Burberry Beauty Sheer Eyeshadow- 09 Rosewood

Today I bring you the review I teased this past weekend when I wouldn't reveal what product exactly I was testing that was wrapped in the Burberry plaid.


After spending some serious time looking through other bloggers' reviews, it was this photo from one of my favorite blogs, The Beauty Look Book that sold me on the idea of finally ordering one of Burberry Beauty's single eyeshadows.  I've been looking for a good pink shadow for awhile after regretting passing on Tom Ford's In the Pink trio from last fall.  Before I even realized it, Burberry Beauty Sheer Eyeshadow- 09 Rosewood had flown into my shopping bag at Nordstrom and I'd already clicked confirm before I even registered what I'd done.

I've been itching to try out Burberry Beauty for a long time, but I've been frustrated with the brand for their Cali-centric approach to actually letting people see the products. Still, I took a leap of faith because the nearest counter is longer than I'd drive for eyeshadow.  Just be warned, I plan to cover this in-depth since most of the country has no access in person to Burberry Beauty and I had lots of questions despite reading every review I could find online.

Let's talk about the line for a moment.  Currently the Sheer Eyeshadow formula is Burberry's only offering for single shadows.  As of today, I spotted 21 colors online at Nordstrom, 18 at Burberry.com, and 14 at Saks. One of the frustrating aspects of this brand is that need to shop around to find the colors you're looking for.  They retail for $29 for 2.5g of shadow- in line with other high-end brands.


Here's the box.  I mention this only because it's a textured cardboard.  I think the second photo shows that the best.  This box itself jumps out from the others.

And here's the side which shows the shade:

OK, that's all well and good.  Let's talk about the packaging a bit.  I know this is ridiculously detailed for most readers, but this is the first non-nail item I've purchased from Burberry Beauty so this is all new to me.

Like most brands, Burberry wraps their packaging in a dustcover. I can't be bothered with these generally, but the plaid makes this irresistable.

The packaging itself is a gunmetal grey and heavy:

The top has the same Burberry plaid:

And finally, here's the bottom:

Overall, I give the packaging an A-.  It's appropriately sturdy and has enough weight to it that you don't worry about it being knocked off a vanity easily.  I love the Burberry plaid, and the gunmetal grey.  The only negative to me is that the shiny surface just invites fingerprints.

The packaging is beautiful once you open the lid.

The eyeshadow is recessed just enough that there's no worries of fallout going everywhere and over the little foam applicator.  It's tucked into a perfectly-sized inset, but I rarely use foam applicators. For this formula, however, I may consider it.  I'll get to that in a moment.  All eyeshadows are pressed with the Burberry plaid, which is a nice touch.  The case itself is smaller than Chanel or Dior singles- but that's just fine by me.  It's a great size to tuck into a makeup bag that you bring in your purse for touch-ups.  With this formula, you'll probably want to make some.

Let's take a moment to talk about Rosewood.  It's a beautiful metallic pink with hints of brown undertones.  It's a true neutral, and I can see this color working either as a lid or crease color.  I've been looking for a nice, workable pink that isn't "pink pink", if you know what I mean. This almost taupey mauve is pretty much what I've been seeking out.

So far all of the photos I've been showing you are outside, in natural light, but not in direct light. They've been hiding the metallic edge to this shade.

This photo is outside, in indirect light, with flash:

I got up early on my day off when I heard the forecast was for a sunny day just to get a couple of photos of Rosewood.  It was worth dealing with the mud and snow.

Side note: you can see these were later since the pan had already been swatched at this point.

And just to complete the range of lighting conditions to show how this shade really looks...

Inside, without flash- where it looks brown:

Inside, with flash (where the mauvey-rose tones are prominent):

This is the type of shadow that's suddenly very interesting to me. Once upon a time, I would've dismissed this as boring.  It's certainly not.

I guess I need to start believing beauty companies when they name a product "sheer."  Because Burberry's Sheer Eyeshadows are exactly that.  I was shocked at the lack of color payoff when I first swatched with a MAC 282SE. I switched to a MAC 219SE in order to get the color more intensely packed for the swatches.  On the eye, however, I found that my trusty MAC 239 worked nicely, both in terms of getting good color payoff and blending.


In all of these photos, the densely-packed swatch from the MAC 219SE is on the left and the diffuse, sheer wash from the MAC 282SE is on the right.

