Edit Is SUQQU Worth the Hype? Eyeshadow Quads in EX25 and 19

SUQQU is a Japanese brand that's full of fancy. If you're new to the brand, you'd be surprised that their eyeshadow quads rival Tom Ford in terms of price. Yep, a quad will cost you at least $80 dollars brand spankin' new. 

There aren't many reviews out there from those who don't already love Japanese style formulations, so as your average tacky Westerner (who loves ultra pigmented and frosty eyeshadows) I think you may find my point of view refreshing. 

WARNING: LONGEST POST EVAR. 

Lucky for me, some MUA members decided to part ways with some of their palettes. I was able to score 19 Awafujisukashi and EX-25 Haruhinata. I am not at all familiar with the formulation of these shadows, so it was humorously painful to discover that these two quads are much more er, softly pigmented, than the rest of the quads in their line. Womp womp.

Don't get me wrong, these are excellent eyeshadows with complex multi-shimmers that enhance your eyelids even though they look drab and mundane in pan. Are they are must have? No. Are they magical and pigmented and ultra long wearing? No. In fact, they remind me of another Japanese formula of eyeshadows: Shiseido. If you live the rest of your life only buying Shiseido eyeshadows, you'll be alright. 

I have included swatches of the #19 quad down below: one pass, no primer, under indoor natural lighting and flash. Pigmented, nah. They are very soft and sheer and you will not notice the magic until you see it under flash photography which brings out the different colors of shimmer contained within. 

The shadows are soft in texture but not powdery, do not contain major amounts of fallout or chunky glitter, and do not apply patchily in any way. 

These eyeshadows are also notoriously horrid when it comes to being captured by your average camera. Honestly? It looks like a muddy mess 99.9% of the time regardless of application technique or how goddamn beautiful the person it's on looks. That makes me sound like a catty bitch, but it's true. Not even my camera could capture how beautiful these shadows are in any condition of lighting. I had to zoom in very closely to even capture the color true to real life. 

Excuse the stupid face, but you're probably asking me if I've even placed the eyeshadows onto my lids. You can see a hiiiint of the periwinkle underneath my eyes. Trust me, it looked intense in person. I don't get it. 

Let's try that again.

I hope you see how easy it is to lay down the colors. I barely did any blending and my eyeshadows look diffused as hell. Below is a highly unflattering angle of my face but I hope it shows you another look at how SUQQU looks on the lid. 

But in person? Soft. Pretty. Gentle. They're perfect for every day if you decide to do washes of color or create simple looks. If you do decide the latter, use a gentle hand and don't blend! 

Yes, DON'T blend so much.

The packaging is gorgeous. GORGEOUS. The plastic is not too hefty, but it does lend enough weight to justify the pricing. They include a dual ended sponge tip applicator and a baby brush (like Shiseido) for on the go application. You get a big mirror and a tight clasp closure. If these eyeshadows are to perform on the same level as a mid-range counterpart, at least they're giving me fancy packaging. 

Now, onto the limited edition EX-25 Haruhinata. I expected this one to be super bold, bright, and un-apologetically beautiful for spring. Scroll down to see swatches and laugh at my pitiful existence. 

WHAT the hell. WHAT?! 

Here it is with flash photography. Impressed yet?? *sarcasm*

I used this quad on top of your average semi-opaque beige eye primer and got ZERO color payoff, except for the purple that turned taupe. This is also a common complaint with SUQQU (purples? lulzno, you get taupe.)

After taking these swatches, I actually went back into the pan and really pushed my finger in to pick up some color to swatch. The pink and yellow showed up a little better, but the orange is still as faint and untrue to pan as ever. Here's a fair warning: you'll get more pigment from a brush than your fingers and they definitely look more vibrant on the eyes. 

I don't see any shimmery goodness or color payoff or any semblance of eyeshadow on my eyes. I can already hear the fawnings, "Oh my god, it's so natural!" 

Gurl, that's because it looks like fuckin' NOTHING. 

I'm extremely frustrated, so I'll have to rely on using my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk underneath hoping to boost the color from 0.001% pigment to at least .01% of color. 

To recap:

• These photography horribly. Every picture I've seen with a SUQQU eye product looks muddy, bruise-y, bland, and generally devoid of shape and definition. I assure you it is not so in real life. 
• They swatch horribly. I want to prove myself wrong and get another permanent quad that's proven to be pigmented. 
• Although the shadows themselves are nicely textured, you can find the same "nice texture" with any other formulation from WnW to Lorac. 
• They wear for about 5-6 hours max before they start to fade, even over primer. This is the factor that slayed SUQQU for me. Why pay all of this money for something that doesn't perform well, as pretty as it looks? 
• They're very expensive for the amount of product you're getting. But y'know, DAT LUXURY DOE.

So you know how shitty Guerlain, Chanel, and YSL eyeshadow palettes and quads are for Western consumers? To a certain extent, the same applies to SUQQU for your Japanese cosmetics purveyors. You're not paying for a superior eyeshadow formulation but rather the packaging and sometimes (not always) unique color combination and selection. And maybe the giddy feeling of using an eyeshadow quad that costs more than your outfit. 

I *may* be purchasing a permanent quad in the collection only if the opportunity to get them less than retail value arrives. Otherwise, meh.

Really. A big fat meh. 

xo Be