Nails of the day are Dolce & Gabbana Nude Nail Polish ($20) on fingers and Chanel Golden Sand Nail Polish ($23) on the toes. Nice neutrals for summer for a subtle polished look without drawing too much attention. Sandals photographed are from J.Crew (currently on sale).
Dolce & Gabbana Nude is a nice neutral nude with slight peach tones. Probably easily dupeable in other lines – however I have a hard time finding a good nude for my skin. Most “nudes” turn pink or very greyish on my skin. I’ve previously featured and swatched it here. Chanel Golden Sand is a metallic warm gold. I believe it’s been discontinued and I don’t own any dupes but the color seems similar to various OPI and China Glaze shades I’ve seen swatched on other blogs.
When I saw the Burberry Beauty line at Nordstrom I was most surprised by the blushes, mainly because they were nothing like what I expected. Based on the online photos, I was expecting softer more nude and brown based colors. The actual product is very different – darker than I had anticipated, but the colors are still very pretty. The blushes are called Light Glow – Natural Blush $42, I find appropriately named, because they really give a glow. All the colors I looked at had a slight shimmer to medium shimmer. I tried on Cameo a lovely pink, but it went on too dark for my taste. The artist suggested Peony which looked extremely pale and powdery looking but I was pleasantly surprised.
Peony is a soft natural pink. The blushes are all very pigmented but the texture is soft making them easy to blend and layer for that natural blush finish.
No flash:
Compared to a few other pinks, they look strikingly similar to Edward Bess’s Soft Orchid and Chanel Narcisse. The difference is noticeable once on the skin. EB Soft Orchid is cooler toned and I also find this one softer/sheerer in finish. Chanel Narcisse has a more powdery-looking finish because of the shimmer in it. I would say that Burberry’s Blush finish seems similar to that of Chanel Narcisse (the US version). Out of all my Chanel blushes, for some reason I find Narcisse the softest. All are swatched over a mixture of MAC Prep & Prime, Armani Lasting Silk 5.5+6.5.
How I swatch my blushes on my arm:
I also had my eye on Russet and Blossom. They were sold out of Russet and I decided to wait on Blossom. Diane from Orange To LA has an amazing photo of Blossom which has me drooling with slight regret that I didn’t buy it too.
At $42 these are fairly pricey. I’m not sure how I feel about the price. At this time, it’s cheaper than Armani ($43) and D&G ($44) the same as Chanel ($42). More than Dior ($40) which I’m not a huge fan of because they are so sheer. Prices keep going up which I’m not really happy about. I guess it’s something we all have to deal with. In my mind, I think ideally a blush should be $35-ish maximum.
In my mind I still feel like skincare, foundation, brushes and powder should be the only items that exceed $45. Still doesn’t stop me. Personally I would love to have less fancy packaging with no brush in the compact for a lower price. I never end up using those brushes anyways. One reason I love Bobbi Brown individual blushes and eyeshadows, along with NARS.
For Estelle: How does NARS Tzarine Eyeshadow Duo compare to MAC Smoke & Diamonds Starflash Eyeshadow?
My take: It’s very different and unique for a greyish eyeshadow. I don’t have any shade that compares to NARS Tzarine – it’s difficult to describe because it’s a very complex cool grey with steel blue tones and gold flecks which reflect a golden-ish sheen depending on how the light hits. For me there is no comparison – at least among all the greys I have. Most other greys are either very black, taupe or silvery. The only two in my collection that I find similar in undertone are Urban Decay Gunmetal which isn’t nearly as pretty, is more of your basic silvery grey frost with silver sparkles (see swatch here), also NARS Notorious is in the same family which is significantly lighter and a more powdery dove grey (see here for dove grey eyeshadow pics). Scroll down for more comparisons.
Therefore my answer is: It doesn’t really compare. I normally can’t do cool blueish greys but NARS Tzarine is just so gorgeous. Photos don’t do it justice. The gold flecks give it that extra special finish that can’t be duped (in my opinion). I hope this helps!
Close up where you can see the tiny gold flecks in the NARS duo (grey side):
Swatched on bare skin:
Swatched in natural light, no flash:
Swatched with high flash:
*Updated per request* Compared to Urban Decay Gunmetal & NARS Notorious (note that UD Gunmetal pulls really blueish on my skin as with most greys, it may not be as blue on you):
The original photos from my NARS Fall 2010 Picks (from here):
Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog also has amazing swatches of NARS fall (her article is linked for your convenience). I highly recommend you check it out as well.
Burberry Lip Glow Natural Lip Gloss ($27) comes in 12 different shades ranging from pale mauve, beige, tan, pink and red. These are packaged in a clear tube with a sponge tip applicator. The formula is smooth and pigmented, although I will say the testers at the counter had their tips cut off for sanitary reasons and the disposable wands at the counter did not pick up the color like the actual product tip does. Therefore, if you try these at the counter and find them sheer it is most likely the tester tip that is affecting the application. They have a soft almost powdery scent that isn’t too strong. Lasting power is medium as with most glosses. I like that these are non-sticky. They have enough pigment to wear alone, but are lovely over the Burberry Lipsticks to enhance the color of your lips.
