I should be very reluctant about admitting this but I will not lie about almost drooling on my keyboard when I saw the upcoming Holiday Collection from Shu Uemura! Shu collaborates with Takashi Murakami in coming up with a 19-piece collection (14-piece outside Japan, I believe) that's sure to sweep every girl off her feet!

The designs are inspired by Murakami's upcoming anime series called 6HP (Six Heart Princess) and in the pieces are mainly his pink and black princesses. I love how the basic gold colour in each product allows the artist's eye-catching girly designs to stand out. 

You will not just love the design, the palettes are gorgeous too:

                 Heart-Full Pink Parallel Palette aka Pink Princess Palette (Photo credits: TOP, BOTTOM)

                     Enchanted Black Parallel Palette aka Black Princess Palette (Photo Credits: TOP, BOTTOM)

Aside from palettes, these are in the collection, too:

                           The Shu Uemura S-Curler's included. This must have been the easiest for Murakami, lol

Check out actual photos from the Tokyo Launch via Livedoor!

         Murakami for Shu Uemura 2013 Holiday: Lip-and-cheek Fun-tasy, 5 shades

    Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! (Takashi Murakami)

The collection will be available in November and will be sold earlier (October 10) at Selfridges.

Before discovering the Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzing Powder, bronzers are my least favorite makeup because I have had horrific experiences with it turning either too orange, unflatteringly ruddy, or dirty brick brown on me as my skin gravely oxidizes makeup. Add to that, since bronzers are more popularly used for contouring and I don't see myself developing a substantial amount of skill in it anytime soon, I cared less about them.

Luckily, I learned about the Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzing Powder and I finally realized that bronzers are not monsters but friends. Shiseido describes this product as an oil-free bronzing powder that provides an all-day, air-brushed finish to create a natural, radiant & sun-kissed look.

   Comes in 3 shades: Light 01, Medium 02, and Dark 03. P1998 for 0.42 oz compact, $35 at Sephora

   "With flash" photo of the bronzer on the pan is color-accurate. See last photo below for a zoomed-in pic

The Shiseido Bronzing Powder in Medium/02 is a flattering true brown for my skin. On the pan, it has microglitters but isn't shimmery at all when brushed against the skin. You must know that I shy away from anything glittery as shimmers almost always provide my acne scars an unsolicited emphasis, but this powder's an exception.

It's nice to find a bronzer that's not heavily pigmented at first swipe. I can lazily wear Medium/02 as a blush without minding if I'm using a heavy hand. This is a  feature which bronzer noobs such as myself can immensely benefit from. I sweep the brush thrice to get some pigment, tap it out once to take out the excess, and then brush under the apples of my cheeks. After, I take a big powder brush to blend the bronzer upwards to further diffuse it up to the apples of my cheeks. Note that the Shiseido bronzer fairly wears long as I see minimal fading on my oily cheeks only after 4-5 hours.

    Shiseido Bronzing Powder used simply as a blush to add warmth & colour to cheeks (no other cheek prods used)

Products used in the FOTD above are: Nature Republic The First Clarifying Toner, ZA True White Liquid Foundation (OC30), Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited (RD 160), Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzer (Medium). It's a quick way to look somewhat made up. The bronzer made a huuuuuuuge difference I tell ya!

It wouldn't be fair not to make a special mention that the compact comes with a soft and densely packed kabuki-style brush. I have not used any other brush other than this as it works extremely well. I only wish it was sold separately so I can get back-ups (not that this brush can't handle the whole 0.42oz of bronzing brilliance; it is actually quite sturdy and has not lost its earlier softness even after several washes).

I have already used this product severaaaal times and I can't believe hetchmarks are still visible near the edges

If only this bronzing powder was tagged several hundreds of pesos lower, I would recommend it to makeup newbies in a heartbeat to avoid the bronzing horrors I went through. I know that NARS Bronzing powders are cheaper-- locally, so they may want to check that out first. Weirdly enough, NARS bronzers are a dollar more expensive than Shiseido's at Sephora but contain lesser product in the pan ($36 for 0.28oz vs $35 for 0.42oz), meaning Shiseido is definitely a bang for the buck if you're purchasing in the U.S.!

In a twist of fate, the product I used to hate is now something I find myself using a lot. Thanks to the Shiseido Oil-Free Bronzing Powder in 02, I struck gold discovering an air-brushed finish bronzer that shows up nicely on my skin without failing to give me a healthy, natural, sun-kissed look. It's an added bonus that it photographs really well and has never broken me out!

