Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited PK 382s $22 Review & Swatches

This is another Gloss Unlimited sample I received from Shu.

"Easy-to-wear vivid shades in vibrant color. Each shade delivers intense color fidelity and brightness, 3 dimensional shine effect in a non-sticky formula that keeps lips hydrated and soft. Sheer Coverage." ~From the Shu Uemura website.

The sample is a pink color gloss in shade pk 382s. There's a wide range of colors and shades to choose from though!

Swatches

Here's a swatch of the gloss. It's very sheer and has tiny bits of glitter throughout.

My natural lip color.

With the gloss applied.

Sample Product Packaging
Even though this is just a sample of the gloss, the tube and cap are of good quality plastic.

This lip gloss has my preferred applicator - the fuzzy applicator! I find that this kind of applicator gives me the best control around the edges of my lips. With some other applicators I end up pushing all the gloss from the center of my lips out to the edges.

The Verdict: A-
I love how the gloss is non-sticky and the glitter is so finely milled, you can't even feel it. Even though the gloss is very sheer on me, it looks great by itself or layered upon lipsticks.

Shu Uemura Tsumori Chisato Makeup Bag $29 Review

"Store your make-up in Tsumori Chisato's world with this limited-edition cosmetic pouch decorated with lucky stars." ~from the Shu Uemura website

The bag is made of nylon and there's little pink and peach stars printed all over. The pink stars are glittered and I think the glitter will eventually rub off completely.

The Details

Front of the bag.

Back of the bag.

Some close-ups of the jewel details and zipper on the bag. The bezel of the jewels and the jewels themselves are plastic. The star zipper is shiny gold pleather.

Inside of the bag and a close-up of the inside. There is a side pocket on one side for small items. You can see how puffy the lining is on both sides.

The Verdict: B+
I really like how insulated the bag is because all the items are protected and secure. But all this cushioning comes with a compromise on space.  The bag will hold just enough items for the day but that's it and it gets pretty crowded. Overall I've really enjoyed using it to tow my daily makeup.

Shu Uemura Tsumori Chisato Rouge Unlimited $25 Review & Swatches

"Rouge Unlimited lipstick in a limited edition shade of Jupiter Brown and encased within Tsumori Chisato's exclusive "Lucky Cat" packaging design." ~from Shu Uemura's website

This special holiday packaging is for the Limited Edition shade Juniper Brown. The color is a nude rose with a gold sheen to it. The gold is from teeny tiny gold glitter. Look below for to see swatches!

Swatches

Here's my natural lip color.

With the rouge applied. Can you see the tiny gold glitter?

Product Packaging
How cute are the box and the lipstick? I love the whimsical doodles of this packaging. The lipstick case is made from a high grade plastic and seems really durable.

And check this out....

You can re-use the case with other Rouge Unlimited lipsticks! Alls you gotta do is pop out the lipstick from the base and voila!

Even though the packaging is so cute, I probably would've resisted this purchase because I've got lipsticks and lip glosses to last me a couple of lifetimes. But the fact that you can re-use the case over and over again was enough to convince me to get it.

The Verdict: A-
The lipstick glides on very smoothly and it doesn't dry out my lips at all. I do however feel the glitter if I rub my lips together.

Another thing I liked is how the lipstick fits perfectly in the Dior lipstick case from Saks! That's right - I am not ashamed to mix my labels. I love this because if I'm going to be re-using this case, I really do NOT want the design to rub off from getting shuffled around my makeup bag.

Shu Uemura Cyber Monday 2009 Parcel

Did anybody take advantage of the Shu Uemura Cyber Monday deal? I thought it was pretty awesome so I couldn't resist and picked up some goodies from their Tsumori Chisato Holiday 2009 Collection.

I crumbled and ordered the Holiday Rouge Unlimited and the Holiday Makeup bag.

Freebies

I also received this bag and samples along with my swag. There are sooo many samples and the size for some of these are HUGE!  Just to give some perspective, the dimensions of the mesh bag are about 5x7.

