Burberry · First Love Collection Summer 2017

Inspired by the fabrics and playful prints seen with their last womenswear collection, Burberry has created the First Love Collection for Summer 2017, with the star player being the eye-catching First Love Palette. A collection filled with hearts and kisses — how can anyone possibly resist?

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First Love Blush & Highlighter Palette, limited edition (CAN $72.00) | So pretty, am I right? Touted as both blush and highlighter might be a bit of a stretch, however; while you can use a narrow-headed brush to grab the lighter areas to wear as a highlighter, it’s near impossible to pick up the heart-shaped portions alone for use as blush. That said, this work best when the two are combined, as they mix together to form a lovely flush of colour that has enough radiance to keep it from looking flat along the skin, but not so much glow that it looks overdone. One thing to note is that the powder is fragranced and while initially strong, it does dissipate soon after application. The texture is incredibly fine-milled and melds beautifully upon the skin, becoming even better (if that’s possible) with the wearing. Staying power over primer/foundation is excellent as well.

A comparison between this year’s version against the London With Love palette (2016, no longer available), shows that while the two are within the same colour family, the First Love palette is less shimmery and definitely more pigmented.

Golden Radiance Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base (CAN $54.00) | This primer is a runway beauty icon for good reason; with a formula comprised of 55% water, it is incredibly lightweight in feel and meshes seamlessly with the skin. There are several ways to wear it as well; on bare skin for a touch of luminosity, mixed in with foundation for a hint of glow, over foundation for a dewy effect, or even as a subtle highlighter on key areas (cupid’s bow, inner eye, cheekbones). Bonus: to extend the luminosity past the face, you can even dab it along the collar bones. Personally, I love how easy it is to blend it out, along with the natural looking lit-from-within glow it provides skin.

Apart from the colour, the biggest difference between Nude Radiance and Golden Radiance is that the latter is much more suited for warmer and/or deeper skin tones. The texture and effect upon the skin remain the same.

Sheer Gold Eye Colour Cream (CAN $35.00) | A cream eyeshadow with a cushiony texture and buildable colour. The hue is pretty much exactly as seen in the pan and can be worn solo as a sheer wash across the lid, or layered for more depth and intensity. This can also be worn under/over eyeshadow for increased staying power and in a pinch, it can also work double duty as a highlighter. Longevity (over primer) is excellent, staying true without showing any oxidation.

I pulled out 3 other Burberry golden cream eyeshadow shades to see how they fared against Sheer Gold, and thankfully none are duplicates:

Nude Gold N°21 – cool gold with khaki undertones
Festive Gold N°120 – bright gold with glitter flecks
Gold Shimmer N°01 – opaque brilliant gold

First Kiss (CAN $28.00/each) | A unique balm/gloss hybrid housed in a portable easy to use squeeze tube. The ceramic applicator provides a cooling feel upon application and is also easy to clean (which might also help in minimizing any bacteria buildup, I would imagine). Both shades shown are fairly translucent but still manage to display a hint of colour and the lip feel is nothing short of buttery, leaving a long-lasting nourishing sensation behind. I detect a soft caramel-like fragrance that is quite yummy and inoffensive, but does disappear quickly after application.

Soft Peach N°01 – milky sheer peach
Rose Blush N°03 – softest sheer rose

Full Kisses (CAN $33.00/each) | A crayon-style lipstick that provides hydrating long-lasting colour. The unique flat-top bullet shape makes it easy to follow lip contours for application, and it provides soft yet opaque colour from the first swipe. As the texture is very emollient, I strongly suggest you do not press down too hard during application and do keep these away from sunlight when the cap is off, to prevent any melting (visible on one side of Peony Rose in the above photo). But honestly, I was totally blown away by how creamy these feel upon the lips.

Peony Rose N°513 – blue based raspberry pink
Rose Apricot N°521 – soft coral peach

Is it just me, or does it seem like Burberry doesn’t get the attention it deserves? And that’s something I don’t get, especially when you consider that the products are well crafted, beautifully detailed and excellent performers, while the shades are all eminently wearable and can even work across a broad range of complexions. As to this First Love Collection, I have enjoyed wearing every single item and found all to be quite perfect for the season — although something tells me I’ll be taking them into the cooler months ahead as well.

Available at select Hudson’s Bay, Nordstrom and Sephora stores