Bobbi Brown Celebrates Joshua Tree in New Desert Dream Collection

For Bobbi Brown’s global artistic director Hannah Murray, nothing inspires awe like the California Desert at nightfall.

“The light – when dusk falls – is so special,” she told Happi in an exclusive interview in New York City. “It’s such a magical, golden hour. Those colors the sky turns lilac, pink and green and it has this amazing, magical quality.”

On the set of photoshoots for Vogue at Joshua Tree with cover girls Jennifer Lawrence and Hailey Bieber, the national park’s Bohemian rhythm of Yucca brevifoli, which give the illusion of stretched arms waving in the air, evoked a free-spirited nature, painting a colorful picture in Murray’s mind.

“I just imagined this woman in the desert quite strong and powerful dancing under the moonlight and the stars with molten metallic liquid eyes and beautiful weathered beachy skin,” said Murray.

Whimsical Colors

The image sparked an idea for a makeup collection Murray would call the Desert Dream.

Taking inspiration from national treasures Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms, the collection is Murray’s second for The Estée Lauder Companies-owned brand following her first Polished Grunge collection, which she dubbed a “tough-light-London girl with coal-rimmed eyes.”

Desert Dream, a cosmetics collection that carries a feminine and Bohemian vibe, comprises the brand’s debut hybrid liner-stain called the Lip Tint Liner. Available in six “weathered neutrals” inspired by the lip’s evolving tones, it mimics natural lip colors. Delivering 24-hour wear, its flexible ball-tip applicator defines the Cupid’s bow before lips get filled in with pigment.

“You can line the lips very precisely as you would a lip liner, so you get a really crisp, beautiful line,” she explained. “You can create a more natural finish where you almost do feathery strokes and then blend with your finger. You can color-correct the lip. As we get older, we tend to lose pigment in our lips in certain areas. The beauty of this is when you use a lip liner, the product is sitting on top of the lip and it looks cosmetic, even when you buff it out or blend it. This stains the lip, so it becomes your lip; it doesn’t look like makeup sitting on your lip.”

Desert Dream was imagined almost two years ago circa the California Wildfires and serves as a “lover letter” to the Golden State. Its new Molten Metal Shadow Stick aligns with the current artistic intentionality dominating fall color cosmetics trends. Five “whimsical” desert-inspired shades deliver a liquid-like metallic sheen in Violet Chrome; Rose Quartz; Titanium; Antique Gold; and Sage Steel.

“These were inspired by the amazing light in the desert,” said Murray. “The sky turns purple and pink and green. This new formula is extremely smooth; you swipe it on, it’s very bold.

She continued, “I’m thinking of the customer, but I’m also thinking of the artist, too. These products are so amazing to have in your kit as an artist when you can just throw on color quickly and easily.”

Rounding out the collection is the Skin Enhancer Multi-Stick. Multitasking as a blush, bronzer and highlighter, it takes a skin-first approach to makeup, providing continuous moisture, eight-hour wear and a “healthy flush” for women who desire a sun-kissed look without soaking up a single ray. Shades come in Sunset, a warm rosy brown; Desert Rose, a neutral pink; and Scorched, a deep warm rose.