Burberry Beauty Archives - Page 12 of 13

Burberry Beauty Blushes: Russet & Blossom

October 29, 2010

My initial thoughts about the blushes from Burberry Beauty were that most of the colors would be too dark for my medium skintone. Diane and I had visited the counter the week after the line launched at South Coast Plaza back in July. After swiping and brushing several shades on my hand and testing a couple on the face I thought they swatched pretty dark except for Peony (reviewed here). I tested out Cameo on the face and it turned really dark on the skin so I thought the other shades would be just as dark. Diane from Orange To L.A. did a lovely review of Blossom and it has been on my lemming list ever since.

Left: Russet, Right: Blossom

I checked out the Burberry line again in San Francisco back in August and tried Russet and Blossom once again. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these two shades applied much better on the face compared to what swatched on my hand and also were much better than what I saw in the compact. The blushes have a similar texture to the eyeshadows: soft finish, finely milled, slightly more powdery feeling than most pressed powder blushes. There is a lot of pigment in these but the soft texture allows you to blend and layer softly for a natural look.

In natural outdoor lighting, no flash:

Russet is the perfect shade of tawny – beautiful for fall. This was the shade I had my eye on from the beginning but when swatched on my fingers appeared way too brown and orangey. Don’t let that fool you – if you can get to a counter try it on the face. It’s beautiful. Amy from Café Makeup just did a beautiful review – you can see how pretty it is on her and she has fairer skin than me. I didn’t have time to do a comparison but it reminds me of Chanel Tweed Sienna and Ambre.

Blossom is a beautiful complex-but-not-too-frosty coral that brightens the skin. I thought this would turn orangey on my skin as well but it brightens the face with a lovely glow. It’s like NARS Torrid but with a bit more pink and doesn’t have that overly-frosty finish that NARS shimmer blushes can sometimes have.

All three of my Burberry Blushes swatched on bare skin: Russet, Blossom & Peony

One last view:

Overall thought: Love but I wish the line had a bigger color selection. The Burberry Beauty Line has beautiful packaging and design with high quality products. For those not familiar with Burberry Beauty, it is currently exclusive to Nordstrom.com and a few select Nordstrom locations in the US.

7 Comments

Uncategorized

Burberry Beauty Eye Definer Pencils: Midnight Brown & Midnight Ash

September 7, 2010

The reviews on Burberry Beauty Eye Definer – Eye Shaping Pencils $27 have been mixed, yet swatching them at the counter got the best of me, especially with the multi-dimensional shimmer and sparkles Midnight Brown 02 & Midnight Ash 03. Not all of the eyeliners are shimmery, but the two I picked up are. The colors are simply beautiful for a pretty defined eye.

Midnight Brown 02 is a shimmery deep cool brown with different colored sparkles. I could not find a dupe for this color. My interest was peaked when I saw it swatched by Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog. I think her review was spot on.

Midnight Ash 03 caught my attention when it was reviewed by Lisa Eldridge. It looked lovely on her and her video is divine (in case you want to fast forward, the eyeliner application starts at 5:53).

Swatched on my hand:

The good: In terms of the pigment and wearability of these eyeliners, the quality is excellent. They are perfect for that flawless definition. Although the colors are different, the result is a fairly similar effect. If you’re interested in either, I don’t think you need both.

The bad: We all have different expectations and preferences for how we like our makeup. Sometimes I don’t care so much about lasting power, but for eyeliners I do. I find that these eyeliners did not last well on me and faded pretty fast. Granted these are not created as waterproof, so I would say they last about the same as your average eyeliner. After I swatched these on my arm, I used my Neutrogena Makeup Remover in a swiping motion to see which one came off first. Normally the longer lasting ones need a few good scrubs before they come off my arm or hand. The lasting power of the Burberry is the same as the NARS pencils and those 2 were among the first to come off.

Comparison Swatches with Urban Decay 24/7 Zero swatched first as a true black baseline:

* Note Midnt is short for midnight so I could fit all the letters in the photo, and I apologize for the type on Clinique Egyptian

Conclusion: Still lovely and worth checking out. There are a number of eyeliners I love for the color and still use even though they don’t last so long. I find applying powder eyeshadow over sometimes helps the color last. I think I’ll still get use out of these by using them as a smudged base for darker shadows along the upper lash line.

Any of those who love these pencils, do you have tips on how to make these last?

7 Comments

Uncategorized

Burberry Beauty Rosewood: The Lipstick, Lip Gloss & Eyeshadow

September 2, 2010

The new Burberry Beauty line has still managed to capture my heart with even more cravings as I was able to visit a counter for the second time this past weekend. On this occasion I visited the location at Nordstrom in San Francisco and was thoroughly impressed with the two Burberry reps I met with – especially with their extensive background and knowledge of the cosmetics industry. They were spot on in describing the avid Burberry Beauty customer, the type of woman who knows what she wants and appreciates the details in everything down to the packaging design and functionality. I added quite a few more products to my Burberry collection (blush, lipgloss, eyeshadow, pencils) – all of which I will review in the upcoming weeks.

I wanted to feature all the Rosewoods in their lineup: the Lipstick #04, the Lipgloss #01 and the Eyeshadow #09. Here are the photos and swatches, read on below for my descriptions.

