Review: Shu Uemura Face Architect Glow Enhancing Powder Foundation

Righto.

I thought it was about time I wrote about the Shu Uemura Face Architect Glow Enhancing Foundation (with SPF 25+++) which seems to be much raved-about. I've always been rather loyal to ZA, but after reading Paris' review, I couldn't help but itch.

A lemming was born.

It's not that the ZA isn't great. It is, but I thought it'd be nice to have something else apart from ZA to play around with.

So on a whim one evening a few months back, I made a dash into a Shu Uemura store, and picked one up myself in #754 (which is a decent match). A dash because I wanted to make the purchase before I changed my mind.

How did it perform? Read on to find out.

The very next morning, I used this instead of my regular foundation in my morning makeup routine. When applied, it looked great, and it felt alright. The coverage you get from this one is medium, at best. Which is how I liked my foundations. But you're one for heavier coverage, then this isn't it for you.

Two days later, however, things weren't so rosy. My skin revolted and I had a huge pimples and my nose had tiny little bumps. And my pores looked like they were all clogged up with white heads.

Uh-oh. Baaaaad.

"It HAS to be the foundation," I proclaimed. And so into cold storage it went for a while.

(In hindsight though, I think my skin's eruption could have been due to several other factors as well.)

After many weeks, when I had garnered up enough courage to give it another shot, I was in for a pleasant surprise. I used it for a few days straight (in the mornings), and my skin remained fine. No breakouts, no zits, nothing. This was good.

But a few days more, and my skin started to look a little unhappy. I went back to my ZA.

Anyway, at last I've found some sort of a happy balance in my makeup routine. I now alternate between this and my ZA foundation, and nothing untoward has happened so far either. Nothing major anyway. My skin isn't as brilliant as it was before my wedding, but it's not too bad either.

It stays on okay, but I still need my usual touch-up in the afternoon. It's not very oil-resistant either, as I would still need to blot about twice throughout the entire day.

(Me, bare-faced without anything on. As you can see, there's a zit on my chin, and there are some scar marks on my right cheek which you probably can't see.)

(Applied only concealer and Face Architect. My complexion looks more even, but geez, don't I look uber washed out?)

(Looks much better, no? Added Shu Uemura blush and lipstick. How's my attempt at going red? I hope to review this lippie sometime in the near future. It's a lovely red I tote around in my bag. Shocked? =P )

If this is your first purchase, chances are, you'll be splashing RM125 for the powder refill (14g) and another RM50 for the sleek black case with the sponge. That makes it RM175, which to me, is a bit of a splurge. My ZA costs so much less but my skin just seems to love it.

In conclusion, based on my experience with it, I'll rate this one as a nice-to-have, but not a must-have. Since I have splurged on it, I'm going to have to keep up with the happy balance until it finishes. But I doubt I'll be making a repurchase. The search for an alternative foundation continues. Sad, but true.

TIP: Use the sponge and not a brush to apply this foundation as the powder is rather soft. It works much better with the sponge.

Monday's Beauty (Holiday Collections) Bits

Hello people! Hope you're this week is starting out great for you guys. Today's Beauty Bits will be snippets of some of the holiday offerings that I've managed to check out over the past week. I've managed to exercise some amount of self-constraint, but got a little naughty too. So read on to find out what I products I succumbed to!

I don't know about the other MAC lovers, but after going through the MAC collection again a little more thoroughly, I found it slightly disappointing. The only eye palette I had found myself drooling lustily over, Sorceress, didn't swatch nicely when I was on the verge of buying. Even the dark purple took work for it to show up, and that just doesn't cut it for me. Not for a palette which costs RM180. I had also wanted the Hocus-Pocus face palette, but as I already have Peachykeen, logic got the better of me and so I walked away. Verdict: I'll pass.

I ran into Shu Uemura too, hoping to find their Rouge Unlimited Supreme Shine lipsticks (glossy finishes in lipstick form always appeal to me), but all I got was a super-blank look from the SA. What I found out instead was, that the tsumori chisato holiday collection is out. No swatching done (Shu usually swatches beautifully anyway), but a quick look at the collection told me it was not for me. Verdict: I'll pass. (Anyone who does know anything about the Supreme Shine lipsticks, however, I'm all ears!)

