(Shiseido Maquillage Clean Contrast Eyes 2 in SV844)
Maquillage replaced PN (the color makeup line) and Proudia (the base makeup line) and was what Shiseido called a “Super Brand”. The expectation at the time was extremely high, since PN, in particular, was very successful at bringing young people to Shiseido and rescuing the brand’s then aging image. Over the last couple of years, Maquillage, with a more mature image, has proven to be delivering the sales figures.
For those of you that might not be familiar with the multi-layered branding concept in Japanese cosmetics, Maquillage is not a fully fledged brand and is simply the name of Shiseido’s main color/base makeup line. It does not have its own counters and is sold at Shiseido counters in Japan and some other Asian countries (where you will find many other lines like Elixir Superior (skincare/base makeup), UVWhite (whitening), Anessa (suncare), Revital (anti-aging), and Beauty Voltage (youth skincare)).
Back to Maquillage. Since I have been very interested in lilac for the past year or so, I am often excited to see lilac being featured as the main eyeshadow color for a seasonal collection. For spring 2008, this look (modeled by Ebihara Yuri, one of the four brand ambassadors for Maquillage) really grabbed my attention.
(image from www.shiseido.co.jp)
Initially, being (a bit overly) excited to try a lilac that was much cooler than most of the other lilacs I had, I used it as the main shade on my eyelids and I used the silvery grey around my lash line. It didn’t work well. Worn alone, the lilac is almost too pale for my eye area and the whole look is not optimally flattering.
When I tried the palette for the second time, I wore the silvery grey as the main color with most of the lilac showing through from underneath and around the silvery grey. This time, it worked a lot better.
A couple of days ago, I happened to find the following application steps on the Shiseido website. They show more or less how I used the palette for the second time. (They are similar to those on the back of the outer packaging of the palette, but the images below give a clearer idea.)
(image from www.shiseido.co.jp)
1. sheer white with mainly pale multi-color shimmer and relatively little pigment
2. pale blue-ish lilac with very fine and subtle shimmer and an overall satiny finish
3. silvery grey with a semi-metallic shimmery finish and a very slight warm copper undertone
4. dark matte charcoal with very sparse shimmer
With some eye palettes from Japanese brands, the second darkest shade is usually meant to be worn under the crease. But I think one of the best ways to use this palette is to follow the steps above and use the second darkest shade (silvery grey) both under and around the crease and over most of the lilac applied beforehand. (If you don’t have a crease, use the silvery grey as the main shadowing shade over the lilac, which is applied on a slightly broader area on the lids.)
The key is to layer the two shades.
Since the silvery grey has a touch of sheerness, the lilac is able to show through and the two colors together create a lovely and subtle depth for the eyes.Since many eye palettes in Japanese brands are named after the main shade, I was later able to understand why this is a (well-justified) SV (Silver) palette and not a VI (violet), which I did wonder initially. (Note: Kanebo brands would use PU (purple) instead of VI.)
The practical strengths are there as well. The powder is smooth and goes on easily, and the colors are long-lasting.
Essentially, this is a silvery-grey palette with lilac as the accent color. The concept is different from that of my other lilac palettes with gradations of lilacs. For me as a lilac lover, this alone makes the palette worth purchasing. (But I do have to control my fondness for lilac and try not to over-layer it!)
The “silver-greyish lilac” look it creates is subtle and natural, as you see in the ads. It is very good for daily wear. If you want a more dramatic look, layering the silvery grey and putting more emphasis on the dark charcoal will easily give you a smoky effect.
(By the way, in the ad,
Ebihara Yuri is also using the new Gel Liner in SV854.)I did spend quite a few weeks deciding whether to buy this palette or not. But I am very glad I did!
My other two lilac palettes for spring 2008:
Coffret D’Or 3D Lighting Eyes in 04
Lunasol Sheer Contrast Eyes in Lavender Coral
Other related posts:
Must-Try Look for Spring 2008
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Mmm, this is a great article! I appreciate the in-depth consideration of lilac shades, and I think my skin tone would require a lilac layered with charcoal, as you described. I may try to find something like this palette.
Great blog, by the way! This is my first visit and I have loved every post I’ve read.
HI PJ,
I got this one too :) along with the silver eyeliner since I also love this look of Yuri. For me, I bought some stuff from MQ when it first lauched but wasn’t so impress with it but I couldn’t resist this one. Honestly, when I opened the box and see the color, i was like .. wow!! It’s better than I expected! I’m glad that I didnt make a wrong decision .. this is such a pretty pallete. The gel eyeliner was quite disappointing though becoz the brush that comes with it is useless (or maybe I haven’t figured out how to use it well) but the eyeliner itself is great when using with my own brush ^^
Hi Kiss Kiss Beauty,
Thank you very much for visiting my blog and for your kind words!
One of the new eyeshadow quads from Guerlain features two rosy purples along with a light grey and a cooler and ashier brown. It is not really the same as this palette from Maquillage but it might perhaps suit you. It does look quite pretty. :)
Thank you for posting your comment. Hope to hear from you again! :)
Hi $wEeT T!raMi$u,
I am glad that you like this palette too! :)
So you have got the silver gel eyeliner as well. You can actually recreate the great look from Yuri! It is really a very pretty look. Feminine as well as quite sophisticated. Of all the lilac looks of spring 2008 from major brands, this is probably my favorite.
Thank you for letting me know about the eyeliner brush, and thank goodness the eyeliner itself is of good quality.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts again! :)