Shiseido Hydro-Powder Eye Shadow ($25) is one of my favorite cream shadows. Intense and lustrous, this dewy cream eye shadow transforms into powder that creates a glaze of brilliant, shimmery color. It's crease-resistant and long-wearing.There I was, a few months ago, lusting after some gold and copper eye shadows I saw in a magazine. H4 had been swatched. I wanted it. When I want something, I'm relentless in searching for it. I looked online at first. I couldn't find it. Then I started prowling the Shiseido counters. Every time I went in a store with a Shiseido counter, I looked at every Hydro-Powder shade on display (testers) and asked someone to check the stock in case the H4 tester was missing. No one had it. No one at a Shiseido counter knew the shade. I had almost given up when I found H4 at Bloomingdale's at Tysons Corner Center. I think the sales associate (someone I didn't know) was surprised when I told him I wanted it within seconds of picking up the tester. It was worth the search.
H4 is called Spring Plum. This shade is not plum to my eyes. Maybe I should be worried about my vision. Not only that, the color swatches online make it look mauve pink. You be the judge; I swatched it.
On my arm at right is a heavy application at the top and a lighter, blended application below. I applied the cream with my fingertips (my bad - I was in a hurry, but I washed my hands before I touched it). I would describe the color as a rose-tinged copper. When applied heavily, the rose is more dominant than it is when applied lightly and blended. Either way, I can wear it. I don't look like an albino bunny in it. The shade is extremely flattering to my pale skin and blue eyes, and I think women with other skin/eye combinations will find it very pleasing.
Last night, I looked online, and now suddenly the shade is "everywhere." Go figure! No matter what it's called, it's gorgeous! I verified H4 today with the lovely ladies who represent Shiseido. They see a soft plum with some shine; I see another color. It's not new, so I have no idea why many counters don't display it. Browsers would pick up this beauty in a heartbeat.
You can find Shiseido at Sephora, Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and other Shiseido counters, as well as online at the Shiseido Web site. See if you can find H4 more easily than I could.
Photo at top courtesy of Nordstrom