Review: Shu Uemura Mirage

To my surprise, the Shu Uemura counter in Isetan Orchard had the Mirage collection on display today! Shu, along with Chanel, are the first brands to launch their spring collections. I love the promo visual for this collection but I didn't have high hopes for the products as they looked too pale and matte for my tastes. True enough, the collection turned out to be disappointing.

The two eyeshadow palettes (3990yen; S$65), Utopia and Fantasia, felt silky and smooth to touch but applied sheer. I had to layer them a few times to get them to show up. The finish is matte except for the middle shade which has tiny sparkles that are not very noticeable. These palettes would suit those who would like to create a very soft, pastel feminine look but a primer would probably be needed to get these to show up well.



Although there are three Defining Cheek Colors (3675yen; S$58) available in Japan, only two of these, Misty Glow and Pink Phenomenon, are available in Singapore. (The US got Orange Phase and Misty Glow.) The Misty Glow has a peachy beige cream shade paired with a light pinkish lilac powder shade. The pinkish lilac shade felt incredibly silky when I swatched it but on my skin, it shows up more as a highlighter shade without any color tint to it. I can't see this working on medium to darker skintones as a blush, but rather more as a highlighter shade for a glowy effect. In the pics, the swatches of Misty Glow are to the left of the base of my thumb, under the lip duo swatches.



Pink Phenonmene contains a dusky grey-toned lilac cream and a matte bubblegum pink powder blush. The grey-toned lilac is a very weird shade to use on its own on the cheeks as it makes the cheeks look duller instead of more alive. But it's meant to be used as the base for the pink shade. The pink shade is a typical blue-based light pink that is not very unique or interesting. Overall, I think you're better off skipping these and buying a Nars blush or MAC Mineralize Blush for cheaper instead. These are just too expensive and too much work for a barely average result.



The Lip Duo Tint & Glow (3360yen; S$45) is also nothing special. The top layer applies as a clear reddish pink while the bottom layer is an emollient clear balm that gives it a glossy finish but you can get the same effect with just about any cheapo drugstore lip balm.




I may have remembered the Singapore prices wrongly but if so, they are only a couple of dollars off. Honestly, I doubt this collection will sell well in Singapore given the high prices, sheer textures and lack of interesting shades.