Skincare Empties! Serums, Essences, Moisturizers, and All That!

Another few months have passed, and with that more empties! Yes I have been trying to use up my products instead of just accumulating them (because truth be told as a beauty junkie you do accumulate a LOT after a short period of time). Anyway over the past few months, I (with a little help from some of my family members) have managed to accumulate quite the literal pile of products. Behold! My empties!

As usual, I wait for months until my empties pile up to the high heavens before it occurs to me to do an empties post, LOL

Since these are a lot to get through, they're going to be split into two parts - skincare, and makeup. We'll start with the skincare first. Basically every face product you can think of - lotions, essences, creams, masks, eye creams, are all in this post. Except sunscreens, because they're grouped with makeup this time round (mostly just to prevent this post from getting too long).

Alright, let's get to it!

Empties: Out With the Old, In With the New! Part 1

Happy new year everyone! First post of 2018 and it's an empties post! What better way to start out than by showing you my last set of empties that I've managed to use up in 2017? I figure all these empties officially give me a clear pass to keep hauling and procuring more makeup, skincare and beauty items in 2018! :P

Last batch of empties from 2017!

Anyway, like the previous empties post, this round of empties also consists mostly of skincare. I do realize that I tend to use up certain skincare items (lotions, sunscreen, serums, cleansers) much faster than makeup, particularly colour makeup. I guess there's only so much blush a girl can apply before looking like a clown, but you can slather lotion on your face until your skin is basically dripping in liquid, oops. (Not that I haven't done that at all, oh no, not me, I mean, that would be so weird, who does that... *looks away and whistles*)


Last round of empties from 2017: Mostly skincare, especially cleansers
So, without further ado, let's start on part 1 of this round of empties. Today, we'll be looking at the various cleanser and makeup remover products - I figure cleansers (what with washing old skin and makeup away to reveal the new skin underneath) are tangentially related to the new year and thus a suitable way to kick off the empties post!

Shu Uemura Eyeshadow Swatches, First Impressions: New Shades Part 2

Shu Uemura has launched over 40 new eyeshadow shades, and I've finally swatched all these new shades at last! If you've seen my a previous Shu uemura eyeshadow swatch post,, then you've seen part 1 of the swatches, and today we'll be finishing up with part 2! In part 1, we swatched mostly colours, so now we're moving onto the neutral shades. So, if you liked browns, beiges, and greys, the swatches for those shades are all here!

Shu Uemura Eyeshadows: New shades from the Colour Atelier launch

For those who aren't familiar with the shade names, the shade finishes are denoted by their names - M stands for Matte, ME for Metallic, IR for Iridescent, P for Pearl, and S for Satin. Generally ME shades have the most shimmery finish, followed by P shades and IR shades, followed by S shades (which are pretty close to matte, in my opinion), and lastly, with no shimmer at all, the M shades.

Shu Uemura Eyeshadows: Over 40 new shades now launched!

Anyway without further ado, let's move on to the swatches!

Shu Uemura Eyeshadow Swatches, First Impressions: New Shades! Part 1

Shu Uemura is launching 41 new eyeshadow shades as part of their "Colour Atelier" campaign in July. Yes, you heard it right, 41! This will give a total of almost 100 shades of eyeshadow for you to choose from, depending on your location - I believe Singapore gets 41 out of 43 new shades, to give a total of just under 100, but other countries may get the full 100 shades. Of course, Shu Uemura's eyeshadows are something of a makeup cult product, so this is pretty exciting news. Even back when I first got into beauty, they were already touted as one of the brands of eyeshadow that were a must-try for their great pigmentation, multiple finishes, and smooth textures. So, with that in mind, I knew I absolutely had to swatch the new shades being launched!

So, being the obsessive swatcher I am, I basically spent two hours swatching all the 41 shades that were launching here in Singapore, both for myself, as well as for you guys! (You might have seen some of this on my snapchat - I'm musicalhouses there too.) I'm told the eyeshadows are reformulated as well, although to be honest during the swatching session, I couldn't really tell that much of a difference. Which is just as well, because the old textures were already great as they were.

