Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in No.22 Pale Barley was an addition to their beauty line for Spring 2012, now that i'm talking about this the Summer products are already out but anyways - it came to stay and you can still purchase Pale Barley regularly.
when i saw preview pictures of it, i thought it would be a bit lame, lacking a special twist and just similar to some of their permanent light neutrals. it was Sabrina's (The Beauty Look Book) early review and swatches that convinced me of the opposite and put this little shadow on top of my wish list instantly. since it wasn't released to Burberry Europe back then and i don't have a counter near me, i asked my friend Maureen to order it on my behalf.
in the mean time i often heard Pale Barley being compared to MAC Patina (which is one of my favourite shadows by MAC) as a much superior alternative, so i was even more eager to receive it.
it contains 2,5g and costs 29$ (don't know at which price these retail in germany).
so this shadow comes in the regular shiny hefty compact inside a cheapish synthetic pouch with signature Nova Check pattern inside and out and everywhere, and a negligible applicator. i don't like with these compacts that you can't open them more than those approx. 95°. but it's okay - i'm all about what's in the pan. and that is something marvellous, let me tell ya.
i am so in love with my only Burberry eyeshadow until then, No.21 Midnight Brown, which i considered to be the most beautiful shade of the range, and i'm overly happy that No. 22 Pale Barley has that same luxurious, soft and smooth and weightless texture. more than that, Pale Barley is not a plain shimmery medium neutral for the lid, it has an amazing luminosity and such a beautiful subtle golden-champagne opalescence that puts the cherry on top of the cream for me and maybe Pale Barley on the top of my Burberry-ranking. definitely a must-have.
i love it as an all-over lid wash, it's not too light or frosty so it would make my eyes appear smaller but it's that tad bit darker than my actual skin tone and melts with it beautifully. it creates a candle-lit glow on my lids and makes me look seamlessly polished. it's also a perfect partner with dark, dramatic shadows (LOVE it with Le Métier de Beauté Bordeaux!!!).
it has good pay-off and blends effortlessly. with a primer underneath, i didn't experiment creasing/fading issues all day long.
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so eventually, how does it compare to other eyeshadows, especially MAC Patina? to me, they are similar in terms of the same colour intensity - both medium neutrals. but not more than that. i don't think Pale Barley is as special as Patina. it's an amazing colour, i adore its golden pearlescent glow, but Patina is so dear to me because it's golden but cool toned at the same time, plus most importantly it has that pink pearl which i have only seen with some deeper browns but i love so much. surely MAC should take Burberry's luxurious texture as an example, though.
in my collection i have not found a perfect dupe for Pale Barley, i think it's inbetween Patina and NARS Cyprus.
comparison
L'Oreal Sahara Treasure - Chantecaille Sel - Burberry Pale Barley - MAC Patina - NARS Cyprus
L'Oreal Sahara Treasure - Chantecaille Sel - Burberry Pale Barley - MAC Patina - NARS Cyprus
together with my other Burberry Sheer Eyeshadows:
Burberry No.22 Pale Barley - Burberry No.09 Rosewood - Burberry No.21 Midnight Brown
Wunderschöne Nuance, farblich genau nach meinem Geschmack! ♥ Und das Burberry-Design ist sowieso ein Traum. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt is absolutely absolutely beautiful!! It looks wonderful on you!!
ReplyDeleteI actually find this eyeshadow creases on me after 6 hours (over primer potion). The only other e/s i have that also creases are the RBR glitters in the tubes. I think its the lightweight formula of both that causes slight creasing but its still a beautiful colour!
ReplyDeleteoh yes, i have heard a few people complaining that this shade creases on them! i use it with the NARS eyelid primer, it works well with this shadow but i haven't used it with UDPP yet.
DeleteIt looks really good on you, it gives you a very warm soft tone! nice thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour taste is just faultless -- those three shades are without a doubt the stars of the line.
ReplyDeletethank you - it's good to have the confirmation of a connoisseur that i am not missing out something too good to do so from the line.
DeleteThis is very similar to NARS Cyprus! It looks beautiful on you but how is the quality compared to NARS Cyprus?
ReplyDeletehi Meryl!
DeleteNARS Cyprus is a smidgen lighter and peachier than Pale Barley. it's also less complex and and doesn't have the champagne-gold pearlescent shimmer like PB. i clearly prefer PB.
the texture of Cyprus is also beautiful, though. NARS shadows are silky and fine while the Burberry ones are more velvety and smooth. hope you get what i mean - i can't describe it other than that, you have to feel yourself ;)
You look gorgeous! I have the same Burberry shadows as you plus Taupe Brown. I find their shadows to be long lasting and fresh looking all day long. They do melt into the skin and feel luxurious. I have depotted them so I don't have to open so many singles. Too bad since the packaging is so beautiful. Can't wait to try more of their shadows!
