Bottom left: eyeshadow quad 14, right: eyeshadow quad 4.
Inoui ID was a Japan-exclusive line, under the Shiseido corporation. The last artistic director was the incredibly talented Dick Page. The eyeshadow quads were particularly coveted; as fine as icing sugar, but nicely pigmented, in beautiful combinations.
It was sadly discontinued in 2007. I only have three items from the line; it was much harder to obtain Japan-exclusive lines even just a couple of years ago.
Swatches:
Sometimes, Inoui ID items do come up on Ebay and they are well worth keeping an eye out for. I hope that one day Shiseido reconsiders the decision and resurrects this lovely line.
Posts
I agree, I thought it was a very good line - the few items I had. They had this liquid eyeliner I really liked, and a higlighting powder. But v good quality I would say. Packaging of course looks like Kevyn Aucoin.
ReplyDeleteI actually haven't checked out the Shiseido line now under Dick Page - might need to revisit.
I have never used it but I have heard of this line! I hope they bring it back or maybe there are other plans...
ReplyDeleteHi Moodeve - the only thing I have from Shiseido since Dick Page took over is the Rose Bronze lipstick, and that's lovely. I should have a look too.
ReplyDeleteHi Cocamia - I would love for this line to come back. It always seemed very popular in magazines.
Shiseido makeup has improved in leaps and bounds in the past year or so, lovely textures and formulations recently, though I don't like the packaging a huge amount with the shadow quads. Their lipsticks are also excellent, as is the skincare.
ReplyDeleteVery nice to read all your kind comments, I miss Inoui ID too! It was a great line and so much fun to work on. I've got lots of good new stuff in the works for Shiseido though, I've already finalised some items for 2011, which seems crazy, even to me!
ReplyDeleteBy the way Moodeve, you've got the timeline a bit wrong. I took Inoui over from Kevyn, then he went on to do his own line and basically reproduced the Inoui packaging for it. I did Inoui for three seasons with the original packaging, then the whole thing was redesigned as Inoui ID with new products and packaging. Phew! I've given myself a headache.
Thanks again for the comments, look out for my new lip colours, glosses, eye shadows, blushers and highlighters for spring, and check out the very cool limited edition items for summer, (I think they're on counter in June)
Cheers!
Dick
Hi Kirstie - I agree, I think that the change of director has really breathed new life into the brand...and I'm not just saying that because of the next commenter ;)
ReplyDeleteHello Dick. I'm going to assume it really is you, and not one of my friends trying to play a joke on me, because I'm pretty sure none of them know this much about Inoui :) Thank you so much for commenting on this post. If I remember correctly, when Kevyn Aucoin was involved with Inoui the eyeshadow palettes were quints rather than quads too, much like his subsequent line. I shall definitely be sure to have a look for the Spring and Summer collections from Shiseido.
Wow. If that really was Dick Page, it's like you got a letter from god. A makeup god, I mean ;)
ReplyDeleteI remember falling in love with the striking packaging and unique colour combinations as a teenager. Of course, by the time I was able to buy myself high-end makeup, this line had been discontinued :P
I got my japanese cousin to hunt for these palettes online and thanks to her efforts, I now have a small collection (5 quads so far). They're my most prized makeup items by far and I adore them.