Bobbi Brown Custom Palette

It's been a long time since I looked at Bobbi Brown. I'm not sure why: I favor brands like Laura Mercier that project an image of making women look beautiful. Certainly Bobbi Brown qualifies.

I visited the Bobbi Brown counter at the nearby Nordstrom and was impressed by the variety of eyeshadow and blusher shades available for its Custom Palettes. I created my own palette, which consisted of eyeshadow in Hot Stone (medium ashy brown), Wheat (medium ash beige), and Black Plum and blusher in Brown Berry. Hot Stone is a recent addition to the Bobbi Brown collection of eyeshadow. After a brow stylist recommended ashen shades for my eyebrows, I've been using Hot Stone on my eyebrow, along with the darker Grey Brown eyeshadow from il-Makiage.

I'm very happy with the palette. I use Wheat as an all-over eye shade, Hot Stone on the lid, and Black Plum in the crease and outer corner, which I complement with a deep plum eyeliner. BTW a plummy smoky eye more sensuous than a smoky eye in traditional neutrals such as gray or brown.

I have two complaints. First, the individual shades come in their own fancy packaging: I'd much rather pay for individual pans. Secondly, the glossy black finish of the palette really shows up fingerprints.

Now the Bobbi Brown site (www.bobbibrown.com) has an application in which you can build your Custom Palette online.