Beauty recycle: dusting off a few old and new favourites

On the regular

On a typical day you'll catch me wearing a basic makeup look which I'm able to complete in less than five minutes.

On Saturday night I upped the ante by experimenting with a slightly smoky purple eye.

Recycle, reduce, reuse.

Shop my stash..

• NARS' Eyeliner Stylo in Koala
• YSL's Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara
• Giorgio Armani's Flash Lacquer in Pink 524
• Burberry's Trench
• Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill in shade 3
• Estee Lauder's Pure Color in Electric Orchid

To get the look above, pick a deep purple, a slightly brighter and lighter purple and a neutral colour to be used all over. Also make sure you grab your favourite liner, mascara and lippie.

• Start by applying a neutral eyeshadow from your lash line and stop at your brow bone. Burberry's Trench, MAC's Shroom or Maybelline's Silken Taupe are your best bets.
• Next grab an angled eyeshadow brush and focus on applying the deepest shade of purple at the outer corners of your eyes. Sweep and blend any excess colour along your crease and stop about half way in.
• Then grab a stubby eyeshadow brush (MAC's 239 is quite simply the best) and pat the lighter shade of purple on the centre of your lid. Repeat the sweeping and blending method in your crease and stop just shy of the inner corners of your eyes. Want more colour? Line your lower lids too.
• To illuminate the inner corners of your eyes, blend in a small amount of your base shade.
• To finish line your upper lash line, paint those lashes and dab on a neutral gloss :)

The final look

When was the last time you shopped your own makeup stash?

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

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.

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

Which colour is your favourite?

The Bagful breakdown:

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

• $30.00 USD / $50.00 AUS

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!

Burberry Beauty -- gift with purchase special

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

Each 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

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

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

Trench No. 02

Brush 10

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?

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

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.

IMG_9881

Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in Gold Pearl No. 26

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

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?:

• I ordered Burberry Lip Velvet in Rose Pink No. 307 after reading My Funny Valentine's review.