theNotice: a beauty blog

The product: karl lagerfeld for shu uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Luxe Burgundy, Mon Shu Red, and Celebrity Beige

While working on a shu uemura Blossom Dream post (Spring 2013), I was hit by a rather startling realization: in all of the holiday bustle, I completely forgot to post about shu’s Holiday Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks.

Seeing as they were my absolute favourite part of the collection, you can see why that might have been a bit of an issue for me.

Karl Lagerfeld for shu uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipsticks in Luxe Burgundy, Mon Shu Red, and Celebrity Beige

The formula: You always hear about shu’s lipsticks: at first, it was the packaging (anyone else remember those clear twist-up bullets?), then it was the shades (there are some ridiculously gorgeous ones), but in reality, it’s all about the formula.

Comfortable and smooth, the Rouge Unlimited formula wears well on my dry lips, and applies without a hitch even over dry patches. It’s less pigmented than I was expecting–not quite opaque–and wears with a natural shine. Because of the formula (glossy and moisturizing,) the wear is a little on the shorter end of the spectrum, but it’s very comfortable within that timeframe.

And (here’s the part that really sells me) the formula is completely scent- and taste-free. I love a scent-free lip!

Karl x Shu Luxe Burgundy, Mon Shu Red, and Celebrity Beige (L-R)

The shades: All three of these shades have microshimmer in them, adding to the glossy effect. It’s most evident in Celebrity Beige (I think it’d be stellar as a creme finish) and least in Mon Shu Red, but it is present in all of them.

shu uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick swatches in Luxe Burgundy, Mon Shu Red, and Celebrity Beige

Celebrity Beige

The most natural of this collection, Celebrity Beige is a surprisingly wearable nude. Despite its peachy undertones, I find it fits well with my cool-toned complexion, and it translates just as easily on warmer skintones — Christine (Temptalia) has it reviewed and worn here.

Luxe Burgundy

I love a vampy lip, and Luxe Burgundy is an absolutely gorgeous varient thereof. A medium-opacity wine with plenty of brown undertones to keep the colour looking muted (but still bold), it has a little more shimmer than I’d like (still much less noticeable than that in Celebrity Beige), and leaves a bit of a stain as it wears away.

Like many semi-opaque dark shades, it can apply a little patchily, but I don’t find I have too many problems once I give a few minutes to “settle in.” Be sure not to slide your lips together overly much and you should be good!

Mon Shu Red

The most attention-grabbing of the Karl for Shu lipsticks, Mon Shu Red has the least noticeable shimmer… and the most noticeable pigment. It’s a bright strawberry-red, a little slippery and hard to catch on film. Against my skin, it’s almost fluorescent, and I can see it as a standout summer shade.

The same rules apply to Mon Shu Red as to Luxe Burgundy for wear.

The verdict?

At $30 USD/$31 CAD, I probably should not love these as much as I do. After all, they’re not fully opaque, and the wear isn’t perfect… but it is very good (if a little short and slippery), and the shades are absolutely stunning.

If you’re on the market for a great scent-free lipstick–which can be so hard to find,–be sure to check these out. The Karl Lagerfeld for shu uemura Holiday 2012 collection is still available on the shu uemura website, and even once these shades are gone, I still think the formula is worth a look!

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The product: shu uemura ultime8 sublime beauty cleansing oil (unmask edition packaging)

The collection

To celebrate a classic (and one that’s been on shelves for 46 years, at that!), shu uemura have released their top-selling cleansing oil in limited edition “unmask” packaging – a far cry from the minimalist bottles in the permanent range.

From left to right, we have the ultim8 cleansing oil (reviewed here), the fresh pore clarifying gentle cleansing oil (for pore concerns), the high performance balancing cleansing oil (for all skin types), the cleansing beauty oil premium A/O (for ageing skin), and finally, the whitefficient clear gentle cleansing oil (for brightening).

ultim8 cleansing oil

Created to target global skin concerns, the ultim8 cleansing oil is something of the crème de la crème of cleansing oils. Its eight oils are infused with botanical ingredients to fight any of the skin concerns you may have, and shu uemura describe it as a “cashmere-like cocooning oil.”

I’ve tried two of shu’s cleansing oils so far  (the other was their A/O formula), and this one has been my favourite. Lighter than the A/O while still feeling comforting and a little weighty, I much prefer the scent of this one — and, of course, its cleansing powers don’t disappoint.

As a blogger, one of the things I struggle with the most is getting super-pigmented swatches off of my forearms on swatch days. It doesn’t sound like much of a feat, but trust me: with very pale, dry skin, my arms pick up colour like crazy.

Cleansing oils aren’t my favourite way to remove makeup from my arms (you need a sink, and I’ve yet to find one that’s truly cost-effective), but when I have a lot of products to go through in very little time, the shu oils have been my go-to. Without even needing a cleansing cloth to scrub with, they remove product more quickly and gently than anything else I own — including bi-phase makeup removers and micellar waters!

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The product: Sephora + Pantone Universe Dazzling Lip Gloss Set

The shades: This is a set of four, but it feels more like two sets of two: the beige & the pink, and then the orange & the plum. The former (first and third swatches) feature a creamy base with bits of shimmer; the latter (second and last swatches) are more like sheer shininess dosed liberally with chunks of glitter.

I found these most-to-least wearable in order of the swatches: first, the caramel beige, with its glossy, creamy finish and (relatively minimal) unexpected pink shimmer; then, the sheer tangerine, which reads as a surprisingly pinky peach out of the tube.

Next (and here’s where we start with the shades I don’t find wearable at all,) there’s the milky pink, which has the best pigmentation but settles terribly into lines; and finally, the vampy plum, which should have been absolutely stunning but applies sheerly with a truly ridiculous amount of fuchsia glitter.

Seriously: ridiculous.

The formula & packaging: Scented strongly of a caramelized vanilla and feeling equally sticky , these glosses are packaged in oversized doe-foot applicators. Shorter and wider than your average gloss, the foot is awkwardly large, and the packaging overall is quite similar to that of the Clarins Instant Light Blush – keyword being blush. 

While functional and actually quite cute, I wasn’t crazy about the way Sephora decided to package these. It’s really refreshing to see something a little different, but I think these tried to push the envelope just a little too far.

The verdict?

At their original price, this gloss quartet would have been an absolute miss. For $12 USD/$14 CAD, though, I’m ready to be much (much!) more lenient.

While I don’t love these, I do find them very interesting. Each shade in the set is set apart from the others, and the shimmer (if not exactly something I’d inflict upon anyone I care about) is fascinating — I just can’t look away when I swatch these. The packaging was an interesting choice as well; again, I hated it, but I find myself unable to look away.

It’s like watching a shimmery train car filled with gloopy vanilla syrup go off the tracks. You know you shouldn’t enjoy it, but you totally still do.

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Hope you’re all having a warm & festive holiday with your loved ones… and that someone out there cares enough about your makeup stash to have snuck a few Clinique Chubby Stick Intenses underneath the tree.

(Because the only thing that’s better than moisturizing lip colour is moisturizing lip colour that looks like a giant, shiny crayon.)

See you back here tomorrow with a return to our regularly (un)scheduled posting!

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I’m trying to get a review up for the Senna Cosmetics Haute Nudes Multi Makeup Palette in Mystic ($48 USD) as quickly as possible, but the long and short of it is simple: Mystic gets two thumbs way up from this particular peanut gallery.

With gorgeous textures (as you could expect from a brand like Senna) and an absolutely divine colour palette of cool-toned mauvey-neutrals, this might just be my favourite palette of the year. Until I can find time to get a review up, here are a few photos and swatches to tide you over!