Source: Bobby Brown / Brande Victorian
There’s a reason skincare is the area of the beauty industry that experienced strong growth during the first few months of coronavirus — it’s kind of hard shopping for makeup when you’re social distancing. Even with plenty of online shopping options, knowing how a particular product is going to look on you, let alone matching your shade — or shades — is no easy feat from the couch. And it’s even harder to explore new brands or consider purchasing from them when you can’t get the product in your hands. Thankfully, a number of brands are quickly adapting to our new reality to ensure consumers’ needs are still met at home. And I have to admit Bobbi Brown has fastly become one of my favorites because their virtual solution combines two of my favorite things: makeup and friends.
Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in the brand’s new Makeup With Friends Virtual Artistry Consultation with two of my girls and makeup artist Jaime Perez via Zoom. Though Bobbi Brown has been around since 1991, it’s admittedly a cosmetics company I’ve overlooked in favor of flashier brands with brighter colors and more drama. However, like everyone else, being at home has not only shifted my needs but also my wants. And what I want is to have a natural look that suggests I tried — but not too hard — when I hop on video calls during the workday and for my skin to not break out as a result of caking on makeup that gets covered up by a mask when I step outside.
Bobbi Brown’s alignment with my wants was evident from the outset when Jaime began the virtual consultation discussing their skincare products, namely the Vitamin Enriched Face Base, one of which is sold every single minute around the world. The bestseller is a dual moisturizer and primer that’s rich, thanks to hydrating shea butter, but not greasy, making it the perfect base for makeup, as the name suggests. FYI, as of August 10, Face Base will have a new partner in crime: Vitamin Enriched Eye Base which brings the same nourishing benefits of Face Base to the delicate eye area to hydrate, smooth, and treat all those undereye issues we constantly gripe about.
Source: Bobbi Brown / Bobbi Brown
Speaking of issues, building off of the introduction to Bobbi Brown’s skincare, Jaime then walked us through correctors and concealers — those products that help mask skin imperfections to even skin tone for a flawless beauty look. This part of the consultation was particularly critical, as not all correctors are created equal and you really do need a product expert to know how a particular brand formulates its offerings to neutralize discoloration. We were able to talk to Jaime about the current products we use and how all of Bobbi Brown’s items could be used together and built on for the desired end result, whether we wanted a 5-minute face or had time to correct, conceal, blend, define, and more.
What I loved as much as learning about the products was doing so with my friends — you know the people you can call out about not washing off their makeup at the end of the night (which I learned the Soothing Cleansing Oil is great for) and who’ll call you out about how you shape your brows or set your face. It was also nice to have a set time to connect because even though we’re mostly still at home, our schedules are still packed and this consult united us.
Though we ran out of time to discuss everything on our minds during the allotted hour, Jaime let us know we could schedule another session any time if we wanted. That reminds me, I sort of buried the lead here and forgot to mention Makeup with Friends is complimentary, as are Bobbi Brown’s other virtual artistry services: the 30-minute Makeup Bag Makeover and 15-minute Foundation For Fresh, Healthy Skin, which can be done solo. After the appointment, Jaime sent us a breakdown of the products he introduced us to and our corresponding shades and even included a discount code to purchase our new goodies. Product reviews coming soon!
To book a Makeup With Friends session with your girls, click here.
Source: Bobby Brown / Brande Victorian
