Bobbi Brown’s Miami Collection Promises Sizzlin’ Beach Days And Hot Summer Nights
Welcome to Miami. Bienvenidos a Miami.
This is the city that inspired Miami Sound Machine‘s “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You“and Gloria Estefan’s “Conga,” that provided the picturesque backdrop for the cult 1980s TV series Miami Vice, that pioneered the Miami Bass sound developed by controversial rap group 2 Live Crew. Here, Cuban immigrants established roots, creating thriving communities and influencing every aspect of local culture — from the music and cuisine to fashion and dance. Housing a colorful, picturesque Art Deco District, top-notch resorts, trendy nightclubs and bars, and pristine beaches lined with beautiful women, Miam’s South Beach area has long been a preferred destination for tourists and vacationers. Endless summers are practically a reality in Miami, making it one of the only cities in the U.S. with a truly tropical feel.
It’s only logical, then, that makeup artist Bobbi Brown would look to this city when creating her Summer 2012 makeup collection, which features a glitzy palette of bronze, gold, and champagne nude hues with pops of coral, peach, and seashell pink. The Bobbi Brown Miami Collection, then, has an easy, laid-back vibe to it. Powder eye shadows that could potentially melt and streak in the hot summer sun are replaced with four Long-Wear Cream Shadow hues that adhere to lids and retain a dewy sheen. Heavy foundations and cream powders are shelved in favor of two sheer Shimmer Cheek Glow powders that impart a sun-kissed glow. Lips, meanwhile, are coated with a touch of sheer color thanks to four new Treatment Lip Shine hues, simultaneously moisturizing the pout with natural botanical extracts. And last, of course, there’s the Beach fragrance, an eau de parfum featuring notes meant to mentally transport you to the South Beach shore, and the accompanying Shimmering Fragrance Oil, which moisturizes the skin while coating it with fine gold shimmer, all the while swathing it in a lighter version of the Beach scent.
Next, you’ll find more details on the products in the Miami Collection, as well as swatches of a few of the shades.
TREATMENT LIP SHINE
Unlike Bobbi Brown’s Rich Lip Color, the Treatment Lip Shine ($23 at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com) isn’t quite as saturated with color, instead delivering a sheer but buildable pigment with a sophisticated shine that’s not vinyl-like (as with most glosses) or glittery. As the name implies, the Treatment Lip Shine emphasizes lip care above all else, moisturizing the pout with cocoa and shea butter; protecting them with jojoba oil, which boasts antimicrobial properties; firming skin with fatty acid-rich apricot kernel oil; and softening them with avocado oil. A blend of peptides and vitamin C stimulate collagen and elastin production, rejuvenating the pout and minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
The Treatment Lip Shine is available in four shades: Peach Sorbet, a pale coral; Sunset Beach, a golden bronze with a ripe nectarine tint; Pink Seashell, a warm, near-nude pink; and Orchid Pink, a mauve-ish medium pink with cool undertones.
Here’s what the Sunset Beach Treatment Lip Shine looks like on skin:
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LONG-WEAR CREAM SHADOW
The collection includes four new shades of Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear Cream Shadow ($24 at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com), designed to last up to 12 hours without flaking, creasing, or losing its luster. The four new shades are: Copper, a russet-inged metallic shade worthy of a penny; Candlelight, an ethereal, almost translucent golden pink shade infused with fine gold, champagne pink, and mother-of-pearl shimmer; Nude Beach, a sandy neutral with fine golden shimmer; and Bronze Sugar, a deep bronzed brown with an even golden sheen.
I had the chance to play around with the Candlelight and Bronze Sugar colors and, while I loved how both looked when swatches, the Bronze Sugar performed much better when applied to lids. I had high hopes for the Candlelight color, hoping that it would give my eyes a nacreous quality reminiscent of the look created for the Alexandre Herchcovitch Spring 2012 show, but unfortunately the color didn’t seem to distribute evenly on the lids — whether it was applied with a top-notch brush specifically designed for cream shadows or dabbed on with one’s fingertips. It worked best when blended with another cream shadow or used as a base but, otherwise, it didn’t perform as excellently as I had expected. The Bronze Sugar shadow, on the other hand, adhered to lids quickly, was thick enough to brush onto the desired areas but thin enough to look demure and sophisticated, and lasted over 8 hours in even scorching heat and humid conditions.
Check out swatches of the Candlelight and Bronze Sugar Long-Wear Cream Shadows:
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SHIMMER CHEEK COLOR
It wouldn’t be summer without sun-kissed skin so, to accentuate that bronzed flesh, add a sunny shimmer with the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Cheek Glow ($39 at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com), available in either Miami, a golden seashell pink, or Gold, a sandy gold hue.
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SHIMMERING FRAGRANCE OIL
With the Miami Collection, Bobbi Brown introduces her new Beach Eau de Parfum ($67.50) and the accompanying Shimmering Fragrance Oil ($34 at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com). I personally love the Shimmering Fragrance Oil since it performs so many feats a once: perfuming your limbs with a marine scent that incorporates sand jasmine, sea spray and mandarin notes (the latter adding a clean and zesty feel); coating skin with a non-greasy oil featuring guava pink and golden glitter; and moisturizing skin with a combination of jojoba, olive, sesame, and avocado oils.
When you first apply the oil, the fragrance might seem a bit overwhelming but, as the oil is absorbed by the skin, it fades so that it transforms into this light scent that’s mainly detectable only if you get very close (meaning you’ll smell delicious during any “close encounters”). The oil leaves skin feeling comfortable and soft, and it doesn’t create any sticky residue nor does it make your skin appear greasy or balmy. The shimmer quotient, meanwhile, is rather ideal so that you won’t have a disco ball’s worth of glitter atop your skin.
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SAMPLE LOOK
Here’s me wearing the Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Bronze Sugar and the Lip Treatment Shine in Sunset Beach. As you can see, these products are meant to accentuate glistening, sun-smooched skin, and they’re low-key enough that you can wear them to the beach without fear of a makeup meltdown.