ReplyDeletethank you! it's good to hear that the shadows can also last well on some. but wow - you depottet yours? i think it was hard to decide to. even though i'm not a big fan of the packaging, i think i couldn't depot these shadows and throw the compact away, they are too well-made and of nice material. but if you have quite a few of them i imagine it could be unnerving to look through them all to find the right shade. i hope depotting was easy enough that you didn't have damages to your eyeshadows? how do you store them now? i would like to buy some UNII palettes to store my depotted MAC ones, the MAC palette is too ugly :P
DeleteI have to confess that I've fallen asleep wearing makeup. My Burberry shadows still looked great even without primer! I have a couple of Unii palettes, which I love. They're kind of heavy, but great for travel and my daily routine. --Louisa
DeleteAhh I just got the Sheer Summer Glow compact and was going to order Cameo blush and Cameo lipstick--but now I REALLY really want Pale Barley too!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love your brows!! Are you still using MAC's Omega to fill them in? (at least I think that's what you said you were using before...). Thanks!!
arrgh you make me so jealous! i want to buy this Summer Glow compact and some more blushes, too! but at the moment, my priorities are set at a different place, need to get a bunch of Chikuhodo brushes first! ;)
Deletethank you for noticing my "new" brows! i do have a different brow routine now - i will post a new tutorial/routine soon. at the moment i'm jumping between Omega, Copperplate and the Shu Uemura pencil for some basic filling in.
Oooh, I've never tried Chikuhodo but they seem to make amazing brushes! Soo expensive though...I admire that you have enough willpower to invest your money in nicer brushes that will last you forever. My thinking is always "why spend $100 for 1 brush when I can buy 2 nice blushes with it?" LOL that's why I still use mostly Sonia Kashuk (from Target), with a few nicer Bobbi Brown and MAC brushes thrown in for good measure.
DeleteAnd I really do like the straighter brow that you're doing now. And I love the color--it's really natural. I think I'll go to the mall tomorrow and swatch Omega and Copperplate to see which I like better. I'm also thinking about getting the Shiseido Natural Brow pencil in Natural Black--is it still one of your favorites or do you much prefer Shu's? Thanks again for your help!
haha i'm thinking in make-up-currency, too! like 1 new ipad = 5 chikuhodo brushes = 32 Le Métier de Beauté eyeshadows = 16 nice foundations and so on! but well, you know i would rather throw my money out for some fancy brushes than an ipad. i'd have more fun with the brushes ;)
Deleteand yes - the squirrel brushes (hakuhodo, chikuhodo, suqqu, etc.) are just a revelation. it's soo soft like no other. i even find some synthetic brushes scratchy after being spoilt with my squirrel ones. you must try them one day (when you have bought all the blushes you wanted ;)).
i also like the straighter brow, makes one look younger and softer. the shiseido brow pencil is top notch - only second to Shu's. i like my brow pencil to be super hard and dry (not waxy like most of them on the market) and only minimally pigmented. so it's easy to control and you will get the most natural result. Shu's pencil is all of that, it's a bit harder and drier than the Shiseido so i prefer it when compared. the downside is that the shu is harder to get hold of, but once you ordered it, you won't have to for at least a year or even two.
and i have just discovered your blog! why didn't you tell me that you have such an amazing one?! added it to my rss-feed ;)
i
Aw, thank you so much! Yeah it's something that I started fairly recently so I'm still learning a lot! I have been reading your blog for a long time though, and I really, really enjoy it (I'm so jealous of your makeup and brush collection!!) :P
DeleteThanks for the tips on the eyebrow pencils--I'll let you know which one I choose and how I like it!
really pretty shade! ^_^~
ReplyDeleteI had no idea it was close to Patina, damn. Don't think I need it after seeing your swatches...
ReplyDeleteoh, i didn't mean to put you off of Pale Barley! it's an excellent eyeshadow, you'd love the texture and would really miss out if you don't at least swatch/try it!
DeleteI just got my order in for Pale Barley and I'm so glad I got it... I was on the fence previously because it looked like every other neutral shade I have in my stash of gazillian neutral colours. I can give up every single MAC product in my collection for all the Burberry eyeshadows.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, you have really inspired me to rethink what I need in my brush stash. You have a beautiful collection, and so far all that I have tried is MAC and Bobbi Brown brushes. What has your experiences been with ordering online from Hakahudo? Did you have to stick within a 150 euro customs limit? i live in denmark. Thanks for your advice!
This is definitely the first Burberry shadow I want to try, I have heard some great things about it. x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful comparisons! It was really helpful to see it compared to Patina and Cyprus; I love the idea of a cooler toned gold. It seems so infinitely flattering!
ReplyDeleteI just made my first Burberry purchase - the Sheer Summer glow purchase, plus Pale Barley, Trench, and Midnight Brown eyeshadows. I agree that this eyeshadow is something special - but you're making me want to check out MAC Patina also!
ReplyDeleteWonderfully helpful swatches and comparisons! Thank you kindly. =)
ReplyDeleteAre you wearing anything else other than PB?
ReplyDeletei only have a bit of mac shroom on the inner corner. everything else on the lid is pale barley :)
DeleteHello ! I'm a french blogger so excuse me if my english is bad.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog on Hellocoton and i love it ! Your makeup is beautiful and your articles are very interresting ! I subscribed with google friend connect.
thank you! i really appreciate it.
Deletehey there....love your reviews and comments on the beauty products, especially the layout of your blog! Clean and sophisticated!
ReplyDeletei am just wondering what are you wearing on your lips on the last photo in this review? thanks!