The Body Shop, now is a different story altogether. Christmas offerings this year include their regular Cranberry range (called Merry Cranberry) and the new Black Velvet Apricot. But what I really, really dig is their Nutmeg and Vanilla range. I took a whiff, then whiffed and whiffed again. The scent is just divine, for a vanilla-mad girl like me. If you like vanilla, you'll want to check this one out. Serious. The body lotion and body scrub have my name written all over them. Verdict: Come to momma!

I haven't seen this in the Sasa outlets, but getting my grubby paws on a theBalm booklet, I noticed that there are in fact TWO Shady Lady palettes. One in leopard print (which me and Kahani both caved for), and then there's another one - in Zebra print. Looking at the pictures, it looks like several shades overlap, but I'm guessing Shady Lady Vol. 2 should include shades like Just This Once Jamie, Mischevious Marissa, Racy Kacy and Sexy Stacey. Verdict: On the look-out.

And finally, Bobbi Brown. Ah Bobbi, your Chrome Holiday Collection has left me absolutely drooling. And a mighty big collection too, I might add. I checked out the Earth Metal Lip & Eye palette, which looked gorgeous, but chickened out at its RM240 price tag. I didn't dare go near their Chrome Palette. But what snagged me was her Pewter Chrome Eyeshadow. At RM75, it's super-pricey but it's so super gorgeous I just caved. *Sigh* And while I was there, I also got snagged by her Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Maui. That cost me RM115. But it's beautiful I tell ya! Verdict: Came to momma!

Review: Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleasing Oil

A while back, Kahani and I "walked by" a Shu Uemura outlet, which resulted in us walking out with two bags of Shu goodies. We had bought a makeup set together and then drew lots to see who got what.

(Oh fine, we didn't draw lots, we just agreed before hand.)

One of the items I landed with was the legendary, hugely raved about Shu Uemura cleansing oil. A little 50ml bottle, but I was more than eager to try it out.

And boy were the raves right.

Like all oily-skinned girls, I used to think it was madness to use an oil cleanser. I mean, I'm wired to do everything possible to keep my skin from getting oily. And you want me to slap on oil? *Gasps* What if I break out?

But oh well, judging from this oily girl's recommendation, I decided to take a leap of faith. And I converted.

This little baby packs a LOT of oil in one little bottle. Ingredients include Mineral Oil, Corn Germ Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Sea Water, Macademia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Canola Oil etc. And it's got a bit of fragrance too, by the way.

How to Use

1. Apply it to your face dry. This means before you wet it. And make sure you hands are dry too, as the oil will emulsify the moment in comes into contact with water. Be a little generous with the oil. Too little and you'll feel like you're spreading too little butter on too much bread.

2. Massage the oil into the skin with gentle wide strokes. I personally find this works best for me. Rub too hard in small sections and you might end up as I did - with hot and bothered skin. Slightly inflamed too, for a short while.

3. Work on the eyes last and be gentle with them. Too much pulling and stretching results in wrinkles *grin*, or worse yet, you could have oil get into them. (In the event that does happens, clean your hands, and start washing your eye with clean water pronto!)

4. Wet your hands and apply a bit of water to face and continue massaging gently. The oil should have emulsified by now, and what you'll get is white milky liquid.

5. Rinse your face thoroughly. I personally prefer to double cleanse and so I'll finish with another round of cleansing with this beloved Himalaya Herbals cleanser.

The end result is clean, supple, smooth and almost baby soft skin. Lovely.

Verdict

This cleansing oil, I find, works great as a deep cleanser. So I wouldn't recommend it for daily use. But it works great when I've got heaps of makeup on - foundation, concealer, liner, etc etc. That super waterproof, budgeproof, smudgeproof mascara you've got on? This cleanser can take it all off.

