Skimlinks Test 
(Affiliate links are mark with*) There are quite a few Holiday palettes released by Bobbi Brown this year. This Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette* is the 5th BB palette in a row that I’ve gotten for the 2020 Holiday season!
See my reviews on other Bobbi Brown Holiday palettes: Golden Slipper Eye Shadow Palette (here), High Barre Eye Shadow Palette (here), Luxe Encore Eye Shadow Palette Burgundy (here) and Modern Symphony Eye Shadow Palette (here)!
Table of Contents
About the Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette
This Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette* retails for $29 USD with 5 shades, each having 0.06 oz (or 1.98 g) of products for mattes and 0.08 oz (or 2.27 g) each for metallics.
From Bobbi Brown’s website, this palette is described as ‘a rich, seasonal palette of five sophisticated neutrals, from gentle bronzes to warm caramels’, and that ‘each shadow is silky and layerable, so you can blend out and build up to create any effect’.
A little pamphlet guide for creating 2 eye looks using this palette is included inside the box packaging.
Same as other Holiday 2020 collection* palettes from Bobbi Brown, the watercolor art work on the cover of the palette is also created by Cecilia Carlstedt, ‘inspired by the energy of dance and the holidays in New York City’. The palette looks gorgeous and feels luxurious and sturdy.
Ingredients and formulation of the Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette
Same as other Bobbi Brown eye shadows, talc is the first ingredient for both the matte and metallic eye shadows in this palette (there are only 2 eye shadow formulae in this Ember Lights palette). The ingredient composition is almost the same as other Bobbi Brown Holiday 2020 palettes.
There is no detectable fragrance and it is paraben-free, phthalate-free, sulfate-free, sulfite-free and gluten-free.
These eye shadows feel very much the same as those found in the Modern Symphony* and Golden Slipper* palettes. The shadows are a little bit stiff and powdery to the touch.
In this Bobbi Brown Ember Lights palette, all of the shades apply uniformly except the dark brown (Chocolate Caviar), which is somewhat patchy in the swatches as well as on the lid.
I can see the difference between Bobbi Brown’s metallic and chrome metal formulae. The latter is more buttery and almost has a better color payoff. The Modern Symphony (reviewed here) and High Barre (reviewed here) contain both of these formulae in the same palette. You can see the difference from the swatches there.
An eye shadow brush can kick up some decent amount of powder in the pan, so don’t forget to tap the brush before putting it onto the lid. These shades are easily buildable and layered without hassle.
Swatches for the Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette
The lightest shade in this palette blends into my skin tone. But for me, it is a handy shade to use for setting the eye before layering any shadow.
As Bobbi Brown’s other Holiday palettes, the metallics are very smooth and opaque in one swipe! I really like her shimmer formulae. The second shade from the left in the palette (Bikini Bronze) is a champagne with a bit pink undertone, it is my favorite shade in this palette! The metallic in the middle (Ember Lights) reminds me of the chrome metal shade Gold Barre in the Golden Slipper palette!
The caramel/mustard matte is the shade that initially drew me to this palette online. In the promo picture, the shade looks much more mustardy than it really is imo. I was a little disappointed that it is more of a regular brown than mustard, but it is still a very universal and versatile shade for creating a ton of eye looks!
As I mentioned before, the deep brown is somewhat patchy and harder to blend on the lid. Especially when I wanted to build up this shade, I couldn’t do it without a lot of blending. Although using an eye primer may help, I always only use concealer underneath and set with a powder before doing eye shadows.
2 eye looks created using the Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette
In this first eye look using the Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette, all 5 shades were used. They work well together in terms of cohesion and creating a complete eye look. I like this look but the deep brown didn’t perform as well as I was expecting.
The second eye look was intended for a lighter makeup look for the daytime and work. Although I didn’t deepen my outer corner with the deep brown, I still see some dimension from using just the 3 shades! I love the gradation from the light shimmer to a medium one and then to a matte brown. I did put several layers of the matte brown to create more depth. Oh and I used the matte brown as a liner in this second look! It work quite well and soft.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I will recommend this Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette if you are looking for an all-in-one daily simple eye shadow palette. I’m quite sure these shades are already in our eye shadow collection somewhere, but it may not be in the same palette. The price point, packaging and overall quality of the shadows make this little palette amazing!
However, having said that, I do think there are not much variety of looks you can get out of this palette with a single color story.
I will rate this Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette as:
- Texture: 7/10
- Color payoff: 7/10
- Longevity on eye lid: 7.5/10
- Quality consistency among shades: 7.5/10
- Color scheme uniqueness: 5/10
- Affordability: 6.5/10
Where to get the Bobbi Brown Ember Lights Eye Shadow Palette
- Bobbi Brown*
- Lookfantastic* (UK)
- Liberty London* (UK)
