I am so excited by this eyeshadow. It’s not like, it’s love. True love. How am I so late to the Burberry Pale Barley party? I feel so late to the Burberry beauty party that I’m furiously watching every Wendy Rowe tutorial available on YouTube and have now started slapping on my tinted moisturiser with such furore in some sad attempt to emulate her natural but polished make up looks. Inevitably, I end up with more tinted moisturiser on my palms than my face, and look somewhat less effortlessly stunning than her makeup models by the end of the application.
I got off track: Pale Barley. This is my favourite eye shadow. There, I said it, but let’s put the necessary “right now” at the end of that sentence because you can bet your Suratt eyelash curler that I’ll have a new favourite before you can say Chantecaille five times fast. But regardless, Pale Barley is such a beautiful, cool-toned, sheeny brown that’s anything but flat. There’s something silvery about it but no obvious shimmer or glitter, it’s light but also the right amount of noticeable on my lids. It’s makeup voodoo magic, that’s what it is.
Yes, it comes in a gorgeous steel coloured compact with a luxe black velvet pouch (I’m so curious if there is actually someone out there who keeps their makeup in these pouches?) and yes it’s imprinted with Burberry checks because it’s high-end and expensive, but this is all so besides the point. I would re-buy this eyeshadow even if it only came in the boring tin re-fill palette, no glitz, no glamour, no soft black pouch. If this gets discontinued, I will be at the top of the suspect list for Burberry’s hate mail. Just saying.
The measured part of my brain wants to say that not everyone will love this. If you’re mesmerised by the current warm coppery eye looks or Insta-glam makeup then this is probably not your jam. Likewise if you’re a medium-deep skin tone, this may be too light for you. But personally, this is the eyeshadow I’ve always searched for, the kind of natural-but-enough eyeshadow of my dreams. Burberry, I may be late, but I am staying at this party alllllll night long.
Find Burberry at Sephora