My SUQQU A/W 2016 Makeover!

This sounds like it's vaguely about the new releases, but in truth it's more just to gush about how wonderful the SUQQU original cream foundation is.

I mean, lookit!

SUQQU Creamy Foundation in 20, Deep Nuance Eyes EX-05 Yakou, EX-32 Rengazome, Pure Color Blush EX-01 Akedaidai and 02 Hanachaori

Don't kill me here. I didn't get the name of the lipstick used. It was one of the plummier tones - and the more vibrant of the two. I'm tempted to say it was 10 Haebana, if not then the 09 Yoikajitsu. Place your bets! Next time I'm at a counter I'll double check. The winner wins.. a.. SUQQU S brush? Which is apparently re-releasing soon!? AHHHHHHH.

Speaking of which, the SUQQU S is rumoured to be made by the same manufacturers as the previous ones. I've been told not to quote the SUQQU representative who told me this, but, well, I just did. Sticky out-y tongue face.

Now, more pictures of how beautifully the foundation turned out. This was after a luxurious Gankin massage (thank you C!) and I chose the original Cream Foundation to really bring out the natural luminosity and texture of the skin. Apart from a few pigmentation issues I had no major breakouts (yay to finally getting skin under control), so this suited me fine.

The Pure Color Blush Hanachaori was used as a light contour here. Really liking the bright orange tone of EX-01 Akedaidai - which would look absolutely stunning as a higher, intense Maquia-esque blush placement. Instead we went with a comparatively less bold look - a red smokey eye, where the lovely SA used the EX-05 Yakou as a base over my mobile lid and layered it with the red shade in EX-32 Rengazome. 

The lighting at the counter is really quite bright and mutes some of the colours here, so I've pic-vomited a series of snaps taken by my iPhone front camera to give you a better idea of how it can look. 

Behold variance 1)

This gives a better idea of the lip colour, but not the foundation shade. Sigh. If I knew I was going to blog this I'd have taken better pictures, apologies! 

Variance 2)

SUQQU Creamy Foundation 20 is beautiful - albeit a touch too pink for my tanned skin. I am a veritable patchwork these days. It doesn't hold up well on my sweat-prone skin though, and transfers very easily. It does however wear off imperceptibly, which is a bonus. It's like I just get sneakily more and more unattractive. 

Alrighty, there you have it!

Conclusions: I am coveting a $$$ foundation that I can only feasibly wear when I have good skin - to give the appearance of good skin. The logic is impenetrable.

Other conclusions: SUQQU S release is what I'm going to live for.  And I'll probably come back and check out more of the collection.

The Extra Glow Moist lipsticks are lovely and balmy - a balance between the creaminess of the Creamy Glow range and the balmy texture of the Creamy Glow Moists. On normal lips, these work fine. I had dry lips and when applied (without lip balm), they were comfortable and didn't have the slip of the Creamy Glows. If I looked closely, I could feel a layer of pigment sitting on top of the base, but I'm probably nitpicking.

The Pure Color Blushes are extremely soft to the touch, and while I love the colour selections and gradient presentation, I'm not a huge fan of the visible shimmer in the pan. Admittedly, it's imperceptible on the skin - right?

As for the Deep Nuance Eyes, I find them less complex than other offerings, say, compared to Shiseido's cream eyeshadows. These textures are very SUQQU-esque - soft, seamless and featherlight. Correspondingly, it feels like a light siliconey layer of relatively monochromatic colour that can be blended out to the most elegant finish. I wonder how long it wears though - certainly not long on my oilier lids.

Update: Just checked on the Deep Nuance Eyes in EX-05 Yakou and it's actually disintegrated on my lids. Oh wells. 

Anywho, that's it for now! I hope that was interesting/useful for you. Sorry for bombarding you with pictures of my face.

Oh haiii there!

Helloooooo! *waves* Anyone out there reading this? 

I have no idea why, but I suddenly felt the urge to write in this blog again. Makeup skills have been inadequately documented, and my creative side has been left untouched for far too long. Blogging my makeup has been so useful for me in terms of expanding my skillsets and I'm sure it's much more rewarding for me to write than it is enjoyable for readers, hah. 