Shipping Experience: A

Shu got it right this time. Right-sized box, lots of packing peanuts and all the items arrived safe and sound.

Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited WNE 283s $22 Review & Swatches

I got this as a sample a little while back and just wanted to put up a quickie review.

"Easy-to-wear vivid shades in vibrant color. Each shade delivers intense color fidelity and brightness, 3 dimensional shine effect in a non-sticky formula that keeps lips hydrated and soft. Sheer Coverage." ~From the Shu Uemura website.


The sample is a wine color gloss in shade wne 283s. There's a wide range of colors and shades to choose from though!

Swatches

Here's a swatch of the gloss. See how teeny tiny the glitter is?


My natural lip color.


With the gloss lightly applied.

Sample Product Packaging
Even though this is just a sample of the gloss, the tube and cap are of very good quality and I was really impressed.

This lip gloss has my preferred applicator - the fuzzy applicator! I find this kind of applicator gives me the best control around the edges of my lips. With some other applicators I end up pushing all the gloss from the center of my lips out to the edges.

The Verdict: A
I love the color of this for the fall! I also love how the gloss is non-sticky and the glitter is so finely milled, you can't even feel it. The gloss goes on sheer and it looks great by itself or layered upon lipsticks.

Shu Uemura Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation $42 Review & Swatch

"Shu Uemura's Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation refines skin texture to ultimate smoothness with a watery fresh application.

This foundation spreads with a watery sensation wearing comfortably on the skin. Imperfections such as uneven skin texture and skin tone are smoothed out with each application for a beautifully unified look. With adjustable coverage, the skin looks flowaless yet natural, resulting in a transparent complextion soft and smooth to the touch.

High concentrations of Depsea water allow for an exceptionally fluid application leaving skin with a fresh watery texture." ~from the pamphlet included with the foundation.

Swatch

The foundation appears more yellow in this pic than it does in person. I got this in shade #764 which matches MAC NC25. If you're trying to determine your shade, check out my previous post here.



Product Packaging
The product is housed in a glass container with a plastic lid and pump. I really like the heavy feel of the glass in my hand. I dunno why.


And of course I love the pump dispenser as it's both sanitary and easy to dispense just the right amount. I do not understand why this isn't an industry standard. If you don't use the pump, it's always easier to unscrew it than to find a pump that actually fits the container.

The Verdict: A-
I've put this foundation on a variety of ways and there's just NO WAY to mess it up. I've used only my fingers to dab & smooth it on when I'm in a rush, I've used a sponge applicator to smooth it on, I've stippled it on with the MAC 187, and I've even used the Shu Natural 18 Foundation brush to apply it. However you choose to apply this, it goes on beautifully. It gives medium to medium-full coverage and has a bit of a powdery finish.

What I love is that this foundation never cakes and it lasts through an 8 hour day. I don't recall ever needing to touch-up my face with this foundation. I've seem some forums where people say this foundation has oxidized on them and turned orangey. I tested it out and I didn't have a problem with oxidization but I also disagreed with the original shade the SAs picked out for me. They chose #754 for me but it was a bit off - so I self-corrected afterwards.

The only real complaint I have is I can "feel" the foundation sitting on my skin as it's drying. Even though it dries fairly quickly, every now and then during the day I get that feeling of The Foundation is ON again.

Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse SPF10 $32 Review

I've always been a believer in primers. They are afterall the foundation to foundations. They create a smooth base for foundation so it's applied smoothly and evenly over the skin. A primer is a must for me to counter acne scarring, enlarged pores and some dry patches. Without it, foundation lodges itself into crevices I didn't even know were on my face and it slips off areas where I expect it to stay put.


I've always wanted to try out Shu Uemura's unconventional UV Underbase Mousse SPF10. The look of the packaging is so unique that I've been drawn to this product for the longest time. Another plus is that this primer has SPF10 in it. It's not much but some SPF is better than none, right?




