November 30, 2010

Bobbi Brown Sparkle Glamour Quad Review, Swatches, Photos

Ahh the Bobbi Brown Sparkle Glamour Quad, one of Bobbi’s more unique and different offerings this Holiday wouldn’t you agree? If you’ve played with it already, chances are you’re thinking that it’s very different for Bobbi and you might even be scratching your head and wondering exactly what to say about the quad. The texture and formula of the eyeshadows included are far different from anything I’ve personally tried from Bobbi Brown before and are interesting, to say the least.

Let’s have a look!


The Sparkle Glamour Quad includes a highlighter shade plus three smoldering, smoky eyeshadows, each infused with fine, light-catching glitter.


These are dubbed as three smoky shades and one highlighter but for the life of me I couldn’t firgure out which was the highlighter shade. Is it the top right or the bottom left as each of these are softer, gentler shades. Either way you splice it, all are very gorgeous, different eye shadows particularly due to their formula.

The shades include Pink Glitter Sparkle Eye Shadow, Smoky Sparkle Eye Shadow, Moonlight Sparkle Eye Shadow and Sandy Sparkle Eye Shadow. One of the interesting things about the palette is you’re looking at a single powder that connects each shade. They appear to have a base of dirty gold and each is nestled into that base. The shadows almost appear as single pressed powder. It’s an interesting design to say the least.

Texture wise they run a little gritty, not alot but a little since they have some serious, hardcore silver glitter infused into the mix. Lucky enough this glitter (no, this isn’t shimmer, it’s glitter, damn straight!) is very fine so you aren’t left with chunky bits flying all around. The shades are a tad weak in the pigment department and have more glitter to them than actually color pay off but none the less with a little help from a sponge applicator you can rock and roll really nicely and build color up for a bit of pop.


They do prove difficult to work with. I heard woes of the shadows falling off in large chunks as soon as a brush hit them however I haven’t personally experienced that however fall out is a major problem. I really had a problem getting them into place without ending up with ALOT of silver glitter below my eyes and on my cheeks. This glitter proved really difficult to clean up afterward.

  • Those who want something a little bit different and a little bit unique from Bobbi (I haven’t quite seen anything like this from her before).
  • Those who want a subtle smoked eye with a bit of sparkle.
  • Aging eyes who like the idea of sparkle in an easy to use shadow (Fall out does present a problem but with a lighter hand these do a great color wash with a hint of nice sparkle for aging eyes).
  • Anyone wanting a good over shadow for eyeshadow (use a more pigmented shade of color on your eyes and top with these for a bit of sparkle)

  • Anyone who can’t stand glitter, shimmer, or sparkle (this quad is laced with it).
  • Those who can’t deal with fall out or just hate the problem of fall out (the quad proves irritating to work with when it comes to cleaning up fall out).
  • Anyone who’s a bit on the clumsy side and drops things, etc…(the shadows are pretty delicate, one drop and it will likely shatter the shadows into a million pieces, so be ware).


Although it has a few bad reviews floating around I generally liked the Bobbi Brown Sparkle Glamour Quad. I thought it was unique and different from any other Bobbi Brown palettes I own. I definitely find the fall out very annoying and do feel the glitter can be overly done if I’m not careful but regardless I think it makes a rather simple, sophisticated eye look. A sponge tip applicator is the key to success as well since this builds up color really well since in some cases the glitter can over power any pigmentation the shadows actually have. Note: My FOTD below def has some major fall out, I had a hard time cleaning it up!

It has a bit of bad to it but I liked it regardless.

I know some of you own it so please do share your thoughts on it!

P.S. That’s Smashbox O-Gloss Gold on my lips! They better bring it back full time, love this stuff!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  • Joice

    Ooooh the idea of setting the 4 shadows into a powder base is really neat!
    I’m curious: is that gold base also usable? And if it is, is there enough of it? Because it it’s only a light layer put on for show I’d hate to ruin the pretty packaging.
    This is all hypothetical since I don’t have any Bobbi Brown in my country and their price range is out of my comfort zone 🙂

    • the Muse

      kinda sorta Joice if you run a brush or sponge along the outer edge but it’s a bit difficult 😉

  • Gisele

    That Smashbox gloss is gorgeous on you. Too bad about the fallout. I swatched this quad in-store and it was not the brightest bulb in the marquee, although with the fallout, it might be!

