Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoise Shell Eye Palette Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 20:50:06 +0000

Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoise Shell Eye Palette

Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoise Shell Eye Palette

Bobbi Brown Bronze Tortoise Shell Eye Palette ($60.00 for 0.32 oz.) is new and limited edition for fall and contains eight eyeshadows: Banana (buttery cream), Olive (golden olive), Gold Nugget (yellow gold), Bronze (true bronze), Tiger’s Eye (golden copper), Copper Cocoa (light chocolate brown), Espresso (dark chocolate brown), and Amber (pink bronze).

Here’s a quick breakdown of Bobbi Brown’s finishes: regular eyeshadows have a matte finish, which means no shimmer; sparkle eyeshadows are glittery and have a translucent base to allow it to glide onto the lid; metallic eyeshadows are richly pigmented with a bright sheen; and shimmer wash eyeshadows are sheer and lightly pearlized.

Banana is a darkened butter yellow with a matte finish. This has a matte finish. It had nice color payoff and applied smoothly, softly, and didn’t feel powdery.
Gold Nugget is a sheer, yellowed gold color base with yellow gold glitter and shimmer. This has a sparkle finish. The color payoff is low here, which makes some sense if it’s supposed to have a “translucent base,” though I’m not entirely certain that these are supposed to be sheer. To me, this didn’t feel like a regular sparkle–it felt smoother. It’s a lot like MAC Goldmine.
Olive is a dirty khaki bronze with a metallic sheen. This has a sparkle finish. It’s noticeably more pigmented than Gold Nugget, yet it, too, has a sparkle finish. There is a little sheerness still. It is similar to Make Up For Ever #148 and a little less brown compared to Giorgio Armani #6.
Bronze is a red-toned bronze brown with a high-shine, metallic sheen. This has a metallic finish. This shade had nice color payoff. It’s a little less amber compared to Giorgio Armani #5. Inglot #406 is similar but richer. This seems like it would be similar to MAC’s Woodwinked.
Tiger’s Eye is an orange-y brown with a frosty finish. This has a metallic finish. It seemed less metallic, more frost to me. It had nice color payoff. Milani Bronze Doll is a lighter version but comparable in overall tone and color.
Espresso is a deep black-brown. This has a matte finish. It has really nice color payoff, but it looks a lot darker swatched than in the pan. This shade is part of the permanent range. It seems comparable to MAC’s Showstopper.
Copper Cocoa is a warm, chocolate bronze with a subtle, pearly sheen. This has a shimmer wash finish. If shimmer washes are supposed to be sheer, this is quite off the mark. It’s one of the more pigmented shades in the palette. It’s a little warmer and lighter than Inglot #409.
Amber is a semi-sheer, orange-peach with gold and copper shimmer-sparkle. This has a shimmer wash finish. It’s sheer and has bits of sparkle that do leave some fall out when used. Urban Decay Blaze is similar but without the glitter/sparkle.

Unfortunately, the product sample I received to review did not come with a box, and the label on the back of the compact had sample labeling, so I couldn’t get an ingredients’ list or how much product was in it. I called my local Bobbi Brown counter and asked, and they said that the regular eyeshadows (mattes) contain 0.04 oz., sparkle finishes contain 0.02 oz., metallic finishes contain 0.05 oz., and shimmer wash finishes contain 0.05 oz. This palette contains 2x regular, 2x sparkle, 2x metallic, and 2x shimmer wash, which ends up being the equivalent value of: $20 in regular eyeshadows, $7.38 in sparkle eyeshadows, $20 in metallic eyeshadows, and $25 in shimmer wash eyeshadows. All in all, this palette contains $72.38 worth of product.

This is a warmer palette–very bronze indeed–that will suit medium to dark skin tones with yellow undertones best, but I do think it’s suitable for lighter complexions as a few of the shades are softer/sheerer. There are at least two shades (Gold Nugget and Tiger’s Eye) that I could see turning rather orange on pinker complexions, though. Fans of bronzes, earth tones, and metallic-like finishes will find this palette right up their alley, but those who prefer softer, subtler finishes may find this one too sparkly.