The Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trios are the brainchild of Dick Page, creative director for the Shiseido cosmetics, who was featured in this recent article by Dain. All the trios are top quality, exquisite in design, highly covetable (not to mention, they come with a miniature natural hair brush that - brace yourselves! - you can actually use). Though they look intimidatingly bright in the pan, there is not a single one that I don't think I could realistically wear.
Case in point: GR305 Jungle (above left).
Three greens. One neutral golden khaki (left), one slightly cooler/bluer (right), and one slightly warmer/yellower (centre). My local Myer was so understaffed today that the SA at the Shiseido counter literally handed me a couple of clean eyeshadow brushes (Shiseido #4 brushes, by the way), eye makeup remover, some tissues, and told me to go away and play by myself.
I wasn't expecting to fall in love with Jungle, it was more of an experiment. I wanted to see if I could wear those three bright greens in combination, with nothing else. But the quick look I ended up producing with it was so soft and pretty, I could not help but think about the possibilities that could be achieved with more time and better tools at my disposal.
This was my inspiration image, a jewel-toned smokey eye from an editorial in the September 2011 issue of Harper's Bazaar Australia (1). The makeup was by Amanda Reardon at Viviens Creative.
Finding no iridescent emerald in my stash, it was impossible for me to attempt to recreate this look entirely. So I followed my whimsy, and added red lips to the look.
First came the base: Giorgio Armani Designer Shaping Cream Foundation in #4, which is about two shades lighter than my present complexion, to contrast more strongly with the lips. Having just gotten back from Shanghai and Singapore, I am far more tanned than I would normally be in the winter here in Sydney. There is no blush, just a hint of bronzer to contour.
For the lipstick, I wanted a matte: Shu Uemura RD178M Rouge Unlimited Creme Matte is a dark red with brown and purple undertones. For greater precision, I layered it with a brush over NARS lipliner in Amazon. On the eyes, all three greens from the Jungle trio, applied with a damp brush, the coolest shade in the inner corner graduating outward to the khaki near the temples. Then a blackened lame green from the Yves Saint Laurent Ombre Duo Lumiere No. 11 to deepen the crease, and Stila Cloud on the ball of the eye, creating a highlight.
Perhaps not the most wearable of looks, but given that it was created in the spirit of fun, I think Dick Page would approve.
Like the other writers on staff, I am all for giving Shiseido the better blogosphere attention and credit it deserves. Next trio to tackle when I am again in the mood to splurge: BL310 Punky Blues...
(1) Scan by Visual Optimism
I love this look. I think red lips with a cool, lilac eye or yellow eye is beautiful too. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't expecting so much from Jungle, either, but it makes for a beautiful orchestration of color. With these trios, I suppose you really do have to play around with them. Since it's tonal, you can let the undertone most befitting come to prominence: I'd probably allow the coolest green to dominate the lid.
ReplyDelete@dempss01, I will probably never be able to wear a yellow (as opposed to a gold, which is okay) on my eyes, but I like the way you think!
ReplyDelete@Dain, exactly, they all have a balance of different tones, which is not always very visible if you only see the three shades in the pan. Three is truly a golden number; surely there must be a mathematical formula for success, similar to the 60-30-10 rule in decorating?
ReplyDeleteOh! The combination of the green eyes with red reminds me of that YSL ad for their perfume Opium, a while back (although I think her hair was red, not her lips). It's a potent combination, and quite jewel-like, on you.
ReplyDeleteIf you get the chance you should see 'Rituals of Seduction' at the AM; the birds of paradise are stunning, and the colours remind me of eyeshadow palettes (or, the other way around?).
@calculare, were you thinking of this ad for Hypnotic Poison? That's the one that comes in a red bottle; Poison comes in the green.
ReplyDeleteIs there time to go tomorrow? I don't have to be at Caringbah until after dinner (around 7pm).
Probably the one with Sophie Dahl?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, forgot that one.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Sophie Dahl one.
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh, I missed that last part; yes there is time to pop in. I'm sure we can't watch robots all day...
ReplyDeleteYou never know! They might grow on you, and you'll never want to leave. :)
ReplyDeleteYou look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI have the Fire trio and love it, the quality of these eyeshadows is just incredible. I need to get a few more, even though the price is really expensive :s
Thanks you!
ReplyDeleteA Shiseido trio in Australia is less expensive than a NARS duo, so I consider them in the upper-mid range in terms of price. Uncertain how they compared against Chanel; I've never bought one of their quads.
What I love about Dick Page and his creations is that he really doesn't mess around... when he calls something "Fire," or "Jungle," or "Snow Shadow," that's really what it looks like. And yet, he adopts it for the eyelid (or face, as the case may be), it looks elegant and not at all forced.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff. I'd snap one up myself, but I won't have a job for a couple years yet, hehe.
A Shiseido makeup artist yesterday proved me wrong when she applied "Fire" to my friend (tanned skin with pink and olive undertones, green/grey eyes), and it was lovely against my every expectation. :) There is something magical about them, I find.
ReplyDelete@ LiWen: a shiseido trio is over 40€ here, which is the same price range as a chanel quad (but I don't like chanel eyeshadows). A Nars duo, though, is around 35€, which isn't cheap either but somehow feels a tad bit more accessible.
ReplyDelete