Here some of the mousse straight outta the can. See how billowy and foamy? Although the mousse blends sheer, it has a beige tint to it. In fact the box says it's official shade is Beige 01.

The Verdict: A
I wasn't sure what to expect this foamy primer but I was pleasantly suprised. Since this has the consistency of mousse, when it's applied it doesn't just glide over the skin. I could feel it being absorbed into my skin just a little bit which also provided some moisturization. It does takes some work to get this blended in and absorbed into the skin. It leaves skin a litte moist and takes a minute to dry completely. Once dried my skin felt soft and supple. My pores were minimized and foundation went on like a dream without budging.

It is non-greasy, very light weight and the best part - it mattifies. I barely broke a shine in the 6th hour. That's right shine free for 6 hours! Another thing I noticed was that this primer actually keeps foundation and blushes right where it's applied. I'm totally in love with this stuff!

Shu Uemura Parcel

I'm so excited to finally get this! I've used Shu's Face Architect Foundatation in the past but I could never get my hands on the UV Underbase. Whenever I get to the Shu counter to purchase it, it's always out of stock! What's up with that? I'm really looking forward to using these 2 together cause I always have this belief that products from the same brand are supposed to work in sync.


I also received a few samples from Shu and they're so cute! I have to say I love Shu's samples - they're so pristine and packaged beautifully!

Shipping Experience: B-
I'm usually very happy with Shu's shipping. They always cushion the items with a lot of packing peanuts and everything is secure for shipment. Who knew too many packing peanuts would be too much of a good thing?

This time they must've run out of boxes or something. They decided they would pack everything in a box that's too small and would also stuff it to the brim with peanuts. Literally. As if the massive amount of peanuts would make up for the teeny box. There were so many peanuts the box wouldn't close fully and they shipped it just like that.


The items were all squished inside and the box for the Underbase got crushed in the process. I "smoothed" out the box as best I could in the pic. None of the items were damaged but the poor choice in packaging and the crushed product box was disappointing.

Shu Uemura Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation Color Chart (kinda sorta)

I've been intrigued about Shu Uemura's Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation for a super l-o-n-g time. I've even gone to get my shade matched at the Shu counter but that's a story for another post. Lately I've been staring at the foundation shades offered online (again) but I've never been able to make any sense of it. I'm sure there are also Asia-only shades not shown online which annoys me to no end.

With all that said - Please don't be alarmed by what you are about to see next. I just had to do it to ease my troubled mind and to finally make some sense of those cryptic shade numbers! You can click on the pics to expand the diagrams and get a closer look.


Color Chart from Shu's USA website. Mine got flipped(sorry) - as the rows go from top to bottom they simultaneously progress from
dark
medium-dark
medium
light-medium
light


Color Chart modifed by yours truly. I ignored the number assigned to the shades, kept all the colors in their respective row but moved them around by the color I perceived.

Here's what I could sort out of the 3-digit numbers XYZ from the color charts:

Left digit X indicates how warm/pink or cool/yellow the shade is.
1 = warmest shade (most pink)
9 = coolest shade (most yellow)

Middle digit Y indicates how light or dark the shade is.
0 = darkest shade
8 = lightest shade

Right digit Z - I can't figure out. If you figure it out please let me know! There's only 4 or 5 and that's the extent of the range. Shade #164 and #165 are the only two shades that have the same XY digits and only the Z digit differs. They do appear to be different but I can't describe the distinction.

***** Update ***** Thanks to Anonymous for this extra confirmation! *****

"I have been to Shu counter,
It is correct that left digit X indicates how warm or cool the shade is. But the higher the number the warmer it will be. So no.9 is the warmest, most yellow of all. I have not seen no.1-3 but no. 5 is pinkish (in my opinion). No. 7 is equivalent to NC range in MAC. No. 9 is very yellow. 754 is a bit darker than NC35(I tried in the shop's light)."

***** 2nd Update *****

A fellow reader that is MAC NC20 was matched to shade #564 by an SA at the Shu Counter.

