Shu Uemura Reindeer Kiss xxxx Palette

A reader asked me earlier if I would have purchased Shu Uemura's Reindeer Kiss xxxx Palette (from the "Abracadabra Fantasy" holiday collection) if it came in a plain packaging. My answer is probably not because for me, the attractiveness of the palette lies almost entirely in the whimsical illustrations. I've also found in my experience with this type of all-in-one palettes by Shu Uemura, that the cream shades are not that fantastic.

For S$125, you get three powder eyeshadows (2.1g and 2x0.9g), a cream color (1g), a cream highlighter (1g) and a Glow On Blush (4.5g), plus two applicators. The mint shade has blue and pink micro-sparkles while the blue shade also has a sparse sprinkling of sparkles. But once applied, both the mint and blue shades have more of a velvety matte finish. The blush is your typical baby pink blush. It applies quite sheer and tends to throw up a bit of loose powder when you touch the surface with a brush.

The pale mint, blue and metallic silver combination looks more suitable for spring. I was worried that the blue and mint shades would apply either too pale or chalky but thankfully, they turned out to be quite well pigmented, especially when used over a good primer. Similar to last holiday's Tsumori Chisato for Shu Uemura palettes, the cream liner shade is the poorest of the lot. It applies smoothly with a creamy consistency but just doesn't last well and is prone to creasing and fading.

The light yellow gold cream shade can be used as a highlighter over the browbone area, or as a base for the powder eyeshadows. However, when used as a base, the powder eyeshadows ended up creasing quite a bit at the inner corners after a few hours. I had much better results when using Urban Decay Primer Potion as the base, which helped the powder eyeshadows to stay true without creasing even after several hours of wear.

The applicators are functional and easy to use. The brush is too small for using as a blush brush but it will suffice in a pinch when you have no other brushes at hand. I like to use the sponge applicators to pack on the colour and then go over it with an eyeshadow brush to blend out the edges.

I applied the light yellow cream shade all over the lid with my fingertip and then use the sponge applicator to apply the mint shade from the lashline to the crease and at the outer half of the lower lashline. Next, I applied the blue shade at the outer corners and the silver shade blended very lightly into the crease, at the inner corners and along the lower lashline.

I liked the shade combination as it brightens up the face without being too over-the-top. Ladies who are more conservative would prefer the other palette in this collection, Bowwow! Magic Queen, which is brown/gold themed. For this look, I also used Guerlain Prarure Pearly White Fluid Foundation 01 topped with Jill Stuart Loose Powder 01 Natural, K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 02, Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss 09 Currant and Visee Wide Impact (Curl Long) Mascara.

Here's the ingredients list. The palette was made in Korea in June 2010 and has a 24-month shelf life.


On the special website for this collection, you can play a Magi-game as well as upload and decorate your own pictures, including your Twitter profile picture, with sixteen icons in the Abracadabra Icon Maker section. Do check it out!