A good lipstick wardrobe has an even mix of daily, subdued shades and bright sparks of color. At least 30% of your lipstick collection should comprise of unforgettable shades, the kind that people stop to ask what you have on. Trust me, it's good for your self-esteem! Even if there aren't many occasions to wear these bright shades out, knowing that you have them and can wear them any time you damn well please already adds to that feeling of empowerment. 

The question is: when should you go bright, and when should you go light? A touch of flattering color on your lips is ideal for more conservative settings like at your office, a business meeting, or perhaps a work-related conference. It's also great for any situation wherein you want to look approachable and likeable - meeting the parents, a new group of friends, making a sale, things like that.

Bright lipstick, on the other hand, is perfect for special occasions, parties, and casual get-togethers among close friends or co-workers. If you have a creative, image-heavy job like being a makeup artist, stylist, actress, magazine writer, etc. then you can pretty much wear any color you feel like!

The Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura Holiday Collection is perhaps the most awaited of them all this 2012. It features sophisticated colors picked out by none other than Mr Lagerfeld himself, with a quirky muse, Mon Shu Girl, to represent the glam yet aloof theme of the collection. It's been out since mid-October so you should hurry while there are still stocks of the limited edition pieces!

Photo from Beautezine.com

As you can see, it's a pretty extensive collection. Go for the palettes if you love daring sultry eyes, lipsticks if you like shine and sparkle, and brushes if you're looking for a handy travel set. I feel that you can miss the nail polishes since they don't particularly stand out in terms of quality and color selection, as well as the limited ed lash curler. The avant garde falsies though are of course Shu's specialty, so get this set if you're a makeup artist or just really love fun lashes!

So! Today I'm going to review the Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in Celebrity Beige (P1,350).

This is much like the Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited Supreme Shine lippies when it comes to the level of shine and slinkiness on the lips. It's light, non-drying, and leaves an au natural stain when it's all gone. It stays on for a decent three hours - as with most moisturizing, light lipsticks - so you will have to retouch every so often during the day. That's SOP really.

Cute box

Call me typical, but one of my favorite movies of all time is Breakfast At Tiffany's. A favorite scene of mine is the one where Holly Golightly wakes up late on a Thursday. She fumbles all over her flat for her shoes and her dress, rushing down the stairs to visit mob boss Sally Tomato in Sing Sing prison. Nevertheless, Holly was groomed in five minutes, finishing her look with a nude pink lipstick and a few spritzes of perfume.

Holly is the kind of woman who loves beautiful things, carefully chosen pieces that she can afford with her limited "glamour girl" money. She's also the kind of girl who isn't ready until she has lipstick. "Hand me my purse, will you, darling? A girl can't read that sort of thing without her lipstick," she says.

This memorable woman is the first person I thought of when I tried the Guerlain Rouge G Lipstick in Galia. The beautiful packaging looks just like something Holly Golightly would carry in her purse or keep in her apartment cubbyhole if she were alive today. Of course, I'm sure she would love the nude pink color of Galia, which is similar to the lipstick she's wearing in the photos.

MAC Blankety is the first ever MAC lipstick that I bought. I regret it. It's an okay color, but it's not something that I would rave about. I wished I got something reliable like Cosmo, famous like Pink Noveau, or classic like Russian Red. I don't know what got in my head!

Okay I do. I was looking for a shade in the nude color family since I only have a few nudes while I have quite a lot of pinks, reds, and everyday shades. I picked the Amplified Creme type because I read that it's smooth and creamy, unlike Satin (I owned MAC Twig, which I gave away to my mom) which I found too dry. Blankety is one of MAC's more famous nude lipsticks so I chose it.

Anyway, on to the review!

What I love about the product

• Glides on smoothly and feels creamy on the lips
• Good wear time at four hours, barring any eating
• Opaque and pigmented

I have already reviewed the Revlon Corlorburst lipsticks (which I love) so I'll only be sharing some product photos, swatches, and notes on a particular shade in the line. Soft Nude is a light beige with a hint of pink. It's a tricky color to wear if you skin is anywhere from medium to dark; I can barely pull it off myself! However, this would be perfect for light to fair skinned girls.

Some notes 

• Soft Nude is not as opaque as the other Colorburst colors I've tried. I need to layer a bit to get it to cover my pigmented lips.
• I recommend this for light-skinned women since this can easily make morenas look zombie-like. Lol. Wear this shade with dark eye color and chiseled cheeks to prevent your face from looking washed out.

Have you guys ever come across a fashion blog called Karla's Closet? It's amazing! I love Karla's sensible, modern style that's far from boring since she always incorporates romance, whimsy, and vintage into her looks. Aside from her fashion sense, I love her makeup! She doesn't wear that much actually. I just like her signature looks: dark blood red lips (which compelled me to get NYX Dark Cherry) and nude lips with barely there eye makeup.

This time, I saw something different on her: pale lips with smoky eyes. Nothing new but I love the whole "thrown-together", effortless feel of the makeup.

I liked it so much that I decided to cop the look. It's super easy! You can do this in less than 10 minutes. You just need two eyeshadow colors; although you can technically do with one (black) I want something a tiny bit more polished.

Are you ready? Here's what I did!

Step 1: Do the ground work. Prime your face and brows. For this look, I used: Revlon Beyond Natural concealer, Ellana Caramel Latte mineral foundation and Ellana Espresso Con Panna finishing powder.

Step 2: Pat on black matte or semi-matte eyeshadow on the lid. I used Urban Decay's Oil Slick eyeshadow.