The latest from Burberry is the English Rose Collection. The collection has been arriving in pieces here and there. There are two new quads, new nail polishes and some lip colors that are repromoted. There are two new quads in Rose Pink No. 10 and Sage Green No. 15 ($59 each for 5.4g, made in Italy). I ordered the pink version from Burberry which sold out almost immediately online. While at the Burberry counter at Nordstrom San Francisco, the artists showed me the testers of the collection and said they expected to receive the items very soon. Right now Saks.com has both quads online.
Rose Pink No. 10 is a lovely palette of pinks – it is very light and pale. The shades include a pale frosted ivory, a light frosted pink, a soft shimmering mauve-grey and a matte dusty earthy clay kind of pink. On my skin both the lighter shades look identical. To avoid an overly pale eye, I started applying the taupe-mauve shade first, layered the salmon pink and then blended the two pale shimmers on top. The result was a very light eye. It had a delicate look. With a significant amount of blending I was able to get the palette to work with a simple dark brown eyeliner and mascara. I felt this palette needed a darker shade to make this work better for me. For more definition I added a bit of Midnight Brown eyeshadow.
The quality and texture of this palette is very good. Some have felt the other quads were different in quality than the single shades reporting they were powdery with fallout. I personally found all the other quads to be of very high quality, I didn’t see too much of a difference in quality – the quads in general seemed to have more satiny shades which had a slightly different texture. The Rose Pink quad seems to mimic the texture and quality more of the singles.
For those new to Burberry eyeshadow quads – these palettes come in a sturdy mirrored compact with a magnetic closure. Each palette comes in a soft black pouch with tiny brushes which I find too small to use except for quick touch-ups. Some more photos of Rose Pink below.
In sunlight:
Artificial bulbs highlight the shimmer and frost:
Swatches (slightly blotchy because I had remnants of moisturizer on parts of my arm but it shows how you can control pigment depending on how moist your eye base is):
Here are some comparison swatches to a couple other Burberry Eyeshadow Quads in Pale Nude No. 3 and Pink Taupe No. 7:
Comparisons to Burberry Rosewood, Antique Rose, Pale Rose and Midnight Brown:
I’m overall pleased with the quality of Rose Pink No. 10. Color-wise I do feel it needs one or two more darker shades blended in to work for me. Right now Burberry Beauty is available in the US at select Burberry stores, a few Nordstrom counters and select Saks stores. It can be a bit difficult to find and with the recent changes some items have been on back-order and hard to find. You may have to do a bit of shopping around if you want to purchase different colors.
The list of Nordstrom locations carrying Burberry Beauty can be found here (if you have updates please share below in the comments). For your reference I’ve linked the places you can find the items I swatched:
I’ve always been fascinated by the By Terry line but it’s one of those brands I had never ventured into. I took my first baby step into the brand with the Baume de Rose which lives up to all the hype. During my last trip to Barneys New York in Beverly Hills last month, the product specialists showed me the Ombre Blackstar Color Fix Cream Shadows and the Brow Mascara (thoughts on this soon). I had about six different cream shadows swatched on my hand. I let the cream shadows sit on the back of my hands for about a minute. When I tried to remove, I found that none of them budged when I tried to wipe them off. The colors all applied very smoothly and blended easily upon first swipe before drying down to a budge-proof finish. I literally wanted to purchase one of each color limited myself to test one first. I picked a classic shimmering bronze: the Ombre Blackstar in Bronze Moon ($43 for 1.64 g/0.58 oz).
The Ombre Blackstar shadows contain an ultra-smoothing Tahitian black pearl extract which makes most of them brighten the lids with reflective shimmer particles. Bronze Moon is a neutral shimmery bronze. The texture is creamy and pigment is easy to control but you need to blend quickly after application. Once it sets and dries, it really does have a “tattoo-hold.” It feels natural on the lids after it dries, you can’t feel any pull or layers of product like with some cream shadows. On me it lasted from 5 am past 8 pm without budging, fading or smudging. Do note that I have normal to slightly dry lids. I rarely have issues with cream shadows being too moist. Most primers I try tend to be a bit too dry in texture when they dry down causing the skin to almost shrink and stretch. By Terry Bronze Moon is a really nice color on the lids. It’s one of those colors that works perfectly all by itself. No other highlighter, base, crease or liner needed for me. Just the shadow and one coat of mascara.