I'm swatching the first 3 rows of the shades laid out above, and the last 3 rows will be in part 2. So, if you're into bright shades, these are all swatched in this post! I swatched these in indoor lighting, and I've done my best to get them as colour-accurate as can be, and I do think the swatches turned out decently! Anyway, without further ado, let's get down to swatching!

Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi+ Cleansing Oil Review and Ingredients Analysis

Shu Uemura's Anti/Oxi Cleansing Oil is the latest oil cleanser from Shu Uemura, and was launched in Singapore today. It's advertised as being a cleansing oil with anti-oxidant benefits (hence the Anti/Oxi name), as well as an efficient yet gentle makeup remover. It's even safe for lash extensions - I'm told this can remove all eye makeup without disturbing any extensions you might have. Lash extensions have been getting more popular here over the past few years (or at least, among my immediate circle of friends and acquaintances), so I'm not surprised to see makeup removers accommodating them.

Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Cleansing Oil: An oil cleanser with anti-oxidant benefits

Of course, unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Shu Uemura's cleansing oils are something of cult products. They're routinely found in "best-of" lists, and there is a huge fanbase behind them. I'm told that Shu Uemura is the #1 cleansing oil brand on the market, with 1 bottle of cleansing oil sold ever 7 seconds! So of course, I wanted to check out the hype for myself, and see whether it really lived up to expectations.


Shu Uemura Anti/Oxi Cleansing Oil: A lightweight, but efficient oil cleanser
Fortunately, this is indeed a very nice cleansing oil (although I didn't get to tet it on lash extensions as I don't have them), so I wasn't let down. And there are some before-and-after photos that show this, but of course, let's start our review by looking at the ingredients list first!

Shu Uemura Blanc Chroma Brightening UV Cushion Review and Ingredients Analysis

Shu Uemura's Blanc Chroma Brightening UV Cushion was launched earlier in March, and I just had to review it - after all, cushion bases have been pretty much all the rage since a few years back, and I'm always happy to add to my cushion collection. And the Shu Uemura Blanc Chroma Cushion is pretty unique, too, as far as cushions are concerned! It's advertised as a "smart" cushion, with a new formula, new applicator puff, and new screen! So pretty much every important aspect of the cushion is new, and that's exciting.

Shu Uemura Blanc Chroma Brightening UV Cushion: A "smart" cushion with a new formula, appicator puff, and wiper membrane!

The combination of innovations is supposed to give you a very even application with just the right amount dispensed, with a radiant finish, thanks to the unique "auto-wiper membrane and auto dispenser" (we'll get into that later). Even the formula itself sounds impressive - it's supposed to be "jellified" (their words, not mine) at rest, but fluid during application, which means that the product is extremely portable, and you'll always get the perfect finish.


Shu Uemura Blanc Chroma Brightening UV Cushion: A bevy of innovations in the product make this quite different from a typical cushion
I'm obviously a little slow on this review (#bbloggerproblems, yes I haz them), but I figure better late than never! So without further ado, let's start at my favourite geeky place - the ingredients list!

Shu Uemura Whitefficient Whitening Concentrate Essence Lotion Review and Ingredients Analysis

Shu Uemura is a Japanese brand known for quite a number of things - their wide range of colour makeup, their cleansing oils, as well as their skincare, and the brand's Whitefficient skincare range is, as the name suggests, a whitening and brightening skincare range. The Whitefficient range is pretty extensive, with a cleansing oil, emulsion, essence, cream, mask, treatment cream/concealer, and this - a lotion called the Whitefficient Whitening Concentrate Essence Lotion!

I actually got my bottle of Whitening Concentrate Essence Lotion from ShopJBP, an online shop which specializes in selling Japanese beauty and skincare products directly from Japan, and carries quite the range of brands, including SK-II, Fancl, and Shiseido, as well as some more niche brands like Albion, RMK and Sofina. The prices are quite good - although Shu Uemura is available in Singapore, I found that the prices of items on the site is actually lower than that in Singapore. Shipping was also quite fast for me, taking about a week or maybe a bit longer. - they had good customer service and even included a couple of Yojira Kyoto "Aburatorigami" Oil Blotting Papers, which are blotting papers to help the skin keep matte. When I posted a photo of the products on Instagram, I was told by Kay of Cosmeddicted (who, by the way, I've interviewed before for my blog waaaay back in 2011 - it's a pretty interesting interview where she talks about Western vs Asian beauty, having lived both in Japan and the West) that these were very popular back in Japan.

