Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick

Re-Release & New Shades for Spring 2014

Price: $42 for 9 grams

(approx $4.66 per gram)

Bobbi Brown has "reformulated" her classic foundation stick which has been a cult favorite for over a decade, but will this new release have mass-appeal? Keep reading to see!

The Brand:

For those of you who don't know, Bobbi Brown is an Estee Lauder owned company, but Bobbi Brown Still retains full creative control. Bobbi Brown was a celebrated makeup artist who has been pretty influential in the beauty world. She launched her first lipsticks nearly twenty years ago and her mindset has always been to create "natural looking" makeup that "every women can wear." Bobbi was one of the first, to create complexion products with a revolutionary new idea- YELLOW UNDERTONES!

Up until this point, most makeup had a very distinct pinky beige color to it, and if you were lucky you may have stumbled across a semi neutral shade. Needless to say, the whole concept of having yellow undertones took off and for that; those of us with yellow undertones must thank Bobbi.

(Note: As one reader pointed out, Prescriptives had offered multiple undertones potential shade matches before Bobbi Bown was launched but Bobbi Brown was one of the first cosmetic lines to focus almost exclusively on those with yellow undertones.)

Bobbi also had a big impact she had on how women thought of makeup with the creation of her  Bobbi Brown's Creamy Concealer & Corrector, and the star of this post, her Foundation Stick; all of which have inspired many dupes.

Original Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick &Touch Up Stick 

What makes Bobbi Brown's Stick Foundation & Touch Up Stick a respectable beauty product, is that they were some of the only half a dozen or so main stream Stick Foundations which managed to survive America's severe and unwarranted aversion to stick foundation which lasted this past decade ( I know I have mentioned it many times.)

It's actually quite interesting that Bobbi Browns Foundation Stick DID manage to stay on the market as long as it did. Don't get me wrong, I think its a very good foundation, however, if over-applied it can have the distinct mask-like effect that is so detested by so many people.

Unlike Shiseido's The Makeup Foundation Stick which is Cyclopentasiloxane (silicone) based and will set to a soft matte finish which is suitable for normal-oily skin, Bobbi Brown's Foundation stick has always had an emollient moisturizing base which is best suited for normal-dry skin and many will find needs to be set with powder. I think its a pretty safe bet, that if you love Shiseido's Foundation Stick, you will likely not like Bobbi's original foundation stick and vice versa- they just suit two very different needs.

As for the "new" version...

Any noticeable adjustment to the formula is pretty minimal, but I do find it to be favorable to the original version. I'll be perfectly honest though, I'm the absolute most drastic change made, MAY have been a change in the mixing/baking/formulating process of the foundation stick, as oppossed to a change in ingredients. I say this while considering that there have been no changes to the ingredients in either foundation stick. Also, remember that marketing schemes are not a new concept to Lauder owned copanies like Bobbi Brown, a perfect example would be the Bobbi Brown Touch up stick which is sold as a touch up/concealer stick athough it is the same formula as both foundation sticks versions.

The bottom line is, aside from the addition of new shades (which brings the total to 24), and the new name, Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick is simply repackaged into the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick. Apparently they wanted a change but didn't want to risk losing their many existing fans so they added one word to the title which gives the perception of being "natural looking." I'm not saying its not a natural looking formula as it certainly can be, and with 24 shades you're likely to find a suitable match, but you have to take care to build up coverage gradually.

 Again, it is not a foundation stick suited for those with oily skin as it is emollient and very moisturizing. (I find it best to be used in the winter when I'm plagued by dry skin.) I don't find it to be a life changing product, but I think it's a good product...

For those of us who prefer to go Cruelty Free, I find NYX's New Mineral Stick Foundation to be a more balanced formula at a third of the price. Flower SkinCognito Foundation Stick also offers very natural looking coverage, and both will suit normal-dry skin very well. If you have very oily skin, you may want to try Hard Candy's CC Tinted Moisturizer Stick (don't let the name fool you, it's more drying than moisturizing.)

Is anyone out there a die hard Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick fan? Were you put off by the name change to the Skin Foundation Stick?

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades-
0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige,
4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond,
7 Almond, 7.5 Warm  Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso
(00 Alabaster Not Shown)

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick Swatches of Shades

 0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige,

4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond, 7 Almond, 7.5 Warm Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades-0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige, 4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond, 7 Almond, 7.5 Warm  Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades-0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige, 4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond, 7 Almond, 7.5 Warm  Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades-0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige, 4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond, 7 Almond, 7.5 Warm  Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades-0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige, 4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond, 7 Almond, 7.5 Warm  Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick; Review & Swatches of Shades-0 Porcelain, 1 Warm Ivory, 2 Sand, 2.5 Warm Sand, 3 Beige, 3.25 Cool Beige, 3.5 Warm Beige, 4 Natural, 4.25 Natural Tan, 4.5 Warm Natural, 5 Honey, 5.5 Warm Honey, 6 Golden, 6.5 Warm Almond, 7 Almond, 7.5 Warm  Walnut, 8 Walnut, 9 Chestnut, 10 Espresso