When I first learned about the Shu Uemura S curler back in June, I went, "what for, Shu? You've got a great curler already!", and then I suddenly remembered the SOLE gripe about their iconic, classic, silver lash curler: it can pinch badly if your eyes are not wide enough. Brilliantly, the people from Shu decided to create a sidebar-free mini lash curler to cater to all eye sizes and shapes thus eliminating skin pinching and ensuring all lash strands are primped to a perfect curl.

   The S curler vs Original curler: section-by-section versus curl-all-at-once. Both result to a flattering, long-lasting curl

I finally met the new curler who seemed to say, "mover over!", when I placed it alongside the original one. Weirdly enough, after toying with and trying both tools, I have to say it's hands down to the classic curler.

Huge Problem: it may not pinch but it pokes

I find the S-curler very hard to use. It has this supposedly helpful white pad you put against the eyelid (versus the very similar Urban Decay Revolution curler which has no pad at all) to serve as a feedback signalling that the curling pad is already at the perfect position-- near the base of the lashes. But I find it didn't help me at all. Worse, there were instances I had part of the curler poking my eyes! I know it shouldn't be that bad; it was obviously my amateurism getting in the way of properly experiencing a well-meaning product.

Since I was already tearing up from getting part of the curler in my eyes, I was no longer pressing the white pad on my lids. Think my lashes still had the curl of their hairy lives? Noooope. I've never seen something as silly as irregular curling-- some section curled near the base, others in the middle of the lash length. Not flattering at all!

Pros and Cons of The S Curler

I'm presently  loving the classic curler more than new one only because I'm such a noob dealing with non-sidebar curlers. It might take a while before I learn the ropes but I can already confirm the new curler's pros :

• gives a rounder curl versus the classic curler 
• allows you to curl the shorter inner and outer lashes
• perfect for curling falsies including the fancily wide ones 
• a good tool for makeup artists because it works universally
• more compact than the original curler
• a few pesos more affordable than the original curler (P1000 vs P1095)

Cons include:

• practice needed; in my case, LOTS of practice needed
• time-consuming
• not for the impatient
• white pad gets easily displaced when cleaning the tool (you can always put it back though. just be wary of permanently losing it!)

The S curler is among Shu Uemura's newest products along with the Tokyo Lash Mascara (both will be available in the U.S. website by September 3). It's a great tool if you want to be OC about having to curl every bit and strand of your lashes but can be a pain if you've never ever used something like it before. (A makeup artist I met had a hard time using it on herself but she swears by the design idea being outstanding. She's used something like it, only it wasn't angled but was tweezer-like). If you're already in love with the classic, original curler and you don't really plan to do other people's makeup, trust me when I tell you you don't need the S curler.

Dubbed as the creme de la creme of Shu Uemura's beauty cleansing oils, the Ultime8 Sublime promises to target eight skin concerns by combining eight exquisite oils of botanic origins. Eight... botanic! And so I jumped off the edge of my seat to get my hands on this miracle despite the fact that I'm already impressed and satisfied with the Sakura Fresh variant. Oh girrrrrls, *SMH*.

                  Shu Uemura Ultime8 Sublime Beauty Cleansing Oil, 150mL

The Exquisite Eight

• Jojoba Oil: high in Omega-3 essential fatty acids to activate collagen and provide hydration plus improve skin suppleness
• Safflower Oil: rich in Omegas-6 and -9 which help maintain the skin barrier
• Camelia Oil: is regarded as a precious beauty oil in Japan; has restorative and rejuvenating properties due to oleic acids, Omega-3,-6,-9 and Sasanquasaponin, which has anti-oxidative properties
• Soy Oil: a natural emollient that moisturizes and protects the skin
• Olive Squalene: a natural emollient that mimics human sebum and leaves skin soft and moisturized plus provides anti-oxidant effects
• Shea Butter: abundant in triglycerides and fatty acids offering protection from photodamage; reinforces the skin’s barrier function and helps protect it from stressors
• Ginger Root Oil: a medicinal oil in Asian countries which reduces inflammatory and oxidative reactions; helps prevent skin damage, reduces wrinkles, brightens and smooths skin.
• Corn Oil: contains a variety of fatty acids and forms an ultra thin oil layer on the skin surface to protect it from dryness.

Shu Uemura Ultime8 's Physical Properties

The packaging and pump bottle are both impressive and its unique black twist-to-open nozzle (the rest are white) seems to scream "I AM SPECIAL". It smells luxuriously herbal and has a slightly heavier consistency & feel compared to the Shu cleansing oil Fresh variant.

I find that the recommended amount to be used, 3-4 pumps, is too much for my entire face. I use a pump and half (amazing pump system that allows flow control, as with the older variants) and yet I don't feel I skimped on it. I knew the 150mL will last me till the end of its shelf-life (6 months). And it did!

