It’s approaching that time of year when my magpie tendencies come to the surface and I start to crave a little sparkle in my life. My favourite way to wear sparkle has always been paired with something a bit bashed up: a sequinned top + ripped jeans, plain grey tee + chunky jewelled necklace… relaxed glamour or blinged-up-scruffy, depending on your perspective (ie me or my mother). So I’m loving that Bobbi Brown has imbued her iconic gel liners with glitter, making it easy to introduce a little sparkle into everyday life. Her newest release, Long-Wear Gel Sparkle is a 2 in 1 liner / shadow hybrid - a new formula that works as both liner and an allover eye colour.
The formula
The formula lies somewhere between a cream and gel - very soft and smooth to apply (non gritty glitter, so no scratching) - and can be blended out with a finger or brush and applied as sheer or intense as you wish. There’s plenty of time to work with this before it sets - and once it does, it stays put; even then, it feels soft and light on the skin, like there’s nothing there.
I don’t experience any fallout with these, especially important for a glitter product as my eyes are quite sensitive... with this, the glitter is contained within the gel, especially if applied with a finger or flat brush. If you blend out the edges with a fluffy brush you may find a little fall out, but nothing compared to regular glitter shadow.
How to wear it
This product offers a versatile new way to bring a twinkle to the eye - and the ways to wear it are endless. Here’s how I’ve been wearing mine:
1. Liner: The most daytime friendly of the bunch, applied with a thin brush (I use a Real Techniques one from this set). In one layer, this gives a similar effect to a pencil liner, flecked with glitter. Let it dry and add another coat for more intense colour and shimmer.
2. Sheer: A wash of colour flecked with sparkle, all over the lid. A light layer like this gives a hint of the base colour with subtle shimmer.
3. Intense: A double layer of colour (leave to dry between layers) applied with a flat brush or finger, for a really eye catching flash of colour all over the lid.
4. Smoked out: Intense on the lower lid, smoked out into the crease and along lower lash line. I like to go over this with another coat of liner (in same or different colour) for added drama
Swatches
I could have swatched these all day trying to show you the different ways they can be worn (kicking myself I didn’t do thin liner swatches - will add if anyone’s interested?). The top swatches are one layer using the product on my finger tips (below left) - so you can see how much colour payoff there is. Bottom right I’ve added an intense dot of colour at the top of each swatch to show how the product can be built up for an almost foil-like effect.
- Smokey Topaz - between pewter and taupe, this is one of the most intense shades and my most used as an allover eye shade.
- Sunlit Bronze - a bright coppery bronze when built up, usually a colour I shy away from, but actually love this. Really makes blue eyes pop and kinda matches my hair!
- Thunderstorm - blue grey, also intense with a lot of shimmer
- Midnight Forest - a striking blackened green which looks incredible as liner
As you’ve probably gathered, I’m a bit of a Bobbi fan already, but this is her launch of the year in my opinion. If you were to try only one product from the range I’d go for this - I love how it adds a little something to liven up an everyday look.
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Sparkle, £20 currently exclusive to House of Fraser in the UK (available internationally at Sephora)