Anyway, pardon my little diversion, it's just that the blotting paper was new to me, and I found it pretty cool. But let's get back to the review at hand, shall we? Since this is a whitening and brightening product, I thought I'd start off the review by answering the question I know all users of whitening products would ask - does it really work? And for that, let's head straight to the ingredients list.

Shu Uemura Christmas: Bowwow Magic Queen Palette!

TAUPE ALERT! TAUPE ALERT! Now that I've sounded the alarm, you so know what this post is going to be about. This post was supposed to be about Shu Uemura's Christmas collection with Aya Tanako, but there was this pretty taupe shade in the collection that hijacked my attention. And you know I love taupes in all forms.

Shu Uemura, being one of those brands with an artistic leaning (you know, sticking stickers over your face, spray painting your lashes pink), tends to get the crazies every Christmas. I don't know about you, but the last time I took a look at their Christmas collection, it was a glittery letdown. This year's collection is similar in that it's glittery, but fortunately it's not made of sheer crap. And - and this is important to me - THERE'S A GORGEOUS TAUPE IN THERE!

So where's the taupe, you ask? It's hidden inconspicuously in one of their palettes, the very oddly-named Bowwow! Magic Queen Palette (and yes, the exclamation mark is part of the product name). The palette itself, as with previous Shu Uemura Christmas offerings, consists of 3 powder eyeshadows, 1 powder blusher, 1 cream eyeshadow/eyeliner, and 1 cream highlighter.



L-R: 3 Powder eyeshadows, 1 Powder blush, 1 Cream Eyeshadow/Eyeliner

The cream highlighter was swatched, but for some reason my camera cut it off in the photo. Oops. But it's okay right, because all we're looking at right now is that taupe.

The three powder eyeshadows consist of a mustardy yellow-gold, a gorgeous brownish-taupe (Taupe! Taupe! Taupe!), and a warm brown with a hint of bronze. All are shimmery, and the colours all lean warm - except that gorgeously neutral taupe. I really like the taupe in the palette. It's a brown-leaning taupe, so for warmer-toned and olive girls who find a lot of taupes tend to pull excessively grey or purple on them, this one is ideal. I guess it's what I would call a warm taupe - and warm taupes are quite unusual, because the bulk of them tend to lean more grey or purple. And it's very smooth and well-pigmented, too, as is the case with Shu Uemura's eyeshadows in general.

The powder blush is a neutral pink with sparkle. I don't know why Shu Uemura put this in a "warm" palette, because it seems to lean a little more cool to me.

The cream eyeshadow/eyeliner looks black in the pan, but if used sheerly actually applies as a forest green. You can build it up to produce the blackened-green colour seen in the pan, though. This one has no shimmer or glitter. I feel like it would be very interesting as a base under the eyeshadows.

The cream highlighter (which you can't see in the photo because that my camera cut it off) is a rather sheer gold highlighter with glitter. You'll need to build this one up for it to show up on your skin.

Although the Bowwow! Magic Queen Palette is billed as a "warm" palette (as opposed to the cooler-toned Reindeer Kiss XXXX Palette - seriously, what is it with Asian product names, LOL), it isn't that warm. The blush is quite universal, as is that taupe I've been gushing about. So it's warm-toned, but perhaps not excessively. I'm so tempted to find out if the taupe in the palette is a dupe for any other colour in their permanent range, because I really want it now!

Shu Uemura Tsumori Chisato Collection Swatches!

Today, I bring you Shu Uemura Tsumori Chisato collection swatches! This collection consists of two face palettes, three lipsticks, a highlighter, and a trio of lipglosses in a set. The Tsumori Chisato collection is a collaboration with (of course) Tsumori chisato, who is apparently a fashion designer and protegge of Issey Miyake, and is inpsired by fantasy, stars, art deco, animal elements and Greek mythology, all translated Japanese kawii style, I guess. I suppose if anyone can make Greek mythology cute, it's gotta be Shu, right?

