Fast forward face: The future mode of Shu Uemura

Batasar Gracian once quipped, "Nature scarcely gave us the very best, for that we must recourse to art". There would be no doubt that if he and Mr Shu Uemura met they would’ve indulged in a tipple-lubricated discourse on matters regarding the face. After all, it was Shu Uemura himself who asked, "Why not give eyeshadow patterns like clothes?" In 1968, make-up master Shu Uemura a founded "mode make-up"– to bring make-up art to Byzantine proportions. The commemorative maiden work of mode make-up entitled "Flaggy" (eyeshadow with a pattern) was a declaration of liberation from the way make-up was viewed.

The heart of Shu Uemura’s philosophy is the idea that "beauty is not created by coincidence". It is a constant evolution that mirrors the times, rebels against the constraints of convention and always furthers understanding of the language of the future.

This year, Shu Uemura again pushes the envelope as it presents its 119th mode make-up collection entitled: Future Mode, the vision of beauty for the future. It is a mix of texture and color. As Shu Uemura once said about makeup being like clothes, one can only guess that he tried to find inspiration in the modern fabrics and translated it into his innovative concoctions.

Future Mode’s message is to add color and whimsy in a season notorious for pallid and somber tones.

Neo-future is all about opalescent textures and near surreal effects from metallic tones. Its ambient collection is stimulating and soothing – the jolt of color and shimmer that breaks the rules and gives unlimited possibilities.

"In a collection comprised of cosmic colors, paradoxical textures and translucent shimmer, one can definitely expect a look that will bring out the glow that is in every one of us. Because as Future Mode states: the future is ambiguous, but it has unlimited possibilities," shares Shu Uemura brand manager Tina Tinio.

The beauty of art is that it is open to interpretation. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder, and as arbitrary as it is in nature, one thing remains definite – it is around us and we are all capable artists. We only need to see to create.

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The Shu Uemura autumn/winter mode make-up collection Future Mode is now available at the Shu Uemura counter at Rustan’s Makati and Shangri-La Plaza.