Would you ever pay more than $100 for a skin cream? If you found a skin cream that worked well for you (obviously you wouldn’t spend $100 for something that didn’t work!), would you dole out the cash for it? Would you succumb to pricey creams if they worked for you? What would a $100+ cream need to do for you in order to buy it?

For me, I want visible signs of SOMETHING GOOD, whether that’s increased luminosity, skin health, reduced acne, etc. Since I’m not exactly aging very much, it’s hard for me to really tell when a cream hits home on the anti-aging, wrinkle-reduction/prevention front, but if I could see it? That’d be GOLDEN!

Move over Blue Satin, I’m ready to rock Dior’s Poison Blue ($19.00).  Chanel’s Blue Satin catches the light of camera flash well, because it manages to pick up on a touch of shimmer that you cannot see whatsoever in real life.  Poison Blue is this gorgeous dark blue-black shade that adds drama to nails, and it has a definite duo-nature to them.  Indoors, the color is nearly black with blue undertones, while in sunlight, the blue tones stand out more.

There is no shimmer to this polish, it is more of a high glossy finish.  I wore my Dior manicure for a week through moving apartments, and it held up amazingly.  This stuff just would not chip, and it was really hard to even try and chip it myself (hey, I like to test polish durability).  Despite packing boxes, unpacking them, assembling/disassembling, etc., I hardly had any tip wear either (say what?!).  This is reason enough to opt for Dior Poison Blue over Blue Satin!

While Blue Satin has a thicker consistency than Poison Blue (thinner), Poison Blue is also glossier in its finish than Blue Satin.  Personally, I preferred the consistency of Poison Blue, because it allowed me to do my dutiful two coats of polish without feeling like I might be wasting some (at $19 a pop, I don’t want to waste a drop), whereas Chanel’s was thicker to the point where one coat was almost enough, but I prefer two coats to maximize durability and lasting power.  The picture above shows half a nail swatched with Chanel’s Blue Satin with the right half in Dior’s Poison Blue–just remember, the shimmer in Blue Satin is not visible with indoor light, and it better be a bright, sunny day if you want to see it at all!

Top row, left to right (eye shadows):  Naked, Bare, Nude, and Buff; Bottom row, left to right (lip color):  Bare, Beige, Brownie, and Cocoa

Bobbi Brown Nude Lip & Eye Palette ($60.00):  As pretty as this pre-made palette looks in promo images, and even in person, the eyeshadows left me unsatisfied.  I enjoy a nice neutral/nude look from time to time, so I thought that this palette would make a great addition to my travel bag or for occasions where minimal makeup is necessary.  There are four eyeshadows, but three of the four look virtually the same on me (I’m medium toned), even with a white-beige base (MAC Soft Ochre paint pot).

Naked and Bare are so similar and seem to differ mostly in texture, where Naked seems a little more shimmery and Bare more matte.  Nude is a warmer version of Naked/Bear with more peach/rose undertones.  Buff would be my favorite, because it is darker and distinguishable from the others.  I also didn’t find any of these to be a great highlight color, though I suppose Nude is the one you might assume to use.  When looking at pre-made palettes, I do expect that there will be several looks that I can using the palette exclusively–not having to grab additional colors.  From the promotional image, it did look like there was a little more color differentiation than you get in real life.

Aside from my issues with the colors/color pay off, the textures are typical BB:  smooth and soft.  I didn’t bother using the brush that comes with the palette because the bristles were just too coarse against the delicate shadows–it cause them to flake more than I liked.  Full-size Bobbi Brown brushes are much better than the baby versions put into palettes (which is no different than other brands’ palettes, including MAC), so in a pinch, they’re great, but if you can, take your regular brushes with you.

The lip colors were much more exciting than the shadows, because they all had good pigmentation and the color variation was there.  Bare lip color makes an excellent subdued rosey shade with soft undertones of plum, while Beige is a shimmery bronze-tan that adds a nice layer of iridescence to lips.  Brownie is a great sheer soft tan color that should work with most skintones.  Cocoa was my least favorite, just because it doesn’t suit me well; it is a nice shade of brown with red undertones with low-level shimmer.  The lip brush is cute and compact, but I never have the patience for lip brushes.  I opted to use a larger, flat firm brush (meant for eyes) to apply it, just because it was faster.

Overall, it dismays me to say that I don’t feel like this palette is worth it in the end, since the shadows did not offer me a variety of potential looks to create – three look about the same, and one is dark enough to add depth to the crease/outer lid.  I’ve liked previous Bobbi Brown palettes much more, especially the Metallic trios.  I also thought the lip palette for the Heart’s Truth was gorgeous, but this one just falls short for me!

What was your favorite Oscars’ look?  Who wore it best?  (Or do the Oscars not even show up on your radar?)

I can’t sit through the Oscars, but I also can’t sit through any award show unless perhaps I’m getting an award!  I do like checking out the photos after-the-fact, because it’s way faster and I can scrutinize more than I can using my television screen.  Heidi Klum’s dress was fantastic, of course, but I loved Katherine Heigl’s whole look, it was just gorgeous.

If you were using Bobbi Brown’s Pink Quartz Shimmerbrick, what look would you create with it? What shadows would you use? What would you use on cheeks? Anything added to the lips?

Create a look using whatever you want, as long as you include Pink Quartz! Feel free to share links to photos of your look(s) using it in the comments.

Do you ask yourself questions before you buy something? Do you ask, “Will I wear this often?” or “Do I have anything similar?” What do you ask yourself when you consider a product for purchase?

I think about how often I will use it, whether it will work with products I already have (undoubtedly, this is usually a yes), how many similar colors do I have, do I really need it, and do I really want to pay that much?