The Best of Bobbi Brown
The Best of Bobbi Brown
Whether you’re new to the brand, or you used them long ago, this post is designed to be an at-a-glance summary of the best Bobbi Brown formulas and shades. Bobbi Brown is a brand that does emphasize and focus on more “natural” beauty, so you’ll find plenty of basic shades of beiges, browns, and the like within the range. You won’t find an extensive range of bright and neon hues, but you will find some. A lot of the brighter colors get launched seasonally in limited edition collections, so if you like a formula, you might see a vibrant neon pink during the spring or summer.
Eyes
When it comes to gel eyeliners, Bobbi’s Gel Eyeliner ($24.00) is a cult favorite, and for good reason–it comes in a variety of shades, applies easily and fluidly, and lasts all day long. You have the classic black, Black Ink, along with fun colors like Ivy Shimmer Ink (deep emerald green) and Violet Ink (violet purple).
Her Metallic Eyeshadows ($21.00) are really plush; soft, smooth, and lots of color payoff with a frosted, metallic fiinsh. Shades like Forest, Burnt Sugar, and Cognac are lovely on warmer skin tones, while Mint, Midnight, and Velvet Plum are flattering on cooler complexions. For neutral eyeshadows with matte finishes, her regular Eyeshadow ($21.00) line is worth considering–pay attention to Bone, Caviar, Espresso, Hot Stone, Wheat, and Taupe.
From time to time, Bobbi Brown also releases eyeshadow and face palettes–some are amazing, others are so-so–but they’re usually worth at least a glance or two if you’re near a counter. My favorite Bobbi Brown mascara is Everything Mascara ($24.00), which results in really great everyday, natural-looking lashes.
Cheeks
If you love high shimmer, nearly metallic-finishes in your blushes and highlighters, you’ll find Shimmer Bricks ($39.00) right up your alley. Shades like Nectar can be used as blushers on light to dark skin tones as well as providing highlight. Each compact has five strips of color, which can be used individually or altogether.
If you’re into cream blushes, you might like Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks ($24.00), which is a multi-tasking color product that gives both cheeks and lips a soft tint of color. It comes in an assortment of shades (ten at the writing of this post). Calypso Coral is great for a pop of coral during the summer, while Chocolate Cherry is excellent for a bolder, darker cheek color. Raspberry flatters lots of skin tones, even deeper ones, as it has just the right level of intensity.
Lips
Rich Lip Color SPF 12 ($23.00) is pigmented, lightweight, and moisturizing, and it’s probably my favorite lipstick formula by the brand, though the regular Lip Color ($23.00) is rather good and her Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15 ($23.00) is great for a glossier (but still a lipstick) option.
High Shimmer Lipgloss ($23.00) may be my most favorite Bobbi Brown product, period, though don’t hold me to it, because it’s so hard to choose! They’re rich in sparkle and shimmer and look utterly dazzling on the lips (especially in the sunlight). Some shades are sheer with lots of sparkle, others are more pigmented with plenty of shimmer. My favorite shades are Canary, Electric Violet, Midnight Violet, Naked Plum, Pink Sequin, and Plum Gold.
Base
If you suffer from really dry skin and find most foundations emphasize dryness, EXTRA Tinted Moisturizing Balm is fantastic–it gives coverage and lots and lots of ongoing, all-day moisture. I wouldn’t recommend it for oilier skin types, because it would be too heavy. I haven’t tried her range of foundations very much–not enough to make recommendations–but check reader comments for possible options.
Skincare
I have normal-to-dry skin, so I do review and speak from that perspective for the most part, but of course, sometimes a product that isn’t hydrating enough for me but otherwise has a good texture may be a good fit for someone with oilier skin. I have tried and quite liked Hydrating Face Cream (thick but never heavy, nicely hydrating), Hydrating Gel Cream (quick-absorbing, lightweight, moisturizing), EXTRA Repair Moisturizing Balm SPF 25 (creamy, hydrating, slightly heavy), and Hydrating Rich Cream Cleanser (creamy, removes makeup and dirt well, never drying).
Tools
Every Bobbi Brown brush I’ve used, I’ve been happy with, but I haven’t used the full range. I love the soft, dense feel of her Blush Brush ($50.00) and full, dense feel of her Bronzer Brush ($50.00), which really seems like a buffer brush with a longer handle.
Definitely their moisture rich foundation and foundationstick! They are great, give a really nice coverage (for acne skin too) and look really glowy, fresh.
