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Guest Post: My Relationship with Bobbi Brown

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Elaine

Errr…just in case you were questioning, Bobbi Brown the makeup artist NOT Bobby Brown the singer although I did love me some New Edition back in the day 😛

This is a guest post!!!  I have NEVER tried any Bobbi Brown products – I know, I know not much of beauty blogger huh?  Well the fact is I just can’t afford to try out everything which is why I like many people, rely on my friends and fellow bloggers for their opinions before trying things out for myself.

So, I’d like to introduce you to my friend Val of Love and Chopsticks!!! Val and I have never ACTUALLY met but I kind of feel like I’ve known her for years since we’ve been part of the same online community for a long time.  She’s mentioned her love of Bobbi Brown products to me and since I have never tried them out for myself I asked her to do a little blog post about it for me.  So, here she is!!

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In 2001, I met a makeup artist named Henry at the Bobbi Brown counter at Holt Renfrew. I was looking for foundation; as a woman of pseudo-Asian descent, I had a hard time finding foundation to match my complexion and the drugstore brands weren’t cutting it. I decided to go to the top of the makeup food chain, and having heard good things about Bobbi Brown, approached the counter for advice. Henry found my perfect match — and then proceeded to sell me powder, blush, eye shadows, lipstick, lip liner, and several essential brushes. Literally hundreds of dollars later, I was a Bobbi Brown convert and fanatic.

Over the next few years I continued to visit Henry and spend my money with him. He even did my makeup for my wedding, all Bobbi, of course. I remember walking down the aisle and hearing someone gasp, “she’s beautiful!” — as though surprised — and I credited Henry and Bobbi Brown, equally, for making me so.

Henry eventually left Holt Renfrew, without so much as a call, and I never found any other artists there equal to him. Then Sephora opened, and I gradually slid back into my makeup experimentation days, playing with frosted silver eye shadows and thinking that I could choose my own colours without help. I even bought eyeliner with glitter in it, though my clubbing days were long over. Once maternity leave arrived I became more concerned with saving money, and found myself back in front of the drugstore displays, reaching for the newest two-in-one fast–and-easy application products.

I was never happy with the eye shadows I bought, and I threw many, many of them away after only a few uses. They faded quickly, or were not pigmented enough. They creased on my oily eyelids, or the brush skipped along my skin, spilling dry powder onto my cheekbones, leaving an uneven wash of chalky colour in its wake. The colours I chose had weird undertones that made me look washed out and tired — even more tired than I was, with a young baby.

bobbi_brown-logo
Logo from the Bobbi Brown Website


It was time to head back to the Mother Ship. Armed with my Optimum card, I went to Murale — like I said, maternity leave left me feeling skint and I had an abundance of points thanks to a fortune spent on baby wipes, shampoos, Tempra, Q-tips, and teething rings.

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Single Shadow: Gunmetal

I started with my old standby pressed powder and bronzer, and found myself back at eyeshadow; the Bobbi Brown artist chased me away from boring taupe and gave me a personalized foursome of shimmer wash shadows: Rock Star, Eggplant, Gunmetal, and Champagne Quartz (retail $25 each). I can wear Champagne Quartz or Rock Star singly, for everyday, or in combination — champagne quartz from lashes to brow and Rock Star in the crease; Eggplant or Gunmetal can be added for a smoky look or as liner. All four look great together, and the shadows themselves are like velvet — they shimmer without sparkling, are pigmented enough with one application yet can be easily layered for a more intense look, and are altogether gorgeous.

IMG_2174
Clockwise from Top-Left: champagne frost, rock star, gunmetal, eggplant

I don’t always believe that more expensive products are better by default, but where eye shadow is concerned, it seems to me you get what you pay for. More expensive formulations don’t skip, crease or fade, have a nice feel to them during application, and still look good at the end of the day. It also doesn’t make sense to waste money $10 at a time on products that don’t work when you can buy one good shadow for $25 and have it last you six months to a year. And because I’ve got colours that can be worn singly, application is a breeze — which is great for keeping my morning routine simple and quick.

IMG_2171
Champagne Quartz as highlighter, Rock Star in Crease, Gunmetal in outer corner. Black Ink Gel Eyeliner.
All makeup by Bobbi Brown except mascara (L’Oreal Voluminous)

Bobbi, I’ll never leave you again.  XOXOXOXO

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Val, you certainly have me convinced! I think I’m going to save up my optimum points and take a to Murale in your neck of the woods.  Hey, maybe we can meet for real this time 😉

Please check out Val’s blog:  Love and Chopsticks and chat with her on Twitter!

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