A glimpse at the lips: Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Rose Pink No. 307

April 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Slowly, slowly.

Currently, I’m working my way through Burberry’s Lip Velvet range. Eventually, I’ll acquire all twelve shades — only nine to go ;)

I won’t bore you with the reasons why I love these lippies so much, but here’s a recap to get you up to speed.

Pink Amber No. 306

Fuchsia Pink No. 309

Now, let’s drool at the beautiful Rose Pink No. 307 together.

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Swatch of Rose Pink

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Rose Pink is a matte, balanced shade that would suit a myriad of skin tones. It lasts for hours and is low-maintenance — swipe and go.

Final comparison from left to right: Pink Amber, Rose Pink and Pink Fuchsia

Final comparison from left to right: Pink Amber, Rose Pink and Pink Fuchsia

Which colour is your favourite?

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Rose Pink No. 307:

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 10 out of 10 bags – My favourite lippie ATM.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

  • Oh yeah, you betcha!
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Burberry Beauty — gift with purchase special

March 11, 2013 by 1 Comment

As of right now Burberry is offering a great deal at select David Jones locations (check your local counter — not sure if this is exclusive to Australia ATM); the makeup artist advised me Melbourne CBD only received 20 gifts and also stated, “first in, best dressed!”

All you have to do is plunk down moolah for two full price items (not an easy ask for such an expensive makeup brand) and it can be anything from their range; I tried to keep my spending in-check, therefore I opted to go with a great staple eyeshadow, Trench No. 2 and a versatile lip pencil in Sepia No. 3.

What I walked away with

What I walked away with

IMG_0365Each gift with purchase comes with a full-size Lip Mist in Copper No. 202, an Eye Definer in Midnight Ash No. 3 and Definition Liner No. 10 (an eyeshadow brush). Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t purchase any of these items, but I suddenly felt the urge to be taken out of my comfort zone.

You know the saying, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover?” Well, some of the colours aren’t at all what they appear to be and that’s a good thing!

Burberry Eye Definer in Midnight Ash No. 3

Burberry Eye Definer in Midnight Ash No. 3

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Swatch of Midnight Ash No. 3

Swatch of Midnight Ash No. 3

Midnight Ash No.3 looks like it might be a soft grey, but in actuality it’s a dark shade of chartreuse with specks of gold glitter. Colour me surprised! The only negative thing about Midnight Ash was the tip of the pencil crumbled when it was fully sharpened; it’s probably best to work with it when it’s slightly dull and then refine or blend the colour post-application.

Lip Definer in Sepia No. 3 is a magical thing, really. On its own, it’s a delightful shade similar to shiraz. However, when you layer colours atop it, prepare yourself for something that’s transformative, long-lasting and effortless.

The artist who helped me also educated me about Burberry’s Spring 2013 look; to achieve the matte lip look, first apply Sepia No. 3, then add a layer of red lipstick (I used Giorgio Armani’s 400); last, set the colours with translucent powder. Don’t feel like spending $42.00 AUS *ouch* for a lip pencil? MAC’s Subculture, albeit a browner version, should work quite well.

Lip Definer in Sepia No. 3

Lip Definer in Sepia No. 3

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Swatch of Sepia No.3

Swatch of Sepia No.3

Honourable mention goes out to the rest of my purchase. Trench No. 2 is a classic cream eyeshadow I had made up mind about eons ago, this time I officially bit the bullet and I’m so glad I did. Copper No. 202 is a colour I’m looking forward to wearing solo or layering over Sepia No.3?! Finally, the eye brush, for me, was gravy. I love a good brush with soft bristles; it’s definitely fit for purpose!

Lip Mist Copper No. 202

Lip Mist Copper No. 202

Trench No. 02

Trench No. 02 

Brush 10

Eye Brush No. 10

Clad in Burberry

Clad in Burberry

In the end I spent a total of $88.00 AUS and walked away with three additional items valued at $146.00 AUS gratis.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of Gift with Purchase events or do you think they are a scheme to get you to buy things you don’t necessarily want or need?

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Eyes to Mesmerize: Burberry’s Sheer Eyeshadow in Gold Pearl No. 26

February 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

sheer

/SHi(ə)r/

Noun

1. A very fine or diaphanous fabric or article.

When Burberry defines a shade as being sheer, they mean it; if you’re expecting more than that, well my friend you’ll be sorely disappointed. Think about it this way: you’ve hung curtain sheers in your bedroom window and expect not to be seen. Yesterday, your neighbour Frank called to tell me he knows you sometimes turn the music up in your bedroom and dance nude during a moment of solitude, freedom and whimsy.

Burberry’s Sheer Eyeshadow in Gold Pearl is like those sheer curtains, you can see something, but it’s subtle. It doesn’t give you that level of opacity/coverage you were looking for, yet it still serves a purpose.

