blues, and purples were much more pigmented. I swatch everything without a base, because I believe in seeing what you really get. A good base often elevates any mediocre shadow to at least average, but a good shadow shouldn’t need the best possible base or combination of bases to look good. I like to see color pay off and good pigmentation sans a base to make sure I like what I’m getting!
See more palette photos as well as swatches!
styrch
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
This is a wonderful review! Thank you. I doubt I’ll purchase this palette, but I could imagine this would also be nice for traveling.
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
No problem, Styrch :)
Shayla
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
As cool of an idea that this is, I’d rather spend my money on something else. Especially since *all* the colors are matte.
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I’ve learned to come around to mattes, though they can be harder to work with!
Liz
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thanks so much for posting this, I was really curious about this palette. I don’t own any BB eyeshadows and have read reviews that they’re not highly pigmented and have texture problems, but the blue/green/purple swatches definitely look nice, and I love colorful mattes. I think I can pass, though – I definitely don’t need more shadows at that price point!
Alyson
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Hey Liz,
I have a few BB palettes and some singles and I find the shadows pigmented and blendable. My fave formula is the shimmerwash shadows. They’re worth a look. :)
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
My pleasure, Liz ;)
Alyson
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I don’t use brights enough to justify the price tag. I’d rather get a cheap plaything if I want to experiment with brights, so I vote for coastal scents. I also don’t travel nearly as much to justify dropping $70 for the size convenience (although I do agree that’s a huge plus for me too).
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
That’s true! If you aren’t into brights, going cheap is not a bad way to go either.
Rochelle
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Mine is arriving in the mail tomorrow, I’m so excited. I’m an MUA and this will be really handy for my kit. I rarely use brights as I mainly do bridal work, so these are an ideal size.
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Very nice! Let us know how you like it.
claudine
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
i think i might get it for travelling im not sure though since i dont know how much i wanna spend on new MAC stuff lol
tough desicions lol
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
LOL! Good luck deciding :P
Erin
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
If I didnt have my millions of eyeshadows, I would have gotten this palette. Oh well!!!
Heather
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Haha me too! I feel the same way, Erin! Plus they’re all matte finishes, which doesn’t appeal to me at this point.
Christine – are you getting or did you purchase this palette?
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I got the palette from PR!
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
LOL, so very true.
Katherine
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I wish she would do a similar palette with smoky/brown/gold/silver shimmery shades – I would so buy that one.
Eva
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
OMG!!
Yes, that would be great!
All of her bestsellers and some new e/s. I would so buy that…even though I have WAY more e/s than I´ll ever be able to use up.
I need help.
Elisa Pacheco
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
1. Super aggreeee something similar to the nude palette would be awesome
2. I do like the palette but im the more natural color person so doubt i would ever use any of these but if i had the extra cash it would be good just to have lol
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Oooh, good idea!
Glosslizard
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thanks so much Christine!
I was ogling this palette as a way to amp up my collection while getting some colors I wouldn’t normally try out! Unfortunately, the reds/oranges/yellows (the ones I don’t normally get) are fairly underrepresented and the colors there seem a lot more conservative than I would’ve liked. I would have loved to see one or two true reds, deep oranges and tropical yellows! The greens, blues and violets are very pretty, but my collection is already super-skewed in that direction *cough* *Cool Heat* *cough*! I think I’ll save my moola this time!
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
No problem, Glosslizard! I hope I helped a little ;D
Vivian
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
hey, Christine. nice review and swatches. Actually, I was thinking of getting Coastal scents ones because me and matte colors are not meant to be together… I prefer eyeshadow to have little pearl, shimmer in them. nevertheless, I’m glad to see Bobbi brown palettes colors have variation and pigments.
Bottom line: mattes look weird on me… but they are great for bases even for an oily lid lad like me!
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Coastal Scents does have a shimmer one you might like :)
Manda
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I have the Coastal Scents shimmer palette and I LOVE it! I am a MAC Addict but the CC palette gets its fair share of use.. I actually have it on today.. The shimmer is gorgeous and the quality is awesome. They’re milled very finely so you grab alot of color when you use them. I wish the palette pans were deeper because I really love some of the colors but for the price, can’t complain! The case itself is nice too. I highly recommend :) I can submit some pics if you want :)
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
How would you compare it to MAC shadows?
cloudburst
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
It’s a cool idea but I don’t see myself picking it up – there is still holiday stuff at BB I want! I think I would rather buy the exact colours I want then have a whole bunch of brights that I may or may not eventually use.
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What holiday stuff haven’t you gotten yet?
Victoria Maria
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Hey girls, well Bobbi Brown is not a brand that is aiming at the “younger” crowd, like MAC and Stila f.ex. so thats why the shadows are all matte….. you’ll learn later in life, that the worst thing to put on your eyes when you’ve started getting those horrible lines….is glitter, and shimmer shadows…
Victoria
Danielle Sharkey
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
You certainly have a good point there because shimmery/sparkly shadows are known to settle into the creases and wrinkles of older eyes and thus excentuating these signs of aging.
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It is true that shimmer/glittery shadows can bring out wrinkles, but there are still plenty of people who wear shimmer shadows despite their age.
Danielle Sharkey
Thursday, January 15, 2009
So true…I can’t blame them though…I freakin love shimmer and glitter eye shadows! I swear I’m like a pixie or fairy or something lol
Christine
Friday, January 16, 2009
LOL!! So cute ;)
Eva
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thanks for the review, Christine!
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
No prob, Eva!
Brianne
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The texture doesn’t look that good in the swatches, I’m hoping to see you do a look with these so that I can see them used for real and judge then! :)
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I’ll try to get a look up soon!
Jennifer
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I got the Bobbi Brights palette as soon as it came out – I think it’s really nice to have, and as you point out, it’s perfect for travel. I travel a lot, so I need as many small things that don’t have to go in stupid clear plastic bags as possible. I take full-seized neutrals, obviously, but I always feel guilty carrying around big purples and blues when I know they’re only going to be worn once in the span of a few months. Bobbi Brown… solving my “travelling with makeup” problems since 2009!
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I think it’s definitely a great buy for you since you do travel a lot :D
Brenda
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I am craving this palette, however I can’t justify buying a palette with so many colours similar to ones I already have =(
Christine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Awww!
Lena
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Thanks for the informative review.