Don’t you find that something becomes more interesting when there’s a story to it? Take Shiseido’s range of Shiseido Luminizing Satin Eye Colour Trio, for example.

When Dick Page set to creating a new batch of eyeshadows for Shiseido, he found inspiration in nature and his travels. And he got really specific about them.

The result is a range of seven eyeshadow trios mixing just about every colour of the rainbow – and more. We’re talking about bright, playful colours inspired by a variation of things – there’s GR305 Jungle, which takes on the rainforest of Dominica in the West Indies. Or the yummylicious YE406 Tropicalia, which is “a detail shot of a vividly succulent plant in a garden in Los Angeles, California.”

Then there’s the star trio featured here – GD804 Opera, inspired by a Golden Statuary on the roof of the Opera Garnier in Paris set against a blue springtime sky. Told you he was specific.

Dick Page, who is the Artistic Director of Shiseido, calls Opera a palette of unusual contrasts with the deep bronze, pale gold and bright sky blue shades.

These eyeshadows are amazing. They have this almost creamy texture to them that made application so easy. The powder is very finely milled, and when you apply, feels silky. Colour payoff is great – it isn’t sheer, holds together, and goes on smoothly and evenly. It doesn’t disappoint in the sense that what you see will be what you get. I also like the brush, it’s dense and soft without being too soft, and picks the powder well. I just wished that the compact had a bit more weight to it. As beautiful as the colours were, the compacts that held them felt like cheap plastic. 

My palette was sent to me by Shiseido Malaysia, and I will be honest with you, I had a good stare at Opera before figuring out what to do with it. It’s so easy to just brush on the bronze and gold, and ignore the blue. But at the same time, I knew I wasn’t Raquel Zimmerman – she could rock the ad campaign easy.

The bronze had an olive tinge to it that made it extremely wearable, and the gold? Easy as a highlighter, or as a wash on the eyelids or at the inner corner to brighten the eyes up. Of course, the blue was easy enough when worn on its own too. But the challenge was getting all three to work together. To quote Dick Page himself, “every woman has a different eye colour and shape. Use these three colours freely and enjoy the style suited to the individual personality.”

In the end … well … here’s my take.

RM105 at Shiseido counters nationwide.