Outside, no flash (no direct sunshine):

And here's the same swatches, same constraints, but with the camera's flash turned on:

The metallic edge isn't visible in the photographs, but it's there in real life.

Here's the same swatches, indoors (with no natural light bleeding in):

No flash:

With flash:

The last photo, with flash, shows the metallic sheen the best. On the eye, it's subtle and wearable.

In terms of the formula, through several days of testing I've come to enjoy how sheer but buildable it is.  I experienced some fallout, but that really depended upon both the type of brush I used and the amount of shadow I was attempting to pack onto my eye at any point.  A light hand, good brushes, and patience are the keys to working successfully with this formula.

I tested this with NARS Pro Prime Eyeshadow Primer, my go-to primer on a daily basis.  I have major problems with fading if I fail to use primer, so I can't speak to wear time on bare lids with this shadow. It was actually unseasonably warm this past weekend, and I was a bit sweaty at times running errands.  On both days, my makeup looked like I'd just applied it at hour 8-10.  There was no fade-out and no fall-out throughout the day.  For a sheer shadow, I'm impressed with the longevity. 


Bottom Line: I really enjoy Burberry Beauty Sheer Eyeshadow- 09 Rosewood. I love that it's a permanent shade.  At $29, it's in line with Chanel and Dior.  The packaging makes it feel like a luxury splurge.  I find Rosewood to be a beautiful color that most would enjoy having in their collection.  It's a pink-mauvey-taupe, depending on application and the light.  I can see this becoming one of my go-tos, and it's successfully filled that "I want a workable pink" urge I've been fighting.  Just be prepared to work with the formula when you apply it and you'll enjoy this shadow. As for me, I think I'll be planning my next purchase soon.

NOTD: Essie Style Hunter

Today's NOTD is another Spring 2014 selection, Essie Style Hunter.  It's similar in tone to Chanel Tapage, but a bit more red.

The formula on all of these new Essies is really impressing me- this is nearly a one-coater.  Two coats, no top coat in this photo.

Comparison: Dior Addict Lip Gloss #442 Petillante vs Dior Addict Lip Gloss #343 Spring Ball

In my earlier overview of Dior's Spring 2014 Trianon Collection, I compared new (and limited edition) Dior Addict Lip Gloss Petillante #442 to one of the permanent shades that was featured for Spring 2013, #343 Spring Ball.  What I neglected to give you were photos.  Truthfully, it was because I couldn't find my Spring Ball!  Well, I found it- and I'd like to give you an in-depth overview.

Here's a shot of the two glosses I'll be talking about.  They are both light offerings that read mostly nude on the lips, and both from the revamped Dior Addict gloss line.  You can already see the main difference- the undertones.

In all of my swatches, Petillante (#442) will be on the left, and Spring Ball (#343) will be on the right.  Petillante has a pink-peach undertone, where as Spring Ball has only peach undertones.  Both have obvious sparkle both in the tube and on the lips.

They look nearly identical on my heavily pigmented lips, so I'm going to stick to hand swatches for this post.

Here, outside without flash, and not under a porch (that's important to note), you can see how close they are.  My original advice was that Petillante was only a must-buy for owners of Spring Ball if you wanted to be matchy-matchy with the LE Rouge Dior offering or collect all of the lighter glosses. I think this photo illustrates why I made that suggestion the best.

Here's a photo of the same swatches outside, with flash:

They look even more similar there.

Another outside, with flash shot (from a different location):

Here's the same swatches, but indoors.

No flash:

And with flash:

Bottom line: I stand by my earlier statements that these two glosses read essentially the same, especially if worn alone on semi-pigmented lips.  I own both and realize that they're pretty similar. However, I bought because I previously purchased the Spring Ball items and wanted the matching gloss for Rouge Dior Rose Crinoline for Spring 2014.

Both Dior Addict Lip Glosses retail for $29.50.  #442 Petillante is a limited edition and starting to sell out.  #343 is a permanent collection item and readily available via the usual locations.

Fuel Your Inner Sparkle Princess with Dior

Warning: This post is about to break my number one rule about limited-edition products that are no longer on counters.

For many little girls, the idea of becoming a sparkly princess is a common fantasy. One has only to look at the popularity of Disney Princesses to understand.  Luckily, Dior has a series of products to bring even the most mature woman back to her sparkle princess roots: a sparkling trio for lips of a Princess, plus last year's Princess nail polish (just look at the last post to see it as a NOTD).

