For Bobbi Brown's 25th anniversary, they have released the Nude Library palette, filled with 40 of Bobbi's favorite nude shadows from her previous palettes.
And I won't be buying.
This palette retails for $200. Let me say that again. This palette costs $200.
The marketing of this palette, I feel, is deceptive, and it makes me really annoyed. Bobbi Brown claims that this palette is a $280 value, making the exorbitant price tag maybe slightly easier to swallow. Let's do the math, shall we?
This palette costs $200 for 40 shadows, making each shadow $5. The shadows are a very small 0.02 ounces each.
Bobbi Brown's University Eye Palette (currently for sale at Sephora) costs $60 for 12 shadows, making each shadow $5. These shadows, however, are 0.59 ounces each.
The shadows in the University Eye Palette have three times more product per shadow than the Nude Library, but are priced exactly the same per shadow. And yet somehow, Bobbi Brown says that the Nude Library is a $280 value. I don't understand at all how they came to that number, and I have to seriously disagree.
This palette is not a $280 value, and it's not even a $200 value. It is grossly overpriced.
The palette is double-sided, and each side holds 20 eyeshadows.
The general reviews I've heard about this palette is that it is really a piece only for Bobbi Brown fans. Bobbi Brown shadows are meant to be buildable and not incredibly pigmented with one swipe that a lot of brands and currently making. The colors are meant to have a subtle, soft sophistication to them, and I imagine they would be good to wear in a business or other conservative setting.
I've heard people mention that this would be an incredible palette for a beginner as it's hard to over-apply the shadows and the palette is filled with every neutral shade imaginable. But, what beginner would really want to spend $200 on their first selection of eyeshadows?
I think the colors in here are lovely, of course, but they are neutrals. They aren't even new Bobbi Brown shadows. They were literally picked from eight of her previous palettes. And while I can kind of see the appeal for die-hard Bobbi Brown fans who may have missed out on one of these palettes, I just don't find this to be practical or necessary for the average consumer.
The Nude Library (like most of Bobbi Brown's palettes) also leans a little too cool for me and my warm olive skin tone to really be flattering. This palette looks like it caters solely to fair skin tones, and that is a major turn-off for me. I also think there's a lot of repetition in this palette. Several shades look like they can be duped by others in the palette.
For $200, there should absolutely be more product and more variety.
I feel the Nude Library has an overall rosy feel to it, and there are simply other palettes available that are better quality, give you more product, and are more reasonably priced.
There's Urban Decay Naked 3:
Lorac Unzipped:
Lorac Pro 2:
And my personal favorite, Tarte Tartelette in Bloom:
Overall, I really think this was a missed opportunity for Bobbi Brown. Bobbi Brown is a brand that I don't hear too many people talk about. They feel like a brand that knows their audience, caters to them, and doesn't deviate too much from that. So, making a giant eyeshadow palette that encompasses their best neutral shadows could have been a great way for new customers to sample their formula. Making the shadows as small as they are, not repeating so many similar tones, and pricing the palette reasonably, could have really worked in their favor.
Gouging prices I don't feel ever does anyone any favors. The Nude Library is simply overpriced. It is a neutral palette filled with shadows that every makeup enthusiast already has. And I won't be buying.
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