In the next few days, I’ll be posting about what I will call my Holiday Haul, to justify my recent purchases. This is my first dip into collection anticipation, and it’s deeply unsettling (not really) how much makeup I think I “need to have.” Here is one such item, the Prestigious Bordeaux Eye and Cheek Palette by Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura.

The palette consists of two Silk Smooth eyeshadows, three eyeshadows, and a deep pinky burnt red blush. It’s a compact enough size, with two double-ended applicators (sponge-tip and brush) and a mirror on the cover, in the shape of Mon Shu! Which I love, but cannot say as to whether it’s practical for use as a mirror or not.

Swatches! The Silk Smooth eye shadows (richer, more pigmented color, and that fricken’ beautiful texture) are the first and third shades. In between are the eyeshadows: a shimmery lilac, a gorgeous gold great for highlighting, and a warm, desaturated peach satin shade. Lastly, there is the sole blush color, which I would actually look great as an eyeshadow.

I didn’t use the brushes to test (because they are so pretty and clean!) so I don’t know how well they fare, but I’m guessing that the blush brushes (?) won’t really do that great of a job to apply the blush, since they are so small. The blush pan is actually too small to do anything decent with, but other people seem to have done it, so maybe I’m just lazy and/or ignorant.

Sidenote: I love that this blush is so pigmented, because I’d been looking for a darker blush for a long time! Two birds with one stone, yes! Kind of.

This is pretty much the worst picture ever, and I don’t know what part of me believes that this will entice you to buy the palette, but it does actually look better in person. I think it’s more of a testament to my awful hyper-macro face photography than the versatility of the palette. For that, you can visit Patricia Lee’s blog. She is the official make-up artist for shu uemura North America.

Also, I used all of the shades. LOL.

VERDICT: I love it, I’m glad I bought it, I can’t wait to play with it.
Would purchase this again? I would if I could!
How much? Php 3,500 for 0.03oz Silk Smooth Eyeshadow, 0.035 pressed eyeshadow, 0.045 glow (blush)
Where to buy in Manila? Shu Uemura (store locator + Trinoma)

Also reviewed in this entry is the Painting Liner in Blackish Satin Purple, which is named quite straighforwardly. It’s basically similar to a gel liner, but I find the formula to be much creamier than the gel liner I usually use. How adorable is this pot, though?

It’s quite a lovely eggplant shade with tiny, tiny flecks of gold, a combination that I am a sucker for. It applied smoothly and nicely (I used a lip brush from The Body Shop’s travel set, because it doesn’t come with any), but I actually was expecting it to be much more stiff because of the formula I’d been used to. Boy, was I surprised.

Look at the excellent pigmentation. I love how smoothly it goes on, and how you can apparently blend it out. It seems to dry fairly quickly, though, because when I tried to blend out the line I drew on my lower lashline, the painting liner stayed put.

I find that it is super purple when you draw it on solidly, but it has a subdued black undertone when you blend it out. …So, I guess it lives up to its name.

Another sad, sad picture of my eye.

VERDICT: Great alternative to black or brown liner. I see myself using this quite often
Would purchase this again? Yes.
How much? Php 1,375 for 0.098 oz.
Where to buy in Manila? Shu Uemura (store locator + Trinoma)

Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura will be available in Manila, Philippines on the first week of November. Ask your friendly neighborhood beauty assistants if you need more information.