Last year, I was attracted to the red-coral fierceness of Diablotine when this collection was initially launched.  This year, it's Princess speaking to me.  After a sultry winter of berry lips, there's something refreshing about carnation pink.  I find it the perfect accessory for spring- it plays nicely with all of the other pastels.

First, let's talk about Princess nail polish for a second.  It's a flawless, sparkling pink that seems like the sparkly cousin to Chanel May. Unfortunately, I haven't spotted it at any retailers in the past couple of months (unlike Delice, which still lurks at a few places if you look hard enough).


Now that I've broken my rule, let's move onto the Princess items you can still get your hands on.  First, the two lipsticks.

One of the best parts of this collection is the ability to play with both the Dior Addict and Addict Extreme lipstick formulas.  You can tell the difference in the color of the lipstick case- Addict is a shimmery, iridescent silver.  Addict Extreme is an ultra-luxe navy.

Princess (#553) is one of the permanent shades in the Addict formula.  It is described as "sheer carnation pink."

The flash brings out the multi-color shimmer in the Addict case better:

Here's a nice shot of the color outside, in natural light:

The flash makes this look a bit more intense than it really is:

With the sheer colors of Dior Addict, I don't get much longevity. However, the color fades to a pleasant stain nicely somewhere in the family of what Lip Glow does for me.  Since I have very pigmented lips, this just adds a sheer wash of color with some shimmer instead of looking like a lipstick lipstick.

Due to the pigmented lips, I'm just going to stick to hand swatches so you can appreciate the beauty of this color. Despite being a sparkle Princess, it's perfectly appropriate and sweet for the office, brunch, running errands, and everything you can imagine. This is such a perfect accompaniment to spring pastels.


First, the outdoor swatches. These were taken in late afternoon light, less than an hour before sunset.

No flash

With flash

Between the two swatches, the flash photo is closest to the real-life shade.  These are shimmery, glittering shades.

Now, the indoor photos:

No flash

With flash

Bottom line: this is just lovely.  It's more rosy than pure carnation, and manages to be a candied, pastel pink without moving into cartoon, Barbie, or little girl territory.  Addict lipstick retails for $32, and you can find Princess and the other permanent shades at Dior counters, Sephora, and Dior.com.




Finding the Princess Addict Extreme lipstick was a bit more difficult, but I managed to do it so I feel ok with showing you this shocking hot pink hotness.

As I mentioned before, the easy way to spot an Addict Extreme lipstick is the navy tube:

Princess Extreme (#553) was a limited-edition shade from the Spring 2013 collection.  Your local counter may still have it, but as of today it's in-stock at Bloomingdales online.

The major difference between the Addict and Addict Extreme formulas is pigmentation and longevity. These peeks at the tube should give you an idea of how Princess Extreme really is just that- that lovely, muted pink turned up about 10,000 notches.

The flash makes it look a bit more intense than it wears on the lips:

I get about 4 hours of wear from this creamy, pigmented formula, then it fades to a pleasant stain.  It's such a cheery pink, but I find it trickier to wear in a professional setting than its sheerer sister, but my office is a bit more conservative than most.  This is the color meant for a night out- it's important to always feel like a Princess if this is your groove.  I'll share some swatch photos on my hand for easy direct comparison with the Addict formula:

First, outside in natural light.  Like the other photos, these were taken in late afternoon winter light, near sunset.

No flash

With flash

Inside:

No flash

With flash

Overall, it reads closest to the outdoors, with flash photo on my lips. Addict Extreme retails for $32, and is at the usual Dior locations.  As I mentioned, Bloomingdales still has this LE shade available online.


Although it should be pretty clear already, I took a few comparison photos between Addict Princess and Addict Extreme Princess Extreme.


Like the others, these were taken late afternoon, outside.

No flash

With flash

Although both the Addict and Addict Extreme lipsticks are lovely, there's one more Princess-hued lip product.  And that, of course, is the iconic Dior Addict Gloss.

This shot, taken outside with flash is pretty representative of the carnation pink shimmer bomb that Princess Addict Gloss really is.  Don't be frightened- it's very wearable.

For those who aren't familiar, this is what the wand looks like:

Naturally, I swatched this on my hand for a direct comparison.  First, the outdoor swatches:

No flash

With flash

On the lips, it's like the Addict in hue rather than Addict Extreme, but with more obvious and packed glitter. Addict and Addict gloss make a surprisingly calm and serene spring lip duo.

