Shu Uemura Drawing Crayons

This review of Shu Uemura Drawing Crayons will be short and sweet.

Very short and very sweet, because unlike the freakshow that was Shu Uemura Blanc:Chroma cushion foundation, these crayons are awesome.
Which only proves what we've all known for ages - Shu Uemura does eye makeup well. Does eye makeup remarkably well.

And no, this is not a sponsored review - I bought these.

I am a huge Shu Uemura fangirl, I can't deny it. Even though Shu skincare leaves me feeling meh, their point makeup more than compensates for that.

I have already written about my collection of Shu Uemura Drawing Pencils.
Today we will talk about Shu Uemura Drawing Crayons.

What is it?
Basically, your standard big, fat crayon that works as an eye shadow, or - according to Shu - as an eyeliner.
I use them as eye shadows.

They are waterproof, long wearing, non-smudging colors that stay-on-forever in a true Shu Uemura fashion.

The colors are beautiful soft pastels - perfect for spring.
The swatches I have seen on the internet look awfully photoshopped with saturation and vibrance cranked up to the max.
In reality, they are much softer and subtle - even the bright hues like blue or green.

The whole collection consists of 12 colors.
They are marked as M for matte, P for pearly, and S for shimmer (in some countries, like Malaysia, shimmer shades are not marked as S, so be careful).

image from Shu Uemura Malaysia


I have these six colors:

• Pearly Brown
• Pearly Yellow Gold (doesn't seem to be available anymore in Japan)
• Pearly Purple
• Pearly Soft Orange
• Pearly Pink (number 1 popular color, according to Shu Uemura Japan)
• Matte Soft Brown.

And this is how they swatch.
No photoshop and no filters applied!

Swatches of Shu Uemura Drawing Crayons:

As you can see, all of them are very wearable, everyday colors.
I am clueless when it comes to traditional eye shadows, I don't know how to use them, how to apply them and how to blend them.

Eye shadow crayons are my salvation. Just draw a line, smear it a bit with your finger and you're good to go. That's how I roll. Fiddling and piddling with brushes requires a level of makeup skills that I just don't have. And at my age, I am too old to master. So it's sticks and crayons for me all the way.

Same as Shu Uemura Drawing Pencils, these crayons are made in Germany.

They are very old school. You will need to sharpen them. You will need a big, fat Shu Uemura sharpener here.
Let me repeat it, these are NOT the twist type. These are the old school sharpening type.

To most Shu fans that is pretty obvious, but to newcomers to the brand it might be a bit of a shock. One reviewer on the American Shu site complained that "they are good for only a few times and there is no way to get more crayon."
Yes darling, there is a way to get more crayon, it's called sharpening.

To me it's not a deal breaker, but I know to many people might be.

Not sure who'd be interested in the ingredients, but here they are, just in case.

Shu Uemura Drawing Crayon ingredients:

How much?
2800 yen plus tax.

A bit on the steep side, but we're not talking about L'Oreal Infallible® Eye Shadow Crayons here.
Incidentally, Shu Uemura is a L'Oreal brand, and it's been said that the Infallibles make for good Shu dupes. Personally I don't know, so can't confirm.

From what I've seen on them innernets, L'Oreal Infallibles are much more shimmery with quite big glitter particles.
These Shu crayons are more in line with Clinique Chubby Sticks Shadow Tint for Eyes. But Clinique sticks are not as long lasting as Shu Uemura Drawing Crayons. However, on the plus side, they don't need to be sharpened.
(And I have a crapton of those, so I definitely can confirm.)

So there.
You have all the pros and cons.

My verdict?

I love them.
If I had more disposable income, I'd buy all 12 colors.