Pair those sheers with blockout curtains, have your moment of freedom and as for Frank, well, you’ve just shut the creep down.

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Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Gold Pearl No. 26

Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Gold Pearl No. 26

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Swatch of Gold Pearl without flash (left) and with flash (right)

Swatch of Gold Pearl without flash (left) and with flash (right)

Gold Pearl comes to life all on its own and when paired with other colours. If you’re looking for an easy everyday look for work, swipe a bit of Gold Pearl all over your lids, line your eyes with lilac eye liner (check out this new tip I learned from the ladies over at The Beauty Dept., it works!) and finish with mascara. For a bit more colour payoff, apply Gold Pearl over any colour of your choosing; I’m looking forward to all the potential permutations out there!

Sparkle, sparkle

Sparkle, sparkle

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry’s Sheer Eyeshadow in Gold Pearl No. 26:

  • $29.00 USD - purchased from Nordstrom.

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 10 out of 10 bags – I love the simplicity of Gold Pearl and the fact that it’s goof proof.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

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A glimpse at the lips: Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Fuchsia Pink No. 309

February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Pink Amber was a tiny taste — wearable, pretty, safe and should suit most skin tones. Fuchsia Pink ups the ante and begs for lippie lovers to throw caution to the wind.

Burberry Lip Velvet in Fuchsia Pink No. 309

Burberry Lip Velvet in Fuchsia Pink No. 309

For a moment I thought I misspelled "Fuchsia"

For a moment I thought I misspelled “Fuchsia” 

Swatch of Pink Fuchsia No. 309

Swatch of Pink Fuchsia No. 309

At first glance, Pink Fuchsia looks like just another red lipstick, but don’t let this baby fool you. This hidden gem needs to be tried on and thoughtfully considered — for instance, which dress would you pair Pink Fuchsia with? Or, are you brave enough to wear such a bright shade to work?

I did and was asked, “which shade are you wearing?” Pink Fuchsia also has a super power, the power to make your pearly whites appear brighter; so throw those Crest White Strips away and hand your loved one(s) a pair of sunglasses.

Wearing Burberry Pink Fuchsia No. 309 on my lips

Wearing Burberry Pink Fuchsia No. 309 on my lips

Still not sold? To help set things straight, I lined up several similar shades from my own stash in order to properly compare and contrast.

The lineup: Rouge d'Armani 400 (left), Pink Fuchsia (centre) and NARS' Flamenco (right)

The lineup: Rouge d’Armani 400 (left), Pink Fuchsia (centre) and NARS’ Flamenco (right)

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Swatches from left to right: Rouge d’Armani 400, Pink Fuchsia, NARS’ Mexican Rose (thrown in for good measure) and NARS’ Flamenco

Rouge d’Armani 400 is a true red with blue undertones, NARS’ Mexican Rose was a wildcard I thought could pass (it doesn’t) and NARS’ Flamenco is perhaps a sheer version of Rouge d’Armani 400.

Have I convinced you yet?

Close up of Pink Fuchsia No. 309

Close up of Pink Fuchsia No. 309

Initially, Pink Fuchsia appears to have a glossy finish, but within an hour the glossiness will dry down to a matte finish. Wear time is optimal — Pink Fuchsia stuck around all day and I ended up removing the remnants close to 10 hours after application.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Pink Fuchsia No. 309:

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 9 out of 10 bags – let your lips do the talking about this perfect conversation starter.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

  • I purchased Gold Pearl No. 26, it’s sheer, subdued and perfect for the office. Review to follow!
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A glimpse at the lips: Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Pink Amber No. 306

January 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Hook. Line. Sinker.

What started as a sample quickly turned into a full blown purchase. Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Pink Amber is a coral pink (red leaning) with specks of gold. Once applied you’re left with a matte finish that lasts for a good four to five hours.

Burberry Lip Velvet

Burberry Lip Velvet

Matte-finish bullet

Matte-finish bullet

Burberry Lip Velvet in Pink Amber

Burberry Lip Velvet in Pink Amber

Swatch of Burberry's Lip Velvet in Pink Amber

Swatch of Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Pink Amber

Application is a cinch, I could probably put this on with my eyes closed; there’s no tugging or pulling and colour saturation is almost immediate. Lip Velvet feels light on the lips, it’s so light you almost forget you’re wearing it — a second skin.

The wild rose Burberry uses in this particular formula hydrates your lips and imparts the scent of roses as well. The last part is something I’m not necessarily a fan of, but it disappears after a few moments of wear. Gotta take the good with the bad and I’d rather have moisturised lips.