          Opened mid-February 2013. This photo was taken 2 days ago (posted at Instagram too, @the_beautybin)

Claims, Thoughts, Reviewed!

Shu Uemura reports that it tested the Ultime8 Sublime on 49 Asian women who used the cleansing oil twice a day. The test yielded the following results:

94% says skin feels smoother 

92% says skin feels moisturised 

90% says skin looks more radiant 

92% says skin looks refined 

85% says skin looks revitalized 

90% says skin appears more translucent 

92% says skin looks more supple 

90% says skin feels nourished 

I assume these are the eight skin benefits that the product claims to provide the skin. Out of these benefits, I'm surprised to see that:

(1) the least experienced benefit is skin revitalization, which I felt almost instantly after the first few uses; and

(2) the mother of all benefits, skin purification / cleansing, isn't reported. Personally, I'd consider "moisturised" and "nourished" one and the same, making room for "X% cleaner skin" in that report.

Price: P2650 for 150mL

          P6250 for 450mL

Where to buy: Shu Uemura counters

Shelf-Life: 6 months for the 150mL bottle

If I were to enumerate the benefits the Shu Uemura Ultime8 Sublime cleansing oil gave my skin, it has to be: skin purification, revitalization, radiance, and moisturization. That's 50% of the promised results. But hey, I wasn't using it twice a day like the test subjects did.

"Use Ultime8 Sublime once a day and you get half of the entire benefits". Well played Ultime8, well played.

Repurchasing?

While it never caused me pimples nor negative skin reactions, I won't be. I get clean, revitalized, radiant and moisturized skin from the Fresh variant which costs so much cheaper than this! I was also hoping this cleansing oil could help reduce pore size but it didn't. 

Looking at the benefits above, this product seems to have been created for aging (but I am aging!) progressively aging skin, those with age-spots and/or sun-spots, and dehydrated skin. I'm very sure these people would've written a very different review but with a similar recommendation.

If you don't have sun-spots, age-spots, freckles, and dry skin, I encourage you to try Shu Uemura's other (hello, cheaper) cleansing oil variants first. The Ultime8 Sublime may sound like it is and was formulated to be the best cleansing oil among the rest, but it's apparently not so in my case.

I like the Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse because of how incredibly impressive it makes makeup stay all day despite the sweltering heat. I have combination skin and I prefer swiping the lightweight mousse primer along my T-zone area only as it tends to dry up my cheeks. Talk about a genuine face mattifier!

How much? 2.29oz of product for: P2,200 (limited ed); P2,000 (regular bottles); $35 on Shu Uemura website 

Where to buy: Shu Uemura counters (Trinoma, MOA, Rustan's Shang and Makati)

Sun Protection: SPF 30 PA+++

This can be a stand alone face base for those with already great skin (not for those with dry skin though). The primer is limited to gluing foundation to the skin, blurring pores to a significant degree, and keeping the face from excessively oiling up. It cannot conceal acne scars and pimples. 

Other cons to consider are:

• limited shade range: pink and beige 
• too mattifying even for those with combination skin
• face can feel a wee bit sticky before the product gets fully pushed into the skin
• mousse pump difficult to control (the bottle dispenses too much when all you need is a small dollop). To get the right amount, make sure to press the pump on its farthest side opposite the nozzle. Pump cautiously (the sneaking-in-the-house-way-past-your-curfew cautious type) in an upward direction.

Some helpful notes:

• The shades do not adapt to the skin color and tone. I remember my face looking beige and afloat my neck after putting this on. Its color does not overpower the foundation shade that sits on top of it though.
• I thought the Shu Uemura UV Underbase mousse primer smelled like beer.
• You get a velvety smooth face after letting the product sink in to the skin.
• Limited edition bottles are purely beauty blings and are in no way extra special inside than the regular bottles. 

Product wastage captured in photo (below). This is what happens when you treat the pump as you normally would a pump--pressing it on the middle. You will only need half as much to cover the entire face. And if you're arguing that you can use the remaining half to build coverage, don't be disappointed when you end up looking a lot more beige than covered.

Recommendation. Those who have oily skin with minor imperfections will enjoy this product. Makeup artists may also find this a reasonably priced primer--cutting down on touch-ups and beauty boo-boo's during events is after all, priceless. I also recommend this to those who feel like they will never find a face primer that will make foundation stick. This product is worth trying before totally giving up on primers. 

Despite the efficiency of the product, it is surprising that I rarely want to use it. The Shu Uemura UV Underbase mousse primer makes me look too made-up (for my liking). I can use it on its own to downplay the look but it lacks decent coverage to give my face the near-flawless illusion it needs. 

