First Look| SUQQU Summer 2016 EX-31 Gyoukou

 Jesus, take the wheel. Is it time that SUQQU entices Western beauty consumers with pigmentation, intensity, and rusty neutrals that are not quite conservative enough for the office? 

The Summer 2016 release also contains EX-30 Hekikai with its bold chartreuse and navy for an eternal pool party option. I picked up EX-31 Gyoukou because: ORANGE. I've never seen such a bright shade from SUQQU before. 

In my humble opinion, I've never felt a silkier formulation from this brand. All of these eyeshadows are incredibly smooth and easy to blend, and the pigmentation is nowhere near "too sheer." That orange shade alone rivals Kat Von D for its pigmentation (one swipe is enough!) and blendability on the lids. The warm gold can be used sheer (one swipe) or built up for intensity (two swipes!) As always, I use the stark white to set the lids and dark brown to add depth to the outer V. 

This is indirect lighting. 

This is under flash photography. 

Direct sunlight. 

I had a friend help me pick this quad up in London for  ‎£45 which is roughly $65 USD. It's 'spensive as always, but you'll have to understand that the glamour of SUQQU is in its understatements. While this quad may look radical for Asian consumers who value neutral sheer washes on the lid, Western consumers may be balking at the price tag for perfectly normal pigmentation. 

I try not to "justify" expensive makeup to myself and others, but there's a magical realism in each SUQQU quad. If you appreciate how kind Viseart satin and shimmer finish eyeshadows are to mature lids, you'll understand why the fanbase for SUQQU is only expanding outside of Asia. The colors are well coordinated and newbie friendly, and they give just enough impact in real life to add depth to your eyes without being obvious eye makeup, if that makes sense. I'll drag out my Western eyeshadows for the weekends, but these quads are appropriate to wear to the office and never distracting with obvious chunky glitter. 

If you're looking to try SUQQU but have been disheartened by their general "sheerness", now is the time to try these "bolder" quads. 

There will always be a disclaimer that SUQQU shadows photograph wretchedly, but Gyoukou is the exception to the rule!

FOTD Details

I'm wearing the white as a base, the gold gently packed on the mobile lids, orange in the crease and extended in a wing shape, with the dark brown to deepen my outer V. Minimal mascara. For brows, I'm wearing the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Medium Brown with her brow powder in Granite to fill in bald spots. 

My base is Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue Gel in Buttercream with NARS RCC in Custard for hormonal blemishes. I've set it with Too Faced Primed and Poreless compact powder. 

I'm wearing Benefit Dallas blush, Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer, and Laura Geller Gilded Honey as a highlight. 

Lips brought to you by L'oreal Pro Matte Gloss in Bare Attraction. 

xo Be

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