Spotlight: Burberry Beauty

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This week we come to one of my favorite brands of all time – Burberry. Their makeup line isn’t an old name – it launched in 2010 – but clearly it’s had more than enough time to make me fall in love. Unfortunately the road has been a little bit bumpy. A couple years ago supply issues (and supposedly problems with their cosmetics manufacturer) made some of their most popular products like the eyeshadow in Pale Barley and the blush in Blossom almost impossible to get. They seem to have worked things out though, because the goods are flowing again. I’m not sure if they’ve changed manufacturers but there have been some updates to the line (the Kisses lipstick formula, Wet & Dry eyeshadows) and other products have vanished (brushes and some lipstick formulas). So what I’m saying is some of the stuff I purchased a long time ago isn’t around anymore, but the originals are all great examples of what a good brand should have – consistently high quality.

Fragrance

Burberry The Beat was my first Burberry purchase ever, long before their makeup existed (and way before I could even think about anything from their clothing line). I tried out a few of their fragrances in a sampler set and loved The Beat so much that I bought the biggest size of it (I think 2.5oz?). It starts out sort of citrusy and wears down to a woodsy scent, which is totally my type. Tragically it got discontinued before I thought to buy a backup and I haven’t seen the eau de parfum anywhere. I did happen across a couple small bottles of the eau de toilette at TJ Maxx though, and you can bet I hoarded those! Fragrancenet still has the EdT but I’ll probably browse eBay first since I like the EdP better.

Highlight & Contour

These are fairly new acquisitions, part of the miniature set that Sephora had when they started carrying Burberry last month-ish. Earthy is part of their blush line, but for me it’s a perfect contour color. It’s soft and very blendable, a great texture for the job.

The counterpart to Earthy is the Fresh Glow Fluid Base in Nude Radiance, which also came in the mini set. It looks incredibly metallic here, but I had to really pile it on to show the color – a bright pale gold. It’s actually very sheer if you’re not slathering it on so it comes off as a nice glow on the cheekbones. I normally put a bit of highlight down the center of my nose and on my chin too but the Fresh Glow liquid wasn’t great for that; it ended up looking a smidge oily. That doesn’t stop me from loving it though.

Lipstick

Oh, another bit from the mini set, are you shocked? The lipstick on the left is Military Red in the Burberry Kisses formula. It goes on very sheer and builds up easily. It feels almost like a balm, just a bit creamier. I was worried about such a bright color in a balmy formula moving around, but so far it has not made me look like the Joker.

The one on the right is the Lip Cover in Claret, which I’ve reviewed here, and which seems to have disappeared from everywhere except the Burberry site. Burberry, y u discontinue all the stuff I like?!?!? It’s much creamier and more opaque than Military Red but has a similar finish.

Blush

Burberry’s Light Glow Blushes are some of my favorites, if you couldn’t tell by how many of them I have. Seriously though, I’d say if you’re going to get one product from their makeup line, make a beeline for the blush. They have a dense, soft, creamy texture and blend out perfectly (which is good since they have tons of color payoff). My only word of caution is they do have a fairly strong rose scent. It fades pretty quickly once I put it on, but I know some folks are bothered by it.

From left to right the ones above are: Coral Pink, Cameo, Hydrangea Pink, Rose and Blossom

The tiny kabuki brush is also from the stash o’ minis (the last one, I promise!). They did used to have a full(ish) range of brushes, which again, seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. So I’m not sure if they’ll ever bring those back, but if they do – this one is pretty nice! It’s natural hair (maybe goat/horse?) and fairly soft. Maybe somewhere on par with Hakuhodo’s black goat hair or even a little smoother. So far it hasn’t shed, but I’ve only washed it a couple times. If they ever do re-release their brushes I’ll be interested to see what they’re like.

Eyeshadow

Over the past few years I’ve accumulated quite the collection of Burberry eyeshadows. I don’t even really know how it happened – one here, one there, and then suddenly they’re taking up a whole drawer. The Complete Eye Palette in Pink Taupe is one of my top nude palettes, color-wise. Compared to the singles the texture of these shadows are more sheer and a little drier, so admittedly it’s not my favorite to use. Not bad, I just like ones that go on a little smoother. And dat mossy taupe! I haven’t seen anything else quite like it.

Once more, the Burberry single eyeshadows have gone through a reformulation since I got most of mine – I only have one of the new Wet & Dry Silk Shadow formula. They’ve kept a lot of the same colors though, and according to the Beauty Look Book the texture and pigmentation are even better on the new ones. Which only makes me want to go buy all of them since I loved the originals. The shimmer shades are very creamy, have great pigmentation and go on smoothly. The mattes have a drier feel and take a little more layering, but they go on evenly and blend easily. Not things that can always be taken for granted with matte eyeshadows, those.

The swatches left to right (all in the old formula except Stone):

• Rosewood – available in the new version
• Stone – new version – the texture is very similar to the old mattes but smoother and more opaque
• Trench – discontinued in the new shadows – it’s a slight shimmer but otherwise so similar to Stone that you don’t need both
• Pale Barley – available in the new version
• Storm Grey – available in the new version
• Dark Sable – discontinued in the new shadows, but Taupe Brown in the old formula was very similar and it’s still available
• Midnight Brown – available in the new version
• Midnight Black – no longer available but there’s a new Jet Black
• Midnight Plum – no longer available and the new line doesn’t seem to have a replacement (sadface because I really like this shade)

Soooo yeah, that’s it – for now! I’m looking forward to trying out some of the new Wet & Dry shadows (Khaki Green and Antique Blue in particular are calling my name), the cream shadows (which I’ve never even seen in person) and their face products, which I’m way behind the curve on. I may also need some of their nail polishes in my life – I had one before (Mink) and loooooved it, but the color looked awful on me and I ended up swapping it. Not everything can be perfect, right? I feel like they’re getting it close enough though.

What’re your favorite Burb products (or ones you’re dying to get your paws on)?