Test Driven ::: Bobbi Brown Nectar and Nude Collection--Updated to include Apricot Shimmer Brick

All photos by {accordingtoame}

Nectar Brick, Beige Brick, and the gloss and polish

On a whim, more like an uncontrollable impulse, I ordered a few items from the new Bobbi Brown Nectar and Nude collection via Nordstrom's website.  Everything about this collection seemed to just scream my name.

Nectar Shimmerbrick

Upon receipt of the majority of the items I ordered, I fell completely in lust with the Nectar Shimmer Brick. I had the Apricot Shimmer Brick on order as well, which I think is technically the one that's supposed to go with this collection, but when I initially posted this, it had not arrived yet. I also bought the Beige Shimmer Brick, which I believe is just part of the permanent collection, not knowing what to expect once I tried it on my skin. 

Nectar Shimmerbrick

Nectar Shimmerbrick

I had never purchased a Shimmer Brick before this order. I lusted after quite a few of them, but never could convince myself to pull the trigger. The Nectar and Apricot shades seemed to call to me, they are in a range of shades that matched the blush shades I normally buy, and well, they shimmered more than my blushes do, which I am a sucker for.  The Beige is the perfect "nude slash pale bronzer" for my pasty white face.  And of course, shimmery!  

Left to right: Nectar, Beige and Apricot

 

Apricot Shimmerbrick

Apricot Shimmerbrick

Now that I have all three...and have had plenty of time to play with them...I realize that calling them all "keepers" was probably premature.  I love them all, they're gorgeous.  All three of them. However, all three don't get used by me often enough to really justify keeping them in the closet that I just cleaned out, especially not at $42 each.  I think the one I use fairly often is actually Beige. It's so sheer on my skin that it's like a nice finishing powder.  The other two are equally sheer, but because they're similar to my blush shade, I find myself using the blush--and my blush also has shimmer--and then just skipping this step.

 

I did think though when I was taking photos of the Apricot to try to swatch that one on my hand. When I say they're sheer, I mean it, as you can see above.  This was hard to really swatch the individual shades well.  That's really why there's no photos of these products on my face.

Nectar and Beige Shimmerbricks

Beige Shimmerbrick

Also in this order was the High Shimmer Lip Gloss in "Bare Peach", which was really pretty in the tube. It looked like a pale, sheer peachy base with gold shimmer and little bits of glitter in the tube. 

On my skin and on my lips it was clear with chunks of glitter mostly, and the fine shimmer was imperceptible with no hint of any base color. I would honestly call this an epic letdown.  I don't wear much in the way of lip products, especially not glosses, but something about this shade in the tube was so appealing to me. In person, though, it just was not at all what it could've been. 

Finally, the Glitter Nail Polish, also labeled "Bare Peach", was equally pretty in its bottle, but again was really disappointing on the nails. In the bottle it was really a pale, clear peach base, with golden and silvery glitter.  I guess I expected it to be less chunky glitter and more expensive fine shimmer? My mistake in interpreting the images I saw.  It took 3 coats to really do much of anything on my nails, and would be best suited as a topcoat over something else. 

So in the end, I didn't end up keeping the High Shimmer Lip Gloss or the Glitter Nail Polish.  In their respective tubes, they're gorgeous. On the skin and nails, less so.  From the photos and swatches, I expected a little more "oomph" from both, in terms maybe of body color. But besides that, I expected them to be more fine shimmer than chunky glitter and that just felt cheap and juvenile and not at all grown up or high end.  

Also, as much as I really wanted it, I didn't order the Pot Rouge in Hibiscus because the base is Castor Oil. What a disappointment, since the shade is stunning, but this is yet another product in yet another product line using that cheap, allergy-inducing filler and then charging astronomical prices for it. Unfortunately that's the way things are going, so soon I just won't be buying makeup from anyone anymore. (That sound you just heard was my husband rejoicing!)

Nectar and Beige Shimmerbricks

In the end, I am super pleased with my Shimmer Bricks, especially the Beige, and on the return trip to Nordstrom, managed to find a few new items to give some time to.  After playing with the three Shimmerbricks for a little over a month, though, I ended up only keeping the Beige one in the end. 

Did you splurge on any of the Nectar and Nude items? What were your favorites and disappointments?

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