Burberry Launches a Beauty Line

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed)
Jul 10th 2010 at 9:01AM

Plaid, tartan, checked -- these are all patterns that I'd be most appalled to see on my face, even after a night of hard pillow-printing sleep, but Burberry -- best known for its classic "haymarket check" pattern on umbrellas, luggage and trench coat linings is betting the world's wealthy women will think differently.

The brand has just launched a beauty line, which it's selling at Nordstrom.com. It includes a full line of makeup, supposedly inspired by the "touch and feel of lightweight Burberry outerwear fabrics – the last layer you put on," according to the breathless press materials I received.

It all sounds rather...weatherproof...to me, and the colors also sound a bit grim: hues are described as greyed-off, smoky, dusty, trench and Gabardine.

Now, Burberry invented Garbardine in the late 19th century -- it's a fabric that's hard-wearing and weatherproof. This all sounds like something I'd like to use to coat a fence, not my forehead. On the other hand, these lovely ladies above look like they'd still look pretty good after a hard British rain shower, so maybe that's the point.

Tags: burberry, burberry beauty, burberry cosmetics, cosmetics