If you think of Bobbi Brown as a neutrals-only range, think again, as the new Sterling Nights Collection is anything but. There’s a staple eye palette to balance things out and the rest is all about colour. Of course I’m not talking neon; this is grown-up, sophisticated colour with a sprinkling of festive sparkle… think jewel toned eyes, luminous cheeks and a WOW bright lip.
If you do prefer a neutral base, the limited edition Sterling Nights Eye Palette has you covered from day to smokey night looks. Inspired by star-studded skies, it includes a mix of matte and sparkle shades in mostly cool tones, wrapped in a luxuriously heavy black and silver compact.
Four limited edition Lip Colors include Lady Ruba (top), a festive orange-red and a sizzling hot Atomic Orange. Although they have a semi matte finish, these are rich and creamy with a fair bit of movement, so I like to wear them with an invisible lip liner to ensure a crisp edge. While I think these two shades will be very popular, personally I’d go for the Nude or Vixen Red shades, both quite dark and vampy (see here).
The stars of this collection are the baked, pearl-infused Sequin Eye Shadows, available in 4 shades and unsurprisingly selling out quickly. The bronze, Constellation (above) is my favourite, though Comet (emerald) and Moon Rock (sapphire) are stunning if you enjoy wearing brighter jewel tones. I’ve shown them swatched over NARS Smudge Proof Primer here, which as you can see, intensifies the already strong pigment.
The left swatch is Star Beam and right, Constellation. Star Beam looks like a blackened purple in real life and Constellation is way more shimmery and foil-like… their magic was impossible (for me) to capture on camera. I’d definitely opt for purchasing these in person as the colour marbling will vary between them and some will have more shimmer and sparkle than others. The gold in Constellation can be used pressed over another shadow, with the darker brown in the crease, or the two blended together for a shimmery brown - they really are very versatile. (I tried to show the ombre effect of gold at the top, brown at the base and a mix in the middle in the above swatch.)
This pic shows the Sequin Eye Shadows without primer. Directly below them is my second favourite from this collection, a new shade of Perfectly Defined Gel Eyeliner - Black Ivy is a blackened green, which makes my grey-blue eyes look almost teal. Below the lipsticks are two of three new Face Highlighters, Seashell and Sunlight Bronze. The formula of these is really beautiful - smooth, creamy and pearlised (no glitter) - and I love the pump mechanism of the bottles. Also available in Pink, which I’d probably go for as I like a cool toned highlight, though pale gold Seashell also works well on me. Probably not one to invest in unless you wear highlighter regularly, but if you do, the formula is on point.
I’m loving the rich tones of this collection. If I had to choose, the Sequin Eye Shadows and Black Ivy Eyeliner have my heart.
Bobbi Brown Sterling Nights Collection for Christmas 2015 is available now at House of Fraser, Selfridges and Nordstrom. As I publish, some of the shades are available with 15% off at John Lewis.
