Shu Uemura Red Authority Lipstick swatches

Shu Uemura recently launched a whole red lipstick collection in Lacquer, Satin and Matte textures recently, with the spotlight on a "universal red for Asian skintones", RD 163 (available in all 3 textures).

The 25 shades in the line-up include a mix of new and existing red tones, but the shades run the gamut from soft warm corals to deep dark browns, so there really isn't too much of an excuse for anyone to not find at least 1 or 2 shades that look good on them, regardless of ethnicity and skintone.

I personally love RD163 in all 3 finishes. Shu touts this as a shade that contains the optimal mix of warm and cool tones to suit a majority of Asian skins. The shade itself is what I consider a warm-neutral red. Something that is close to true scarlet but leans ever so slightly on the warmer side.

I lip-swatched 24 of the 25 shades in my Youtube video linked below (there was one shade missing in the press samples I got so I was not able to swatch all of them) and here are the arm swatches for quick comparison.

Shu Uemura rouge unlimited Red lipsticks in Lacquer finish

Shu Uemura rouge unlimited Red lipsticks in Satin finish

Shu Uemura rouge unlimited red lipsticks in Matte finish

This makes it quite forgiving and in fact, pretty flattering on a wide range of skin tones while staying "red" without going into rose or orange territory.

If you're curious, in the full video review, I also give a breakdown of how Shu Uemura codes their lipstick shades, so that you can easily narrow down shades that suit you as long as you have an idea what sort of undertone you have (warm/yellow, neutral, or cool/pink)