Wearing Pink Amber on my lips

Wearing Pink Amber on my lips

Twelve colours round out this matte collection, however, I noticed Military Red isn’t available for purchase on Burberry’s Australian site — I’ll have to check my local Burberry counter to see if this is the case as well. Another funny (peculiar) thing I noticed as well is the price point is cheaper on their online store; the Lip Velvet retails for $35.00 AUS online, yet I paid $50.00 AUS at David Jones’ Melbourne CBD Burberry store. An absolute mystery to me!

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry’s Lip Velvet in Pink Amber No. 306:

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 9 out of 10 bags – A slam dunk.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

  • Burberry’s S/S 2013 makeup collection looks good enough to eat! Can you also throw in one of those glossy magenta trench coats too?

Which Lip Velvet hue is calling your name?

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Eyes to mesmerise: Burberry’s Complete Eye Palette in Dark Spice No. 5

November 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Silky soft, buttery, seductive – Burberry’s Dark Spice makes everything nice and it’s especially easy on the eyes.

On the wallet, not so much — but that’s besides the point ;)

The Complete Eye Palette Collection is comprised of six palettes and I went with the palette that made me the most uncomfortable (in a good way). Typically I reach for purples or sandy neutrals, but the juxtaposition of marigold and matte charcoal black had me at hello; the golden brown and chocolatey burnt sienna shades aren’t so bad either.

Burberry’s Complete Palette in Dark Spice No. 5

So, what makes this Complete Eye Palette so special? It comes with three bite-size brushes nestled in a black velvet pouch imprinted with the iconic Burberry plaid pattern. Truth be told, the small brushes weren’t the selling point — the opportunity to try new colours with an impeccable formula is what works for me.

The colours are laid within the pan in such a way which proposes its intended use and potential.

Matte Charcoal Black – the smallest of the four, but a little goes a long way. Use it to line and create added depth at the outer corners of your eyes.

Marigold – the second smallest. This canary can carry a tune; it works well on its own and also as a great base for the chocolatey burnt sienna hue. I used this colour to highlight the inner corners of my eyes too.

Golden Brown with a microscopic specks of gold – the smoke starter; lay this colour down third and then blend the black shade in last for a smoky look.

Chocolatey Burnt Sienna – it’s a foxy chameleon; blend over Marigold in order to bring out its orange undertones. Or, go for a dark brown look by taking Marigold out of the equation.

swatches without flash

swatches with flash

One more for good measure

The final look

For the look above I used MAC’s Shroom as an all over colour; Trench will also do if you have that in your compilation of colours.

Want to shave off a little time in the morning? I skipped lining my upper lash line thanks to the intensity of Dark Spice.

Oh and word to the wise before departing the counter with your wares. Check the contents of the box to make sure it’s what you wanted; the exterior label read Dark Spice, but the compact inside was Mocha. It’s nothing the ol’ switcheroo can’t fix.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry’s Complete Eye Palette in Dark Spice no. 5:

  • $85.00 AUS / $59.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 10 out of 10 bags — Love this palette <3

Likelihood to purchase:

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Burberry’s The Orchard in Suede Stripes

October 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

What’s blackcurrant and plum with golden hardware?

That would be Burberry’s Orchard bag.

Bourke Street, Melbourne

On me, the Orchard bag is pretty hefty, but Blake Lively makes it look ten times better on the set of Gossip Girl. I might not reach Amazonian heights, but I can rock it just as well.

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Maybelline Silken Taupe

June 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Do you LOVE Burberry’s Pale Barley, but hate the price tag?  Then look no further than Maybelline’s Silken Taupe.  I’m a sucker for neutrals; they are easy to apply, forgiving, can be worn alone or used to enhance an overall eye look.  Maybelline’s version retails between $3.00-$7.00 AUS, whereas Burberry shadows sell for $45.00 AUS.  If you’re looking for a steal, get ye to your local Priceline.

 

 

The lineup

 

Can you tell how much I love that champagne shimmer? Honestly, I was surprised to see how they looked next to each other after swatching; beige can be complex, if you want it to be.

 

 

  • MAC’s Shroom – light cream satin shadow with a subtle shimmer
  • Gorgeous’s Sand Shimmer – beige loose powder with peachy undertones
  • Burberry’s Pale Barley – brownish taupe shadow peppered with gold
  • Maybelline’s Silken Taupe – see above :)
  • MAC’s Palladium – Silvery beige cream shadow with a hint of gold

So, where do you draw the line?  Does it come down to quality, price, brand, performance or all of the above?  With Burberry, I know I paid for quality and the name; their shadows are finely milled, soft to the touch and last well with primer.  Maybelline is soft and silky, but I had to work hard for the colour payoff seen above.

What would you do if you had to choose?

College Nicole would say “Maybelline!”

Adult Nicole ponders “why not buy both?!”

