July 6, 2015

Bobbi Brown: First make-up artist to release own line of optical frames

When I was younger I was so desperate to wear glasses. I remember going shopping to buy my dad’s frames, my mum’s new glasses oh and my brother’s. I felt desperately left out and used to try on all sorts of snazzy metallic frames. Then at the age of 13, I got the news I had always wanted – I needed glasses. However, this news came at the same time as needing braces and when it was also fashionable to slick your hair back in a tight ponytail with two fine strands of hair either side of your face. I can tell you that the novelty of wearing glasses wore off very soon, and ten years on I’m still seeking out pictures from these early teenage days to burn.

It was only two years ago that I made the brave decision to move away from my safe Specsavers own brand children’s glasses to a pair of statement spectacles. It was time to put the teen years behind me and turn my glasses into a fashion accessory with a worthwhile purpose (sight) – cue the classic Wayfarer Ray Bans, possibly my best purchase to date.

Unfortunately though, my spectacle wearing woes do not end here. There are still a number of awkward social scenarios where wearing glasses does prove to be difficult, for example the awkward hug, especially if the other person is also wearing glasses – 100% glasses bashing hit rate; when it’s raining and you’re trying to talk to someone while wiping rain of your glasses every three seconds; swimming without glasses; the list goes on…

One daily battle I face is deciding what make-up to wear with my glasses. As much as I love my Ray Bans, they do shadow half of my face and my eyes tend to get hidden. This means I wear more eye make-up than I would if perhaps I didn’t wear glasses. But I’m never sure what colours to use, or how to shape my eyebrows. However this April my dreams came true – make up artist Bobbi Brown has teamed up with Italian brand Safilo to create a collection of optical frames and sunglasses.

This is the first time a make-up artist has released a signature line of glasses. Bobbi Brown is a stylish wearer of spectacles herself and therefore understands what women have been looking for! All the frames —- come with their own flattering colour palette from her fantastic cosmetics range. Finally women have the advice we have always wanted – how to pick frames that complement our face shape and skin tone.

You can check out her style guide here or alternatively you can email bbliberty@bobbi-brown.co.uk to secure a spot for a complimentary makeup lesson and eyewear styling session.

The Bobbi Brown Eyewear collection, produced and distributed by Safilo Group opened exclusively in Liberty in April 2015 but are not available in selected department stores and optical chains.

Katy Asford

Follow Katy on Twitter @KatyJAshord

Photo Credit: Miss_Cositas/Flickr