Ohhh nice! I’ve never tried anything from them before because I assumed they were ridiculously expensive. I’ll be definitely having a look now though. Would love to see more posts like this for other brands – when you haven’t tried anything from a brand before it can be incredibly difficult to know where to start!
I love this type of post Christine! Would love to see similar posts on other brands (Laura Mercier, chanel, Dior, etc).
I dont’t have a ton of BB stuff but I do love the oil-free tinted moisturizer and Pot Rouge. I like but don’t love the corrector. I’d like to try a gel eyeliner but i’ve heard it’s similar to MAC’s fluidline which is a formula I don’t love.
<3 it! Hope to see similar post for other brands! Thanks Christine!
Awesome- I’d love to see more of these!
I really like the blushes from BB- great natural looking colors-sand pink, tawny, nectar are great for my med-light skin; her bronzers work really well for me too. both of these products last for a very long time. the blushes have a lot of pigment.
I love this post, Christine, and I agree it would be great to see for other brands. I’ll admit I don’t use much BB, but I agree their gel liner is great. It’s a bit pricy, but it’s a great consistency with long wear, and there’s a decent color selection. Nothing too bold, but they do have some colors to enhance the eyes. I also am a fan of their Corrector, which is probably my favorite product from the brand.
Definitely plan to do more brands 🙂 I’m going to stick with brands I have a fair amount of experience with – obviously I can’t have tried everything or even every type of product they make (e.g. I’ve only tested a few of BB’s brushes), but will do what I can!
I have to give a big thumbs up to BB’s Bronzer in the palest shade. It’s one of the few things I own that I’ve hit the pan on. Not just hit the pan on, but made a big, wide hole! In fact, until I fell for the NARS Laguna (which is similar in its matte-ness but much lighter/paler, imo), it was my go-to bronzer, while my Guerlain Terracotta and a Chanel bronzer lay untouched. For matte neutral eyeshadows, esp. in the brown range, they *do* have good products, imo. I have Cocoa, Expresso, Taupe, & Bone and, back when I practiced, would wear them a lot to work. (Which is probably why they’ve remained relatively untouched since then. lol). However, the formulations I have are a lot more powdery than things like UD’s eyeshadows; perhaps the ones I have are just old and, as a result, were made differently. I’ll be honest, I’m not gaga over BB eyeshadows. I have the Bronzer brush which you’ve listed and which I think is good as an all-around brush. That said, for the price, I think Sonia Kashuk’s brushes are softer and perhaps a better option for the price. My brush is old, so perhaps the new BB brushes are made differently and softer but there is no denying the quality which has made it last in perfect condition. All in all, the one thing of BB’s that I’d highly recommend is that light bronzer.
@Kafka I love my Sonia Kashuk brushes-I’m slowly building up my collection. I’ve heard the shadows are on the powdery side, even now, but I keep hearing good things about her face products.
I use her stick foundation and would definitely recommend it! It’s great for combination/oily skin- dare I say an oil based product is better for oily skin than it is for dry? Well, that’s the truth- with a little setting powder you’re good to go. It makes an excellent concealer when patted on and great foundation when sheered out, has great value as far as money/amount ratios, and comes in an absolutely awesome range of colors- are you a ghost? Like, a literal ghost? Try Alabaster.
@CiaraAinsleyFears I’ve been looking for a good stick foundation, as so many brands are doing away with them (or, at least stores & counters are no longer stocking them). I have normal skin, but it still may be worth a try. Thanks for the info.
@xamyx @CiaraAinsleyFears I actually think it’s perfect for normal skin, so go for it! If you do decide to try it out as a foundation, make sure you blend it out a loooot- it goes on very full coverage initially but can be sheered out to a light-medium. Good luck!
@xamyx @CiaraAinsleyFears
Kevyn Aucoin and Becca also make good stick foundations.
Don’t forget their awesome concealer. Worth. Every. Penny
Yay, I love posts like this! I have to respectfully echo the other commenters and say, PLEASE, give us more “best of” posts! 🙂
I have to thank Christine for turning me onto Bobbi Brown’s High Shimmer glosses. I loved your Electric Violet review. I was really intrigued by your claim that they’re comparable to Chanel’s Glossimers. I actually like the High Shimmers more than most Glossimers now; BB’s offerings are so much more consistent in terms of quality for the price. When Chanel does it right, theirs are awesome, but lately I much prefer BB. I’m a very cool, pale girl (NW15) and I highly recommend Pink Sequin, Bellini, Hot, Star, and of course the aforementioned Electric Violet.