Swatched on bare skin:

I had already featured Rosewood Lipstick ($30) back in July (Burberry Beauty Soft Cover Satin Lip Cover Lipsticks). I’ve been told this has been their best seller and is currently out of stock company-wide (although I cannot confirm this myself). It’s a lovely cameleon-like color: in the tube it’s a lovely brownish rose with gold shimmer. On my hand it’s a rosey pink. On my lips, it’s a medium-deep browned rose. The shimmer is very subtle so I wouldn’t call it a frost. It’s soft and creamy with a slightly glowy finish. The pigment and coverage is good – but will probably look different on you depending on your natural lip tone. See it on a Chanel Cameo here from Cafe Makeup. FYI I am a Chanel Shell (as seen below). I have been smitten with this!

This past trip to SF, I knew I had to add the Rosewood Lipgloss ($27), even though it was very different from the lipstick with the same name. The lipgloss is a soft light nude-mauve. I hear this has been selling well too. I find it almost identical to Nutmeg (which is just more brown, less pink/mauve – to be reviewed soon). It’s creamy, non-shimmery, and very glossy with an opaque finish. I find it lighter than the lipstick version, but still very pretty.

I also finally caved on Rosewood Eyeshadow ($29). I initially thought it would be too mauve for my skintone. Yes, it’s a lovely taupe shimmer in the compact, but on the skin it pulls purple, especially on the back of my hand and arm. On the eyes, it’s not so purpley, so I would say the swatch might be slightly deceiving. Check out Diane’s review on Orange To LA and Amy’s review on Cafe Makeup for more swatches and thoughts on this gorgeous eyeshadow.

Overall thoughts: Classic, natural, yet polished. It’s pure love and definitely worth every penny.

15 Comments

Uncategorized

Burberry Beauty – Cameo Lipstick #02

August 4, 2010

So I’ve raved about the Burberry Beauty line and still love everything I’ve bought. Well almost everything. The eyeshadows and blush are my favorite items – all of which I’ve been getting regular use out of. The lipsticks are creamy and divine, yet I have one exception for my gushing adoration. The exception is Cameo Lipstick #02. I tried this on in the store and liked it, but after wearing it at home for a few days, I just don’t love it. I’ve finally found a lipstick that is too neutral even for me.

Cameo Lipstick is a sheer peachy-nude beige. Swatches amazingly (see here). Applies less-than-amazing on the lips, just like my lip color. Not my-lips-but-better, just like my exact lip shade. I think if the texture were a little more matte and a little less creamy, the color in the tube might show up better rather than just blending with my lip. This one seems extra creamy which leaves a more glossy looking finish on my lips. There is a subtle shimmer/sheen to it, but it’s not a full on frost. I didn’t get the Cameo Lipgloss – it was a shimmery apricot, almost orangey looking next to the lipstick.

Still, this is simply my own personal preference. You don’t have to take my word for it – if you can get to a Nordstrom counter, I still recommend you try it on. I like Cameo Pink more because it shows up better on my skintone. Those who want a natural beige nude lip without looking washed out will probably like this one. Also I feel like I’m probably *right* at that skin-tone where it looks very natural. Fairer skinned girls will like this more than me. Darker skinned girls, I think this will look stunning on you as it will contrast with your skintone better.

20 Comments

Uncategorized

Loving Right Now

July 28, 2010

A lot of repeats this month from recent features. Right now I’m loving …

NARS Eyeshadow Duos – here are a few of my favorites that haven’t been depotted yet (which I don’t recommend, but did for the compacts that got too sticky, now stored in my Trish McEvoy planner pages)

Top: India Song, Cordura, Brumes
Middle: Rajasthan, Alhambra, Brousse
Bottom: Silk Road, Tzarine, Bohemian Gold

NARS Nourishing Eye Cream (previously reviewed here)

Urban Decay Naked Palette (previously featured here)

Chanel Teint Innocence Foundation and Natural Finish Loose Powder – No matter how many other foundations I try, I keep coming back to the Teint Innocence. Just recently tried their loose setting powder and love it as well. I use Shell in the foundation and Naturel in the powder.

Chanel Rouge Coco in Chintz & Rose Dentelle – A little bit more delicate than most of my other Chanel lipsticks. These came a bit dinged on the sides but everything else was in tact. They are really close in color, Chintz is more peach, while Rose Dentelle is more pink.

Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliners – Rich pigment and longlasting plus no sharpening required! Wish they would re-release that old shade Tweed (a lovely golden taupe).

Black Shimmer & Ebene swatched here
Cassis swatched here
Marine swatched here and here

Edward Bess All Over Seduction Cream Highlighters – Perfectly glowy (previously reviewed and swatched here)

Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers – Great pigment and shine. I had to get almost all of the colors. I’ll get to lip swatches eventually.

Burberry Lipglosses are great . . . but I’m loving everything I purchased (click on the Burberry tag)

Quilted accessories, purses, makeup planners – dreaming of a quilted flap bag

Out of all the Trish planners I have, the quilted ones are my favorite.

Last but not least, my kitty, small but mighty fierce. This is the only photo I could get of him that makes him look non-evil. (I love my puppies too but they won’t sit still for a picture – way too excited about my brother in-law visiting this week after having been gone to the east coast for several months)

What are you loving this month?

28 Comments

Uncategorized

Burberry Light Glow Natural Blush Peony

July 26, 2010

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.

12 Comments

Uncategorized

Burberry Lip Glow Natural Lipgloss: Tea Rose #05, Cameo Pink #07 and Nude Beige #09

July 22, 2010

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