Sculpt and Highlight: The Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting Compact is nice for fair-skinned gals

2012 will be marked down in my diary as the Year of the Bronzer! I bought my first bronzer last year and am still getting to grips with it. I experimented with the Dior Aurora Healthy Glow Tan powder this year, which I quite liked maybe because it had pink tones so I could use it as a blush, but I still had to be quite careful with it.

The latest one I’ve experimented with is the Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting Compact. Burberry Beauty releases new products every season, usually in small batches of a new colour or a new product, but they always make them permanent. The Sheer Summer Glow compact powder is the only exception. This beauty is limited edition so you know what to do 😛

The Sheer Summer Glow is a palette of 4 coloured powders that can serve as bronzer and highlight and the texture is supposed to be fine enough to be used also as finishing powder. So you can just dust a thin layer all over for colour and to set makeup. It does look very pretty but I was curious to see if it might be too dark or brown for me as many bronzers are.

The powder in the Sheer Summer Glow compact is very fine. There is some shimmer in it but it does not apply shimmery. There’s a subtle difference.

Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting compact

The surface of the powder is etched with the signature Burberry check that adorns all the Burberry Beauty packaging and powders. There are 4 shades in the compact to serve different functions but for those looking for colour, you may be disappointed, because this powder is sheer.

It being sheer does help those who are very fair or pale skinned, because you don’t have to be too afraid that you’d look like you fell face first into dirt. However, another slight drawback is that the two lighter shades – pink and cream – are very light and very sheer but the two darker shades – brown and beige – are quite pigmented. So I find that my brush picks up the browns more than the light shades. The upside is that the browns aren’t orangey.

Burberry Sheer Summer Glow swatched clockwise from top left – brown, pink, cream, beige

I swatched this with fingers. The two brown shades swatched quite easily but the pink and cream highlighter shades took about 4 layers for the colour to show up. That’s a good thing in the sense that you do not end up with too much product and shimmer on your skin. Its a bad thing if you want to pick up more highlight than bronzer. Its a bit of a delicate balance to have to achieve.

The packaging does deserve mention. It is suitably hefty to justify the luxury factor of the brand and looks good. It is fairly large and I do think it is quite a good compact for anyone just starting to get into bronzing and bronzers because you are less likely to make a mistake with this one than with a straight out brown bronzer compact. The highlighting powders help diffuse colour and add dimension while the browns can be experimented with for subtle contouring. You could even use the colours as eyeshadow which then saves you carrying an eyeshadow compact when you travel!

The only thing I would say is that it does not serve a blush function. I was hoping the pink would show up subtly enough, but it does not. I wasn’t sure how to show you how this looks so here is an unretouched before/after photo using this Burberry Sheer Summer Glow compact.

Erm… there is some subtle difference right? I go from pancake face to something approximating highlighted cheekbones? LOL! Well something like that anyway. I also took a fluffy powder brush, lightly brushed over the whole compact and then brushed all over the face. Happily, it does not make me look too tanned. I don’t take kindly to looking too tanned.

I later topped up the cheeks with a light pink blush. I personally prefer having blush over bronzer because the blush brings out a healthier glow for me. The Burberry Sheer Summer Glow powder does work for my colouring although I don’t think it’ll work for those who are too dark or too tanned. It won’t show up and you will be disappointed. So I’d put the Burberry Sheer Summer Glow compact as targetted at the fair to medium skinned and no further. By way of reference, the most popular Burberry foundation shade of Trench 04 is too dark for me. I think I’m an 02. I can’t remember 😛

In a nutshell

The Burberry Sheer Summer Glow compact is a limited edition offering from Burberry Beauty for Summer 2012. What it is is a bronzing and highlighting compact. The powder is very fine in texture and colour tends to be quite sheer. I find that the bronzing shades which are more matte can apply quite pigmented and the highlighting shades which have some shimmer are much sheerer. I usually blend the shades to tone down the browns on my skin. You can also use it as eyeshadow which makes the palette quite versatile. However, if you are medium tanned to dark skinned, I’d tell you to pass because it likely will not show up at all on your skintone. I think this is a nice beginner bronzing/highlight palette especially for those with lighter skin tones who may have a problem finding a bronzer that isn’t too dark or too orange for them.

Pros: Light sheer colours are good for those who have a light to medium skintone, Texture of powders are fine and sheer, A good beginner bronzer/highlight palette as the sheer colours aren’t as easy to make a mistake with, Colours can also be used for eyeshadow which makes this a good multi-tasking palette, Pretty packaging

Cons: Limited Edition, I can’t use it as a blush, Powdery scent, Best for those with fair to medium skintones

Who will like this: Those who are new to using bronzers or sculpting powders, Those who have a fair to medium skintone, Those who want a versatile sculpting and highlighting palette that can also double up as finishing powder and even eyeshadow

Oh I have to mention that there is a scent to this powder. It smells powdery and sometimes, just a hint of mustiness. Happily the smell doesn’t last, but unhappily, it does bother me a bit to open up the compact and catch a whiff.

Packaging wise, the Sheer Summer Glow powder, since it is limited edition, comes in a sand coloured velvet pouch instead of the regular dark brown pouch. I wouldn’t fault the packaging. The Burberry checks are there, and the heft is there and the lux factor is quite there. You can read more about this palette on Messy Wands (for chiselled cheekz!) and Bloomin’ Beauty Blog. Oh there’s no applicator but really, you’d want to use your own not one of those dinky things that come in palettes.

Does the Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting compact catch your fancy? I’m still sailing the uncharted murky waters of bronzer territory but this one does help me get over the fear of the “looking dirty” factor and is overall, a pretty decent product for both sculpting, shading and highlighting in one.

Paris B

Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Natural Highlighting Compact Price: RM207 Availability: Burberry Beauty at Isetan KLCC Limited Edition: Yes, Summer 2012