I hope to try her gel liners really soon! I have my eye on Chocolate Shimmer Ink, as well as her basic black.
I love them more than Glossimers, too! It’s kind of an all-around thing for me – the color selection is great (you have your sheers, soft colors, but you have SOME color, too, should that be your thing), and I agree – quality of them seems more consistent, at least compared to some of the recent Glossimers. Hard to argue with these – cheaper, more product, and just as good if not better in terms of formula and “dazzle”! So glad you love them, too!!
I love Pot Rouge – the only cream blush I’ve worn that stays on for 12 hours or more. And it’s lovely. Extra Repair Foundation is great IF you are pretty dry, which I have been lately, but it’s too rich if you’re normal or even combination. I love the corrector, too – I haven’t tried many correctors, but this one does a great job of counteracting my bluish undereye circles.
I love this “Best Of” idea!
I’m a big fan of Bobbi Brown. I’ve used several of the foundations, and I love the oil free compact. The Skin foundation is also great for a sheer to medium light coverage, and the oil free tinted moisturizer is also great!
Love the new “Best of” category. Thanks for all of your hard work Christine.
@AshleyMissWhite Believe it or not, this used to be something I did years ago! I think I kind of went through the brands I could and stopped. I thought it might be good to try again 🙂
Thank you!!
Her correcter/concealer duos are amazing. I’ve spent a long time looking for something that helps tone down the look of the dark circles I inherited from my mother, and after trying one of her duos, I’ll never go back to anything else. By far one of my biggest HG products. (When I dropped the compact last week and completely cracked the concealer powder in the duo, I almost shrieked. It’s still useable, but boy did I feel like kicking myself.)
Oh I’m in love with this “Best Of…” idea! I always find myself buying the same brands, so hopefully you’ll convince me to expand a little 🙂
The only thing I’ve tried from Bobbi Brown were her correctors/concealers. I bought (and returned…) four different shades and hated every single one of them 🙁 I’m starting to think that I just have the most ridiculous and impossible dark circles because nothing seems to cover them.
But I do want to try the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks and High Shimmer Lipglosses now 🙂 Thanks for the ideas!
@nacacijin Really LOVE the glosses – like if you’re a fan of MAC Dazzleglass, Chanel Glossimers, etc. – I think these are better!
I feel you on the dark circles. 🙁 I’m the opposite in that I really love her C/C duos, but they don’t cover them 100% on me, either. It just happens to be the only concealer product that manages to survive my longer days and terrible eye rubbing habit without touch up.
I’m a huge fan of Bobbi Brown cosmetics. BB is 2nd favorite brand behind Nars. I simply adore her lip glosses, all of them. The Rich Color lip glosses are like liquid lipstick, very pigmented and opaque. The High Shimmer glosses are fabulous, My favorites are Electric Violet, Spun Gold, Plum Gold and Hot. But my absolute favorite gloss shade is Bellini.
I love Bobbi’s foundations, I have the skin foundation and the extra repair foundation with spf 25. The extra repair is one of the best foundations on the market for dry to normal skin. It’s a cream foundation that actually give a light coverage. It can be build up for a medium coverage. I use it in the summer time w/o a moisturizer underneath because it moisturizes so well and it has a spf of 25. My BB foundation shade is 7.5 Warm Walnut and it makes my skin tone perfectly.
I have both the corrector and the concealer kit.
Cream Shadows… Bobbi’s are the best on the market in my opinion. I own Stone, Cement, Bronze Sugar, Copper, Berry Noir, Smokey Topaz, Bone, Moonstone and Antique Gold.
I have a few BB brushes, Ultra fine Liner Brush, Face Blender, cream concealer and cream shadow.
Needless to say I have many BB products.
Have to say, the Long-Wear eyshadows are amazing too, as a eyeshadow base or on their own. The eyeliner brush is incredible too, very easy to get a lovely defined line with it.
For a combination skin girl like me, her hydrating face moisturiser is JUST right for winter, and my skin has stopped eating makeup ever since I started using it. (I’m still looking for a lighter alternative for summer).
Her stick foundation is wonderful if you’re short on time in the morning or is travelling. Easy to store or toss in your purse and even easier to apply; just swipe a few times on your face then blend.
And for those days that I need a more conservative look at work her palettes are what I turn to for my eyes.
