Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura- Shupette Silk Cushion Cheek Pink & Orange

I was pretty mad at myself when I opened the package of these two Shu Uemura cream blushes. I passed on most of the Shupette collection for Holiday 2014, designed by Karl Lagerfeld and inspired by his gorgeous cat, Choupette because the colors weren't my thing. But I still wanted some Shupette, and the Silk Cushion blushes looked harmless enough. But looking at them the first time and swatching, I felt that these were somewhat sub-par products in a rather juvenile design aesthetics (remember Lagerfeld and Shu Uemura's Dora The Explorer collection from 2012?). I called myself a "sheepette".

But I went on to actually wear these frosty looking blushes, and found myself kind of enjoying them. They're not too bad. The texture is a lot of fun, actually, because of the "cushion" effect. The blushes are rather sheer (the swatches above are about three layers), but they're buildable, and the frost factor translates into light shimmer when blended on skin.

The two colors, Pink and Orange are pretty basic. Pink is a raspberry smoothie shade, while Orange leans terracotta. I seem to prefer the pink one, but they can also be mixed together in various ratios for a slightly more sophisticated color. Where the blushes are really lacking is in longevity. Even with a carefully-prepped canvas and a decent amount of finishing powder, they don't hold on for more than 4-5 hours (and my skin is far from oily). The cream melts and disappears into the base, leaving behind a faint shimmer. so this is not a product you can count on for a full day, but as long as your outing is short it's ok. Is that enough? Probably not. I'll remember it the next time Shu or Uncle Karl come up with a gimmicky collection. Or so I hope.

Bottom Line: Mostly for the packaging.

Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura- Shupette Silk Cushion Cheek Pink & Orange ($25 each) are limited edition products, available from shuuemura-usa.com