November 15th, 2016
Bobbi Brown
Bobbi Brown, the iconic US make-up artist and head of one of the most successful make-up lines, whose signature subtle wearable make-up has been a stalwart of high streets as well as Fashion Weeks for over 30 years, shares her Top 5 products with Warpaint, which ones will be one your Christmas List?
First up, the Lip Color. “I launched my line in the 1980s when the look of the moment was loud, garish, and overdone,” Bobbi explains. “I couldn’t find shades or colours that looked natural and I also wasn’t crazy about the way they smelled. I often had to fix most make-up – blending it with other shades to change the tone. A chance meeting with a chemist at a magazine photo shoot changed everything. I had an idea to develop a flattering lipstick that looked like lips, only better, and it became reality with the creation of Brown Lip Color. Nine other brown-based lipstick shades followed soon after. With this set of ten lipsticks, a woman could create an infinite number of wearable shades, just by mixing and blending them.” The line carried 10 natural, wearable lipsticks in 1991 at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. “It was clear that a beauty revolution was underway. Women seemed to really embrace these uniquely flattering shades and my realistic approach to beauty. The women who came to our counter were modern, very busy, and weren’t afraid to speak out about what they wanted. They wanted to look their best, and wanted products that are easy to use and actually work,” Bobbi goes on.
Lip Color is now available in 29 shades and is a creamy, matte with a blend of Beeswax and Vitamins E and C (£20).
Next up, The Shimmer Brick. Originally envisioned by Bobbi during Fashion Week when she was looking for a product that would create a flattering highlight and luminous glow on skin on the runway, the shimmering brush-on powder was inspired by shimmer chalks, a product that Bobbi launched as part of her Color Options. Bobbi had the idea to press the chalks together in one pan to be used individually on the eyes or swirled together to create a flattering highlighter for the face. A wet slurry and unique baking process allows this powder to go on fresh & clean for a soft sheer glow. Each brick is handmade in Italy and involves a manufacturing practice that involves a wet slurry powder and the first terracotta oven used for the double baking process. Each step is carefully created by hand.
STEP 1: Extrusion & cutting
The extruded paste (wet slurry) is placed into a special machinery and it is cut in small stripes.
STEP 2: First baked process
These extruded stripes are placed into an oven, during which the liquid part, composed by emulsifiers and binders, are dispersed.
STEP 3: Assembling and application of a special mixture
After the baking process the extruded stripes are placed into an aluminium pan one by one. These inserts are kept together with a secret mixture that allows them to stay together without any space between the stripes.
STEP 4: Pressure
To assure a good adhesion of the product, all the stripes are lightly pressed together.
STEP 5: Second baking process
The complete shimmer brick is again put into an oven to strengthen the final product.
STEP 6: Shaving
The final step is the shaving which removes the patina created by the baking process and, in the meantime, brings back the colours’ vivacity and gives the particular velvety surface to the final product.
The Shimmer Brick Compact features five different shades of luxe, pure pearl pigments (£33).
Next comes the The Long Wear Gel Eyeliner which is Bobbi Brown’s no.1 best-selling product globally, with one being sold every minute. Proving that necessity is the mother of invention, while on a photo shoot Bobbi found herself about to be photographed without all her make-up essentials. Using the tip of her mascara wand, Bobbi lined her eyes and the concept of Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner was born. The eyeliner gives the precision of a liquid eyeliner and the ease of a gel-based formula. Designed to combat the climate assaults, like heat, humidity and rain. The Long Wear Gel Eyeliner remains in place without a smear or crease, due to its quick dry formula.
Available in 13 shades; Steel Ink, Black Ink, Denim Ink, Black Mauve Shimmer, Caviar Ink, Chocolate Shimmer, Cobalt Ink, Espresso Ink, Graphite Shimmer, Ivy Shimmer Ink, Sepia Ink, Violet Ink, Granite Ink, (£19)
The other product to sell every minute is The Skin Foundation Stick. “When I launched my original formula in 1992, it was the first foundation of its kind because it was skin tone correct. Other foundations on the market were all pink-based and looked fake and chalky on the skin. The idea for Foundation Stick came to me when I was on a swimwear shoot with photographer Walter Chin; after applying foundation on the model’s face, I quickly realised that it didn’t match the rest of her body. I actually had to apply foundation to the rest of her body to even out her skin tone (it was crazy). So, I set out to create my own foundation—one that looked like skin and was user-friendly,” Bobbi explains. “This foundation is my secret weapon. It’s my personal favourite, I use it to touch up throughout the day and I use it on all my friends, on models, coworkers. It’s available in our truest skin tone correct shades so there is a perfect match and it’s my go-to formula when I’m on photo shoots and at Fashion Week. It’s easy to use and impossible to mess up.”
The Skin Foundation Stick is a multi-layered translucent base that allows for optimal skin matching with skin tone correct shades that are completely colour true. Its creamy and lightweight texture melts into the skin for buildable coverage that helps minimise the appearance of pores and skin imperfections on all skin types. It adapts to skin’s needs, controlling oily skin and giving dry skin moisture, while resisting water, sweat and humidity, (£29.50).
When it comes to iconic make-up looks, nothing compares to the sultry yet sophisticated look of a smokey eye. Smokey Eye Mascara sells like hot cakes and instantly adds volume and high drama in a single stroke and is the final best seller. Traditionally, mascaras that promise a dramatic look achieve this by clumping the lashes. What makes Smokey Eye Mascara different is that it provides separation and volume to each lash with its formulation of a natural blend of gums, waxes and oils, such as chicory root extract and acacia gum. This combination creates immediate dramatic volume and separation with a single stroke.
The brush is made up of two parts, the cylindrical area and the conical/tapered tip, each with its own unique function. The cylindrical area is able to grab and comb through the lashes while the small tapered tip reaches even the shortest and hardest to reach lashes, (£23)
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