Forget neutrals and golds for the holidays, shu uemura’s idea of holiday makeup is bold hues with lots of sparkle. There is nothing safe or classic about this holiday collection called rouge et bleu, a collaboration with movie director Wong Kar Wai.  By the way, the inspiration of the collection is a short film called ‘Mask’, and will be released on October 18.  For now, you can watch the trailer on the shu uemura website.

burning in water ($85) is one of two beautiful eye and cheek palettes in the collection. It contains four eyeshadows, two blushes, one double ended sponge applicator and one double ended brushes.  Both the powders and creams are very smooth and give excellent colour payoff.

shu uemura burning in water palette

The cover of the palette is a cool hologram of the eye makeup from the promo images.  Here’s a short video since it was difficult to photograph:

shu uemura burning in water palette – cover artwork

Cool, eh?  Now, how about some swatches?

shu uemura burning in water palette swatches (natural light, no flash)

shu uemura burning in water palette swatches (with flash)

Delicious, right?  As much as I love all these colours though, I wish they switched up the texture with a matte eyeshadow shade.

shu uemura burning in water palette

The cream cheek colour reminds me of Giorgio Armani’s cream blushes; they blend easily and dry to a powder finish.  The powder cheek colour is a light beige with slight shimmer, which would make a stunning cheek highlight.  I do wish the cheek colours come in bigger pans so I can fit a blush brush in there.

shu uemura burning in water palette – box

Is It Too Bold For Holiday, Or Just Right?

What do you think? Do you tend to favour the safe classics of golds and reds for holiday collections, or do you like the bright colours from this palette?