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Because You Never Know When You’ll Need to Do Your Makeup in the Desert at Twilight: The New Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Mini Brush Set

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bobbi brown desert twilight mini brush kit

On the set of An Owl Hoots in the Dark…

“Places, everyone! Places! Okay, Karen, it’s twilight. The sun is setting. Remember, you’re in the desert, and it suddenly strikes you to do your makeup.”

“Okay…”

“Aaaaand, action!”

“Doopdadoo, let’s see… I think I’ll do my makeup now. Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to do here in the desert, seeing as it’s too dark to read.”

An owl hoots somewhere close by.

“What’s that?! Jeez, I’m really jumpy tonight. That’s gonna make it hard to do my makeup with these little brushes…” 🙂

When I was getting ready the other day, I challenged myself to do an entire eye look from start to finish with the four mini brushes in the new limited edition Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Mini Brush Set ($55), and ya know, I actually got pretty far.

I finished my eyeshadow and liner, both of which I think turned out okay, but then I got stumped.

The Desert Twilight Set comes with a roomy metallic and turquoise pouch (cute!), a tiny Blush Brush, an Eye Sweep Brush (basically, a flat eyeshadow brush), one of Bobbi’s Angle Eye Shadow Brushes, and an Ultra Fine Eye Liner Brush. Here’s the thing, though: it doesn’t come with a blending brush, which makes application a little tricky for me.

I like to use a fluffy, domed eye brush to buff out any edges and create color gradients when I do my makeup (my favorite for blending is the MAC 217).

bobbi brown desert twilight mini brush kit

Now that I think about it…I kinda wish Bobbi had swapped the cheek brush in the set for a fluffy domed blending brush. I mean, I think the cheek brush works fine — I’ve been using it to apply powder beneath my eyes — but for me at least a blending brush would have been more useful.

Oh, and what about brows, B? I know there’s room in that cute little pouch for a small-angle brow brush, too (like the MAC 266). Having one would make filling in my brows with MAC Concrete that much easier.

So, would I ditch my regular arsenal of everyday brushes for the brushes in this kit? Um…probably not, although I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if I suddenly woke up in Vegas one morning without my regular brushes and had to quickly slap on some face paint to be the maid of honor in a spur-of-the-moment wedding at an Elvis-themed chapel.

In a pinch, I think they’d do fine. You might just have to work around some of the set’s limitations, like by using a brow pencil instead of a powder or by packing a separate blending brush.

bobbi brown desert twilight mini brush kit
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The Effortlessly Beautiful Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Lip Glosses

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bobbi brown honeysuckle
Wearing Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Lip Gloss in Honeysuckle

The cool-toned rose, plum and bronze Lip Glosses in the new Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight collection ($23 each; available in six shades) convey effortless beauty almost as well as Channing Tatum does dancing to Pony in Magic Mike.

But in the absence of a Channing Tatum dance solo this morning, here are four of the six non-sticky glosses, which have a faint, almost imperceptible mint flavor and scent, in action…

bobbi brown desert twilight gloss
From the left: Bronzed Heather, Honeysuckle, Twilight and Evening Rose

bobbi brown desert twilight gloss swatches
Swatches the left: Bronzed Heather, Honeysuckle, Twilight and Evening Rose

bobbi brown evening rose
Evening Rose
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Eye Have a Crush on Hue, Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night Shimmer Ink

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bobbi brown twilight night long wear gel eyeliner

The dress code recently changed here at work — mandatory cat eyes every Tuesday and Thursday — and the edict came straight from the top (in other words, per Tabs).

I’ve been doing my best to comply with the new policy, but there are only SO MANY TIMES I can wear a basic black cat liner before I start craving something new and different.

And I think I may have found it. 🙂

It’s a sassy new user-friendly liner with a finish more thrilling than a James Bond movie! It’s called Bobbi Brown’s new Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night Shimmer Ink, and it sells for $22.

Remember L’Oréal’s Infallible Never Fail Lacquer Liner 24H in Blackest Black? That glossy finish?

Well, Twilight Night’s finish just might have it beat.

A deep purplish black with microscopic glitter, it’s almost like looking up on a clear night at a sky filled with stars. Breathtaking, and better yet, the color should complement a galaxy of skin tones.

Whether you’re seeking soft, smudgy lines or crisper edges, Bobbi’s gel formula delivers, and it skates across my lids without skipping or dragging.

bobbi brown twilight night long wear gel eyeliner

bobbi brown twilight night long wear gel eyeliner swatch
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night Shimmer Ink on the left (also from the Desert Twilight collection) and the Bronzer/Blush Duo in Bahama Brown and Pink Peony on the right

bobbi brown twilight night long wear gel eyeliner
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It Takes Two to Text, and a Duo Like Bobbi Brown’s New Bronzer/Blush Duo in Bahama Brown and Pink Peony to Shine With a Faint Glint of Shimmer

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bobbi brown bronzer blush duo bahama brown pink peony

Every once in a while, like today, I want to raise my hands up and yell to the heavens above, “Thank you, universe, for inventing text messaging!”

