Sassy Review: Bobbi Brown’s Neon & Nudes Collection

The 80s are back! Yet again!

Before you start digging out those fluorescent legwarmers, hold up. 2012 is embracing a more modern take on the 80s – and that applies to make-up too. Away from the catwalks and magazine editorials, I doubt there are many of us willing to tackle swathes of electric blue eye shadow and bright orange lipstick in real life… and thankfully Bobbi Brown, mistress of the everyday make-up look, has brought a more wearable take on the trend with her new Neons & Nudes Collection.

Instead of going all-out on your whole face and looking like you’re auditioning for Cirque du Soleil, Bobbi instead advocates confining punchy colour pops to one area only – and the Neon & Nudes Collection supplies you with plenty of options!

In my opinion, the stars of the collection are the mega-watt luscious Lip Colours ($210). These are highly-pigmented colour-saturated beauties made of a unique blend of beeswax and Vitamin E, meaning they feel soft, creamy and comfortable as opposed to dry and chalky.

I tried Neon Pink, a fluorescent flaming hue of hot pink, and quickly fell in love. I initially thought it was going to be a sickly Barbie pink but in fact, it turned out to be a much more wearable vibrant raspberry shade that provided just the right amount of pop. It applies beautifully, wears like iron and was still going strong even after meals. I received a tonne of compliments on it too – so be brave and go bright!

If you’re going for neon lips, it’s best to tone it down for your eye make-up with the limited-edition Ultra Nudes Eye Palette ($420), which includes six shades of light and dark browns. Bobbi Brown excels at making fantastic palettes that are great for travelling, as they house everything you need to create a gorgeous everyday eye in one convenient compact, and this is no exception. I found a few of the shades a bit too similar to each other and a little sheer (try applying them wet for a deeper colour) but for those of you looking for an au naturel eye look, this is a great start.

Meanwhile, if you fancy doing things the other way round, check out the two new shades of Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow ($190) – Ultra Violet and Bluebell (no prizes for guessing what colours these are!). I tried Ultra Violet, an intense purple in the pan, but found it a little disappointing; it applied quite patchily and leaned rather pink on my complexion, which meant it made my eyes look swollen. I’d say these two intense shades might be better suited to the more expert beauty addicts amongst you!

Even though the new neon Lip Glosses ($210), Citrus and Ultra Violet, looked near radioactive in the tubes, they were actually rather lovely on the lips. Citrus, a highlighter orange, gave my lips a warm glow of orange whilst Ultra Violet, a neon purple, gave my lips a really pretty pink tint. In my opinion, Bobbi Brown lip glosses are some of the best available for those of us past our teenybopper days – they wear really well, feel really moisturising, aren’t too sticky and make your lips look positively luscious (these also had a yummy peppermint tingle to them too). So for those of you that love a juicy glossy look, don’t be put off by the crazy colours as these are actually rather wonderful!

So if you fancy reliving the 80s but without going for the full big hair and even bigger shoulder pads look, Neons & Nudes might do just the trick. Now excuse me whilst I go do some leg splits to Irene Cara… ‘What a Feeling’!

Bobbi Brown’s Neons & Nudes Collection is out now. See all Bobbi Brown locations in Hong Kong here.