The quality of this product is fantastic, but I am not loving the color. It is very frosty taupe. This is more of a preference than a criticism of the product.

If ever there was a cool toned gold, this is it. It's one of those colors that must be worn to be appreciated because in the pan it looks like any other mid-tone, shimmery brown. But once applied it's softer than one would think and in certain lights looks like a gleaming version of skin tone. Like when you see someone on television or a movie with that beautiful eyelid color but you can't quite figure out if it's shadow or cream highlighter over bare flesh. I love the subtlety of the shimmer, which actually reads as a sheen more than light reflecting particles of a traditional shimmer shadow. Like Rosewood, this has a burnished, faintly metallic gleam that feels unique to the brand. A patina of sorts. I'm not one to wear a brown all over my lid but I make the exception with this one because it's so beautifully understated. Despite the gold undertone (which is definitely not the starring quality here) it works really well with my very pale, cool toned skin. Anyone looking for an amazing color for a daytime smokey eye should try this out.


I love Rosewood much more than this one, as far as browns within this line go, but this is something I wear often and enjoy. I use it with other neutrals for a subtle look but I've also paired it with violets and midnight blues and it looks great with everything. The quality wins me over as much as the color does. It's soft, dense, and very pigmented so it's not difficult to get perfect color in the first go, though it's buildable if you want something more intense. Like others have mentioned, this is a large pan of product so it'll take me awhile to go through it, even if I used it everyday. The packaging is very secure with a magnetic closure and an interior mirror. The polished metal finish shows fingerprints though. I don't think this is the be all end all of shadows but it's gorgeous and I do recommend it.

I bought this after reading a lot of hype on blogs and watching a lot of videos on You Tube. I have to say that I just don't get it. The texture is not any better than my Wet n' Wild shadows or my Urban Decay shadows. The color is ok. It's pretty and glowing..but I was just not wowed by it like I thought I would be. The packaging is incredible...I will give it that. Other than that it is just a nice very golden color. Maybe I should have gone with Rosewood instead.

This is absolutely gorgeous. I have tons of neutrals and figured I'd try this after reading the rave reviews. My expectations weren't high--after all, I have champagne/beige colors from UD, BB, LM, MAC, Trish McEvoy, NARs, Chante, and a few others that don't come to mind at the moment. What could be so special about Pale Barley?


When I put it on, I saw right away why this gets such love. It's finely milled with just the right amount of shimmer. It is a lovely wheat color that looks polished on its own and amazing with Midnight Brown e/s. On my NW20 skin, it really makes my blue eyes stand out. I have a hard time with gold-ish shadows like MAC Woodwinked, but this is neutral enough that it's very easy to wear.


The texture is awesome. It lasts all day over primer and I love how smoothly it goes on.

This is a winner. It's not cheap, but the quality is worthy of the hefty price tag. It does stand out among my numerous neutrals!

A gorgeous shimmery light golden colour. It reminds me of my favourite mac shadow patina, but with better texture. The packaging is to die for, just wish they weren't so expensive. Can't wait to go to counter to look at other shadows but my purse can!!

This is a great brow colour. It’s shimmery and golden, subtle in its appearance, yet fantastic at catching the light.

The texture is smooth as silk, the pay-off is incredible and I love to use this as highlight as well. This means the inner V of the eye, the cupids bow, cheekbones etc.

Absolutely stunning. Yes, the blogger hype is correct. I don't really wear eye shadow very much for 2 reasons - 1) creasing. No matter which primer I have tried, they crease. 2) bad bad hereditary under eye circles (yes even with a corrector and copious amounts of concealer). So I have a stack of singles that I've purchased over the years that sit unused in my cupboard because I don't have the skills to use them without making myself look like a corpse.

Enter this baby and finally, I'm able to rock a gentle smokey eye (with Chanel Rose Platine in the water line - another HG). Its really lovely, perfect for green eyes, though am sure it would look gorgeous on all types. A gentle fool proof color that gives easy definition - honestly, coming from me the total klutz, its saying a lot. And it doesn't crease. Honestly, I continue to be shocked by this.

Expensive but such a high quality that I think its worth investing in particularly as you get a substantial amount in every pot. That such an unassuming looking color can take on such loveliness on the skin is genius.

I had read so much hype about this color, that of course I had to have it. I own one other Burberry shadow, and liked it very much. I believe this color, Pale Barley, is part of the spring 2012 collection, It's a gorgeous color. I would describe it as a "sheer light gold muted with a touch of taupe". I say taupe because a true gold looks bad on my pale complexion, and taupe looks great. It's very sheer, but still manages to pop my green eyes, and open up my eye area. It's got some shimmer, but once applied, it gives more of a glow. It goes on nicely but again, it's sheer and even packing it on (with my skintone) doesn't result in lots of color. It almost blends with your skintone. I read some blogs that described it as having peach undertones....I didn't find that true for me at all. One lippie off for two reasons - after opening the compact twice, the fancy case broke, and I KNOW that somewhere in my stash (maybe LORAC's Serenity) I have something that while not exact, is a very close dupe, at least in color. Burberry shadows are of high quality, and worth the splurge.