Shiseido Luminizing Eye Color Trio for Spring 2011

Dick Page has done it again. The Artistic Director for Shiseido Makeup always has his fingers on the pulse of color. His spring introductions for Shiseido are trendy - and gorgeous.

The new Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trios ($33) are available. Inspired by brilliant landscapes as well as the simplest moments of daily life, the newest color additions to the Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Colors reflect places that have captured Page's imagination. These tri-color palettes consist of naturally contrasting and highlighting shades that brighten the eyes. The luxurious powder, with the ultimate in smooth texture, spreads evenly onto the eyelids (as smooth as silk), making it easy to apply the exact texture and color you desire with their blendable sheerness. Each shade can be worn together or separately for a wide variety of looks and effects.

The delicate luster of satin-smooth pearl provides a superb, stunning finish. Micromatic color pigment reflects light that conventional pigments would normally absorb, making it possible to create vivid, yet translucent colors. "Super Hydro-Wrap Vitalizing DE" improves dryness and roughness to give eyes a moisturized look all day long. Dual optimizing powder provides true color and a natural sheen for all-day wear.

There are three new shades of Luminizing Eye Color.

• Bouquet (VI308), a purple-violet palette inspired by the sculptural impression of a wild bouquet of flowers (shown below)
• Voyage (BR209) with colors inspired by a photograph of Shiseido model, Raquel Zimmermann, crossing the Venetian lagoon by motoscafi (how romantic - shown above right)
  
• Punky Blues (BL310), a cheeky, spontaneous picture taken in London representing aggressively bright colors (shown above left)

The neutral connoisseur in me said, "Order BR209 from Sephora!" So, I did. I was thrilled when it arrived. I took a lot of swatch photos. The photo below is the only one that came close to showing the richness of the shades in the trio - all of which are magnificent. My photo doesn't show how beautifully pigmented the lightest shade is. It's a very light golden beige, not as sparkly as the indoor photo, taken in sunlight, makes it appear. All of the shades shimmer, but they don't sparkle. Simply put, they are perfect. Golden bronze, antique gold, and the perfect light gold base/highlighter shade - stunning!

Hopefully, I've tempted you enough to make you seek out the new Shiseido trios. Wish I could show you the other two, but they don't live at my house - yet. The are available nationwide at department and specialty stores where Shiseido products are sold, beginning mid-February 2011 - although Sephora has them now. Shiseido is also available online at Macys, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Saks, Barneys, and Dillards. For more information or to find a store location near you, just visit www.sca.shiseido.com.

I've got more to show you. Stay tuned!

Photos of trios courtesy of Shiseido

Dick Page for Shiseido at New York Fashion Week

Dick Page, Shiseido Artistic Director, showed us the way into spring at New York Fashion Week. As I studied his beautiful looks, created for two shows, I was reminded of the phrase, "Spring forward, fall back." We haven't even turned our clocks back for fall, and I'm writing about spring beauty! Then the old Girl Scout slogan "Be Prepared" came to me, so here we go!

Dick Page created the look at left for the September 11 United Bamboo Collection. Inspired by the collection, he wanted a face that looked natural and real. Dick applied a wash of the new Shiseido Makeup Perfect Refining Foundation (launching February 2011) on freshly moisturized skin to even the skin tone and to cover up redness or blemishes.

Next, he applied a light dusting of Shiseido Makeup Translucent Loose Powder to the forehead, along the nose, and under the eyes.

He wanted to create eyes that were "sharp, but not too dramatic.” Using the small Shiseido Eyeliner Brush, Dick mixed a touch of the Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment and the darkest shade from the Shiseido Makeup Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trio in Snow Shadow (GY901) - the one I want and still haven't purchased! He applied the color along the upper and lower lash lines and around the inner eye, close to the lash line with no gaps.


Then, Page used a clean fluffier eye shadow brush to blend another touch of the Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment onto the eyelid to help melt the color on the eyes. He used the fluff brush to blend and diffuse the color.

Page wanted a neutral, glowing lip, so to neutralize the natural lip-tone, he patted the new Shiseido Makeup Shimmering Rouge Lipstick in Alabaster (BE702) (launching February 2011) on the lips with his finger.

The photo and look sheet above show how soft and natural the United Bamboo look was. Just right for most of us!

Page created two different looks for the Band of Outsiders Show on September 11: “Girl, Girl” and “Boy, Girl.” The looks were inspired by the unique variety of scenery at the presentation as well as the distinctly different groups of fashion featured in the presentation.

