Bobbi Brown Luxe Gems Eye Shadow Palette Review & Swatches

Luxe Gems

Bobbi Brown Luxe Gems Eye Shadow Palette is a new, limited edition palette for the holiday season that features seven shades of the brand’s Luxe eyeshadow (which is their more expensive formula). The Luxe formula can be used dry or wet, though the current description of the formula indicates to use it with a wet brush to intensify the shine–and that seemed to be true for most shades in the palette. They are supposed to wear for eight hours, and most of them lasted between seven and eight hours on me.

Incandescent

Incandescent is a brighter, yellowed-peach base with peach-to-pink shifting sparkle and a metallic finish. It had opaque pigmentation that applied similarly dry as it did with a dampened brush, though the wetter application yielded a shinier finish. The texture was smooth to the touch, dense without being too firmly pressed into the pan, so it was easy to pick up and apply. This shade wore nicely for eight hours before fading visibly.

Bobbi Brown Bijou Luxe Eye Shadow

Bijou

Bijou is a soft, muted peach with warm, orange undertones and a satin finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation applied dry and opaque (slightly darker) coverage applied with a dampened brush. The texture was denser and firmer in the pan, but it wasn’t stiff, so I was able to pick up product easily with a brush and didn’t have any issues with fallout or blending. It lasted well for seven and a half hours on me before fading noticeably.

Volcanic

Volcanic is a deep purple with warmer undertones and a sparkling finish. It had semi-opaque color payoff in a single layer applied dry, though it needed to be applied with a dampened brush to get to full coverage. The texture was dense, fairly smooth but felt a bit more textured based on how much sparkle was in it (relative to the other shades), and blended out well with a touch of fallout. It stayed on well for eight hours with light fallout over time. This shade was released individually before, but the version in the palette was better pressed and was easier to work with.

Sunstone

Sunstone is a soft beige with warmer undertones and a sparkling, metallic sheen. It had semi-opaque pigmentation applied dry with light fallout during application, whereas dampened application yielded opaque coverage and a smoother finish with just a smidgen of fallout. The texture felt smooth to the touch, dense but not too firmly packed into the pan, and it was blendable without having issues with lots of fallout. It wore well for eight hours with slight fallout over time.

Bobbi Brown Ultra Velvet Luxe Eye Shadow

Ultra Velvet

Ultra Velvet is a blackened plum with warm undertones and a satin finish. It had semi-opaque pigmentation applied dry and slightly deeper color but similar coverage when applied with a dampened brush. This was the only under-performing shade in the palette as it seemed firmer, stiffer, and a little drier, so it was harder to diffuse and blend out. The color lasted decently for seven hours on me.

Electric Sapphire

Electric Sapphire is a deep, blackened navy blue base with tons of sparkling flecks of blue and lighter blue throughout. The texture was dense, more substantial, and creamier, which ensured that the sparkles mixed with the base pigment for a smooth, even lay down of product that had minimal fallout during application.

It had rich color payoff that applied the same dry as it did wet, though it seemed to have a slightly smoother sheen applied with a dampened brush. It wore nicely for eight hours on me with a smidgen of fallout over time.

Black Pearl

Black Pearl is a darker taupe with subtle, warm undertones and a silver shimmer-sheen that gave it a more metallic finish. It had good color coverage that applied similarly dry as well as wet, though the dampened application yielded a more metallic, reflective finish that made it appear a touch lighter.

The texture was smooth, dense without being too firmly pressed into the pan that it became stiff to work with, and it applied evenly and had no fallout. It stayed on nicely for eight hours on me before fading a bit.