In recent years, the marriage of food and makeup has gone from novelty to commonplace. Sure, having that perfect eyeshadow palette or lipstick in your makeup stash is great and all, but what about makeup that smells as delectable as chocolate? Take ALL of my coins. Luckily for us, there are a ton of scrumptious, chocolate-infused products on the market and Shu Uemura Art of Beauty is getting in on the action.
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Following buzzy holiday collaborations with the likes of Kye, Murakami, and Super Mario Bros, this year’s holiday launch is inspired by chocolate, so who better to team up with than luxury chocolatier, La Maison du Chocolat?
Launching officially on September 26, satiate your sweet cravings in the form of two eyeshadow palettes, six new flavors of Shu Uemura’s rouge unlimited lipstick in supreme matte and cream, a metallic lip liner, two vivid brow/lash gels in violet and orange and more, all splashed with sweet chocolate fragrances and bright shades. Prices aren’t available just yet but currently eyeshadow palettes on Shu Uemura go for $115, lipsticks are $31, and brow gels and mascara are $29.
The collection also includes two creamy blush shades, all-purpose loose shimmer powders, and cleansing oil.
“This collaboration is quite ambitious because makeup is something that is typically only appreciated visually,” Uchilde, International Artistic Director of Shu Uemura tells ELLE.com. “The idea behind this collaboration is to encourage people to use many senses as you taste the beautiful LMDC chocolate through the makeup and cosmetics, covering sense of sight, smell and touch together.”
Ahead, we speak more with Uchilde and La Maison du Chocolat’s master chocolatier Nicolas Cloiseau to find out how this delicious collection came about.
Why did you want to work with La Maison du Chocolat on makeup products?
Uchilde: I love chocolate, and I especially love LMDC. I’ve always considered their chocolate some of the best in the world—the taste, flavor appearance and presentation of their chocolate—it’s a form of art. To me, their branding is chic, modern, innovative yet sophisticated. I’ve always kept my eye on them because I’ve always felt there was something in common between us.
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Nicolas, as a chocolate expert, what was the creative process like for creating makeup products with Shu Uemura Art of Beauty?
Nicolas Cloiseau: We organized an important visit for the entire creative team of Shu Uemura in May 2017 at our atelier in Nanterre, France near Paris. We presented our extensive savoir-faire to them and all the production steps for our chocolates.
I showed my work, explained my creative process, my incessant search for innovation as well as my musings about the chocolate of tomorrow. We discussed at length the raw material cacao, the different finishes possible (powdery, creamy, melted, shiny, matte, cocoa, iridescent), and also reflected on the malleability of chocolate and my artistic work. During a degustation session, I had them discover the aromatic nuances of different cacao vintages to initiate them to the innumerable aromatic characteristics of chocolate.
What was the creative process like working with Nicolas Cloiseau and La Maison Du Chocolat?
Uchilde: Our collaboration started with an inspirational tour of the LMDC factory in France. I was fully immersed in the LMDC brand history, chocolate production, creation of art pieces by Nicholas and so on. The tour was amazing. Every moment was so impressive. I was immediately convinced this collaboration was meant to be because I found that our brand culture was so similar. Professional craftsmanship, precision, creative, originality.
How hands-on were you in the development of the makeup collection?
Cloiseau: Each expert worked in his own line of expertise. On my side, I nourished, inspired and offered reflections about the creations of Shu Uemura in terms of colors and materials. At the end, they chose the design of the chocolates in my “Envol” Collection where each chocolate is decorated by hand one by one with strokes of color. It was this design that I chose for the Shu Uemura x La Maison du Chocolat Collection.
In addition, I worked personally on a palette of chocolates composed of three types of chocolates evoking color just as much as radically different emotions. I selected three single-origin cacaos from Brazil, Ghana and the island of Grenada. This is my personal interpretation of what makeup is. The chocolate from Brazil, streaked with yellow, with acidulous notes of passionfruit is perfect for fun, girly makeup. The chocolate notes, robust and spicy from Ghana (black streaks), would be more appropriate for evening makeup. Last but not least, the spicy crispness of the Grenada chocolate pairs well with light day makeup.
Tell me about some of the ingredients infused in the products.
Uchilde: To enhance the collection, we combined delicious chocolate fragrance in the eye shadows and lip sticks (which also feature a sweet flavor). You can truly enjoy with all your senses!
The collection comes in shades perfect for the upcoming fall season. What was the inspiration behind this collaboration?
Uchilde: We were inspired by the concept of combining the beauty and elegance of LMDC with the elegant harmony of the skin. I’m confident that nearly all shades will work for a wide scope of skin tones and will translate seamlessly from day to night.
The other piece of inspiration came from the power of color and how it affects our emotions and many of our senses. We can often feel or taste a flavor through looking at a color. The concept of this collection is born from the philosophy that color is delicious.
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