Burberry Makeup Is All About Shades Of Subtle
No tranny neons here!
All Burberry prole drifting aside, here in New York you never see someone wearing Burberry looking like they just spent the night at the Jersey Shore house. That's because Burberry is always straight class — that timeless trench! — with an occasional chaser of cool (pairing said trench with some distressed motorcycle boots and black skinnies).
Here in the States, Burberry is an instantly recognizable shot of posh. Like, how on Mad Men, you’d never see Lane Pryce in a schlumpy parka or a sports jersey. He’s always dressed neatly in a well-tailored suit. Because he’s British, and he’s always proper (with the exception of the Texas belt buckle incident, but everyone has their darker moments.)
Even though Lane’s not a real person, the fact remains that Burberry is synonymous with a pulled-together polish. And Burberry’s new makeup collection is a direct reflection of the airy-coolness the British brand’s built on. Just like the trench pulls your look together without screaming “Look at meeeeeeee!” — So crass! So ugly American! So Freddy Rumsen, whose ideas always suck — Burberry’s collection of muted hues are all about shades of subtle. No tranny electric neons. Just downy-soft, moisturizing lipsticks (which are the highlight of the collection) in modest tones with smart detail like Burberry’s signature check embossed on the lipstick itself and on the metallic brown packaging, which is weighty and snaps shut so satisfyingly.
Probably the craziest you’ll get, color-wise is their highly pigmented Ruby red, or the bright red of Hibiscus, which really isn't too crazy at all. Otherwise this is makeup that speaks in low volumes. It whispers. It doesn't yell. Oh, and the lipsticks smell like tea rose in that instant vintage way — like, one day your grandkids will find one of your Burberry lipsticks and be like “Ooh! Everything Grandma had was so sophisticated! Look how nice old stuff was!”
Burberry's eyeshadows are go-to daytime shades that won't stray from your natural skin tone or eye color or other colors found in nature. (A few inoffensive variations on soft purples, for some reason.) And there's one called Trench. Why not? Burberry's blush is total luxe — no chalkiness whatsoever. Just smooth, super-simple-to-blend powders that glide on and give you that “I-thrive-in-crisp-weather” look.
The only real drama here is Burberry's excellent Effortless Mascara. It’s somehow programmed to never clump, and you can go easy for a demure look or pile it on for a look of good-old American excess. Otherwise, Burberry’s range of beauty products are all about that “Oh I'm barely wearing any makeup” natural glow. We get it, Brits! You do subtle really, really well.
Mascara, $28, Lipstick, $30, Eyeshadow, $29 all at Burberry.com
