VICTORIA BECKHAM X ESTEE LAUDER EYE SHADOW PALETTE AND BRONZER

I was tempted by a lot of her products but I decided to get only 2 items that I thought I could wear on a day to day basis. I bought the eye palette and the bronzer,  I skipped the highlighter as I already had the Estee Lauder Modern Mercury released years ago. I got my products at Harrods online but Selfridges also carry her collection.

I knew about her past collaboration with Range Rover, which is quite unusual and I was curious about her makeup. I am not a girly type of person when it comes to design and this design is right up my alley.  On the Estee Lauder website, you can find this info:

THE COLLECTION

SWEATY-SEXY SKIN. FIERCELY LINED EYES. NUDE LIPS.
WET FINISHES, LIQUID METALS, FOIL SHINE. SEXY, COOL WITH A BIT OF RAWNESS AND EDGE.
MEANT TO BE WORN SMUDGY WITH THE CONFIDENCE TO BE IMPERFECT

“I WANT TO MAKE WOMEN FEEL EMPOWERED, TO FEEL SEXY
AND CONFIDENT. THIS MAKEUP COLLECTION DOES THAT. I’M A GIRL’S GIRL, I LOVE TO
MAKE WOMEN FEEL LIKE THE BEST VERSION OF THEMSELVES.”

“I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING MAKEUP FOR MANY YEARS.
I AM ALWAYS MIXING COLORS TO GET WHAT I WANT. WITH THIS COLLECTION,
I BELIEVE I HAVE CREATED MANY OF THE KEY PIECES THAT YOU REALLY NEED IN YOUR MAKEUP KIT.
AS A WOMAN WHO LIKES TO WEAR MAKEUP, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT.
NOW I AM EXCITED TO SHARE IT WITH WOMEN EVERYWHERE.”

Both the items I picked are part of the “New York look”.

NEW YORK LOOK

“MODERN, COOL, SOPHISTICATED. I AM INSPIRED BY THE FAST PACE OF NEW YORK, THE ENERGY ON THE STREETS AND THE SENSORY OVERLOAD. THE WAY THE LIGHT GLEAMS OFF GLASS, CONCRETE AND STEEL.”

A SAPPHIRE EYE. LUMINOUS SKIN CONTRASTED BY MATTE BRONZE. THE NUDEST GLOSSY LIP.

THE EYE SHADOW PALETTE (68£)

The packaging is heavy, sturdy like a Range Rover is, you also have that nice feeling of luxury that comes with it and I love that, the material feels like leather mixed with rubber, a bit like Nars packaging but unlike the Nars, you can wipe these VB clean. You have to be equipped with a handbag that resists the weight depending on how many VB items you are carrying but do we really care when we love ? 🙂

Probably reminds you of the TF Orchid collection, VB compacts are bigger and heavier. I don’t know today but some years ago the EL lipsticks had a wavy packaging so it has a little bit of EL DNA in her design, which I think it’s excellent.

The eye palette contains 7.2 g of product divided in 6 shades, overall the texture of all shades is soft and they are very pigmented, with very nice long wear even without a base (I was always doing one eye with and one without a base), the finish varies depending on the shade, it starts of shimmery but then some shadows blend slightly towards a satin texture.

I am not as good as Christine to describe the shades so I totally recommend you to have a look at her fantastic reviews if you want more details with the shade’s description.

• Fired sapphire is a metallic super bright electric blue that reminds me of the 80’s. This texture and pigmentation is absolutely insane, it is so buttery soft, you can wear this shade as a sheer wash or heavily smudged, one swatch takes you to the moon and back, totally crazy pigment.
• Blonde cumin is a golden shimmery beige. It’s just slightly too shimmery for me and I wish the texture was finer.
• Metal Saffron is a golden brown, a shimmery shade but as you blend it, the shimmer becomes more subtle and ends up being a shade that can also suit more mature lids.
• Burnished sage is a forest green, again it’s a shimmery shade but a shimmer that works for me, I can pull it off and it looks really gorgeous and remains classy.
• Grey amber is a dark grey, shimmer but almost like a satin, as you blend it you end up with a very elegant sultry finish.
• Black nutmeg is more like an auburn colour, shimmery but again, a shimmer that is easily wearable and that should not scare you away.

The fired sapphire is very difficult for me to wear both due to its shade and its finish but it is gorgeous! The other shades, I can wear them for any occasion so overall I am super happy with the palette. The shades are buildable and very nicely blendable, can go from sheer to opaque, for wearable looks or totally edgy or editorial, you can layer them (I love the blue and the green together) or you can give them even more intensity if you use them wet.  The quality is great and if you want shadows that stay put, these are excellent. These are not the usual EL shadows, they definitely are better.

They don’t have a thousand interpretations, not such complex shades, basic but so strongly pigmented. Their texture is not the finest (if you think of Suqqu or Surratt for example) but the texture matches well the purpose of the palette, “rawness and edge“.

THE JAVA SUN BRONZER (48£)

The texture is soft but not powdery, the finish is matte/satin, it’s warm but does not look orange and I have only great things to say about it. It’s the kind of bronzer that you can use the Suqqu powder brush with as you don’t need blending and you’ll never apply too much. It’s absolutely holy grail material. With this you look healthier, not bronzed or tanned.

Tom Ford Terra is more matte and a darker shade of brown, Tom Ford Gold Dust’s base color is quite similar (a little bit more orange) but has sparkles. I am really thrilled with this bronzer, there is 12g of product in the compact and I will definitely hit pan too soon. It’s fabulous when a product can give you healthy great looking skin without looking like you have been using bronzer. There is nothing else to wish for.