What's new at Shiseido for Spring 2011?

Shiseido has got a new pop-up shop in town (it closes today), and I had a chance to visit and get a sneak peek of their Spring 2011 collection. With its long history in the beauty industry, the company shows a commitment to evolving its products with the changing needs of the modern woman. If you've been a fan in the past, you will surely be excited by their new products and the improvements to old favorites.

Among the products which really caught my eye is the Body Creator Aromatic Sculpting Gel, which claims to burn fat cells and reduce the appearance of cellulite. The formula for the gel has been updated and now includes a plant sculpting complex designed to break down fat storing cells while promoting collagen production and suppressing the accumulation of fat. Are you giving it the side-eye as I was? Well, it was first released seven years ago and has a tried-and-true fan base, making it a consistent brand favorite. Does that mean it works? I am not sure, but have any of you tried it? Let me know if you have!

What else is new for Spring? There is a Refining Body Exfoliator; Replinishing Body Cream; Shiseido Benefiance WrinkleResist 24, a preventative and restorative line targeted at women in their 40s; and the Urban Environment UV Protection Cream. Facial sunscreen has always been a hard find for me due to my sensitive skin, but I decided to give this 35 SPF cream a try and miracle of miracles, it has not caused any allergic reaction thus far. This, combined with the fact that the cream is easy to rub in and absorbs quickly, excites my picky face!

The makeup on offer includes the Smoothing Lip Pencil and the new Shimmering Rouge -- a line of lipsticks in 13 shimmerific colors (I am crushing on "Sizzle" which is a vibrant coral) plus an ingredient that works on eradicating the fine lines around your lips. I am an enemy of those fine lines, so any opponent of them is a friend of mine! There is the Perfect Refining Foundation, whose darkest color, Deep Ochre, is my closest match, so know that if you are a woman of color deeper than Deep Ochre, Shiseido is not the place to go for foundation. Browner-skinned women may also find their Translucent Pressed Powder to be less than translucent. You may fare better with the bronzers, available in Dawn Light (light), Desert Rose (medium) and Dusk (dark), which are low on shimmer but high on color and warmth. I have been using the Dusk bronzer and love the boost it gives my face.

My favorite makeup item of the day was the Luminizing Satin Eye Color Trio, available in three new shades. I have been using the "Bouquet" trio like it is going out of style! It is a purple-violet palette that has pretty good staying power, although you will have to re-touch at least once during the length of a work day. The intensity of color is worth the extra bit of work though, for sure. "Voyage," a trio of golden earth tones, and "Punky Blues," which mixes blues with a pretty pink, are also new and full of pop.

Spring is in the air! -Zee

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for consideration by the company. For more information, please see my disclosure.