Shu Uemura La Maison du Chocolat eyes

Maybe it’s just that I can’t get my brain chemistry right, but these palettes didn’t feel quite right to me. They’re totally stunning, don’t get me wrong—but a lot of the shades could have used more pigment.

I gravitated towards the Shu Uemura Ganache & Praliné Eye Palette in Dark Cacao ($99 CAD), which contains an array of totally chocolate-oriented nudes. While I think the tones in this palette are just right, and each of the shades wears well over a sticky eyeshadow primer, the palette on the whole verged on the side of dryness. (One shade, the last brown on the bottom, could even be described as—dare I say it?—chalky.)

For standout shades in the Dark Cacao palette, I think you’d be looking at the top left brown (such a good tone!) and the two taupes, which are undoubtedly lovely.

Shu Uemura Dark Cacao swatches on primed skin in indirect sunlight

The Shu Uemura Ganache & Praliné Eye Palette in Framboise Berry ($99 CAD) really showed up its neutral counterpart, and I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t choose this one for my Shu Uemura La Maison du Chocolat makeup look. I might still go back and add one in, though, so don’t despair; just let me know if you really want one!

Framboise Berry is full of rich reds, in line with this season’s popular eyeshadow palette look. It’s a very similar colour scheme to what you see in Urban Decay Naked Cherry ($66 USD) and Charlotte Tilbury Stars in your Eyes ($95 CAD), but with a Shu twist to it. The mattes in this palette are really smooth, and once you get to the burnt red that’s second from the right in the top row: w o w. It’s rich, metallic, and opaque, and looks incredibly dimensional.

Shu Uemura Framboise Berry swatches on primed skin in indirect sunlight

I’d say that this palette is sheer on the whole (that burnt red is by far the most intense), which has a niche appeal. I personally think it suits Shu’s Asian market very well, but if you want more opacity, then opt for Naked Cherry instead. The dark red in the bottom right corner of this palette is inexplicably dry, but overall, it’s well-composed.

This palette is the highlight of Shu’s holiday collection for me, and it even contains one of the brand’s classic flakey shimmers. Have a look at the top edge of the gold shimmer swatch if you haven’t been introduced to the loveliness of this texture in person—now that Clarins have stopped production of their flakey shimmers, Shu is the only brand where I can find this kind of eye-catching, multi-dimensional finish.

Shu Uemura Shimmery Powder in Luster Rosé Dust (back) and Luster Gold Dust (front) review

Shu Uemura La Maison du Chocolat lipsticks: Rouge Unlimited in Hazelnut Ganache (the Rouge Unlimited lipsticks have a straight base, while the Rouge Unlimited Supreme Mattes curve in at the base!)

Shu Uemura La Maison du Chocolat lipsticks

I have mixed feelings about Shu lipsticks, which I mentioned briefly in last week’s post. It’s not that I don’t like them—I do. But they’re not my favourites, and at their price point, they really should be.

I love Shu’s liquid lip products, and still reach for their lipgloss/lipstain Laque Sparklers on a regular basis. But their Rouge Unlimiteds don’t quite sit right with me. As a lipstick traditionalist, I like my mattes liquid, my glosses sheer, and my lipsticks heavy. I need to be able to eat in each of them, okay? And I don’t feel like I can eat in Rouge Unlimited Supremes. Their mattes are light and feathery, and their cream-finish lipsticks are moisturizing and almost slippery.

Shu Uemura Ripe Cherry Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte lipstick review

Shu Uemura Deep Raspberry Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte lipstick review

Swatched front to back (left to right) on primed skin in indirect sunlight: Shu Uemura Rich Hazelnut, Ripe Cherry, Deep Raspberry, Lustre Gold Dust, Lustre Rosé Dust

(Last Wednesday’s Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte Lipstick in Ripe Cherry ($36 CAD) makeup look should have been done with the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Lipstick in Hazelnut Ganache ($36 CAD), though. It’s dark and totally stunning, although like any other Rouge Unlimited, it does move around a little when I press my lips together.)

Shu always does one thing inarguably right with their lipsticks, though, and that’s their reds. Check that to-die-for red hue in Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Supreme Matte Lipstick in Deep Cranberry ($36 CAD)!

Also swatched alongside these are the Shu Uemura Shimmery Powders in Luster Gold Dust and Luster Rosé Dust ($36 CAD). Loose glitters are a totally standard holiday item, but even though they’re always gorgeous… no one really ever needs another one of them.

(Glitters? For holiday? Groundbreaking.)

» Peep my Shu Uemura La Maison du Chocolat makeup look here. I promise major cheekbone action! «