 

Pale Barley (L) and Silken Taupe (R)

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Burberry Beauty Spring 2012 review

March 19, 2012 by 2 Comments

As January came to a finish, I started receiving notifications about the latest Spring collections about to hit the local beauty counters; keep in mind it’s now Autumn here.  Lucky for me I had something fresh in my mind about what I wanted to purchase, because you can always count on pastels to make a re-appearance every year.  I really needed to separate the wheat from the chaff; why go for the typical when you can have the extraordinary?

I booked my appointment, paid my booking fee and waited with bated breath for the 11th of February to roll around.  Champagne was on offer when I arrived, but I couldn’t fathom even one drop as I was still full from breakfast.  And then the waiting commenced, I may’ve gotten there a few minutes early, but the customers seemingly outnumbered the artists – I later learned the artist who was to work on me was a tad late. Eventually, I was left in another artist’s capable hands.  We chatted for a few moments and settled on using Burberry’s newest colours.  I was dying to try Pale Barley eye shadow after reading Karen’s, of MBB, review; I am always on a quest to find a beautiful, but subdued neutral.  MAC’s shroom and I go back to my days in college and Covergirl’s Tapestry Taupe was a shade my mom purchased for me when I was 14-years-old.  If you’re looking for a dupe to Burberry’s Pale Barley, definitely go for the latter.

For close to 45-minutes I was pampered even though I had nowhere special to go that day.  After inspecting the artistry, I narrowed down the potential winners; I couldn’t afford to invest in everything we tried!  For my lips we went with Primrose Hill Pink No. 30 (not to be confused with Butter London’s nail polish), Blossom Blush No. 5 for my cheeks and a smoky duo of Pale Barley No. 22 and Midnight Brown No. 21.  From there I whittled down the contenders a bit more and I decided to just go with Pale Barley eye shadow and Primrose Hill Pink lippie; for good measure they threw in a miniature version of Rosewood No. 4 lipstick.

Pale Barley is a buttery cream with a hint of gold; it’s great to wear alone or paired with another shade for more depth and variety.  Most mornings, I pop this shade over a good eye primer, coat my lashes, dust a random blush on my cheeks and fill in my lips with Primrose Hill Pink.  In just under five minutes I am good to go.  As for Primrose Hill Pink, the colour matches that of its name – creamy pink, soft and lasts about four hours.

 

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry Pale Barley and Primrose Hill Pink:

  • $45.00 and $49.00 AUS respectively

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 8 out of 10 bags – cost is a major factor here

Likelihood to purchase again:

  • I’m good for a while now.  Even though I recieved another invite to check out their Luminosity range, I think I can manage to get by for the time being ;)
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Stocking Stuffer pt. 1 – Burberry Lip Glow in Bright Plum No. 17

December 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I’ve been lusting after a lot of rich berry-hued lip products – it started in Italy and hasn’t stopped since and that was about three months ago.  I find it a bit funny that I really enjoy putting on the stuff, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my lips. I’ve always been told they are by far and away my nicest feature, but your compliments have backfired – I am uber self conscious about them. Tinted chapstick and sheer lip gloss was my staple for years until I decided to embrace something nice about myself.

Baby steps have commenced as of late – it started with NARS New Lover, MAC’s Pro Longwear Lipcreme in Positively Dashing (released within the Styledriven collection) and NARS Damage.  And now I have graduated and moved onto Burberry’s Lip Glow in Bright Plum;  Santa Scott hid this gem in the bottom of my stocking with a few other beauty-related goodies (more reviews to come).

It’s been awhile since I attempted to put on lip gloss with a doe foot applicator and this colour was probably the worst choice possible for this particular foray.  Burberry’s lip gloss or “glow” has a tendency to be a bit sticky, I noticed this when I tried to pull the applicator out of the tube.  Then I made the mistake of piling too much onto my lips; the gloss proved difficult to move around and it didn’t help that I accidentally coloured outside of the lines.  Oh well, that’s what the pinkie finger is for – instant eraser.  Once I finally neatened myself up and took one last look, I was amazed by how dark this shade appeared on me.  Don’t get me wrong, I was happy but shocked at the same time and I couldn’t help the fact that I felt a bit vampy.

The wear time lasted about four to six hours and lip dry out was minimal; but I did smear a bit of chapstick on when the mood struck.  If you’re going for a daytime look, dab a bit of this gloss and spread evenly with a lip brush (using a lip brush gives you more control) in lieu of the applicator it comes with.  For night time, amp it up like I did on Christmas day (oops) and add a bit more.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Burberry’s Lip Glow:

  • $45.00 AUS – yikes Santa Scott!

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

  • 7 out of 10 bags; as much as I love this colour, the price tag and the scent of perfume dragged it down a few notches

Likelihood to purchase:

  • I really do enjoy the classic offerings by Burberry, but they are insanely expensive!  This means I can only buy a piece at a time – definitely splurge-worthy!
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