gloss lands

To celebrate the launch of Shu Uemura's new Gloss Unlimited Collection, which features 16 new lip color shades, and Shu Uemura Art of Hair's Touch of Gloss, a new melt-in balm for hair, both brands gave our senior web editor Ray Siegel a glossy hair and makeup look. Makeup Artist Emma Katz, who created Ray's makeup look with Artist shades from the new Gloss Unlimited range explains, "The product is like that bridge--it's a bridge for women to play with color but not overly commit to it. That's what I love about Shu. It's not tattoos--its makeup. The more you layer it on, the stronger the color is. That's the beauty of the product. You're very much in control of your final look." Read Emma's breakdown from the shoot and soak up all of her expert beauty tricks like we did. THE EYES: "A makeup artist trick is to always start with the eyes, so you can avoid ruining the rest of the face and avoid that eyeshade fallout that always happens. I lined the eyes with powder, but to emphasize the color I used Shu Uemura Glow blush in Vivid Peach to excrete the natural oil found on the eyelid. Because I was really working with the orange, edgy palette I used a blush. It's also a powder, but there's less oil. It creates a nice dry face. On top of the blush, I decided to use the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in Bright Orange on the eyes--just for fun, because we could! That was used to create all of the pops of color. I went straight for the most intense pigment we had--and that was the Gloss Unlimited in AT50C and AT60C. I also used the gloss to create the David Bowie line on her nose bridge. It was like an arrow down to the lip that was drawing all of the attention to that amazing lip gloss. What it did was create the illusion of this sharp jawline; it looked very dramatic. Then I used the iconic Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler, which no girl can be without. I painted on the ultimate natural mascara. I was meticulous about taking care to paint every lash to make the most of what the eyelash curlers do. I just set everything with translucent powder on the eye area." THE FACE: "Ray loved the Beautyblender sponge! It creates an airbrush effect. I left a pretty natural face because I wanted the look to be all about the lips. Once I was happy with the even complexion, I went in and reapplied more lipstick to the eye. That's when I brought it down to the bridge of her nose for shits and giggles. The line needed to be sharp to emphasize the pompadour (which was also made to look glossy using Shu Uemura Art of Hair Touch of Gloss melt-in balm). Back in the day, the sponges that were cut into wedges; we found that they have a double use. Because of the straight wedge edge, you can use it as a guide. We pinned it to the edge of her nose and I used it as a stencil to create a line. It works well for cat eyes and wings for eyeliner. I continued to use that peach Natural Brush in 20H in a real '80s stripe on the upper cheek bone." THE LIPS: "Then it was all about the lip gloss, which was whole finish to the piece. I used a cute duo of colors--pink on the top and orange on the bottom--to draw all of the attention to the bottom lip. I slathered on as much gloss as I could, which was was more for the photographic element. It's wearable and cute if you have the balls to go out and do it." THE HAIR (Pompadour Pony): 1. On dry hair, gently tease the entire crown of your head. 2. Take the side of your brush and smooth the top of your hair, not disturbing the tease. 3. Gather all of your hair at the back of your head, making sure the sides are smooth and tight and the crown is loose and lifted. 4. Secure with an elastic, right above the nape of your neck. 5. Take fingers and fluff the top of your hair to create an airy texture. 6. Emulsify Touch of Gloss in your palms and press against the sides of your head and through your ponytail for shine and smoothness.