Achieve sweaty-sexy shine on skin with the Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder Morning Aura

I happened to be in Singapore, when the Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder collection was launched. It is a nice sized collection, not too large as to be overwhelming, and not too small as to be insignificant. There were some nice touches – the Modern Mercury highlighter was a big hit of course. It should be, it’s beautiful, both to look at, and on skin (albeit not on anyone too fair – it shows up a little warm on my skintone) The eyeshadow palette drew a lot of attention, because in the big scheme of things, it was the most “worth it” to buy – 6 colours for 1 rather large price.

Yet, my eye was drawn to a product that wasn’t being put at the front and centre of the collection. A tall, beautiful, fluted gold cylinder, that stood at the back, a little retiring, almost a little shy.

I didn’t purchase anything back then, but when I got home, the very item I coveted from the range dropped on my desk, and I picked it up with a squeal of delight. Ok, no squealing. I don’t squeal. I might have run around in little circles, pumping my fists with glee instead LOL! 😀

The item I coveted, and had my eye on was the Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder Morning Aura – an illuminating cream, primer thing, that basically serves little function, except to, as Victoria Beckham says, give your skin a fresh morning glow.

I took it for a spin for a few days, but couldn’t help that niggling feeling at the back of my mind that there was something terribly familiar about it. Happily, I worked out what it was, and oh hey, if you miss it, I might be able to share a “dupe” with you! 😉

But first, Morning Aura.

The packaging is stunning. The whole Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder packaging is stunning, with touches of gold and black leather. The fluted gold packaging for the lipsticks remind me a little of Estee Lauder’s Sumptuous range of lipsticks (it might be discontinued) and the hefty packaging for the eye and powder products are very reminiscent of Tom Ford (unsurprising as they are all under the same mother company after all).

It is all very pleasing to the eye. The Morning Aura comes in a beautiful gold fluted cylinder, that is beautifully sleek. The lines are smooth and uninterrupted, with just a little hole, where the dispenser is. The subtle gold VB on the black is the only hint of which brand the product comes from. This is elegant subtlety at its best.

In hand, there is a lovely heft to the bottle. So aesthetically, this is one of the most beautiful cosmetic items I’ve held in my hand in a while.

Morning Aura is described as being part moisturiser, and part primer that illuminates your skin. I’m not crazy about the mention of the word “moisturiser” because I just know there will be people who will actually take it seriously, and use this as a moisturiser. God forbid! This product, is at best, an illuminating primer.

There is a rather heavy texture, with I can tell is rich with silicones, and it doesn’t add much moisture to the skin. But as a primer, it does help your foundation bases stay on a little longer.

However, unlike regular primer, you will not want to apply Morning Aura all over your face. I tested it that way a few times, and found it gave me far too much “glow”. Now, “glow” in my climate pretty much means “icky sweaty face” so really, that wasn’t something I wanted to look like. If you’re in a drier climate, where “glow” = “healthy glowing skin” then by all means, go ahead.

Here is a swatch of Morning Aura. On left, I’ve pumped it straight out of the bottle. It isn’t very liquid, and in fact has a semi-solid feel. On right, is after blending a little amount out. You may notice how illuminating = shimmery. It has a cool toned very fine shimmer, that gives skin that illuminated morning glow.

I prefer to just pat a little of Morning Aura on my cheekbones and down my nose, just to act as a subtle highlight. When I apply my foundation over, that glow will still come through, albeit a little more subtly. I prefer that, since I’d rather not look “icky and sweaty” all the time. If you like, you can use this on its own as well. Just apply it all over, where it kind of gives skin a little bit of a slightly blurred effect, with some shine. If you don’t mind that shine, it can give you a “healthy” no-makeup base.

Victoria Beckham said that the inspiration behind her collection was “Sweaty-sexy skin”. Morning Aura describes that to a T. If you find sweaty sexy, then Morning Aura will be what you are looking for to achieve that shiny look 😀

I thought I’d include a picture of the collection that I took at Tangs in Singapore. Just off the top of my head, I remember thinking that the eye products felt hard to the touch, with less vibrancy in colour than what you see in the pan. The singles had shimmer fall out. The highlighter is definitely one to get, if you love highlighters, because rose-gold highlighters do not come around often. The bronzer may be one to consider, if you have a medium skintone and up, as it is quite deep. Packaging is stunning, with beautiful heft to the product. But as I said only 1 item really stood out for me, and that’s Morning Aura! 🙂

IN A NUTSHELL

Morning Aura is an illuminating primer in the capsule Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder collection. The gold fluted cylinder packaging is stunning. The product within is just as stunning, if you like adding a little glow to your skin. I do find the cream is quite high in shimmer, so it can look too shiny (sweaty) if you apply it all over your face as I did the first few times I tried it. You can wear it on its own, for a subtle, cool-toned glow to the skin, or under foundation. I prefer just applying it as a highlighter, as it looks much more subtle on skin once you apply foundation over. It does also help your base stay on a little longer, acting as a primer. You don’t need very much, as a little goes a long way. A nice product to have, although not necessarily one everyone needs.

PROS: Very fine shimmer, Helps foundation stay on better, Illuminates skin with a subtle glow-from-within if used in controlled quantities, Beautiful packaging

CONS: Pricey, Limited Edition, Can be too shiny if used all over the face

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who wants a nice illuminating primer, Anyone who enjoys having a glowy shine to their skin

PRICE: RM380 | US$95 | £68

WHERE TO BUY: Estee Lauder counters (selected ones in Malaysia) or online (MY), Net-a-Porter, Nordstrom, Selfridges

Save or Splurge: Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder Morning Aura vs Bobbi Brown Illuminating Moisture Balm

Well, I did promise you a dupe – I never said the dupe would be cheap. Dupes are after all, products that perform similarly, price aside 😛

So, I was racking my brains thinking about what the VB Morning Aura reminded me of, and then it struck me – Bobbi Brown Illuminating Moisture Balm! Now, both brands are under the same umbrella company, so I’m actually not very surprised at this. Some people have also compared Morning Aura to the Tom Ford Illuminating Primer, but not having tried that one, I have no comments.

Basically, both Morning Aura and the Illuminating Moisture Balm perform a similar function – illuminate skin, adding some radiance and also acting as a primer. You can use them the same way:-

• On its own on bare skin, for a hint of radiant glow to the skin;
• Under foundation, to allow a subtle glow to come through, and to help your foundation stay on longer;
• Mixed with foundation, to add some glow to a heavier foundation

The difference I could discern, swatching them side by side, was in the slight tonal difference, texture, and shine.

From the swatch, you can tell that the BB Illuminating Moisture Balm is more liquid, while Morning Aura is a little more solid, when pumped out of the tube. The BB balm also looks more golden, while Morning Aura looks cooler.

When blended out, you may notice that the VB Morning Aura looks a touch more shiny, compared to the BB Illuminating Moisture Balm that has a more subtle shine to it. It is actually quite subtle.

I’m not saying they are the same thing – they are very similar, and that’s not quite the same thing at all. However, if you missed out on the Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder Morning Aura, and want a similar product, you could take a look at this one from Bobbi Brown – just a tad lower in price as well 😉

Did you check out the Victoria Beckham x Estee Lauder collection? Did you get anything?

I know many people were very excited about this launch. I personally actually forgot about it (oops!) but if you got anything from the range, I’d love to know what you got and how you like it! Share! 😀

Paris B