The palettes consist of three powder eyeshadows, one cream shadow, one cream eyeliner, and one blush. There are two palettes, whimsically named the Planet Cat Palette and the Planet Rainbow Palette.

Normally I'd split this into a few posts, because no one likes reading long blog entries, but I figure since the collection's been out for awhile I'll just do it all at one go.

Swatches of the two palettes are below. The first one here is the Planet Cat Palette:



L - R: Powder shadows: black with glitter (glitter), metallic silver grey (shimmer), warm gold (shimmer) blush: pinky peach with gold shimmer (shimmer), Cream shadow: off-white with gold shimmer (shimmer), Cream eyeliner: soft black with gold glitter (glitter).

Quality-wise, it's not too bad, I suppose. The eyeshadows are pretty good, and they're nice and soft and pigmented, and have the usual Shu softness to them. The blush is rather sheer, and despite my attempts to build up the swatches, it doesn't show up very much. The cream shadows and liners are soft, but have I think too much slip, making them a tad hard to buid up, although they are buildable. But it kind of feels like digging around in a jar of partially melted butter or something - the shadows and liners are just very 'slippery'. It makes me wonder how good the lasting power will be, especially on oily lids. And another thing annoys me. This palette is seriously glitter heavy. I know it isn't a problem for some, but for those out there who are like me, the black powder shadow, and the cream white shadow, seriously have huge glitter bits. The blush is shimmery, but not by a lot - it's a do-able shimmer that I quite like. The non-glitter shadows, such as the silver metallic grey and the yellow gold shadow, have a nice shimmery, metallic finish that I think is very festive for the season.

I don't really like this palette, colour-wise. I don't imagine anyone's going to use all three colours together - I mean, how do you pair a cool-toned metallic silver with a warm gold? - but I guess using various individual components you could create a variety of eye looks. And to be fair the off-white cream eye shadow is very nice, and would make a good highlighter or base for most of the looks. But the palette isn't partiularly imaginative or creative, or even interesting. Come on, Shu, you can do better than that. And the blush - pinky peach with gold shimmer....Hmmm, now where have I seen that before? NARS Orgasm? Milani Luminuous? Quo? Mark? Wet n' Wild? It does look similar to NARS Orgasm and its many dupes, and as I'm sure any girl with a large enough makeup stash will know, that's a colour that's been done before, many times. Meh.

So that's it for the Planet Cat Palette.



Now, here is the Planet Ribbon Palette:




L - R: Powder eyeshadows: Light pastel baby pink with metallic shimmer (shimmer), Metallic gold (shimmer), Off white with a vaguely purple hue (matte), Blush: Light coral pink, Cream shadow: yellow vanilla beige cream (shimmer), Cream liner: dark aubergine purple (matte)

I liked this palette marginally better than the Planet Cat one - but that's not saying much. Quality-wise, this was identical to the Planet Cat palette too. Planet ribbon also features, soft, buildable pigmented eyeshadows with the characteristic Shu feel, a very sheer blush that really needs building up, and slippery, soft, almost-too-slippery cream eyeshadow and liner.

Colour-wise, however, I think this is a bit better. Hey, at least there aren't two blacks in this palette. And I quite like the corally salmon pink blush. I think it's cute, although by no means OMG-WOW. But it's a pretty colour. The eyeshadows also contain a gold, which looks to me to be identical to be the gold in the Planet Cat Palette, so I guess unless you're hardcore collector there's really no need for both palettes. Once again, I presume that this palette is meant not to be used all at once, although I guess you COULD potentially use the pale pink and gold together for some sort of look. I like the highlighting cream colour, it kind of reminds me of MAC's Vanilla pigment in cream form, without the pink flash. But unfortunately the powder highlighter colour just looks white on me - and I'm by no means super dark so as to render all light colours ashy...I'm NC20, so I was kind of sad to see this pale lilac purple go so white on me. Meh. Also, I felt the cream eyeliner was a tad disappointing. In the pan it was dark purple gorgeousness, but once swatched on skin, it just looked kind of dull, flat, and almost-black.


