Review: Burberry Complete Eye Palette in Pink Taupe

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So…. this review is for another product that you can’t get right now (sorry folks!). The Burberry Complete Eye Palette in Pink Taupe isn’t listed as available on any of the retailer websites at the moment, but it may still be available at the counters and as far as I know they’re not limited edition. Some of the other hard-to-find items like Pale Barley eyeshadow and Blossom blush have been popping up recently on Nordstrom, so I’m hopeful that the quads will be coming back in stock too. In the spirit of optimism, I’ll go ahead and do this thing.

Packaging

Like other Burberry powder compacts, the eyeshadow quads come in a velvet pouch that’s flocked with the Burberry check. It’s constructed a little differently though; while the blushes come in a simple sleeve, the pouch for the quads has a flap that folds over the top.

When you open it up, you find a large pocket  for the compact itself, plus smaller pockets on the front for the included miniature applicators. You get a small angled liner brush, a sponge tip and a tiny brush for blending. While they’re all above average in quality and construction, they’re still not terribly usable. I don’t actually use them, but I still have them (because I’m a hoarder) so I dug them out of the tin o’ applicators for the photo. Can we talk about the genius behind this layout though? I get annoyed by compacts that have been enlarged unnecessarily to hold applicators that I’ll never use, so this is the best of all cases for me. The fancier pouch and applicators make me feel like I’m getting a little somethin’ extra for my money, but don’t take up premium real estate in my makeup drawers.

The outside of the compact is exactly the same as Burberry blushes in size, shape and markings. It’s a bit weighty, quite shiny and overall just really, really chic. Also similar to the blushes, I sometimes spend a second fumbling to figure out which side is the one that opens if I don’t put it away facing the right direction. Spoiler: it’s the side that says Burberry on it.

When you open it up the inside is a bit different. Both lids are fully lined by nice large mirrors, but while the blush is half product/half applicator, the eyeshadow quad is allllll eyeshadow. Instead of the conventional four-square-pan layout, the folks at Burberry opted for diagonally-oriented pans. All of them are large enough to easily get your brushes into. I use the two center ones as my lid/crease colors, so it’s nice to be able to swipe my brush through and pick up plenty of product. I’m not sure if the amount of product in each pan is different, but overall the quad holds .19oz/5.4g.

Colors

The colors in this quad make for a nice nude palette on my light-medium skin. I think they’d be a little more dramatic on fair skin, and the swatches I’ve seen on darker skintones look quite nice too. The colors in the quad (from top to bottom in the image above) are:

• 1 – champagne gold shimmer
• 2 – light taupe satin with mossy undertones
• 3 – medium dusty, mauvey pink matte
• 4 – dark brown matte with plummy undertones

I’ve seen it mentioned a few times that the Pink Taupe quad is made up of other Burberry colors, and while I can see the logic behind that I respectfully disagree. I’ve swatched my most similar Burberry singles below, with some comparisons.

Left: Pink Taupe Quad
Right, top to bottom: Burberry Pale Barley, Almond, Tea Rose, Dark Sable

• Shade 1 vs Pale Barley – These two are probably the most similar, but not quite equal. The shade in the quad is a little more sheer than Pale Barley, less shimmery, and not as gold-toned.
• Shade 2 vs Almond – I didn’t have anything similar to the second shade in the quad, so I just swatched my best medium neutral comparison. Burberry Khaki might be more comparable, but I’m pretty sure it’s darker and more olive, based on swatches. Shade 2 in the quad actually is a pretty unique shade (compared to others I’ve seen in person) and probably my favorite out of the four.
• Shade 3 vs Tea Rose – Tea Rose is lighter and less mauve than the third shade. Antique Rose might actually be more comparable, but I don’t have that one (yet – it’s on my wishlist).
• Shade 4 vs Dark Sable – Shade 4 has a sort of plum base while Dark Sable is more of a chocolate brown.

Texture & Wear

As always, the colors in this quad are soft, silky and a pleasure to use. I do find that the gold and taupe shades apply a little more sheerly than my singles that have a similar shimmer/pearl finish, but the color payoff is still very nice. All of them can be applied very lightly (which is usually how I wear them) or built up for more depth. Over primer they wear easily 10-12 hours without fading or creasing.

In Short: This is a great quad for a natural look, and I’m hoping for some of the other colors to come back in stock so I can buy them!

Burberry Complete Eye Palettes ($59) are (usually) available at nordstrom.com