Swatched heavily and then blended out:
Comparisons to Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in Initiation (review here), Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Cocoa, Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Stick in Rehab, MUFE Aqua Shadow Stick 20E, Chanel Stylo Eyeshadow in Moon River and Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow in Bronze Sugar (swatched here).
Out of all of these, the By Terry Bronze Moon has the best staying power. On the lids its the most neutral in color, not quite as bronzey or silvery.
I’m really impressed with the staying powder, pigment and blendability of Bronze Moon. The lasting power is far better than most cream shadows I have tried before. The price is high though which has prevented me from wanting to look at them in the past. I will definitely be checking out the other colors my next trip to Barneys or SpaceNK, however it will be a while before I can bring myself to buy another one due to the high price tag. If you have any favorites from the By Terry line I’d love to hear about them!
The Chanel Spring collection has two new Illusion D’Ombres in Diapason #92 (purple) and Impusion #93 (pink). I picked up Impulsion #93 ($36 for 4g/0.14 oz, made in France) a pale silvery pink with intense sparkles. The silver sparkles resemble prisms in the sense that once applied, the sparkles reflect different colors as it catches the light. It makes the eyes sparkle as if it has extremely-fine micro glitters. It’s definitely one of the most sparkly shadows I own. I found the color to be long wearing without any fall out when applied with fingers. Using a brush can result in some sparkles falling on the cheeks.
Coverage is easy to control with layering. A light hand will give a nice sheer wash of sparkle with a hint of pale pink shimmer.
I’ve been testing Impulsion #93 for a few days now and I love the color and the shimmer effect. I find the color to be quite unique with the texture and finish although you can get a similar effect with other shades. I’m not sure that I could wear this to work all over the lids since it’s quite shimmery. I think I could wear this with a light hand for everyday. It does make a lovely color to dab on top of your regular eyeshadow to add a bit of sparkle (think Tom Ford glitters but taken down 2-3 notches with the bling-factor). I give it a thumbs up. I passed on the purple shade since purples can make my eyes look tired. I may go back to the counter to revisit and test though.
Chanel Impulsion #93 is currently listed as a limited-edition shade, you can find it along with the rest of the Chanel Spring collection at counters now, online at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Saks and Chanel.com.
MAC’s Magnetic Nude Collection was just released a couple days ago (in stores today). Thanks to other bloggers with early access and amazing swatches, I was able to pick out a few items the day before Christmas and order online to avoid the crowds. I’ve been a huge fan of the Extra Dimension products (unique shimmery items that are not quite creams yet not quite powders). Superb Extra Dimension Skinfinish (from 2012) has been at the top of my list even though the frost is quite intense. Those who missed out before will be happy to learn it’s made another appearance in the Magnetic Nude collection this year. The items are selling out online fast, you may have to order from multiple sources if you opt for online ordering. I hope these swatches and reviews will help if you can’t get to a store or counter. My picks:
The Extra Dimension Skinfinishes in Magnetic Appeal and Fairly Precious are both stunning shimmery colors. I do think both are must-haves. They are more glowy versions of Tom Ford’s Illuminating Highlighter Sticks (limited release from May, now discontinued). What I like about these is that there is more pigment than frost (even though they are very shimmery). They give the skin a glow with color rather than just a pale frost. Magnetic Appeal is a soft tan gold while Fairly Precious is a lovely warm light pink. Superb has been re-released. It’s paler and significantly more frosted. Right now all are available online at Nordstrom and Maccosmetics.com.
The Extra Dimension Eye Shadows have quite a few repromoted shades. I didn’t double check my stash to see that I already had Sweet Heat (in the larger size from 2012) so I have a duplicate now. Sweet Heat is a frosted champagne. Silver Dawn is every taupe-lover’s dream. It’s a metallic taupe silver. Both shades are layerable and the pigment is easy to control. A light swipe will give a sheer wash. Use a denser brush or your fingers for more coverage. For these I actually prefer using my fingers to apply by smudging on the lids. Sweet Heat is online Nordstrom. Right now Silver Dawn is still at Maccosmetics.com.
