Burberry Illuminating Drops Glow Concentrate

In contrast with Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base Nude Radiance No.01, this 15mL/0.5fl. oz. deluxe travel-sized Illuminating Drops Glow Concentrate in Metallic Pearl No.01 is a straightforward liquid highlighter. This means it provides the glow and that's that. It's not a base so there's no grabbing onto the layer that goes on top, no added moisture, nothing. 

Still, this Glow Concentrate is a decent highlighter, a translucent and somewhat runny white milk with lots of yellowy gold shimmers. Because of its texture and the fact that it's in a tube, I ended up squeezing the whole thing into the empty pump bottle that used to house Paul & Joe Pearl Foundation Primer 002 Sweet Bon-Bon, just so I can dispense a consistent amount with every pump.  

All pictures taken in natural light without flash.

Once applied and blended out, the finish is translucent with a pearly gold sheen. Note I said the finish is translucent and not transparent like Fluid Base: as you can see from the swatches below, the pearly gold sheen is very noticeable. It's nowhere near the disco ball that was Bobbi Brown Extra Illuminating Moisture Balm Bare Glow, but still too noticeable to wear in the summer when strong sun is blasting. I use this in the colder months only. 

 

So far, I have tried using this Glow Concentrate in a couple of ways. My preferred way is to layer it over my moisturizer and under my waterproof sunscreen. In the colder months, once the sunscreen sets the result is a lovely glowing finish that last until 2-3pm. I don't mind this timing so much, as this is when I reapply sunscreen anyway. What I do mind is that after reapplying sunscreen, my fingers would come away with a thick layer of pearly gold residue that I have to either rub off or wash off. And when I'm on the go and washing my hands isn't an option, this gets pretty annoying.  

Another way is to add a pump of the Glow Concentrate directly into my sunscreen, mix well, and apply. I actually don't recommend this method. Sure, you can mix liquid highlighter with a non-SPF face moisturizer or foundation. And yes, I mix different sunscreens together all the time, provided there aren't any unstable ingredients like avobenzone in the sunscreens I'm mixing. But in general, I don't recommend mixing non-SPF stuff with sunscreens, because you never know if anything in the non-SPF stuff will corrupt the sunscreens, especially those with more chemical filters than physical blockers. 

 

But let's put aside the risk of sunscreen corruption for a moment. Out of curiosity, I did test out this method. One morning I was running late, and whenever this happens (a few times a year), I grab Hada-Labo Koi-Gokujyun UV White Gel, my toner, milk/emulsion, serum, cream, and sunscreen all-in-one product that I only reach for in a great hurry (will post on this later--I have a lot to say about this product). Then I thought, hell, I might as well test out this method now too and see what happens. So I added a pump of this Glow Concentrate to the big glob of the UV White Gel, blended, and applied. 

 

So what happened? Something terrible: it pilled horrifically and I pretty much rubbed the whole thing off of my face in tiny little balls. Ack! So no Glow Concentrate with UV White Gel, got it.   

Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base Nude Radiance No.01 (left) and this Illuminating Drops Glow Concentrate in Metallic Pearl No.01 (right).

But I didn't give up yet. On one weekend, I tried this method again, this time adding one pump of the Glow Concentrate to my usual sunscreen cocktail, blended, and applied. It still pilled, although not as badly as it did with the UV White Gel, and only on my neck. But this is odd still, because my face had a much thicker layer of sunscreen + highlighter, and my neck is where I wipe off the excess on my palms and fingers. Why did it pill on my neck where there was little product versus my face where there was a lot more product? I don't know the answer, and by now I wasn't keen on trying anymore. So there you have it, no Glow Concentrate with sunscreen cocktail either. 

 

And now you know why I prefer the Luminous Fluid Base over this Glow Concentrate, because it just works a lot better. And regardless, both products have been discontinued, and in their place is a Beyond Wear Radiance Primer that looks to be a lot closer to the Luminous Fluid Base. To this Glow Concentrate, I say good riddance. 

 

Same swatches above in full sun.