Bobbi Brown 24 Karat Shimmer Brick ($42.00 for 0.40 oz.) is described as “gold pearlescent shimmer” to give the skin a “lit-from-within glow.” It’s a warm, champagne-shimmered gold that’s just a little muted by beige hues, so it’s not a strong, yellow-toned gold, but it is still very warm. The individual shades are shimmering white, golden beige, slightly darker golden beige, pale gold with orange tint, and warm rose–all five shades have a high frost finish. Tarte Angelic is lighter, more of a white gold. theBalm Solid Gold is similar but lighter, less beige, more gold. Chanel Shimmering Tweed is a darker gold. Bobbi Brown Beach is a little darker–a touch of bronze. I don’t have it, but I’m thinking that Bobbi Brown’s Beige Shimmer Brick might compare well with this, too.
Shimmer Bricks are incredibly shimmery highlighters–quite literally, they are compact bricks chocked full of shimmer! If you prefer your highlighters with subtle, barely-there shimmer, this product line is not for you. On the other hand, if you’re all about shimmer, glitz, and glam… Because of the heavy frost content, these do emphasize pores and texture just slightly, but they give off a very beautiful and exceptional glow–it’s the kind of trade-off where you’ll still come out looking absolutely radiant, because the only one who’ll notice the emphasis is you when you have your face four inches away from the mirror.
On my skin tone, 24 Karat is very my-skin-but-better as a highlighter. It adds a little warmth, but it also evens out my coloring a bit. On lighter complexions, I could see it adding more of a bronzy glow–not too bronzy, though–and on darker complexions, a very gilded highlight. If you have a lot of natural pink in your complexion and often find gold turns to orange on you, I fear this might do the same, you may want to try it in person first. As a bonus, Shimmer Bricks can also be used as eyeshadows if desired. When I wore this, it lasted for just over seven hours well; by the eighth hour, it was a little faded in places. The texture was soft and finely-milled; these always feel so much smoother than you’d imagine.
Because of the heavy frost content, these do emphasize pores and texture just slightly, but they give off a very beautiful and exceptional glow--it's the kind of trade-off where you'll still come out looking absolutely radiant, because the only one who'll notice the emphasis is you when you have your face four inches away from the mirror.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
8/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
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Chanel Notorious Ombre Contrast / Sculpting Veil ($43.00 for 0.14 oz.) is described as a “mauve-taupe.” It’s a mauve-tinged gray-brown–it is dominated by gray and has a very cool-toned feel. As a contour color, I couldn’t think of anything similar that I’ve come across. As an eyeshadow, there are a few shades that come (somewhat) close. MAC Cloudy Afternoon is lighter and frosted. bareMinerals Exhale is slightly less mauve. Urban Decay Bust is a touch darker and more shimmery. MAC Fashion Fix is less mauve. NARS Lhasa is more mauve and shimmery.
It’s limited edition, becoming increasingly sought after, and is now sold out online but is still available at select Chanel counters across the country. If you’re not so inclined to try and hunt it down but want to try something similar, consider using a powder eyeshadow (potential dupes listed above) instead.
I don’t think I’d run around for hours looking for it nor pay double or triple the price on eBay. It’s an interesting product, and I think for cool-toned complexions, an excellent contour shade. As an eyeshadow, it’s rather sheer and almost feels powdery in that application. The texture is very soft, finely-milled, and a bit powdery, which lends itself to a naturally sheer, barely-there application when used as a blush. If used as an eyeshadow, it seems to apply with more payoff initially, but be light-handed when you blend, as it can sheer out easily. The mauve in this is really what makes this so appropriate for cooler skin tones. The sheerness means it will work best on light to light-medium skin tones. It’s not too buildable, so I would not recommend it for darker complexions. Given how Chanel described it, the pigmentation seems to be a little under what was expected but not by much.
On my skin tone, I needed to layer it several times to get it to show up, and with my warmer, yellow undertones, it looked very bruise-like rather than sophisticated and shadowy. With enough blending and fading, it was wearable, but it was just not naturally suitable with my undertones (MAC Sculpt works better for me and requires far less work for anyone curious!) so unfortunately, I can’t show it at its fullest potential. I’ve worn it a few times now, and it wears well for eight hours with very, very minimal fading. The photos below show Notorious used as a contour alone (left) and with a blush (right; MAC Unconventional).
The easiest contour powders to use are ones that are just right for your coloring; contouring is to enhance the natural structure of your face and for most, the goal is something subtle. For lighter, cool-toned beauties, this might be the sweet spot you’ve been looking for. For medium to dark complexions, this might not show up well.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Grr! Korres says this is sheer, but it’s so very not sheer at all. It’s very nearly opaque with the barest translucency, and I think it makes the product look incredibly lush and juicy on the lips, but it’s not as described! The texture is very slick, not quite a gloss but thicker and shinier than the traditional lip balm. It’s very movable on the lips as you wear it, but it always remains non-sticky and has a sweet, vanilla scent.
