Bobbi Brown Color Strips Collection: Aquamarine Palette
Bobbi Brown Aquamarine Palette
($60.00) includes five eyeshadow shades (Lightening , Aquamarine, Storm, Ivory, and Grey Sky) and three pot rouge shades (Sand Pink, Pale Pink, Powder Pink). This is the third palette from Bobbi Brown’s Color Strips Collection, which also featured Bonfire and Orchid.
- Ivory is a cool-toned white beige with a matte finish.
- Lightning (Sparkle) is a shimmering softened gray with silver shimmer.
- Aquamarine (Metallic) is a muted sky blue with a frosty sheen and shimmer.
- Grey Sky is a medium gray with almost a brownish-taupe cast with a matte finish
- Storm is a deepened blue-black with a matte finish.
The Aquamarine Palette is more on the cool-toned side, so it’s definitely more suitable for those with cooler undertones. However, it’s not unwearable for those with warmer skin tones, but you’ll want to mix and match with some slightly warmer hues just to bring everything together. What I really like about this palette, though, is that the shades work really well together, like in the Bonfire Palette.
For a review of the Pot Rouges, head on over to my Orchid Palette review, which includes the same shades of Pot Rouges. The packaging remains the same as the other two palette variations–sleek Bobbi Brown case that opens up with plastic “windows” that keep out dirt and dust from the products (which is really something you don’t see often and much appreciated).
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love a cool-toned smoky gray eye, you might dig Aquamarine.
Laura Mercier Polished Collection: Crystal Pink Lip Shine
Laura Mercier Crystal Pink Lip Shine
($22.00 for 0.14 oz.) is designed to be a lightweight “polish” with a glossy finish. It’s limited edition and part of Laura Mercier’s Polished Collection. It’s very much like lipgloss in a pot, to be honest. The texture and feel reminded me a lot of MAC’s Tendertones, actually.
On my lips, it goes on like a slightly bronzed pink shimmer. It gives some color, but it still acts much like a gloss–more shimmer than color–which is fine. It’s very moisturizing, feels nice on lips, and looks pretty for a quick lip. It doesn’t have much staying power (fades in about two hours or so), but I like it as a fancier lip balm, actually. It’s not something I’d reach for if I did heavier eye makeup or anything, but if I was just running out to errands, I’d consider wearing this to give my lips a little more oomph.
Pricing is fair, I’d say, relative to Laura Mercier’s price point. You get a good amount of product for your money, too.
I’m just not a fan of the packaging, because I personally find potted lip products to require lip brushes in order to remain hygienic. As germaphobic as I can be, I still tend to just make sure I wash my hands really well before slicking this on, because I really am too lazy to bother digging out a lip brush just to apply a product like this. Wish it came in tube form!
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- Product: 27/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: If you love smooth, non-sticky gloss in a pot, check out Laura Mercier’s new Lip Shine!
Bobbi Brown Color Strips: Bonfire Palette
Bobbi Brown Bonfire Palette ($60.00) is an eye, cheek, and lip palette from Bobbi Brown’s Color Strips Collection, which [again] includes three palette variations. Bonfire is more my style than the other two variations. By the by, Aquamarine is the third variation, which I won’t be reviewing at this time! It does, however, have the same Pot Rouges as Orchid Sparkle, which I reviewed earlier, so it’s like… half reviewed
Pot Rouge
- Tawny is a brownish-red–it’s not a brick red, and it certainly doesn’t scream “RED!” but it’s in there. Creamy, opaque, and smooth.
- Fresh Melon is a brightened coral-peach with a creamy and opaque look. This can be worn as a very subtle blush or lip.
- Calypso Coral is a bold, tropical orange-coral with the same creaminess of the other shades of Pot Rouge. This is definitely a more fearless coral, though, because it is fairly bright. You can pat less on to get a less intense look, though, which is nice.
Eyeshadow
- Bone is a softened white-beige with a matte finish. Kind of a classic shade–easier for me to wear with my warmer skin tone than whites.
- Cafe Cream (Sparkle) is a shimmered medium coffee brown with an almost taupe-gray tone to it. It looks almost wet when used, and the fall out isn’t too bad.
- Bonfire is a rich copper with a metallic finish. Think MAC Amber Lights with a smoother finish. This is the “bright” shade in the palette, while the other shades are designed to coordinate with this one.