    Bobbi Brown’s eye shadows are so excellent that it is hard to bash even a less-than-ideal one. Maybe it could be mixed in with another shadow before application?

    I’m thinking maybe masking tape to pick up the glittery debris?

    • the Muse

      thanks gisele! LOVING that gloss ;-D Nope, not with everything else that BB has on offer this year! sure. You can use it as an over shadow, I actually mentioned it in my review ;-D I tried tape before but sadly doesn’t get really fine pieces of glitter ;P

  • Jennifer

    Try using one of her long wear cream shadows as a base and pressing the sparkle shadows on top. This will hold the glitter more where it won’t have the fall out and you will also see more of the pigment in the shadows. I wear this quad and wear a lot of Bobbi’s sparkle shadows. They really are great once you know how to work with them. Xoxo

    • the Muse

      yup Jennifer. I used Shore as a base and pressed on top but I still get a fair bit of fall out sadly. 😛

      • Jennifer

        Yeah… I have found that the Metallic ones work better for some reason. The regular Long Wear dry to more a matte finish and don’t hold as well… I like to use Beach Bronze, Burnished and Chrome Petina.

  • JoElla

    *snort* I scrolled down too fast and saw the picture on the box and thought.. “OH NO! You injured it!” HAHAHHAHA!

    I am quite curious about this quad and think I might press my luck and pick it up at the outlet.

  • Nora

    While I don’t have this quad, I have the Black Velvet sparkle eyeshadow. I quickly learned the very best way to apply these Bobbi Brown sparkle eyeshadows is, actually,… with my finger! It allows you to pack the color on much more than a brush interestingly enough. There’s something about the formulation that a brush just can’t handle. I haven’t tried a spongetip applicator, but I bet that’s good too, as you suggested!

    • the Muse

      Nora I do the same with the sparkle shadows although someone mentioned it would ruin the texture by doing so but I still do it none the less ;-D sponges work a treat though!

  • Carrie

    Thanks for the review! I’ve been on the fence about buying this, but I am intrigued enough to give it a try.

    • the Muse

      carrie have a swatch and play at counter and if possible have them try it out on you! I’ve heard some poor reviews but I actually really liked it! It’s different for BB!

  • telle

    i have this ‘quad’ but haven’t used it yet- i liked how it swatched in stores and i think it looks really nice on you, Muse! i know the glitter on the cheeks wasn’t intended (thanks fall-out) but when the camera light catches it, i think it looks nice! 🙂

    • the Muse

      thanks telle ;-D I’m glad someone realizes the camera makes it look worst!

  • Amy

    I haven’t played with this yet ,so I don’t really know, but this reminds me of the Urban Decay Starlight eyeshadows. What do you think? I’ve got all the Urban Decay ones so if this is the same I might save myself car trip.

    • the Muse

      mmmmmmmmmm good question amy. No and yes. The texture is…mm different compared to the Starlight shadows. The starlight shadows have a more flakier formula, this is finer, more powder like. The starlight Shadows have that kinda gel feel like the pigment is being held together with some sort of gel, if that makes sense, where as this has a more powder feel. I dunno if that made any sense lol but I feel they are a bit different texture wise.

  • Maisie Lau

    I absolutely love Bobbi Brown products. God knows I have so many of her palettes. Yes, the sparkle eyeshadows can be a real challenge to work with, especially those who dont like blending it or dont know how to. But the sparkle eyeshadows do add more “glam” to your eyes. Makes my eyes go “bling”. Am definitely looking forward to buying this quad when it comes to the BB stores in Malaysia. By the way, I love your blog. Keep up the good work!

    • the Muse

      aw thanks maisie ;-D appreciate the lovely comment. def a fan of her sparkle eyeshadows too! LOVE!