More Holiday 2011 Swatches: Suqqu, Jill Stuart, Chanel

SUQQU Christmas Collection (already out)
This is the only brand where the words "limited edition" cause me to reach for my diary (to draw little hearts around the release date of whatever-it-is) rather than roll my eyes and raise the cynicalest of eyebrows (my left, if you're wondering).

This year, they cruelly bundled two glorious taupe-based eyeshadow quads with SKINCARE. No mascara like last year, or delicate pigment like the year before. I raved, and fumed, and pre-ordered both anyway. And have no regrets. Both are delicately balanced on the cooler and warmer sides of neutral and should flatter a wide variety of skintones without being too predictable (ahem, Lunasol.) The textures are, as expected, perfection -- pigmented, smoother than silk, long-lasting and, used together, the subtle yet complex interplay of shades and levels of shimmer remind me again why Suqqu makes my favourite eyeshadows out there.

All swatches are one-swipe only.

Each set retails for £55 in the UK, ¥8400 in Japan. English site has full details.

Set A EX-05 Usumomokurumi

natural light with flash

ditto, angled to show the complexity of micro-shimmer lurking within

Set B EX-06 Usuchaori

natural light, no flash

I couldn't get a fuzzy shimmer shot of these, so reapplied and shook my hand violently in the bathroom. Artificial light+flash

Jill Stuart Fairy Garden Collection (already out) HK$620 or ¥7875 for the coffret.

I only swatched the eyeshadow palette (full details of the coffret on the JS Hong Kong site) as the gloss and powder were just shimmer on me. The colour combo is unusual and the SAs had pulled some lovely looks from it but the quad is typical Jill Stuart texture and quality -- strictly for fans of dry, sheerish and extremely glittery (and this is coming from me!) shadows. We will not speak of the perfume sachets. In fairness, the JS site design gives a better idea of their effect than any notes list could.

104 Fairy Opal. Three swipes each to build up colour and achieve even coverage.

natural light, no flash

 natural light, angled. Nope, still no flash.

Chanel Les Scintillances de Chanel

Lip products only, and only because I missed Triomphal last time. Hong Kong did not get Discretion Extrait de Gloss but everything else is here.

Fellow shimmerphobes: it breaks my Allure-loving heart but this collection is an utter disappointment. Everything is PACKED with shimmer, er, scintillance, that is visible on the lips even in foggy daylight (even if it's not always obvious in these pictures).

Empire is one swipe, Famous and Triomphal are two swipes each, Envirée and the glossimers needed three.

natural light

natural light, some weak sun

FOTD and reviews -- Addiction Dewy Glow foundation, KATE Art Dial mascara

Prepare for another bloated lets-see-how-many-pictures-I-can-fit-into-one-post exercise. To anyone reading this on your phone, I'm so sorry.

Addiction Dewy Glow Foundation (5 shades, ¥4725 for 30ml)
This was released in September 2011 and is Addiction's version of the moisturising, radiant foundations prevalent in Japanese autumn/winter collections. It provides SPF20 PA++ (bah) and contains rose centifolia extract and rosehip oil to boost moisture. Fragrance-free.
Nice hefty frosted glass jar, with a black screw-top lid. Very NARS, right down to the no-frills gaping-hole dispenser.

Addiction Dewy Glow Foundation 01 Wafers

It's an excellent paler-than-MAC, neutral shade. I've swatched it between Nars Sheer Glow Siberia and Addiction Tinted Moisturiser No. 1 (which a friend very kindly allowed me to try).

(As you can see, Ayako parted ways with François over the rubberised plastic filth-magnet material. Good call.)

Foundation ingredients

Translation is still a work in progress but it does contain mineral oil, silicones and alcohol (as the 7th ingredient down).

TM ingredients (English translation over at ratzillacosme)

Okay, no putting it off further. Here's my bare face with just eyeshadow done and curled lashes.

Note uneven pigmentation, red marks from eczema patches (forehead, nose) and cystic pimples (cheek, chin) past. Also I scalded my lip a few days ago.

With one layer of Dewy Glow foundation (applied with fingers).

It takes care of my blotchiness and minor imperfections (forehead marks) with concealer still needed under eyes and over the worst of the redness around nose, lips and cheeks if we're shooting for flawless; I would call this good, medium coverage.
The most impressive aspect of this foundation is the genuinely weightless feel and perfectly-balanced texture. My dry skin means that most foundations (e.g. Nars Sheer Glow, MUFE Face and Body, Chantecaille Future Skin) set almost immediately and start dragging and refusing to blend smoothly. The rich cream formulas I find most comfortable (Suqqu Frame Fix Cream, RMS Beauty 'Un' Cover-Up, Laura Mercier Silk Creme) are too emollient and full-coverage to be slapped on quickly; while I personally find it quite soothing to 'feel' them on my face throughout the day in London winters, they are a no-go in summer and tropical/humid/hot climates like Hong Kong. Addiction hits the sweet spot -- it has enough slip to be extremely blendable but once set, it feels like bare skin both to wear and to touch.
On my dry skin, it doesn't offer much dew or glow but gives a balanced satiny, skin-like finish which does not change or budge through a fourteen-hour day, without powder.

