The new LUSH Emotional Brilliance ($22.95 USD / $22.95 CAD each) line of makeup launched this past summer and includes 13 liquid lipsticks, 6 cream eyeshadows and 11 liquid eyeliners.  Each one of the items is named after a characteristic or trait that is meant to reflect that of the person which is attracted to it. LUSH actually developed a game around this concept, which is quite fun! Play it here, and let me know what your traits are (mine are Ambition, Motivation and Passionate)!

The first color collection to the ‘fresh, handmade cosmetics’ brand is all about wearing colors to fulfill an emotional need at any given moment.  Instead of thinking of what you want to wear, the company encourages you to wear what colors you’re drawn to!  It’s a neat concept, but of course… we want to know how the actual products fare in actual use (especially for that price tag).

LUSH Emotional Brilliance (L-R): Dynamic, Vibrance, Bubbly, Intuitive & In Charge

LUSH Emotional Brilliance (L-R): Dynamic, Vibrance, Bubbly, Intuitive & In Charge

Note the size of the bottles!

The shades I’ve been playing with are…

• Dynamic Liquid Eyeliner: A sheer, warm peach
• Vibrance Liquid Lipstick: A bright orange with gold glitter
• Bubbly Liquid Lipstick: A duochromatic rose pink
• Intuitive Cream Eyeshadow: A golden lime
• In Charge Liquid Eyeliner: A strong, royal blue

The Liquid Lip Colors dominate the color collection, ranging in pinks, oranges, reds and purples.  The colors are beautiful, and each comes with a doe-foot applicator.  They have fairly good pigmentation, however some of the more shimmery shades can feel quite gritty on the lips.  The scent is also an unfortunate problem for me, it’s not a very pleasant smell (but then again, natural cosmetics rarely are).  For something from LUSH though, I feel like they could have incorporated some nice scent into them!

Vibrance looked gorgeous, but there was just way too much glitter for it to feel comfortable, however I really enjoyed the look of Bubbly.  The feeling on the lips is quite different- it doesn’t really feel like they set, almost like they sit on top of the lips.  I’m not a huge fan of this feeling, but it might not bother some other people. They definitely aren’t drying though, so that’s nice.

The Cream Eyeshadows are definitely my favorite formula in the line.  I definitely would recommend using a primer underneath to prevent creasing, and applying the cream shadow with light layers.  The pigmentation is decent, but really builds as you increase the layers.  It also has a nice cooling feeling on the lid.  Intuitive, while not a color for everyday, actually looked really nice on the eyelid!  I recommend applying them with a finger, and quickly using a clean blending brush to soften the edges.

The Liquid Eyeliners are similar to the cream eyeshadows, only a little more on the thin side.  I didn’t find them to have the pigmentation I desired in a liquid eyeliner, and I was a bit confused by the light peach shade, Dynamic… it just didn’t look right as an eyeliner (but I would definitely use it as a cream eyeshadow instead). In Charge was a nice blue, but the thin texture made it hard to create a strong line. The eyeliners have a small precise brush tip applicator which is fairly easy to use, but the sheer color just wasn’t enough for my taste.

Eyeliner applicator

Liquid Lipstick & Cream Eyeshadow Applicator

Swatches (L-R) Dynamic, Vibrance, Bubbly, Intuitive & In Charge

Summary

• Price: $22.95 USD / $22.95 CAD each
• Availability: LUSH
• Selection: See all 30 shades here
• Overall: It’s a fun concept with pretty colors, but none of the formulas truly stood out as must-have ones for me in particular. If you’re a fan of the concept or LUSH itself and what they stand for, then you’ll enjoy this new line. The cream eyeshadows were my favorite but they do need a primer, the liquid lip colors looked pretty but felt gritty and the liquid eyeliners just didn’t have enough pigmentation to win my heart.
• Rating: B