Waiting in line at the [INSERT ANNOYING PLACE WITH LONG, EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW-MOVING LINES HERE] wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun without the random texts about boys and makeup that find their way to my phone. Par exemple, as our high school French teacher used to say, here’s one from my friend Jen yesterday…

And here’s the one I’d text you about Bobbi Brown’s new Bronzer/Blush Duo…

LOL! You might remember it from a few weeks ago when we looked at swatches of the Desert Twilight fall collection.

I just started wearing the limited edition $36 duo, which features Bobbi’s Bahama Brown Shimmer Blush and Pink Peony Illuminating Bronzer, and the compliments have been rolling in!

Sort of. Yesterday the mailman said, “You look less tired than usual,” and this morning El Hub asked if I’d been doing pushups because my cheeks looked “all pink and flushed.”

Not sure if either one qualifies as a compliment, but I’ll take ’em both. 🙂

bobbi brown bronzer blush duo bahama brown pink peony

bobbi brown bahama brown pink peony bronzer blush duo swatch
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night Shimmer Ink on the left (also from the Desert Twilight collection), and the Bronzer/Blush Duo in Bahama Brown and Pink Peony on the right
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With the Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Collection, Bobbi Serves Brights for Dessert

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bobbi brown desert twilight fall 2012

It all started with a trip to the Grand Canyon…

No, no, that’s not right.

However it started, Bobbi Brown’s new fall 2012 collection is conjuring images in my mind of Vampire Edward skulking amongst the saguaro.

According to the friendly Bobbi Brown sales associate I spoke with at Nordstrom today, the new Desert Twilight collection was NOT inspired by vampires, contrary to the concoctions of my active imagination.

But can’t you see it? — Edward, with that familiar look of tortured malaise, his pale skin glistening in the late afternoon light as he fluffs his tousled hair and mutters in his moody way, “Bella…we should run away together. You, me and Renesmee, our half-human child who ages in dog years.”

The Bobbi Brown sales associate said that the 15-piece release for eyes, lips, cheeks and nails (yup, nails) was inspired by a photo shoot Bobbi had in the desert and represents a new direction for her, something outside of her comfort zone.

Along with the wearable neutrals we usually see from her, the release also features a bright turquoise cream shadow, a shimmery purple eyeliner, and two nail polishes, also in the same turquoise and purple, and all four of them are TO DIE. The gal from the YSL counter even walked over, and we gushed over them for a good 10 minutes.

The bright blue shadow and polish are so intense that they practically reached out and grabbed me by my eyes.

Oh, and the purple liner and polish? A complex blackened purple with tiny flecks of multicolored glitter. Very Chanel.

A couple of tiny black tubes also caught my eye… I thought they were black lip glosses or lip conditioners at first, but they were actually a combination cream product called the Cream Lip Colors for Lips & Cheeks.

They double as blushes and lip colors — like Becca Beach Tints, but thicker, with more pigment and a glossy finish.

Here are pics and swatches of the release. Let me know if something catches your eye. 🙂

bobbi brown desert twilight fall 2012

bobbi brown desert twilight fall 2012
Nail Polishes in Twilight (left) and Turquoise (right)

bobbi brown desert twilight fall 2012
Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Blue Moon (left) and Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Twilight Night Shimmer Ink (right)
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On the Road Again With the Bobbi Brown Rose Shimmer Brick, a Traveling Semi-Exclusive

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bobbi brown rose gold shimmer brick

It’s a feeling I know all too well…

That gut-busting moment that usually happens to me at airports, when I’m totally stoked about an upcoming trip. I’m through the security check, got my shoes back on, walked all the way down to the gate, and then, as I’m rifling through my makeup bag, I realize, “Crap! I don’t have my [INSERT YOUR CAN’T-LIVE-WITHOUT-IT MAKEUP ITEM HERE].”

Thankfully, if that ever happens to you, and the product happens to be Bobbi Brown’s Rose Gold Shimmer Brick, you might be able to grab a replacement right then and there.

bobbi brown rose gold shimmer brick

You may remember it from Bobbi’s Rose Gold collection earlier this year — the multipurpose shimmery compact for cheeks and eyes?

In it, five shimmery strips in various shades of peach, pink, gold and bronze sit side by side. You can wear ’em separately as eyeshadows or mixed together with a big fluffy brush and worn as a pinkish peach blush or highlighter, like I’m doing here in these pics.

Still available online (and probably also at many counters, although you may have to ask), it’s just being re-promoted as a travel exclusive (or non-exclusive, as the case may be) and pushed out to select airports and duty-free shops.

Could come in handy if you’re ever stuck at the airport and need a quick hit of shimmery golden pinkish peach…

bobbi brown rose gold shimmer brick swatches

When it comes to application, I find that using a light touch seems to help. If I go overboard, with either the individual shades or the mix, the powders appear to exaggerate the size of my pores and emphasize my fine lines (boo).

bobbi brown rose gold shimmer brick
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