Pomegranate lasted three hours on me, and after wearing it for a full day, it is definitely a hydrating formula. If you struggle with dry lips in the winter but still want to wear color on your lips, this is something to consider. The slick consistency means this can slide around easily, but I did not have trouble with the color bunching up or looking uneven with this shade.
I still highly recommend this product, because it's incredibly hydrating, wears long given how slick the consistency is, and makes lips look very plump and juicy. So long as you don't mind more opaque color, it is worth a look!
Product
9.5/10
Pigmentation
7/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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MAC Grey Friday Lipstick ($15.00 for 0.10 oz.) is described as a “blackish-grey with silver shimmer.” It has a frost finish. In the tube, it looks like a steely gray shot through with silver shimmer. When swatched, it’s a semi-sheer to semi-opaque grayish-black with bits of silver and teal micro-shimmer. On lips, it’s a lot less gray/black and is more like insta-vamp by turning my natural lip color into a really dark, muted gray-ish plum color. The only color that came to mind as something similar was Urban Decay Perversion, which is a lipgloss and much, much sheerer (so they look quite different on).
It’s not nearly as intimidating when applied as it looks in the tube, though it is undoubtedly a darker, vampier lip color even in its most subtle application. The color is semi-sheer to semi-opaque and is sheer enough to allow your natural lip color to come through; the redder your natural lip color is, the redder this is going to turn. It applied mostly evenly over the lips, and it wasn’t too dry or too slick. I tested the wear of this shade, and it managed four hours and lingered as long as five, but it was significantly faded at that point. It wasn’t drying or hydrating, and as always, it was vanilla-scented.
There’s also a nail polish with the same name releasing on November 23rd online at maccosmetics.com (and in-store at MAC Times Square), which I don’t have at this time.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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To complement Gold Imperial, Primped & Precious is the cool-toned, silver equivalent. It’s just bright enough to be silver, but there’s enough gray in the color to keep it from being too stark or metallic. When applied dry, it is a bit sheer and crumbly. When applied damp, it binds together much better and delivers richer payoff. When I wore this, it lasted for ten hours without fading, creasing, or suffering from fall out. (I did have some fall out during application when I tried using it dry.)
Of the three new (and limited edition) holiday Infallible Eyeshadows, this one was the weakest. Silver is not an uncommon color, so you might want to opt for a stronger formula.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
8.5/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Local drugstores (I found mine at CVS)
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Giorgio Armani Moonlight Beige Palette ($88.00 for 0.41 oz.) consists of a highlighter, two eyeshadows, and lip wax housed in a glossy black compact with a mirror and two sponge-tipped applicators. Giorgio Armani describes the shades as, “Beige shimmer powder joins taupe eyeshadows that intensify gradually, along with Beige lip wax for sheer, natural elegance.”
The highlighter is a pale white-beige with a silver-ish sparkle. There is definitely an overlay of silver glitter that dusts away within the first use (and likely, for the better, since the glitter particles are large). I removed this overlay before I swatched and applied the product. It has a shimmer-sheen finish where a little bit of shimmer is detectable, but it creates mostly a glow-y sheen on the skin. The texture was soft and finely-milled, so it blended easily and sat well on the skin without emphasizing pores or the natural texture. NARS Albatross has more of a golden sheen. MAC Lightscapade is similar but has a stronger sheen. MAC Truth & Light is a touch warmer. MAC Too Chic is frostier.
The second eyeshadow is a subdued medium-dark brown with just a hint of gray. It has a mostly matte finish with a touch of satiny sheen. The color payoff seemed so-so, but on the lid, it was better–good overall. MAC Omega is lighter. Chanel Premier Regard is a smidgen darker and grayer. MAC Camo is lighter.
The lip wax is sheer, as described; it is a warm peach-beige with a soft, frosted sheen. When applied, it really just lightened my natural lip color and added a soft, frosted sheen. As far as dupes go, any sheer beige lipstick will get you close, assuming you have a natural lip color similar to mine. It had more color than MAC Tropical Mist. RevlonC reme Brulee is comparable in color, though it is a bit more pigmented. I didn’t love the formula of this, as it is very unforgiving on the lips, since the texture is on the drier side.
The eyeshadows wore for eight hours without fading or creasing (without a primer). They were incredibly easy to apply and blended out beautifully. The highlighter lasted for eight hours with minor fading along the edges. The lip wax lasted two hours on me from what I could tell–something as sheer as this harder to determine!
Overall, I like the palette, but I’m not in love. The price point is heart-wrenching, and so I need to be in love with the entire palette to get excited about it. The eyeshadows performed better when I was applying them, and as they’re finely-milled and very, very soft, they can become sheer if blended out enough (which is what happened when I swatched them). The whole look this palette creates is soft and natural; very work-friendly and nearly foolproof to create.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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