Shu Uemura got me squealing like a kid with the Super Mario Collection!

I was a little bit of a gaming nerd growing up, and could spend all day journeying through all the various levels of Super Mario Bros in search for Princess Peach, with my friends Yoshi and Toad.  It is really cool to see Nintendo stage a comeback with these characters, and poke some cheeky fun at itself with the pixelated Mario cast.  The marketing geniuses must have figured out that female gaming nerds have a propensity to turn into beauty junkies, because the new Shu Uemura x Super Mario Bros Collection for Christmas 2017 had me squealing like a kid all over again!

For this holiday’s collection, Shu Uemura has sent us on an adventure to help Princess Peach by protecting the Mushroom Kingdom’s makeup treasure.  Along the way, colorful makeup and playful cleansing oils fight against Bowser who wants to see the world in just black and white.  There are 24 SKUs to explore and collect to your heart’s content, spreading across skincare, hair and makeup.

The most adorable of them all is Peach’s Eye & Cheek Palette, which contains 6 eyeshadows and 2 blushes.  Unlike previous years when Shu Uemura released 2 different warm/cool-toned palettes, this year’s offers both warm- and cool- toned hues in 1 handy palette.  You can also pull the palette apart and customize the shades as you wish!  Personally, I would choose to keep the 2 blushes there no matter what because they feature Super Star, Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Mystery Box.  Shuuuu cute!!!

The left side of the palette is themed “Darling Princess” and feature cool-toned pinks and purples.  From left to right, the shades are:

• Blush P7 – light milky pink with a neutral-tone and a satin matte finish
• Eyeshadow P1 – light neutral pink with a pearl finish
• Eyeshadow P2 – light-medium purple pearl finish
• Eyeshadow P3 – dark eggplant with a satin finish and some violet micro-shimmers

Shu Uemura actually has labelled each of the eyeshadow shades (on the back of the palette) as base/shade/contour, which gives you an idea how they’re meant to be used.  However, I found it more intuitive to wear them in thirds, with the lightest shade in my inner corner and the darkest on the outside to define.  I took it off-focus so you can see the shimmers and pearl textures showing through.  The effect is quite subtle in real life, as you can see from the full makeup look at the bottom of this post.

Before we get there, let’s take a look at the “Adventurous Princess” half of the palette…

The right half of Peach’s Eye & Cheek Palette is composed of warm-toned orange and browns.  From left to right the shades are:

• Blush P8 – light orange with a soft matte finish.  This color is not as intense as it appears in the palette, and though it picks up well with a brush, it allows my natural skin color to still show through, giving a sun-kissed effect on the cheeks.
• Eyeshadow P4 – light shimmery gold with a semi-sheer base
• Eyeshadow P5 – medium brightened copper with a metallic finish
• Eyeshadow P6 – medium-dark reddish brown with satin finish and sprinkled with gold and pink micro-shimmers

Again applying the shadows in thirds, creating a beautiful warm shimmery eye look!  I added a touch of liner to my bottom lash line and immediately regretted not swatching it on the back of my hand to check first.  But life is short, so let’s move on!

Fun packaging aside, the one cool innovative new item that you shouldn’t miss is the Shu Uemura Dual Stamp-Me Liner.  This features a star-shaped stamp on one side (as shown above), which you can use to create tiny tattoo-like designs around the eye area for parties.  It was very popular with my son’s kindergarten class year-end party recently!

And the other end features an ultra-fine calligraphy brush liner for the most precise cateye flick you have ever seen!

Every year, Shu Uemura releases a new limited edition curler, and this year’s Shu Uemura Invincible Superstar Premium Curler is the most gorgeous of them all.  Dressed in gold, and with the Super Mario Bros Super Star charm attached, this not only makes your lashes look good, it makes dressing up fun!

Lastly, there are a bunch of Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipsticks in the limited edition Super Mario Bros design.  Shu Uemura had recently reformulated the Rouge Unlimited range [read here], and they are creamier and even more pigmented than ever!  If you have yet to try them out, now is a great time to start!

And here is a full makeup look featuring the first eye look shown earlier… the “Darling Princess” look.

And another… the “Adventurous Princess” look.

There are plenty more from the Shu Uemura x Super Mario Bros Collection…  Explore the skincare and haircare offerings, or pick up the luxe vanity trunk case!  Go ahead and have fun with it!

_{This post featured products that were generously provided for my consideration.  Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.}