Anticipating Shu Uemura's Tokyo Kamon Girls Collection

I got this teaser in my email yesterday about the upcoming Shu Uemura collection!

The Shu Uemura Powers collaborated with manga artist Moyoco Anno to design the limited edition Tokyo Kamon Girls Collection.


This is Moyoco herself - Isn't she lovely? I love her kimono! The colors and patterns are sooo gorgeous! Reminds me of origami paper.


The main focus of this collection are the Shu Cleansing Oils packaged with the Tokyo Kamon Girls motif. Each bottle is 450ml and represents an individual Kamon Girl with her own personality and an accompanying mini-story. From top to bottom:

TAMAKI(orange)
High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil
Strong willed and energetic, she has straight long hair and a fringe that is reminiscent of traditional images of Japanese female beauty. She lives in a luxurious mansion in one of Tokyo's most exclusive residential areas, Den-en-Chofu.

SAKURAKO(pink)
High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Fresh
She is a blossom of charm and purity. She sits in Tokyo's Ueno Park on her way back from her frend's wedding dressed in her best kimono and enjoying the stylish springtime tradition of viewing bursts of cherry blossoms at night. Moyocco Anno designed her to encapsulate all that is cute.

MATSUNO(green)
Cleansing Beauty Oil Premium A/O
Reserved and elegant, she represents the subtle power of this design. A mature Japanese woman, she adores nature but is shy.

KATSURA(purple)
White Recovery EX+ Brightening Cleansing Oil
A coquettish women with side parted hair, she is flirtatious and is intent on stealing hearts from inside the kamon. She is mysterious and alluring.

TSURUHA(golden bottle)
High Performance Cleansing Oil Advanced Formula
A serene girl with bobbed hair, she represents happiness and fulfillment. She sparkles as she drifts through the streets of Tokyo attending a Kabuki performance with her mother and enjoying an afternoon of shopping in the Ginza district.


Personally, I could care less how these are packaged. The brush set and the train case are what I'm really looking forward to in this collection - Scroll down to take a peek!



I love the brushes themselves but I'm not feeling the color on the outside of the case or the lining on the inside. Now if they had designed the case with the lotus/gold foil look on the background of the teaser email and if they had lined it with the magenta-accent on Moyoco's kimono - I'd be drooling all over it.



What a beautiful train case~ I'm so addicted to them but it's so hard for me to commit to purchasing one. I'm always let down either by the look of the case, the construction quality, or how the shelves are on the inside. O and how could I forget the price. Train cases are hella-expensive!

I'm not feeling the way the shelves are only on 1-side of this train and I'm on the fence about the overall look of the case. I love the white on the outside - no problem with that, but white again on the inside? I wish there was more color. More color! Again I'm gonna have to see this baby in person.

Shu Uemura Custom Palette

I love the idea of a custom palette but all the compacts out there seem to be basic black. Black is just fine, but I love color! The colors on Shu Uemura's new custom palette is just perfect for summer!



At the Shu website, you can customize your palette and get the limited edition compact for free (no coupon code needed)! You can choose a palette that will fit:
4 eyeshadows
2 blushes
2 eyeshadows + 1 blush

I wish the compact came in a bigger size to fit more and I wish they had an option for lipcolors too...regardless I'm fighting the urge to purchase this!

Just click on the image above to go directly to the Shu website!

Eyelash Curlers

I got this plastic pinky curler one way WAY back when I was in high school. I really like it cause it's just cute looking and I don't have to worry about it getting banged up when I carry it around with me. I don't remember what brand it was....I want to say Wet 'n Wild because I remember getting it at Walmart. It was pretty cheap too - probably only $2-3.

The other eyelash curler I have is THE famed Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler $19. I find that I have to be careful with this because it does pinch me sometimes.

The Verdict

I really don't see a difference between the two. They can both give me a great natural curl when used right but they can also both give me 90 degree angled lashes if pressed down too hard or long. I love both because one's cute and the other one is so glamorous!