The palette came in a cute little plastic box. It's really not that special, but I just think the little writing on the bottom left corner that says "mika <3 shu" is so adorable ^__^
On to the palette itself. There are 7 powder eyeshadow colors and a gel (or cream?) liner color in this palette. This is my first Shu Uemura eyeshadow product so I was happy to feel how soft and fine the shadows are. They are not super pigmented on the first swipe, but the color is buildable, and they do not get chalky as you layer the color on. The gel liner is also soft, smooth, and very easy to use. The shadows/liner last okay, faring about the same as my Majolica Majorca eyeshadows. The palette comes with a dual ended applicator that has a sponge tip on one end for applying eyeshadows and a liner brush on the other end. Both applicators work great, though I've stopped using the sponge tip end to apply the eyeshadows just because there are 7 eyeshadows vs. two sides of the sponge tip applicator, and I certainly don't want to contaminate the colors when I'm applying them =P
The colors in this palette are absolutely gorgeous. You should definitely click on the image to see the full size swatch to get a better idea. The first color (from the left) is a neutral brown with golden shimmer, a very pretty, basic color. The second color is a ivory beige with pale gold shimmer. This color really wowed me when I first swatched it since it looks like a basic ivory highlighter in the pan, but the gold shimmer that comes out on the skin is so beautiful! The third color is a coral-y copper with gold shimmer that looks pretty orangey red on my arm and lids. The fourth color is a pale cool pink that can also work as a highlighter. The fifth color is a blue-tinged purple, which looks like the powder version of my Shiseido Hydro-powder in H6 Violet Visions (I'll have to do a comparison swatch). The sixth color is a dark metallic royal blue that really gives a pop of color especially when paired with some of the more neutral colors in the palette. The last eyeshadow color is a olive green with some gold shimmer. The gel liner on the very right is a shimmery brown that looks more shimmery on my arm than on my lids.
All of these colors are truly beautiful, but I think the ivory gold (2nd color) and coral-y copper (3rd color) are the ones that really amazed me ^^ At the same time, I think the copper color may also be the hardest color to work with in the group because it can make my eyes look puffy.
All photos in this entry were taken in natural light.
In short: Major rave for the Shu Winter 2008 Mika Collection Palette in Secret Luscious Rose! I love the texture, love the colors, love the packaging, basically love everything about this palette. Of course, I'm still in the honeymoon period with this product so I guess I'll have to wait a while to see if I still like it this much. But for now, I shall go to sleep happy with the Mika Palette on my nightstand ^_^
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UPDATE: Now that I've passed the honeymoon period, I'm not sure I like this palette as much anymore. For one thing, it was really expensive, and my heart was absolutely bleeding when I recently saw it on sale at Nordstrom Rack for about 2/3 of the original price. Now that I've had more experience with Japanese drugstore brands, I think the quality of Shu's shadows are at about the same level as those of MJ, Kate, or Lavshuca. Also, I'm not very adventurous with eye looks so the most I would do is to mix 2 or 3 colors in this palette at one time. In that case, quads and quints with easy color pairings work mch better for me.
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