I love discovering beauty products that really deliver - even better when they’re affordable and accessible to so many more of us. Bourjois is a High Street brand that rarely disappoints and its Spring Summer 2015 Collection is all about pared back, low key elegance. New to the menu are Colorband Eye Shadow crayons, Ultra Black liner, Silk Edition compact powder and 3 new Color Boost lip shades.
COLORBAND EYE CRAYONS
Colorband Crayons can be swept all over the lid and blended for a subtle wash of colour, built up to intensity or used as a smoked out liner along the lash line. I’ve been testing four of the six shades:
- #03 Beige Minamiliste - metallic beige-gold
- #05 ve Baroque - muted mauve with a metallic sheen
- #02 Dadaiste - metallic deep bronze-brown
- #01 Abstrait - sooty matte black
The beige looks great all over the lid with brown along the lashline for day or black for evening. I don’t often wear black on my eyes but the formula of this one is incredible… I like to soften the edges slightly with a pencil brush for a Sixties-esque effect that works perfectly paired with a nude lip.
The formula of these is impressively long wearing, particularly the beige and black. I’ve worn them without primer but felt the mauve and brown need a little for crease-free lasting power. These couldn’t be quicker to blended on and smudge with a finger, as close to foolproof as eye make-up gets.
Colorband Crayon, £5.99
COLOR BOOST
I’m already a fan of the Color Boost formula and picked up a few of the original shades, so am so pleased to have these new additions. From the top…
- #07 Proudly Naked - this peachy pink nude is one of the most flattering I’ve tried. Perfect if you don’t like the concealer lip look.
- #09 Pinking of It - deeper than your average fuchsia, almost verging on plum - this is my second favourite
- #08 Sweet Macchiato - Bourjois describe this as a warm berry, but I’d say it’s more of a browny rust tone.
Color Boost feels like a lip balm but looks like a well pigmented lipstick, with a hydrating sheen that settles to a moisturising stain-like finish on me. They are very wearable and feel like a much more expensive, lightweight formula on my lips. If you hate the feel of lipstick or gloss, you’ll love these.
Color Boost Lipstick, £7.99
ULTRA BLACK
Black liner is a territory I only venture into when I’ve a lot of time on my hands (ie not often) as it’s a look I find tricky both to apply and wear. Three new options include:
- Liner Pinceau liquid liner - best saved for the deft of hand and expert cat flickers among us. The brush is made of individual hairs and has quite a lot of give, so this requires control, but the final result is an opaque black line that doesn’t budge without effort.
- Ultra Black Liner Stylo - the easiest to manoeuvre of the three, this is a twist up liner that applies easily and smudges out nicely.
- Colorband in Abstrait - a thick, sooty crayon for full-on drama, smokey eyes be mine.
Eyeliner £5-6.99
SILK EDITION COMPACT POWDER
If like me, you’re not a big powder fan, then this may be the one that converts you. Think soft-focus and brightening rather than flat-matte and you’re pretty much there. This minimises the look of my pores and holds make-up in place for longer while making my skin look better instead of worse. The High Street’s answer to Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder? Big shoes to fill, but the closest I’ve tried. NB I apply this with a soft, floppy powder brush or Duo-fibre brush, sweeping a light amount over my skin. Pressing it on with the sponge or a puff will give more of a matte finish.
Shade #52 (above left) is perfect for me. #53 is slightly more yellow toned, but there’s not a huge difference between them, as you can see in the swatches.
Silk Edition Compact Powder, £9.99
SWATCHES
Well this arm took a heck of a lot of scrubbing to clean… especially the black liners! Color Boost, Colorband, liners and Silk Edition powder, as labelled.
My top picks from this collection are Color Boost in Proudly Naked, Colorband in Beige Minamaliste and Silk Edition Compact Powder. I’ve been wearing all 3 every day since these landed.
The Bourjois Spring Summer 2015 Collection is available now at boots.co.uk