Regardless, hello hello, and here's to posting more, perhaps. This formatting has all got to change, though! In the meantime, here's a few EOTD/FOTD posts I've collected together from the past year or so. 

SUQQU Kakitsubata and KISS false lashes

Electric blue liner with Bourjois eyeliner pencil

A poor imitation of the inimitable Lisa Eldridge kohl liner

Tulip placements for flat lid shapes using SUQQU Ruridama; the key to this was NYX jumbo pen in Milk, obvs. 

Alrighty. Thanks for looking and speak soon!

Celebrating my birthday at the Royal Opera House

It was my birthday earlier this week! *throws confetti* I had a lovely day which involved lots of presents, food, and a trip to the opera.

Here's a card that I received from my family. Aren't the colours (and the makeup) gorgeous?

Speaking of make-up, I received this lovely set of MAC crushed pigments. It is well known in my family that I love makeup, haha. When I first saw it, I actually thought it was a Ted Baker item. The champagne silver and metallic emerald in particular look like they'll be very well-loved indeed. I'll make sure to try these out sometime and report back!

MAC Guilty Passions / 4 Brilliantly Cool Crushed Metallic Pigments

We ended up going to the opera to watch Puccini's La Bohème. I've only been to the opera once before, and that was to watch Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten at the Hungarian State Opera. It was then that I fell in love with opera and I've been itching to go again ever since. So what better time than on my birthday to coerce my loved ones to watch with me? :)

For the evening, I wore one of the dresses I received as a present. Here's the makeup that I chose to wear with my lace dress:

As I was getting ready, a genius idea came to mind - apply the lipstick after putting on the dress. So here is my FOTN pre-Dragon just for comparison's sake:

I actually really like how this looks without lipstick. For those who are familiar with my makeup preferences, you'll see that it could easily pass as one of my everyday FOTDs.

Products used:

• Shu Uemura Nobara Stick Foundation 564 for areas needing higher coverage, MAC F&B (mix of random sample shades) everywhere else
• Giorgio Armani High Precision Retouch - 3
• Guerlain Meteorites - 02 Teint Rose (duty free duo)
• Chanel Joues Contraste - Espiegle
• Chanel Rouge Allure Lacque - 75 Dragon
• SUQQU Blend Color Eyeshadow - 01 Kakitsubata 
• KATE Super Sharp Eyeliner - BK-1
• SUQQU Eyebrow Liquid Pen R in 01 Moss Green
• Natural Collection Lash Care clear mascara on lashes and brows

Yes, that's right! I have actually been doing stuff to my brows. One of my eyebrows is much more sparse and has a pronounced arch, the hairs are unruly and never sit nicely like they do on the other eyebrow. I've never bothered to do anything about them before, well, because I'm lazy and eye makeup is much more gratifying. I guess it's because I experiment with my eye makeup much more and it feels like a creative exploration, whereas eyebrows tend to be a fixed style and the emphasis is on 'perfecting'/'taming' - grooming, basically.  

But in the quest for perfection, and partly out of sheer curiosity, I decided to ask the SUQQU ladies to work their magic on my brows. This trip to the cosmetic counter increased my brow routine products threefold. Basically, I now own three brow products! \o/ That's clear mascara, eyebrow liquid pen and a spoolie. Four, if you count my mini eyebrow razor.

Dodgy brow on your right (my left), filled in with the SUQQU brow pen and set with clear mascara. The moss green liquid pen fills in the tiny gaps in my brows and makes them look more defined. Woohoo! Apologies, the entire right side of my photo is dark due to my position in front of the light. In real life this looks a lot more even, I promise.

Alright, if you've made it this far, I'm impressed! Here are some bonus photos of the opera house. :)

There is no greater demonstration of affection than agreeing to queue for opera tickets with me in the early hours.
My family are the best. 

A beautiful view upstairs in the Royal Opera House

a surround shot view from my seat

Thank you for reading!

My taupe collection

While I love bright colours (as evidenced by the new banner photo above ^^ and my previous post), there is always a place in my heart for shimmery taupes. Over the past few years, I've unwittingly built up a small collection of taupes, so this comparison is equally for my benefit as it is for yours!

