Very few Spring 2011 makeup collections managed to entice me, and so far the only item I actually bought is this very bright Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette. It's so different than the usual spring pastels, not to mention doesn't have all that pearly shimmer of Chanel and Dior that's been putting me off their spring collections. I can't help it. I'm not a pink person and pastels look dreadful on my skin.
Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette looks straight out of a 1960s tropic-inspired ad, and that's exactly why I love it so much. There's also a brown one, Sunset Gold, which has an even nicer packaging but less interesting colors. I'd never wear more than one of the eye shadows at the same time and would not suggest you do that, either. But keeping everything else nakedy-neutral and just using one of the bright colors (purple, turquoise or parrot green) as a liner/accent, this is a happy and inspiring palette.
The eye shadows come in different textures: The purple(1)is matte, the turquoise has a medium shimmer and the green is high shimmer (or perhaps it's an illusion because the pigment itself is so bright)- in any case, that's the one you'd want to be a little more careful when applying. The fourth eye shadow is a cream brown bronze with a very smooth texture and a remarkable staying power. I'm planning to use it a lot in the summer (do you remember summer or is it just a myth?).
The blush is probably the weakest item in the palette. It's very pretty and looks like a healthy pink, but the glitter overspray that creates the lovely design gets in the way. I've had the palette for over a week now and finally getting close to having this crap all cleaned out. It was a pain to remove the particles that spread onto the other colors (and everywhere else. You can see the random glitter on my arm). The last photos show the palette mid-cleanup.
Bottom Line: Beautiful, shiny and happy. But the overspray was a very bad idea.
Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette for Spring 2011 ($69) is available from the company's website (shuuemura-usa.com) and if you're not in North America, chances are there's a Shu counter in your local department store.
Photos of the palette by me, fashion photograph by Norman Parkinson for Vogue UK, 1961