I attended a workshop conducted by Shu Uemura makeup artist, Patrick Alcobar, at the Trinoma Mall last week. I ran in late but it's a good thing I didn't miss much.

Here are the main products used during the workshop:

1. UV Under base Mousse (in beige), P2000 - a primer and a moisturizer in a can. An excellent product for creating a smooth canvass for any type of foundation

2. Face Architect Liquid Foundation (in 554, medium sand), P2150 - gives medium to heavy coverage

3. Cover Crayon (in 7YRmed/7YRml), P1700 - undereye and face concealer in one pencil!

4. Face Powder Matte, P2350 - loose powder that sets the face architect liquid foundation perfectly.

5. Hard Formula Brow Pencil (in Walnut), P1400 - this is such an investment! No wonder both Phoebe and Kira likes this so much!

6. Chocolat Donna Eye Palette (in Raspberry & Mocha), P4000 - a beautiful set of browns perfect for any occasion. All shades are so wearble! This, by the way, is a limited edition palette.

7. Rogue Unlimited (in RD160 and PK315), P1195 - excellent pigmentation and staying power! I lalalalove RD106!

Continue reading »

Let me tell you that I used to be among those who snobbed Shu Uemura cleansing oils because of their steep price points. However, after trying out the Sakura Fresh (Pink) variant that Pammy gave me, I knew I deserved the guillotine for not giving this oil-based cleanser a chance.

Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing
Cleansing Oil in Fresh, 150mL, $28

Packaging. This cleanser comes in 450mL, 150mL and travel-size 8mL's.

   8 mL- perfect for testing the best cleansing oil in town

   150mL- I have weird skin: my HG skin products can turn against me after 8-10months. Remember my    Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel nightmare? This size is perfect for my "extended trial" period.

   450mL- most users claim that it lasts them a year (cost-efficient!)

Except for the minis, these cleansing oils come in lovely clear bottles with pumps. They are such sink candies, I tell you. My only gripe is that the pump can dispense too much product that shoots out too strong from the nozzle that can result to wasted oil. I prevent this from happening by pressing the pump slowly and halfway through so that I get the desired amount of cleanser on my palm (2 pumps is perfect for me).

Product Efficacy. It is an amazing makeup remover, a gentle facial cleanser and an absolutely effective skin mattifier.

As a makeup remover, It works as well as my Pond's cold cream. It leaves the face squeaky clean minus the tugging from facial wipes that always happens with cream and gel cleansers. I feel like I'm stalling wrinkles from appearing on my face because I've cut down on using facial wipes.

This does not work well on eye makeup, though.

As a gentle cleanser, this variant did not break me out. However, unlike most users who claim that this cleanser lessened their zits (or dried the pimples), I feel that it cannot stand against hormonal acne.

Check out how Shu Uemura fares versus the affordable Kanebo Freshel Cleansing Oil.

As a mattifier, Shu Uemura Balancing Oil in Fresh Pink has helped suck out the icky oil off my face! There are so many signs that clearly shows how less oily my skin has been ever since I've added this to my local obagi skincare routine and I'm loving these results to bits. I can not award the decrease in facial oiliness to Shu alone, though. My derma's meds helped a lot, too. But having the oil cleanser around has truly made an even more significant difference in having a matte and brighter skin!

Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Mini/Travel size (8mL)
that Pammy gave me!

What to Expect. If you have never tried cleansing oils, you might be taken aback at how non-matte the skin can be after washing the cleanser off. The Shu Uemura cleansing oil will leave the face a lil slippery after washing, but once dried out, the face becomes a perfect canvass --- not too oily, not too dry.

Some follow up with soap. I don't.

Procurement. Rustan's carry Shu Uemura with a whopping 4,000php for the full size, and 1800ish on the 150mL bottle. If you don't want to put a dent on that card, you may want to:

a. ask a relative/friend from the U.S. or Japan or Taiwan to buy for you

b. get one from duty free! my 150mL bottle costs the same ($28) as the Shu website sells it.

c. buy from reputable Taiwanese sellers in ebay. Most of them offer free shipping and have fair-priced products.

Scent. It leaves a pleasant floral scent that isn't too strong.

I should've followed my instincts to try out cleansing oils in place of my good old Pond's cold cream makeup remover when my co-beauty blogger, Crystal, raved about the Shu Uemura Skin Purifier High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil in Fresh. Crystal has tried cleansing oils from Elianto and DHC, and she ended up loving Shu Uemura's famed cleasnser.

While it comes with a hefty price tag, its pump not too effective, and its eye makeup-removing ability a failure, I will definitely have this product around. Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil in Fresh Pink is truly a good investment if you want better skin.