SUQQU FW2014 Eye Color Palette & Creamy Eyeliner

SUQQU surprised fans this Fall when it launched not only a very unique palette consisting of 4 split pans (Blend Color Eyeshadow EX-21 reviewed here), but also a brand new trio Eye Color Palette which is a permanent addition to the line-up.  I was in Bangkok recently (read about my trip here), and couldn’t resist picking up Eye Color Palette 03 Aoruri and a Creamy Eyeliner 03 Ruby Navy!

SUQQU EYE COLOR PALETTE #03 AORURI

SUQQU Eye Color Palette 03 Aoruri is 1 of 3 eyeshadow trios that were launched for FW2014.  The entire collection was designed around a jewel-theme, and everything had a greater dispensation of multi-tonal shimmers which Suqqu is so famous for.  And the shades felt sheerer to me than the older Suqqu palettes that I’ve owned (although more pigmented than EX-21), and layered beautifully for some unexpected results and complexity.  

Aoruri consists of a very interesting silvery blue that carries some grey in it, and the inclusion of a medium plum shade made this the more interesting of the 3 palettes.  You could either wear it together with the blue or on its own.  There is also a very sheer shimmery white which is meant to be used as a base or highlight shade, and dramatically ups the glistening factor.

The 2 sets of swatches above are taken under different lighting conditions, hence there seems to be some difference in color.  The colors in the first set of swatch are more true to how they look in real life, but the 2nd set of swatches show you the effects of layering.  When the sheer white is added to either of the other shades, the shimmers are increased by a whole lot more.  And when all 3 are combined, they give a very pretty glistening silvery purple.

The above shows how Aoruri looks on my lids when all both the plum and blue are layered.  I first used the white as an all over base, then applied blue followed by pink.  Therafter, I dabbed a bit more of the white just over the center of my lid.  Regardless of how much I layered, the resultant look is still soft with a translucency to it which works well for this color combination as a day-appropriate smokey eye.  However, there is a slight propensity for fall-outs for this one, as you can see from the picture above, especially if used to shade the lower lash area, but they are very inconspicuous so it does not worry me unduly.

I also had a chance to swatch the other 2 Eye Color Palettes, and am including them here for your reference.

SUQQU EYE COLOR PALETTE #02 KINSHISEKI

The base shade in this is a sheer glistening yellow which is imperceptibly golden on my skin, and the center pink shade reminds me of Blend Color Eyeshadow EX-20 (reviewed here) with its sheer layering capability and the gorgeous multi-tonal shimmers.  This was actually the palette that first caught my eye based on press images, but after swatching all the FW2014 palettes in person, I decided it was much too close to EX-21 and skipped it.

SUQQU EYE COLOR PALETTE #01 TOUTOUSEKI

This interested me the least as it was mostly an exercise in neutral which is why I did not bother to take a picture of the palette… it is certainly very pretty, but simply not something up my alley.  Here is a quick counter swatch:

Toutouseki consists of a very sheer pink, medium peach, and brown.  For a more detailed look, feel free to hop over to Belly’s review.

SUQQU CREAMY EYELINER #03 RUBY NAVY

The SA must have sensed an easy kill in me, cos after I had just bought 3 EX-21s, 2 Kinshisekis and 1 Aoruri, she decided to whip out this killer of a gel eyeliner…

Suqqu’s Creamy Eyeliner comes in a small glass pot and a small retractable brush that is perfect for drawing a winged liner.  The product itself looks very unassuming in the pot, and I had literally said “meh” to the enthusiastic SA.  But she insisted, and swiped a swatch on my arm…

I was sold there and then!  Look at the intensity of that blue, and those gorgeous light blue, purple and silver shimmers!  And the best thing is, this sets within seconds and is bullet-proof.  Yes, even on my killer lids, this thing does not smudge at all!  It may fade somewhat as I approach the 10th hour and beyond, but it is still largely intact at the end of the day.

The texture is amazingly soft and creamy, it simply glides on, 1 flick and my liner is done!  Smoother than anything I’ve ever owned, and the fine brush point allows for a very clean crisp line that I can’t achieve with my pencils.

After I got around to playing with this, it finally clicked in my head… that this is the perfect darkening base for Aoruri!  The way I use it is to draw a thick line quickly along my lash line, and then take a smudging brush and very quickly blend upwards.  It actually is very easy to blend out as it is quite soft, but you do have to work very very quickly.  I don’t worry about getting my line perfect at all, simply lay it along my lid in order to smudge.  Only when i’m fully done with my eye look, then I go over again to create that winged liner.

For this eye look, I applied Ruby Navy along my lash line and smudged it up to mid-lid.  Thereafter I applied the blue shade from Aoruri over blending slightly above mid-lid.  Next, I took the plum shade from Aoruri and applied over everything, taking it up to the crease.  I also highlighted the area under my brow bone and blended out the line with the white from Aoruri.  Finished with another swipe of Ruby Navy as a liner, winging up at the end.  I also lined my lower lash line with Ruby Navy, and blended in some blue from Aoruri along it.  The colors are a lot more intensified with the use of Ruby Navy as a base.

Another way of wearing Aurori, in the standard half-half layout, using Ruby Navy as a darkening base again.  I also added a dab of white from Aoruri in the middle of the lid to blend the blue and plum together and for some dimension.  Personally, I’m not sure if this color combination is flattering for wearing out, but I’ve decided to show it here anyway to illustrate the possibilities.

————-

Plenty of goodies from Suqqu this season, though i’m still unsure if I loved all of them.  Creamy Eyeliner 03 Ruby Navy is a clear winner in my books, and one i’m sure will be seeing lots of action even after I retire these palettes in favor of the incoming Holiday 2014 collections.  The Eye Color Palette trios are a nice departure from the usual quad format, and #03 Aoruri is the most interesting color combination which is quite a different flavor from classic Suqqu.  I am moving away from bold colors, and favoring muted colors (oxymoron as that may sound), so Aoruri resounds very well with me.  What about you, what is your favorite pick from FW2014?