I forgot to include a picture of Shu Uemura ME856, though I did swatch it later; in truth I don't like it that much anymore. It is pretty, but texturally it does not flatter my eyelids and it also creases much more easily than my other eyeshadows.

Here is my (current) taupe family:

clockwise from top left: Shiseido Alchemy RD709 // SUQQU Konruri // SUQQU Himesango // KATE Deep Trap Eyes BR-1 // Dior Incognito // KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1 // SUQQU Sumiredama

The first two shadows on the left are the taupes from SUQQU Himesango and Konruri respectively. Texturally, they are very similar, however the Himesango taupe is a touch cooler than the one in Konruri, which looks positively bronze on my skin. Also is it just me, or does Himesango also look more red than Konruri? 

I dunno whether it's worth prematurely concluding that one of the two must necessarily be more flattering on my eyes. Both have their roles to play in my stash. :D

Much to my surprise, the Shiseido swatches rose gold on my skin. That explains why it often makes me look a bit swollen and bruisey when I use it as a 'wash' over the eyes. :) I was also taken aback by how soft and shimmery the Sumiredama taupe (furthest right) looks. I normally use it layered with the rest of the Sumiredama eyeshadows, but after seeing how it swatches, I am definitely going to wear it on its own sometime.

L-R: SUQQU Himesango taupe // SUQQU Konruri taupe // Shiseido RD709 // SUQQU Sumiredama taupe

In this next set, the one furthest to the left is Dior Incognito. I don't know if the pictures can adequately showcase the beautiful texture of this eyeshadow; it truly feels buttery to apply and blend. Lisa Eldridge once mentioned that she had had the Dior quint eyeshadows tested in a laboratory and that these shadows owe their texture to how well they stay in their 'fatty lipid' form. Once swatched, this shade is more of a grey on my skin. For a truer taupe, I like to blend it with the bronze-brown in the same Incognito palette. 

The three shades on the right are all from the now discontinued quint, KATE Deep Trap Eyes in BR1 (minus the highlight and liner colours). Upon closer inspection, none of these read as taupe on my skin, save for perhaps the darkest one, which is a cool brown with a flash of grey. The lid colour leans red again (meh), while the glittery highlight shade has a beautiful icy greyish-mauve tone. They did look more taupe in the pan, right?!

L-R: grey-taupe from Dior Incognito // three shades from KATE Deep Trap eyes (crease, lid and glitter shades)

Finally, I swatched Shu Uemura ME856 against the two taupes from the KATE trio in BU1.

ME856 (left) really does not appeal to me anymore; in terms of colour/texture/complexity, I find it rather bland. Its metallic sheen is not so flattering on my eyelids when used as a wash, plus it is ever so slightly red-toned, so I will have to purge it. My colouring makes it trickier to wear red, murky tones, and I prefer to avoid them where possible and stick to clear/neutral colours.

L-R: Shu ME856 (added as an afterthought) // darkest shade from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1 // lightest shade from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1

The two on the right are from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes trio in BU-1. These, along with KATE Deep Trap Eyes, are some of my favourite Asian drugstore eyeshadows. They are also sadly discontinued, though I think they're still available online in some places. 

The lightest shade (right) appears clearer (and less red - yay!) than all the other taupes in my collection, and for that reason I love it. It reminds me a little of Chanel Moon River, though it's much less shimmery. When I use all three shades in Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1, it gives me the epitome of neutral, subtly sparkly OL makeup. 

So, conclusions? 

My favourite shades are probably the SUQQU Sumiredama, Dior Incognito and the lightest from KATE Deep Shiny Eyes BU-1. These are all clear and neutral enough for me to wear all over the lid without a problem. The others would need a more restricted placement, and while it's definitely not a bad thing, it does make them a bit more finicky to work with. The comparatively less complex KATE Deep Trap Eye taupes are not standouts on their own, but I like them when layered together, especially with the glitter shade over the centre of the lid. 

What do you think, could I do better, in terms of texture/colour/anything else? Am I crazy for purging Shu ME856? :D