Thank you Bobbi Brown for giving me a healthy Nude Glow without a face like a shimmer brick

Earlier this week, I showed you some items from the Bobbi Brown Old Hollywood collection but I told you also that I’d saved the best for last and I have! I received a very unexpected gift recently and nestled in its contents was the Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Shimmer Brick.

Now, if you’re as familiar with the famed Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks as I am, then you would likely recoil a little. I did. I used to own so many Shimmer Bricks from the popular Bronze and Beige all the way to the limited edition Brownie and Apricot Shimmer Bricks. I’m not even sure why because all they did was make me look like I fell face first into a vat of glitter and oil. Sure, I thought I was all glam back then. Folly of youth eh? 😛

Eventually, I gave or swapped away most of them and promptly forgot about them. So, when I saw the Nude Glow Shimmer Brick, I had a bit of a flashback to my glitter faced days. Did I dare try it again? Well, I’ll spare you the suspense. I’m glad I did, because this has quickly become a fave 🙂

I found the texture of the Nude Glow Shimmer Brick quite different from the regular ones. Instead of gradational coloured shimmery stripes, there were 4 squares of finely milled shimmer powders in the compact of a fair size. This is important because it means you can quite easily pick up only the colour you want with your cheek brush. With the regular stripes, it’s near impossible to.

Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Shimmer Brick

I admit I felt that ol’ flutter in my chest that comes with looking at a pretty compact powder. I’m quite a sucker for these LOL 😀

In the compact, you get 4 squares of a golden shimmer, bronze shimmer, champagne shimmer and plum shimmer. They don’t look too glittery, which set my heart at ease almost immediately. However, as the name implies, this is about shimmer. If you aren’t into using highlighting powders or blushes with shimmer in them, then this isn’t for you. Also, because this has shimmer, limit it’s use to only just highlighting because you do not want to use this all over.

I’ll show you how they swatch, before I tell you a little more about them.

Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Shimmer Brick swatches – individual and blended

I swatched them in a clockwise motion with my fingers and each colour was swatched just once. So the first thing to notice is that they are pretty pigmented!

The first 4 colours from the left are the individual colours swatched. If you’re thinking they make pretty eyeshadows, you’d be right. You can quite easily wear them as eyeshadow. Just be sure to add a deep shade or dark liner to tie them in and they’re great.

The 5th colour from left is all 4 colours blended together, which gets you a plummy, golden-bronze sort of colour. If you have fair skin, I caution using a light hand because this is pretty pigmented and the colour can go on looking too dark and too bronzed. I personally find that the depth of the colour is caused by the plum shimmer in the lower left corner, and it risks looking muddy on my skin if I’m careless and use too much. If you have a deeper skintone then it will help you add depth of colour and look really fab.

For myself, I like using just 3 shades blended together which is the swatch on the far right. I get a neutral golden tone that is surprisingly flattering when topped up over a pink or coral blush. It adds height and dimension to cheekbones and just makes my skin look smooth and glowy.

The million dollar question of course, is whether it’ll emphasize pores, the way the regular Shimmer Bricks do. I say yes and no. Yes, if you use too much or have significantly large pores. No, if you use a light hand, adding just a touch of glow to the skin. If you peer in closely, then pores will look more visible. If you view from a normal distance (few of us have our faces mere inches from each other, and if you do have your faces mere inches from each other, you will scarcely notice things like pores anyway :P) then I find the glowy shimmer actually helps bounce light and makes my skin look even better.

BUT it is important to use a light hand. I can’t stress that enough. I use my regular blush brush which works wonderfully to add product and buff, or I also sometimes use the Tom Ford Bronzer Brush which has a dense head but buffs product out well and doesn’t deposit too much colour. I would use a brush with a smaller head, not a large fluffy brush because you do need to place your product properly with this one.

This is what it looks like when I swirl my brush over all 4 colours and apply to cheeks. It looks a bit bronzey doesn’t it? I had to blend this out a lot and had to wear more than usual for it to show up in photographs. On normal times, I just gently swipe across the colours, tap off on a piece of tissue or on the back of my hand, and only then apply to my cheeks to avoid a shimmer explosion and too deep colour.

Do I like it? Yes I do. The quality is far better than the regular Shimmer Bricks and I wear this on its own or with a pink or coral blush as I did in this look and this one. It brings a glow to the skin that I find flattering, and it lasts. One of my favourite gifts to date because it pushed me out of my comfort zone and made it easy for me!

In a nutshell

The limited edition Nude Glow Shimmer Brick has a quality that far exceeds the regular striped Shimmer Bricks from Bobbi Brown. The quality of the powders are fine milled and the colour is pigmented. Use separately as eyeshadows or highlighters or blend together for a lovely glow to the skin. I like to wear it on its own or on the cheekbones with a bright blush for a pop of colour. What I like most of all is that it doesn’t look glittery nor too shimmery nor oily. I often wear it on its own on casual days where it gives me that barely there glow. Perfect.

Pros: Pigmented colour, Not overly glittery or shimmery, Fine milled powder and shimmer gives skin a lovely glow, Does not emphasize pores too much unless used with a heavy hand, Long lasting

Cons: Limited Edition, Can be easy to overdo if not careful – blending and a light hand is key, May emphasize pores

Who will like this: Anyone familiar with the concept of highlighting, Anyone who wants  tinted natural glow to the skin

Guerlain Crazy Terracotta or Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Shimmer Brick?

I know what some of you may be wondering at this point (Isn’t it interesting how I profess to read all your minds?! 😛 ) How does this Nude Glow Shimmer Brick compare to the Guerlain Crazy Terracotta Healthy Glow Powder and if you could only get one, which should you get?

Ok, maybe you weren’t thinking of that, but I’ll tell you anyway 😀 If you want just face colour without too much shimmer, then Guerlain’s your best bet. It’s gorgeous and you can’t go wrong with it. However, if you are comfortable with having some shimmer and want a more multitasking compact, then this Nude Glow Shimmer Brick maybe what you’re looking for. The colours can be used individually for skin or as eyeshadow and you can use it as a blush or just highlight. I personally find it very flattering when I want to have that effortless “no-makeup” look because it just makes me look like I have great skin. So what I did last weekend was just dab on some concealer, apply Meteorites all over and then apply some Nude Glow on cheeks with a light hand. Took me 2 minutes and I looked fab *preen* 😀 Fools me! 😉

Have you seen the Nude Glow Shimmer Brick? Have you used any Bobbi Brown Shimmer Bricks?

I used to be such a collector of Shimmer Bricks, I shame myself 😛 I say collector, because I barely used any of them at the end of the day. I didn’t have very good skin back then either so I don’t know what possessed me to think I could pull off shimmer/glitter over oily, spotty and pore-y skin. But there you go. If you never try, you’d never know LOL! I’m glad with age comes wisdom (and better skin to wear a better quality product) 😀

Paris B

Bobbi Brown Nude Glow Shimmer Brick Price: RM170 Availability: Bobbi Brown counters and stores Limited Edition: Yes, Christmas 2013