I'm loving it very much. But for RM99 for 150ml and RM260 for 450ml (it's a massive bottle), I'll be thinking very hard about whether I'll be buying it again.

It's never broken me out, which is absolutely thrilling. But at RM260, it just might break the bank.

Review: Shu Uemura Eyeshadow in ME Brown 850

As requested, here's my review of the legendary Shu Uemura shadow shade, ME Brown 850 (RM65). First let me start with the shade. Calling it a brown is slightly deceptive as it is shot through with metallic silver particles turning it into a lovely taupe shade.

Taupe as an eyeshadow colour is something I've only recently discovered and I adore it. It is neither a blah brown nor a trampy or overly-dramatic silver. It can be amped up for a sizzling smokey eye, or used for a polished and professional day look.

For a cool-toned girl, it is an ideal shade. I also find it wakens up my eye area and does more to make my tiny Asian eyes look larger than any other shade! So how does this shade measure up?

As it turns out, very well. Nice and versatile, it can be applied lightly for a shimmering wash. Use a compact liner or definer brush and it can be intensified into a mid-tone crease shade. It's shimmer gives it dimension and when applied this way it looks like you're using two perfectly coordinated shades of shadow instead of one.

If I had once wish it would be that it could be intensified even further like my beloved SN Nudge Nudge, but so far I haven't had the guts to take a wet brush to this delectable shadow yet. But although I can always reach for Nudge Nudge and apply it wet for extra drama, I have to admit it's rather nice working only with a compact shadow when I'm in a rush and not having to deal with loose minerals.

Application
This is where I really have to hand it to Shu Uemura. This shadow applies like nothing I've ever encountered. It's so finely milled and so soft it applies as smoothly as a cream but with the control of a powder. It lasts and lasts without creasing, even when I forgo using my Mac Paint as base.

It is also highly pigmented, so a little goes along way. But the gorgeous metallic finish somehow makes it easier to control and blend than matte shadows, so even if you're in a rush it's pretty foolproof.

So all in all, I'm delighted with my purchase. Thanks to the lovely Syen and Cavewoman for recommending this shade!

Shu Uemura Fukubukoro Promotion

When Syen and I get together, our wallets suffer. Big time. The two of us were in 1 Utama yesterday evening having dinner when she mentions a Shu Uemura promotion. Now it's not often Shu Uemura has a promotion, let alone one this generous.

So we decide to just "walk by". And in walking by we decided to just "check it out". Which subsequently progressed to, "what colours are good"? And before long we're standing outside, each (possessively) clutching a Shu Uemura black and white bag.

Ah well.

In our defense, we didn't buy a set each but split one. We got the "Lucky Set" - I took the Ultimate Expressions Mascara (RRP RM85), and the Shimmer Liquid Eyeliner (RRP RM90) both in Black. And with Syen's recommendation, I selected a pressed eyeshadow in ME Brown 850 (RRP RM65) which comes highly recommended by the amazing Cavewoman whose recommendation single handedly had Syen walk out and buy this shadow at full price. I can't wait to review it myself! I love taupes and this is rumoured to be something special.

Syen, meanwhile, got her hands on a Rouge Unlimited lipstick (RRP RM68) in OR565, Glow On Blush (RRP RM75) in P47 Peach (peach is just so Syen) and a 50 ml bottle of Deep Cleansing Oil (less than RM50). She was sadly denied her choice of blush colour, but Lee Li, the lovely Makeup Assistant agreed to contact her when it was back in stock.

Plus we got a membership card to share between us that provides two free eyebrow trimming sessions, two makeovers, and two workshops. So all in all, I'm not feeling TOO guilty. *sheepish grin*

The above promotion is available in 1Utama, MidValley, KL Pavilion, KLCC, Sunway Pyramid and Jusco Tebrau. It's valid while stocks last but we're given to understand that it's going like hot cakes. So, girls, if you're interested, get yourself to a Shu counter. Now.

Run, woman, RUN!

PS: The wonderful-ness of this promotion is that you get to choose the colour of your choice (yes, ANY colour) for each of the products! How cool is that? =P