For the lips, I narrowed down my pick to just one lipglass in Oh My Darling, a light shimmery pink pearl, and Morning Rose Cremesheen Lipstick, a soft cool pink. Both are fairly safe feminine neutrals. I like the cremesheens for their high pigment and full coverage with a non-matte finish. Oh My Darling Lipglass is semi-sheer. You can definitely see a light pink pearl on the lips but it doesn’t wash out the face. Morning Rose is available at Nordstrom. Oh My Darling is available at Maccosmetics.com.
All the items I picked out swatched on one arm:
I’m really happy with all my picks. Even happier I managed to pick out a few things before the entire collection sold out. If I had to limit myself to three items, I would pick the Skinfinish Highlighters in Magnetic Appeal and Fairly Precious along with the Morning Rose Lipstick. I haven’t had a chance to compare the other items, but they are pretty basic colors – knowing the volume MAC releases, there’s a good chance there are similar items (which is a good thing if you miss out on their fast-selling limited items).
Did you check out the Magnetic Nude collection? What did you think? Any highlights or loves?
This holiday Bobbi Brown has introduced a new version of her Shimmer Brick Eye Palette in Sequin ($48.50 for .14oz/4g, limited-edition). This palette packs in 10 different high shimmers in pale colors. It’s probably the smallest palette I own at a little over 4 inches long. The pigment is excellent for these shades similar to her regular-sized shimmer bricks. I never purchased her prior shimmer brick palettes for eyes since they either sold out instantly or were a bit heavy on the aqua colors (light greens tend to make my olive skin look too yellow). I was happy to find this holiday’s version contained more neutral colors better suited or my skintone.
The colors apply quite shimmery on the lids. I usually don’t like frosts but find Bobbi Brown shimmers, metallics and sparkles are very wearable for everyday (sparkles are ok for me with a very light hand). Shades from left to right include a pale cool pink, a tan gold brown, bright baby pink, soft mauve, golden oyster, mauve pink rose, platinum blue, mauve purple, silver taupe and cool silver beige. Close ups of each side.
Left side:
Right side:
Application tips I’ve received include swiping your fingers or brush over multiple colors and blending over the lid or picking 2-3 individual shades and layer them one by one. Since each bar of shimmer is very tiny (brushes shown below for size comparison) I find it hard to take a regular sized fluffy brush and only get one color on. I’ve been experimenting with this for a few weeks now and love using 1-2 shades individually or mixing any number of colors. Since most of the colors are neutral you really can’t go wrong with any combination.
Sizing:
On the nails, Tom Ford Black Sugar (reviewed here)
For size reference to brushes you can see that some of my smaller brushes can barely fit into each block of shimmer. MAC #219 is a pencil defining brush which I usually like to use for smudging darker colors. You can use this one to highlight corners as well. MAC #239 is one of my holy grail basic shadow brushes. The width is bigger than the blocks but you can still fit into one color by tipping it to the side or at an angle. Trish McEvoy’s Smudge Brush is another one of my tiny brushes (shown for size reference).
Swatches below. Note the combination of sunlight with flash and shimmer highlights the frost.
This one shows the color a bit better:
Overall a huge thumbs up. It’s such a pretty petite palette. Although pricey I love the combinations of colors in this set. It’s small but once you open the compact you can’t help but gasp at all the gorgeous sparkles. It’s neutral enough for everyday wear or to add a bit of shimmer to your look.
I bought mine in store at a recent trend show – it should be available at all Bobbi Brown locations now (while supplies last since it’s limited-edition). You can also find it online at Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus and Sephora.
Dior has released two new quints for the Golden Winter Holiday collection in Golden Snow #644 and Golden Flower #634 ($60 each for 6g/0.21 oz, limited-edition, Nordstrom.com). Both contain a mix of shimmers and sparkly metallics. The colors in each palette are soft, smooth and easy to blend. Pigment level with the shimmery colors is medium but easily layerable. The sparkly shades in gold and silver are sheerer with a slight transparent-like base but they give a healthy dose of sparkle that applies evenly over the lids. I prefer to skip the sparkly shades for every-day wear, but when I tested them I found they worked best layered and pressed over the other colors to add glitz and shine. Pressing lightly helps minimize fallout.