I get about 2-3 hours of wear, unless I eat or drink.  Dior Addict Glosses retail for $29.50 and Princess (#553) is part of the permanent collection.

Finally, I swatched all of them at once for easy comparison.  There are so many lovely forms of Dior Princess:

Outside, with no flash (most accurate)

Outside, with flash

Inside, no flash (least accurate)

Inside, with flash

Bottom Line: I love embracing my inner sparkle Princess in all forms with Dior Princess!  There's something for everyone, from neutral, sheer Addict to the pink-hot Addict Extreme or Addict Gloss.

NOTD: Dior Princess

Think of today's NOTD as an appetizer for my other post for today.  Today's NOTD is Dior Princess, a limited-edition polish from the Spring 2013 collection.  It's a sparkling carnation pink.  Swatches are with 2 coats, no topcoat.

The blue box isn't a mistake; the silver cap was acting like a mirror!

Sunday Dreaming

It's time for that whimsical post each week- Sunday Dreaming. These are some of the items I'm currently obsessing over.


1. Laura Mercier Luster Eyeshadow- African Violet ($23)

Reading other blog reviews of the new Laura Mercier Artist's Palette and standout shade African Violet has my heart fluttering.  It sent me on a Google-spree to find as many photos as I can.  What can I say, I'm just glad that I don't pass by Nordstrom or a full Sephora on my daily commute.  Otherwise I'd have it in my life already!  I had enough drama with shipping companies this past week to last for a bit, hence the reluctance to buy online.


2. Burberry Beauty Sheer Eyeshadow- Midnight Brown ($29)

Spoiler alert: I got my hands on my first Burberry eye product this week, and I'm currently testing it before writing up a review.  I have limited access to this brand (Burberry boutiques carry a subset of the current collection) despite living in one of the largest metro areas in the country. This has frustrated me to no end, since I demand to see a formula before I buy. I feel like Burberry has missed the mark by only being available in one location on the East Coast.  Midnight Brown is a beautiful shade that appears to be perfect for any occasion.  I'll let you read my review in a couple of days to decide if I'm likely to order this soon.



3. Burberry Beauty Eye Brush- Socket Line No. 9  ($38)

Good brushes are worth tracking down, and although my brush collection is rather large, many of them are inferior quality. I'm in the slow process of buying brushes from high-end brands to round out my collection and compare. I finally got the Dior brush I've been coveting for almost a year this past Tuesday, so adding some Burberry to my collection sounds like a great idea.

FOTD: Weekend Testing Casual

It's been quite awhile since I've done one of these posts, and they always seem to go over well.

This is what I've been wearing the past couple of days (my weekend).  I'm testing a new eyeshadow, which will be revealed in two days on the blog.

Face:

• Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF15- Alabaster (discontinued, my old HG)
• Benefit Boi-ing Concealer- 01 Light
• NARS Creamy Concealer- Chantilly
• Chanel Les Beiges- No 10
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo- Caramel
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Gel
• Bobbi Brown blush- Pale Pink (in mini palette from an old Sephora 500 pt perk)

Eyes:

• NARS Pro Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Lavish Palette- Cream (discontinued)
• Estee Lauder Signature Silky Eyeshadow- Roseberry Duo (long since discontinued), I used the lighter of the two in my crease
• Marc Jacobs Magic Marc'er Liquid Eyeliner
• Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes #0L
• Lorac PRO Mascara
• To be revealed Burberry Beauty product (what I've been testing)

Lips:

• Bite Beauty Fruit Scrub Whipped Cherry (winter has been killing my lips and I've had to exfoliate daily these days!)
• Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment (on its last legs, but I hate to replenish any earlier than necessary due to the price!)
• Le Metier de Beaute Hydra Creme Lipstick- Rose Garnet (I also swapped this with a Dior Serum de Rouge I'll be sharing with you later in the week)

 That's it- a quick and dirty Face of the Day/Weekend!  When I'm testing a product (usually on the weekend), I try to keep the rest of my face close to my usual look.  For me, the biggest departure is the switch back to my HG (d/c'ed) foundation. When I went to review the Sephora foundation pen, I discovered that I was essentially out of the foundation I've been using!  (I was waiting until I had a good feeling on the foundation before reviewing. I guess I do, one bottle in! Oops!)