- Cognac is an intense shade of coppered chocolate brown with an almost burgundy sheen. This shade is truly lovely–I fell completely in love at first swatch. It’s one of those shades that I could see myself buying the palette for.
- Caviar is a dark black-brown with a matte finish. I like this more with the Bonfire palette than the Orchid palette, but I also wish they varied it, so there wouldn’t be any repeats between the three palettes!
It has the same sleek packaging as Orchid, so my thoughts remain the same on that: well-done, practical, and keeps everything as clean as can be in a palette.
I think these eyeshadows work better together than the ones chosen for the Orchid palette as well. I can definitely see many different combinations with these five shades. I also like the shades swatched smoother and more pigmented–there was only one iffy shade (Cafe Cream), but it was still decent and not so troublesome (unlike Orchid Sparkle).
I know that I’m personally more drawn to Bonfire (hey, I like me some warm shades!), so I’m definitely going to try to do a look with this palette later this week or next!
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you’ve wanted to try Pot Rouges, this is one way to try three at once… and get some eyeshadows as a bonus!
Availability: BobbiBrown.com, Nordstrom
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Guerlain Kiss Kiss Strass: Rouge Broderie
Guerlain Rouge Broderie (#321) Kiss Kiss Strass Lip Color
($31.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a nearly opaque raspberry red with fuchsia and red shimmer. It has a very glittery, shimmery look with a particularly glossy finish. It’s a lipstick that doesn’t need a gloss to give it that wet look (though you could still certainly layer if you wanted to). Rouge Broderie may be the most standout shade of the ten shades released in the Kiss Kiss Strass formula, just because it’s vibrant and bold without being overwhelming.
Kiss Kiss Strass comes in typical Guerlain packaging, except it comes in silver casing rather than the gold casing of Kiss Kiss Strass. The lipstick still has the traditional sweetened rosy scent of Guerlain lip products, and it’s not quite as subtle as the Rouge G line, though not as heavy as the Kiss Kiss range either. The pricing is typical to Guerlain lip products, which doesn’t make them the most affordable brand if you’re on the hunt for a lipstick! However, Guerlain does exceptional lip color, both from the shades to the quality and feel of their formulas.
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: Fans of Guerlain that love a little extra dosage of shimmer will likely enjoy Kiss Kiss Strass!
Lancome O My Rose!: Pop’n Cheeks Blush
Lancome Pop’n Cheeks Blush
($35.00) is a softly shimmered coral-orange blush, new and limited edition from Lancome’s O My Rose! Collection. The blush itself has a geometric rose design, and though there look to be a few shimmery pieces, it’s mostly just an overspray. Once you use it a few times, the glittery gold will disappear and a finer, more subtle shimmer is leftover.
It’s a fun shade for both spring and summer, which makes it a nice double-duty color. Hey, when cosmetic companies put out spring collections in January and the official start of spring isn’t until March 20th… colors that can be worn in both spring and summer are always nice pieces to add to your collection. I’m also totally partial to coral shades being a coral fanatic myself, so there’s no doubt I was going to enjoy this version released by Lancome!
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- Product: 27/30
- Value: 8/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: Love corals? Might want to see if you can track down this spring blush from Lancome!
First Blush of Spring: Illamasqua Lover Blush
Illamasqua Lover Blush
($23.00) is one of the better blush shades I’ve tried from Illamasqua since its stateside launch. Lover is an orange-apricot color with a matte finish, but it’s matte without being chalky or powdery (which can sometimes be the case with matte blushes!). The color looks smooth and natural with nice color pigmentation. It has rich color that can be layered and built up for greater intensity or used with a light hand for a subtle flush.
I still don’t love the packaging, since it feels bulkier than it needs to be. I do like that the lid is clear, so you can see the color without opening the compact or reading the label. The price point is near similar priced brands, but it is a little higher than I’d expect (or at least, you get less than I’d expect for the price tag), but if you’re like me, you’ll never finish a blush in your life so it’s not a deal-breaker.
More Illamasqua Blush reviews…
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- Product: 28/30
- Value: 7/10
- Ease of Use: 4/5
- Packaging: 3/5
Recommendation: If you love yourself some matte blush, try swatchin’ Illamasqua next time you’re at Sephora.