The beautiful packaging:
I picked up three shades in 05 Tea Rose (creamy cool pink, no shimmer), 07 Cameo Pink (shimmery warm pink with slight coral tones) and 09 Nude Beige (nude beige-peach with a very slight sparkle). I reviewed Cameo Pink Lipgloss compared to the Lipstick yesterday. I can’t recall what Tea Rose Lipstick looked like exactly, but I believe it was even more blue-based and cooler toned than the Tea Rose Lipgloss. Nude Beige Lipstick is significantly paler than the Lipgloss version. I found the Nude Beige lipstick too pale for my skin, but the lipgloss version is very wearable.
L to R: Tea Rose, Cameo Pink, Nude Beige
Close up, top to bottom: Tea Rose, Cameo Pink, Nude Beige
The lipstick and lipgloss line up, L to R:
Lipsticks – Cameo, Cameo Pink, Rosewood, Antique Rose
Lipglosses – Tea Rose, Cameo Pink, Nude Beige
The code to provide at checkout is OPRAH as listed on the deals website and magazine. The offer is good online only at EdwardBess.com and runs for one day. As a disclaimer, I am in no way affiliated with this promotion, nor do I benefit from this in any way.
Those wondering about the shades, I have written a number of articles about his line. There a number of other great blogs out there such as The Non-Blonde and London Makeup Girl who love his products as well. I hope these links will be helpful to you:
Cameo Pink Lipstick #03 and Lipgloss #07 are probably my two favorites lip colors out of all the shades I tried from the new Burberry Beauty line. Both are warm pinks with just the right amount of brightness to bring a pretty pink glow. Cameo Pink Lipstick #03 has subtle microsparkles but is more of a cream than a shimmer. The Lipgloss Cameo Pink #07 has an iridescent frost to it. Looks like it would be frosty from the tube and swatch on the back of my hand, but on the lips it blends out more naturally. Combine the two (lipstick + lipgloss) and you get a more intensified look. Still natural but just with a bit more kick.
Both have a subtle scent which I am still trying to put my finger on. It’s noticeable when you apply but fades shortly after. I reviewed the lipsticks already – creamy, lightweight, moisturizing with medium coverage. The lipglosses are also creamy with a medium thickness. They come with a sponge tip applicator and have a smooth non-tacky texture. I’m still testing out the other two I purchased, but Cameo Pink is definitely a winner. The gloss has a similar texture to Dior Addicts, but with a tad less slip and more pigment.
Just the lipstick Cameo Pink #03 (also wearing Burberry’s Foundation in #5 which I am testing out this week, the verdict is still out on this one):
I couldn’t capture a good photo with the Cameo Pink lipstick + gloss, this is the best I could do. Lip swatches are hard to photograph!
The Soft Satin Lipsticks ($30) from the Burberry Beauty are luxurious with rich pigment, beautiful packaging, moisturizing yet lightweight feel and have a medium coverage finish. I found the colors to be unique and with a diverse range from neutral to medium to dark colors. All seemed to be classic but natural wearable lip colors in shades of pink, rose, plum, brown, red. There was a subtle scent but neither Diane nor I could identify what it was. The sales associate mentioned the lipsticks were infused with a number of natural oils which could account for what we smelled. I was naturally drawn to the neutrals: pinks, peaches and brown-rosey colors. There were a number of beautiful deeper reds and plums but it was a hot day outside, neither of us were really in the fall mode for lips. While the colors I picked out might not seem all that unique, I have to reiterate that these are much better in person than in photos. The natural colors are very wearable and don’t require any tweaking with lipliner or lipgloss to make them work, at least for me.
The four I picked out:
Cameo #02 – nude peachy color
Cameo Pink #03 – similar to Cameo, a brighter version with pink
Rosewood #04 – complex combination of brown-rose, slightly shimmery
Antique Rose #11 – natural cream pink
Many have already e-mailed me asking how these lipsticks compare to other brands such as Bobbi Brown, Edward Bess, Armani and various luxury brands. It is difficult to compare – I find the Burberry Beauty Lipsticks just different. The colors are very natural and polished. The texture is smooth, lightweight, creamy, medium-full coverage. The colors definitely show up on the lips. I have to say I was surprised by the fact that they felt creamy but lightweight at the same time.
There are a number of lipstick shades that have a corresponding lipgloss with the same name and number. I found that the colors were not identical but it appears they are meant to compliment each other. For example Rosewood Lipgloss is a pale dusty mauve cream which is very different from the Rosewood Lipstick. Cameo Lipstick is a natural peach-nude while the Cameo Lipgloss is a shimmery apricot. Here is the difference between Cameo Pink Lipstick and Lipgloss:
The lipglosses will be reviewed soon. Overall the lipsticks are excellent. Worth every penny in my opinion. The lid shuts with a magnetic snap. I can’t wait to try more.
