Shu Uemura Sunset Gold Palette for Spring 2011

Shu Uemura continues to dazzle, even if the company no longer has an in-store presence in the U.S. The "Morphorium" Collection was created by International Artistic Director Kakuyasu Uchiide to "invite us to the world of untouched treasures in a deep tropical jungle" and change us like butterflies into"inimitable, mysterious" beauties.

Beyond the hype, which has a lovely theme, there's some fabulous makeup. Gaia at The Non-Blonde selected the Morphorium Blue Palette. I chose the more conventional Sunset Gold ($69).

The limited-edition palette is a work of art on the outside. On the inside, it's filled with three warm, sunset-inspired tones of eye shadow, cream shadow/liner, and powder blush. There are two small applicator brushes included in the compact.

The palette was designed to evoke a fertile forest with its enchanting wildlife. Warm tones of the gold and brown shadow, accented with a touch of shimmering white, were designed to emphasize the glow of the sophisticated, earthy spirit. The look is finished with a swipe of the warm peach blush to emulate the warmth of the rising sun.

My swatch photo was taken indoors in direct light. I applied all shades with a sponge-tipped applicator and swatched in a clockwise direction, starting at the upper-left side of the palette. You can see that the deep brown is a nice chocolate brown. The "brick gold" shade is gold - a pretty gold. The white is nice. It has color (as opposed to the sparkly "platinum" in a neutral trio I featured recently). The cream/shadow is a beautiful, extremely wearable pink-beige shade. I think it's too light to use as a liner, but I love the shade for the eyelid. The blush is gorgeous. It's pink with some shimmer. The pretty design is sprayed on, so you'll lose it as soon as you use the palette, and the shimmer that comes with it will also go away. That will leave you with a lovely daytime blush. No fears of being a glitter bomb with this one!

Here's how Shu Uemura suggests you use the colors.

• Pressed eye shadow M deep brown - use as a shading color at the lash line for dimensional effect
• Pressed eye shadow P brick gold - use as a main/nuance color on the eyelids
• Pressed eye shadow IR creamy white - use as a accent/highlight color
• Cream eye shadow P beige pink - use as a base/shading color before applying a powder eye shadow
• Glow-on P peach - use as a blush to exude a feminine look/healthy complexion

This is a lovely palette. I'm very pleased with it. I am smitten with the Shine Mystique Eye Color in Khaki Silver I purchased. I'll tell you about it soon. You can find Shu Uemura's Spring 2011 Collection online.

Photos at top courtesy of Shu Uemura