Swatched side by side:
Golden Snow #644 is a cool-toned palette. It has a shimmery cool opal pink, a glitzy gold sparkle, a white sparkle, a light shimmery purple and a dark blackened-navy shimmer. It goes on very cool on my olive skin, but is still wearable by itself without having to mix in other shades. I do prefer something that is a bit warmer with less contrast but the colors are quite lovely on. It has a similar feel to last year’s Fairy Golds but Golden Snow is much cooler-toned (comparisons below).
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Golden Flower #634 is my favorite of the two palettes. It has a warm golden peach-pink shimmer, a soft champagne sparkle, a bronze metallic and a warm coppery brown along with a glitzy gold sparkle shade in the middle. This applies very natural on my eyes. It has a similar feel to many other warm neutrals but most other palettes do not have the same combination of colors in one compact. You can get the same effect combining Dior’s old Couture Golds (from a few holidays ago) with Chanel Spices. I do find the bronzey colors in Golden Flower unique and very pretty. This was enough for me to justify this palette.
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Two comparisons below to last year’s Dior Fairy Golds (more nude/mauve) and Chanel Spices (sheerer and less sparkly).
At first glance I thought Golden Snow might be similar to Le Metier’s Saint-Domingue (Saks Exclusive, reviewed here) but swatching side by side shows they are quite different.
Overall Golden Snow and Golden Flower are beautiful holiday palettes. You may want to try recreating the palettes with singles or mixing palettes you already own. I personally prefer the Golden Flower even though it has a similar vibe to past holiday Armani and Dior palettes. The colors are stunning for the holiday with the added sparkle shades which are beautiful to layer.
Both palettes retail for $60 each and are limited-edition. I bought mine from Nordstrom. You can find them now at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks and all Dior beauty counters.
Chanel Charming Ombres Matelassées Eyeshadow Palette ($80 for 9g/0.32 oz, limited-edition) has finally arrived in stores. It’s a stunning soft delicate palette of neutrals – all shades are come in a lovely quilted pattern. The colors are soft powders but with decent pigment. Layered over a base the colors show up much better on my medium skin. The colors left to right include:
A soft delicate champagne ivory shimmer
A satiny fawn tan brown
A glimmering chocolate gold shimmer
A soft semi-satiny brown
A cool grey matte tinged with slight blue tones
Chanel Charming retails for $80. It’s limited-edition. My counters report they have received a very limited supply, but not to worry. It’s online at numerous locations. I bought mine online from Nordstrom. You can also find it online now at Neiman Marcus and Chanel.com.
The colors layer quite well together on the eyes. Each color in this palette is wearable enough to wear all five shades at once. I layer from left to right (light to dark). This palette is sometime I envision to be an everyday kind of palette. The middle gold shade gives it a slight holiday feel, although not quite as glitzy or glamourous as the beautiful Illusion d’Ombres in Fatal and Initiation. I suspect layering either shade on top of this powder palette would add a bit of glitz for the holiday.
Shown without flash, there’s a soft glowing quality from each color:
Close up of the shades, here in sunlight:
Here, under artificial light with flash:
The colors swatch very nicely on the skin and the eyes. Being the neutral lover that I am, I adore each shade in this palette. There is just no comparison with the finely milled satiny shimmers here.
In sunlight, no flash:
Comparing this to other Ombres Matalassées Palettes, Charming proves to be the safest neutral. Pearl River (limited from the spring 2013 Hong Kong collection) was a more edgy non-neutral. It’s been sitting in my drawer neglected and unused although I keep intending to use it (I keep getting distracted with Le Metier de Beaute kaleidoscopes and Edward Bess palettes). 51, Montaigne (also limited edition from 2012) is more yellowy and khaki-colored. Charming is the warmest, although still a neutral. Here are the palettes side by side for comparison.
Overall, Charming Ombres Matelassées will be one of my staple work-horse kind of palettes for everyday. It may be too neutral for some although I do love how the shades can be layered for a subtle warm smokey eye. If you’re looking for something different and unique, I’d suggest you opt for the holiday Illusion d’Ombres (reviewed here). This one is definitely must-have for me (although pricey).
Chanel Charming Ombres Matelassées is a limited-edition palette. It retails for $80. Online now at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Chanel.com.
