When you need your makeup to go from “coffee to cocktails” (aka. morning to night), then Bobbi Brown is your woman.  I’ve been a huge fan of her Long-Wear products for a long time (namely the Long-Wear Gel Liner and the Long-Wear Cream Shadows), so I was super excited to see this new Spring 2012 collection come out with some new shades of Long-Wear Cream Shadows as well as a new Long-Wear Eye Pencil formulation that is supposed to mimic the effect of the gel liner with the ease and precision of a pencil (a dream come true for me)!

The collection includes five new Long-Wear Cream Shadow shades, six new Long-Wear Eye Pencil shades and a new Intensifying Long-Wear Mascara (you can read all about the whole collection here).

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Collection for Spring 2012

The Cream Shadows

As I just mentioned, I’ve been a huge fan of the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadows ($24 USD) for a long time. Even though these shades are new to the line, the formula has been out for a long time.  I wouldn’t say they are the best cream eyeshadows in the world, but they do have some of the most unique shades (and shades, they have a lot of).

The cream shadows are interesting, with varying opacities and textures.  Some are deeply pigmented and matte while others are sheer and glittery… there’s something for everyone.  One common characteristic between them all though is that they are very long wearing.  They go from morning until night on me without a crease or budge in sight (even without a primer).  The more sheer shades may fade a bit, but overall they look amazing.  They are very silky and easy to blend which I do like, but you have to work fast because as with any long-wearing cream product… once it sets… it’s there until you take it off.

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadows

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadows

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadows (note the size)

The shades that Bobbi releases are always top favourites of mine… she really knows how to enhance beauty and compliment features well.  I’ve been playing with:

• Velvet Plum: This golden, plum bronze is a little on the sheer side, with golden shimmer, but looks a little more on the brown side on the skin. Very pretty, and goes great with a brown smoky eye.
• Smoky Topaz: My favorite shade out of them all, because it is so unique. It’s definitely the most sheer, but it has so many dimensions of shimmer (blue, gold, green, bronze)… it really looks like a piece of granite.  I wore this all over the lid with some smudged black eyeliner and it looks awesome!
• Berry Noir: A deep red-wine berry shade.  This shade is a little tricky, because it can look like a black eye if you’re not careful… but blending it with a lighter shade and darker eyeliner helps it to look more smoky.
• Black Violet: A deep, rich eggplant purple with flecks of purple, red and gold shimmer. Great pigmentation, and makes for a super easy, sultry eye.

RATING: A-

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Velvet Plum

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Velvet Plum

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Velvet Plum

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Smoky Topaz

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Smoky Topaz

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Smoky Topaz

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Berry Noir

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Berry Noir

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Berry Noir

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Black Violet

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Black Violet

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Black Violet

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadows in (left to right) Velvet Plum, Smoky Topaz, Berry Noir & Black Violet

The Eye Pencils

I was most excited to see these new Long-Wear Eye Pencils ($24 USD) in the collection. They are a brand new product that Bobbi is releasing that is supposed to be formulated to melt at skin temperature, turning it into a fluid gel upon application.  After it sets, it becomes budge-proof and water resistant for 12-hours of stay-put wear. Each eyeliner comes with a pencil sharpener inside, which works incredibly well for sharpening them to a good point (usually a difficult task with creamy eyeliners like these).

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencils

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencils

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil Sharpener (included)

The eyeliners really feel, look and work a lot like the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils (my current favorite eye pencils).  Creamy, highly pigmented and glide on smoothly with no tugging. I also like that I do have some smudge time, if I want to take a brush and soften the eyeliner a bit for a smokier effect (although I will do one eye at a time).  These pencils are incredibly long wearing… even trying to take of the swatches on my arm was difficult after they had only been on for a minute or two (I had to result to my shu uemura cleansing oil to remove it).

They definitely require a proper cleanser (an oil-based one).  I didn’t experience any budging or transfer, perhaps a tiny bit of fading, but this is further reduced if you pat a bit of eyeshadow on top to really lock it in.  I was expecting a little bit more of a liquid eyeliner appearance, but it really looked like the result of an eye pencil, albeit a fantastic one. I’ve been testing out two shades:

• Smoke: A deep, smoky grey. Also very dark, and practically looks black on the eye. I love this one for creating a smoky look because it does the work for you.
• Hunter: A deep, blackened green. So dark that it essentially looks black on the eye, but you can see a hint of color in certain light.

RATING: A

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Smoke

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Smoke

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Smoke

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Hunter

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Hunter

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Hunter

Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Pencil in Smoke (left) and Hunter (right)

See More

COLLECTIONS
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Collection for Spring 2012 Photos & Information

LOOK BOOK
Look Book: Black Violet

Summary

• Price: $24 USD for 0.12oz / 3.5g (Cream Shadows) and $24 USD for 0.43oz / 1.3g (Eye Pencils)
• Availability: Available now at Bobbi Brown, Nordstrom, Sephora and other Bobbi Brown retailers
• Selection: View all the products and shades here
• Overall: I’m definitely loving this collection- who doesn’t want their eye makeup to look as fabulous at night as it did when you first applied it? The cream shadows aren’t the best formula I’ve found, but they certainly have the most unique shades and textures, especially Smoky Topaz. I was hoping the eyeliners would have a more liquid/gel appearance by their description, but they really just looked, felt and worked the same as the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils. They are creamy, highly pigmented and each come with a sharpener (bonus)!
• Rating: A for the collection as a whole, individual products rated above.