I guess the palettes were just okay for me, although I can imagine lots of people would like them.


Now here is the highlighting powder, the Duo Highlighter in Stardust.




L - R: Individual areas: Pink beige (shimmer), pale yellow (shimmer). Together: Neutral beige (shimmer)

This highlighter was one of the nicer items in this collection, but that's just my personal opinion. One side was a light pinky beige, and the other was a pale yellow gold, both with shimmer, and together when combined give a neutral beige that would be pretty wearable for most ladies. I think this is quite nice, actually - the shimmer in it is there, definitely, but it is by no means huge bits of glitter. Its comprised of smaller shimmer that is pretty, and glowy without being too glowy. It's also on the sheer side, so you're going to get shimmer more than colour. I think the quality of the shimmer is just alright - it's not coarse and huge like drugstore can be, but it's not on par with Becca or Smashbox either. But then again it's hard to top Smashbox, and especially hard to top Becca when it comes to doing sophisticated shimmer that doesn't make you look like you overdid it. This is somewhere in between. It's alright, and it's not bad.


Here now, we have the lipsticks, or as Shu Uemura likes to call them the Unlimited Rouges, with planatery-themed names:




L - R: Venus Pink, Moon Peach, Jupiter Brown

Ahhh, such inspiring names, such dull colours. People who love sheer lipsticks will LOVE all of these - they're sheer, and have to be layered on. But if you prefer your lip products more pigmented like me, then you'll just want to give whoever did this a slap - I mean, out of three lippies, all of them have to be sheer?!

Anyway, Venus Pink is a bright, cool-toned pink, Moon Peach isn't so much peach as it is pink - I guess there is some peach in there, but it looks more pink swatched for some reason. Jupiter Brown isn't really brown-brown, but more of pinky-peachy-beigey-brown, and very wearable. It's my favourite of the bunch.

The lipsticks are all very sheer, and very work appropriate - no odd shimmer, glitter, duochrome or anything that would look distracting at work.


Lastly, we have the glosses,aka the Gloss Unlimited, and these make me REALLY want to slap someone:




L - R: Venus Peach (sheer pinky-peach), Moon Gold (glittery gold bits in a clear base), Scorpion Red (sheer rosy red)

AGAIN?! Three glosses, and all of them are sheer?! Someone better get fired right now....Anyway, these glosses are deceiving. They look bright and pigmented and fun in the tube, but when swatched, only Scorpion Red appeals to my little heart. Venus Pink is a virtually clear pinky-peach, and kind of reminds me of MAC's Love Nectar, only much less interesting, and Moon Gold is a huge-glitter-bits nightmare - it's essentially transparent gloss with a HUGE amount of gold glitter bits that aren't exactly very small. They don't show up in the photo, but trust me, THEY'RE THERE. SO THERE. Anyway, out of the bunch, I like Scorpion Red, which to me is the other highlight of the collection. I like it a lot - it's a wearable rosy red gloss, which is perfect for people who want to try a red lip, but don't want to go full on in the opacity department. The glossiness of Scorpion Red will also help to soften some of the "I'm wearing red!" impact of the colour.

So how do I feel about this collection? My answer would - as I'm sure you know by now - be meh, meh, and meh. I'm kind of disappointed I didn't like anything, because if you know what a huge makeup ho I am, you'll know I want to like EVERTYTHING, but these are just such a terrible disappointment. Nothing appealed to me at all, and I'd pass on the entire collection unless you put a gun to my head, and if you did, I'd probably just buy the Gloss Unlimited Lipgloss Trio, and give away Venus Peach and Moon Gold, and just save Scorpion Red. And if you put another gun to the other side of my head, I'd get the Duo Stardust Highlighter, ooh and aah over its cute packaging, and never use it. There. Now you've heard it. I didn't like this, and I'm disappointed I didn't. But maybe someone else might, and they'll love both the inside, and the outside, too.