Burberry Sheer Eyeshadow in No. 22 Pale Barley Review, Comparisons

This Spring Burberry Beauty is releasing a new eye shadow shade called Pale Barley ($29), No.22 in their permanent lineup of Sheer Eyeshadows.  Pale Barley seems like a simple enough color, but it is actually difficult to describe.  No matter how you slice it, this is one gorgeous shadow!

Burberry Beauty Pale Barley Sheer Eyeshadow - direct light

As always, you can click the photo to enlarge it.

More photos and swatches after the jump!

Pale Barley is a luminous yet muted antique bronzey-gold with a peachy/coppery/golden shimmer sheen.  I see a tinge of grey in it that tempers the warmth.  There is a definite warm coppery-ness or peachiness that is present but not overt; I am attributing to some of the shimmer particles. 

Here is a swatch, taken with flash, that also shows the shimmer:

Burberry Beauty Pale Barley No. 22 Sheer Eyeshadow

You can see the coppery peachy golden elements I mentioned.  

Here are more swatches, taken with and without flash in an attempt to show the nuances in the shade on this intermittently cloudy day:

Burberry Beauty Pale Barley No. 22 Sheer Eyeshadow - without flash

Burberry Beauty Pale Barley No. 22 Sheer Eyeshadow - with flash

Burberry Beauty Pale Barley No. 22 Sheer Eyeshadow - with flash

Burberry Beauty Pale Barley No. 22 Sheer Eyeshadow - without flash

This shade amazes me because it is simultaneously subtle and stunning.  It is a neutral, day appropriate shade that you can take into the evening with a smoked out crease, or use it to add depth on top of a darker shade.  The MUA at the Burberry counter in my local Nordstrom used this as a highlighter on my cheekbones with Burberry's Light Glow Blush in Earthy No.7, and it looked spectacular!  I plan on replicating it in the summer for a golden bronze beachy look.  

The packaging is Burberry's usual gunmetal case with the Burberry check pattern on top.  It's luxurious and solid-feeling without being too heavy.  The case does attract fingerprints, so if that bothers you know that the case will need to be wiped after use to get rid of prints.  It comes with a decent spong-tipped applicator, but I usually remove those immediately to use for swatches.

Burberry Sheer Eyeshadows - packaging

The formula is finely milled and nicely pigmented for something with "sheer" in its name.  "Sheer Eyeshadow" is a misnomer for sure, because I have never found any of these shadows to be sheer.  They can be powdery sometimes but always glide on beautifully, depositing a nice amount of color and blending well.  You can see from the swatches above that the same is true of Pale Barley.

Burberry's Sheer Eyeshadows are also long-lasting.  With or without a primer, they last until I remove them.  This weekend, I wore this shade over a primer for 11 hours and it did not crease or migrate at all.  The price is on par with other luxury brands, but at .088oz. Burberry's shadows contain more product than some other brands like Chanel or Dior (both .07oz.).  For me, Burberry's shadows are well worth the price.

I haven't seen Pale Barley No. 22 online yet, but it is available at the Burberry counter at the Nordstrom in Bellevue, WA, (425) 455-5800.  You can purchase the rest of the Burberry Beauty line in the U.S. at Burberry's website, or through Nordstrom online and in select stores.  In the U.K., visit Burberry online or Harrods.

UPDATED: Added some comparisons to some other shadows in my collection:

L to R: 1) RBR Embrace of Cashmere, 2) RBR Caress of Mink, 3) Burberry Pale Barley, 4) Burberry Rosewood, 5) Burberry Midnight Brown, 6) RBR Abyssinian Catbird, 7)RBR Solstice Halcyon, 8) Taupe from Chanel Topkapi Quad, 9) Urban Decay Half Baked, 10) Urban Decay Smog

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Rouge Bunny Rouge Giveaway! It is super easy to enter, and open internationally.