Forget soft smokey eyes — this season, we're going into more dramatic, intense territory, with sooty lids that nod to '80s excess (think Joan Collins in Dynasty) while incorporating a slightly goth, vampirical feel. But pulling off these dark, slightly sinister looks requires selecting premium cosmetics that feature rich textures. If not, you'll wind up with a two-dimensional, ghoulish look that will read like something out of The Craft. The new Fall 2010 Bobbi Brown Black Velvet collection makes this feat possible, offering dusky, carbon-like eye shadows with shimmering particles in shades like garnet, topaz, gunmetal, and tiger's eye adding intensity and sophistication, as well as creamy lipsticks, in near-black shades with deep berry undertones.
Below, you'll find more details on all the products in the collection, as well as swatches of some of the standouts and photos of some looks created!
LIP COLORS
The Black Velvet collection features two new lip colors: Black Maple and Black Raspberry. Both are infused with vitamin E and C to soften, moisturize, and protect lips from free radical damage, and they feature a creamy texture with a soft satin-y, near matte finish. I had the chance to try the Black Maple shade, a vampy shade which has a nice red mahogany color. Though it's a dark, brownish shade, the blood red undertones give it a necessary dose of vitality. I love how the burgundy shades interact with the woody brown shades to give the color a regal, autumn-appropriate feel.
Check out what the Black Maple Lip Color looks like on skin:
Here's what the Black Maple shade looks like on my lips:
Bobbi Brown Black Maple and Black Raspberry Lip Colors, $22 each. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
METALLIC LIP COLOR
One new Metallic Lip Color shade was introduced for Fall 2010: Black Garnet. The creamy shade provides medium coverage, but is packed with light-reflecting pearls for a holiday-appropriate dose of shimmer.
Bobbi Brown Metallic Lip Color in Black Garnet, $22. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
CREAMY LIP COLORS
If you're a fan of the long-lasting Creamy Lip Colors, you may want to check out these two new shades, both of which were formulated with shea butter and conditioning botanicals to soothe lips and keep your lip color looking fresh throughout the day. The two new shades are Black Mahogany, an ultra dark brown, and Black Cherry, which incorporates just a hint of a plum-y red hue.
Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Colors in Black Mahogany and Black Cherry, $22. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
LIP GLOSS
One sheer gloss was introduced for Fall: Black Chocolate (pictured above), which is said to look like a hot cocoa glaze over lips.
Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss in Black Chocolate, $20. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
EYE SHADOWS
Two new matte shades were introduced for Fall 2010; Black Charcoal and Black Chocolate. Since the majority of the eye shadows in the Black Velvet collection feature pearl particles and fine glitter, these provide a nice balance and can function as the building block for your eye looks.
Bobbi Brown Eye Shadows in Black Charcoal and Black Chocolate, $20 each. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
SPARKLE EYE SHADOW
This brand new product launched as part of the Black Velvet collection, and it's essentially Bobbi's take on a glitter shadow. Though we tend to think of glitter shadows as being pretty juvenile, Bobbi's interpretation is adult and oh so sexy. The Sparkle Eye Shadow is saturated with shimmering particles and fine glitter bits, for a truly multi-dimensional, nebulae-worthy amount of glimmer.
The Sparkle Eye Shadow in Black Velvet has this mysterious, cosmic sense of glamour. The shade has a gunmetal-colored, rather translucent base and, on top of it, tons of multi-colored shimmering pearls that sparkle like a thousand miniature Christmas lights.
Take a look at the Black Velvet Sparkle Eye Shadow below:
In the look below, you'll se what the Sparkle Eye Shadow in Black Velvet looks like on the eyes. Here, I'm wearing it along my the center and outer corners of my lids.
Bobbi Brown Sparkle Eye Shadow in Black Velvet, $24. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
METALLIC EYE SHADOWS
These are the most exquisite products in the Black Velvet collection.The three new metallic eye shadow shades are really richly pigmented, so that just one swipe of your eyeshadow brush will deliver an intense amount of color. All of these shades are a sooty, near-black color, but they're infused with unexpected plum, black cherry and maple tones. These shadows also feature an intense amount of shimmer, but because of their ember-y quality, they look enigmatic and a bit gothic. The warmer tones worked into that sooty black base, however, allows you to create looks that range from Evanescence-ready rocker goth to opulent, age-of-excess glam.
The three eye shadows in the collection are: Black Berry, a blackened garnet-infused dark cherry shade; Black Cocoa, a blackened, syrupy brown shade with bronze and gold particles; and Black Charcoal, a blackened dark gray color.
All of the shades have that smoky, sooty quality, but it's the tones infused into them that gives them the texture and dimension necessary for a high glamour look.
Below, you'll find what the Black Cocoa and Black Berry shades look like on the skin:
Here's a look I created incorporating the Black Berry Metallic Eye Shadow and the Black Velvet Sparkle Eye Shadow.
For this look, I started off by applying the Sparkle Eye Shadow in Black Velvet along my lids, and then I swept some of the Metallic Eye Shadow in Black Berry from the center of lids to the outer corners. I applied the Metallic Eye Shadow in Black Berry along the crease, and then blended it with the Black Velvet Sparkle Eye Shadow. To finish, I applied two coats of Estee Lauder's TurboLash Mascara in Black.
Here's another shot of the look created. As you can see, I'm also wearing the Black Maple Lip Color on my pout.
When I was playing with this look, I was going for a slightly '80s-inspired motif, a take on the makeup worn by the girls in the "Simply Irresistible" video, but with a slightly more vampy vibe.
It's a bit vampire-worthy, but I think it's still elegant. Neat, right? Check it out again:
Bobbi Brown Metallic Eye Shadows in Black Berry, Black Cocoa and Black Charcoal, $20 each. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
KOHL EYELINERS
These three new eyeliners shades can easily be integrated into any woman's makeup arsenal — from the black shade to the black chocolate and black plum. The kohl eyeliners are designed so that they glide on smoothly and can be blended with ease.
Bobbi Brown Kohl Eyeliners in Black, Black Plum, and Black Chocolate, $20 each. Available at BobbiBrownCosmetics.com
