Maquillage Dramatic Mood Veil (Silky)

In 2015, I reviewed Dramatic Mood Veil in PK200 from Shiseido Maquillage. Then, in 2016, the line released Dramatic Mood Veil (Silky), and I will be sharing my thoughts on it today.

Shiseido Maquillage Dramatic Mood Veil (Silky) (資生堂マキアージュドラマティックムードヴェール (シルキー)/ 資生堂心機星魅舞色柔光修容, refill ¥2500, case with brush ¥1000) was released in Japan for the holiday 2016 season. (It is a regular item and is still available.) It is designed to be a color-correcting, highlighting and contouring palette. The five shades in this palette are:

off-white pink, subtly pigmented, glowy with semi-sparse shimmer
off-white purple, subtly pigmented, glowy
pale yellow, lightly pigmented, pearly with soft shimmer
pale peachy beige, subtly pigmented, glowy
porcelain white, lightly pigmented, pearly with soft shimmer

All the five shades have multi-hued light-reflective particles. They are all easy to apply and blend. The porcelain white has a fairly good staying power, and the other shades have a decently good staying power.

The two images below show the suggested application method from the line (which is also printed on the outer box of the refill of the product):

(image from maquillage.shiseido.co.jp)

(According to the line, the off-white pink tackles dullness and the off-white purple adds translucency to the complexion.)

When worn, the shades don’t differ very much in color. The mixed shade from the off-white pink and the off-white purple looks predominantly whitish with subtle cool undertones, and it doesn’t look particularly pink-toned or purple-toned. This is not a bad thing for me, as colors with purple tones don’t often look good on my cheeks. The mixed shade from the pale yellow and the pale peachy beige goes on as a veil of fine light-reflective particles and is not dark enough to create any shadow for my light-to-medium skin tone.

The shades, when worn, differ slightly more in finish and the level of paleness than in color, and it is mostly these different finishes and levels of paleness that add subtly different levels of luminosity to different areas of the face in order to create extra dimension for the face. The mixed shade from the pale yellow and the pale peachy beige is less pale than the porcelain white and the mixed shade from the off-white pink and the off-white purple, and it functions as a contouring shade in relative terms (even though it probably doesn’t create any shadow for most skin tones).

Personally, I find that the porcelain white and the mixed shade from the off-white pink and the off-white purple (when worn on the suggested areas seen above) can look very pearly on me. Even though they are very effective highlighting shades, they can emphasize the appearance of pores.

I have also tried mixing the five shades together and using the mixed shade as a highlighting shade. The five shades, when mixed, show up as a porcelain white with no obviously noticeable undertone. The mixed shade has a fairly pearly finish and it is a very effective highlighting shade. However, it can make the appearance of pores more obvious. I do need to be quite light-handed with it.

The product comes with a flat brush that is stored inside the case. (There is a removable plastic separator on which the brush can be placed.) The hair of the brush is fairly soft, fairly dense and quite bouncy. For a softer and more diffused look, I recommend using a softer and fluffier brush instead.

Overall, this palette is a little too glowy and too pearly for me, and it is not easy to avoid its pore-emphasizing effect. (Pidite’s Prism Brighter has a velvety base that has pore-smoothing efficacy but it contains semi-sparse light-reflective particles that look very shimmery. Media’s Bright Up Cheek N in WT-01 has a satiny finish that doesn’t emphasize the appearance of pores, and it is not as shimmery as the other two. It is my favorite among the three.)

(If you want something similar but with more varied colors for more versatility, then I suggest taking a look at Seven Light Powder Illuminator from SHISEIDO (Global Brand).)

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