For the Boy, Girl face at left, he wanted to start with clean, glowing skin, so he left the skin clean and applied just a touch of Shiseido Makeup Natural Finish Cream Concealer to cover up any model redness or blemishes.

On the eyes, he aimed for “scrubby and imperfect.” Page applied Shiseido Makeup Automatic Fine Eyeliner in Black (BK901) all around the eye and focused on lining right into the upper and lower lash lines and into the eye socket. Then, he sketched a scrubby line of Shiseido Makeup Smoothing Eyeliner Pencil in Black (BK901) into the outer corner of the lower lashes. Then, like a great artist unconstrained by the intended use of a product, he applied a touch of the Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment on top of the liner; this allowed the color to melt. He finished the eyes by applying a coat of Shiseido Makeup Perfect Mascara Defining Volume in Black (BK901) on the lashes.

The more dramatic eyes called for simple, moist lips. To give the lips a light sheen, Page applied Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment with his finger.




For the Girl, Girl look at right, Paige also wanted clean, glowing skin. Looks to me like clean and glowing will be a spring trend! Page again left the skin clean and applied just a touch of Shiseido Makeup Natural Finish Cream Concealer to cover up redness or blemishes. Next, using a damp base sponge, he applied Shiseido Makeup Shimmering Rouge Lipstick in Golden Dragon (RD601) (launching February 2011) on the apples of the cheeks, under the eye area, along the temples and bridge of the nose. Again unconstrained by convention, he used a lip product as a blusher.

He achieved the dewy and natural eyes by applying Shiseido Benefiance Full Correction Lip Treatment on the eyelids. That was it!

He finished the fresh and simple look by giving the model's lips a subtle trace of color, applying Shiseido Shimmering Rouge Lipstick in Lounge (RD709) (launching February 2011) with his finger.

By using some existing products, along with new ones, Page created three pretty looks, and all will be easy for us to replicate. I have photos of some of the new makeup products, and I will show them to you this week. Shiseido has introduced one hit collection after another under Dick Page's artistic direction. I think you will like what you see!

Photos courtesy of Shiseido

Is Green the New Black?

In the December 2009 Vogue, there is a small beauty feature in which Dick Page, Makeup Artistic Director of Shiseido, declares that "green is the new black." Page is quoted as saying "I call it a replacement strategy." In other words, he substitutes an element of a familiar look with an unexpected new shade. For this new smokey-eyed look? Green!

I love green eye shadows - in all shades - but I'll admit they can be hard to work with. If you use a subtle green, it's as easy as taupe. If you want to use brighter shades, you have to be careful.

I asked Loyd Cassler, Armani Beauty expert and makeup artist extraordinaire at Saks, for his advice on wearing green on the eyes. Here are his tips - all good, I think.

• Remember your age. The older you are, the more careful you have to be in creating a green eye. I had to chuckle when he defined the cut-off at just north of 20 years of age.
  
• Consider green an accessory, not the theme, particularly if you are working with the brighter shades.
  
• Use green for pop in the middle of the eyelid, but don't take the color into the crease.
• Consider using it very close to your lashes or as a liner.
  
• Blend it with taupe or grey to tone it down and blur out the edges.

I find taupe- and olive-toned greens easiest to work with, even though Loyd thinks blue-eyed blonds are perfect candidates for teal and mint shades. That's why I found the Armani Beauty Top Coat for the holidays so perfect - it is bronze with an ever-so-subtle green cast. I also find bright greens totally stunning on dark brown and black skin, even though intuitively, the darker gals should be wearing warm shades! I guess I'm a rule breaker.

You can create Dick Page's elegant green eye with three products from the RICHROCKS Holiday 2009 Collection. The Luminizing Satin Eye Color ($25) Pyrite Crystal is a silver that's perfect for using with the liner and mascara from the collection or for blending with a green shadow you may already have (remember Loyd's tip to blend your green in with grey!). Perfect Mascara ($22) in Intense Teal is an inky teal green with a metallic gloss, much like the Armani Top Coat in effect - just a tad brighter. The Golden Green Smoothing Eyeliner Pencil ($20) - a burnished golden green - is simply gorgeous. It reminds me a bit of my favorite Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Stash.

I like this Shiseido Web page for an enlarged view of the RICHROCKS shades (shown to the right). You can purchase Shiseido products at Bloomingdale's and other Shiseido counters.

Wouldn't it be fun to experiment with the new black?

Photo courtesy of Shiseido