Are those are her matte finishes in the cream shadow department? It doesn’t state online!
Thank you for bringing this section back! Really useful for those who want to try new brands but are in doubt. I am a huge BB fan although I don’t use her foundations (I don’t use any foundation) or her mascaras. I love all the longwear products. Gel eyeliner is fabulous and I think long wear cream shadows are fantastic, they really do last and don’t crease and there is a good colour selection. I would also recommend pot rouge: beautiful colours and very long lasting (great for cheeks, but I find them too drying for lips). The corrector+concealer duo is a must for me; at first I thought it was a pain having to use 2 different products but it really does work. My latest discovery was the extra repair eye cream; expensive but very nourishing (I am 44). I think BB glosses are really good, very long lasting and, generally speaking, very good colour pay-off. Rich colour lipstick is a good compromise between pigment/moisture/duration. I love the regular lipsticks but find them a bit too drying and always need gloss or balm with them. Creamy lipstick is my favourite “comfy feel” lipstick, colour range is good but lasting power is so-so. Shimmer brick: nice product, but I am not a big fan of shimmer. Matte bronzing powder: yes please!. Powder blush: very nice texture, good pigmentation and long lasting. BB’s price tag is a bit high (especially in Europe, where I live) but I – usually – prefer buying one single cream eye shadow or concealer that I know will work for me than buying 2 or 3 from other brands that at the end are stuck at the bottom of my drawer.
This is an awesome post. I am just getting into Bobbi Brown and she really has some excellent products. I love the Treatment Lip Shines in Papaya (which looks like a pink coral on my lips) and Desert Rose. I love her metallic eyeshadows, hydrating night cream, and the aweesome pot rouges (in Pale Pink, Raspberry, and Blushing Rose). It’s a very wear to work friendly line. I agree with Christine about the high shimmer glosses being great, but I also like the rich color gloss and regular lip glosses.
The eye cream..I remember racing to the mall when I finished my samples:) Also the eye correctors are great too! Ok one more thing if you have dry skin…the moisture rich foundation is a must in the winter!
I love this post idea!! Been thinking I should try Bobbi Brown, but hard to split my small amount of makeup purchasing (small due to my budget not my wants) between MAC and another brand!
Bobbie Brown has never appealed to me that much… too many neutrals. I have a blush/bronzer combo from years ago that is actually quite pretty and the MUA didn’t stuff me into the usual category and produced this hot raspeberry pink blush and matte bronzer which really worked well with my colouring which completely surprised me. I really have not tried many of the products.
lips products:
most of the lip products are good especially rich lip colour. probably my favorite from the brand and one of the best formula in the market.
eye products:
eyeshadow– press powder type in many colours are very hard to blend so i use the dark brown and taupe y colour to apply my brows sometimes. they are quite hard and v dry which is good for eyebrow. I can’t apply their cream shadow evenly either. some part alwasy sheer out and they creased very quickly on my super oily lids.
gel liner– I bought it the first time in dark brown colour (maybe expresso) in 2005 or 2004? and didn’t record anything special about this product and i didn’t like to apply liner with a separate brush. I have too many brushes going on for my makeup already so normally i would prefer no brushes unless it is very necessary.
so i only bought it once and used it a couple of times but i do get them for free from time to time since but haven’t opened them at all. 😛
face products:
I have my first and only bricks in 2005 or 2006 and only use it once or twice. but it did look very pretty in the collection. I wouldn’t mind to have them again.
rouge pot: again very cute pockaging and cute in the makeup bag but that is it about this product.
Once I won a makeup lesson from Bobbi Brown and that was my first time that I met with the brand. Before that I only had Shimmering Bricks in Nectar (lovely!!). I was not glad with the makeup, because it was not conformable for my oily skin, the makeup was too thick (I hated the foundation, which will probably be the reason why I will never go near a Bobbi Brown foundation again) and dark… Whatever the lesson was bad but I remember I liked its skincare products (they made a little skincare treatment before the makeup) and their mascara Party Extreme (I think :S) was very good..
I have a few friends that have tried this brand and loved it! I am a MAC fanatic but I need a new liquid or cream foundation that’s full coverage (as I have redness, and freakles) I was using the MAC full coverage but it looks blotchy in daylight even with powder. I also tried MUFE HD but its not thick enough even with concealer & a color tinted primer…. My friends recomended Bobbie Brown but I don’t have a clue what to purchase…. Can anyone offer any suggestions?