With concealer (Lunasol Undereyes Base 00), KATE brow powder BK-5, Addiction Revenge powder blush and Boots 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Belle:

KATE Art Dial Mascara (¥1680) More details on their site.
You may know that I'm a big fan of both KATE eye products (liners, shadows, brow stuff) and weirdness so when I spotted this new mascara on sale in a Tokyo drugstore, I pounced.
Consists of a dainty, flexible rubbery comb applicator atop a sleek plastic click-tube full of glossy black lash-juice.

The click-mechanism works very well (and sounds satisfyingly clicky. I hate it when clicks are all miserly and muted) -- no extra product continues to ooze out after you stop turning the dial.

4 clicks pretty much loads up the comb

size/shape comparison with my beloved Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus (R)

My eye with Addiction Horizon on lid, Concrete Jungle in outer v/crease, Deep Forest smudged over KATE gel liner BK-1 to line the upper lashline and Silent Scream on its own to line the lower. Lashes curled with Chanel curler.

With one coat of KATE Art Dial mascara (and flash)

Lashes are thickened, a glossy black, and more defined. Look not for curl, the curl is gone. Yeah. Dealbreaker for me. If you have naturally curly lashes or ones which don't wilt from 95% of mascaras, this is worth a try. The applicator is very well designed and user-friendly and it really does allow you to coat on as much mascara as you want without layering or clumping. No fibres as far as I could tell. I experienced no smudging, fading or irritation, but a little flaking -- and that could purely be because I committed the cardinal sin of re-curling AFTER mascara.

With mascara, recurled

Shouldn't have bothered. By lunchtime they were poker-straight again, and by the end of the day:

artificial light+flash

(but hey, look how vibrant and in-place those Addiction eyeshadows still are!)

And here's the full-face at the end of the day. I look Dewier-Glowier (and sallowier) not because the foundation changed, but because the lighting did.

(artificial light+flash)

Review written on day 3 in-a-row of wearing this foundation. I'm normally sensitive to alcohol in any quantity, so we'll see. Cross some appendages for me, because it looks beautiful on.

Kose Addiction by Ayako eyeshadow swatches

Apologies for the rag-tag order of these and the dodgy lighting -- all swatches were made at various counters in Tokyo and Osaka and most pics taken in store lighting.

Labelling was done during bouts of insomnia and I apologise for any misnomers. You can see the proper shade names on the Addiction site. For more information about this exclusive-to-Japan brand, see glossedintranslation, who also has a wider range of swatches. and red hair. and frankly, an excess of pretty.

I've supplemented the pictures with some shade descriptions if I felt that certain nuances weren't showing up. Feel free to send any further questions by email or comment form and I'll try my best to answer them.

Screen (P)
Yesterday (P)
Tiny Dancer (P) -- satin grey base with pink microshimmer
North Star
Cigarette (P)
Concrete Jungle
Paper Doll (M) -- this was the smoothest of all the Addiction mattes imo

Snow Angel (P)

Snow Magic (S) -- clear gel-cream base with red, pink and silver glitter suspended in it
Snow Bouquet (S) (not Banquet, wtf brain?) -- ditto, with pink, purple and gunmetal grey glitter

Snow Bird (S) -- ditto, yellowy gold, pale green and pink glitter

Snow Venus (S) -- ditto, cool gold, silver and pink glitter

Beige (M) -- actually a very finely milled satin

Neverland (ME) -- intense metallic blackened green

Alice (M)

Missa (M) -- tricky texture, needed 4 swipes to look even

Shangri-La (ME)

Arabian Ruby (ME)

Mystic Mirage (P) -- a slightly gritty rose pink with silver glitter

Midnight Oasis (M) -- not quite as uncompromisingly matte as Nars Outremer but superior in every other way

Bad Romance (P)

Star Vega (P) -- matte black base with warm violet glitter (drier and chalkier than the next two)

Star Sirius (P) -- matte black base with blue glitter

Stardust (P) -- ditto, silver glitter

Crow (ME)

Keshi (P) -- a grey-based, slightly less intense cousin to Crow

Joker (M) -- neutral-warm matte black (Chimney is the cooler, sootier option). Disregard stray glitter pollution.

Morning Moon (M)

Out of Africa (P)

Safari Mode (P)

Chimney (M) -- cooler matte black than Joker, with slightly smoother texture

Twig (P)

Truffle (M) -- beautiful smooth-textured warm brown

Chocolat (M) -- difficult to swatch evenly, a little dry

Dolce Vita (P)

Fudge (ME) -- the best texture out of all the Addiction eyeshadows I felt -- molten creamy bronze

Truffle, Chocolat, Dolce Vita and Fudge again (because neutrals can be sexy)

Ice Wall (ME) -- palest cool ivory metallic

Magic Flute (P) -- beautiful subtle-yet-sophisticated satin, somewhat overshadowed by...

Sandbar (P) -- there is an exquisite and complex sheen to this in real life, a platonic lid shade. Add some liner and mascara and you're good to go.

Thriller (P) -- dark green with silver, blue and red glitter

Flash Back (ME) -- glorious neutral taupe. My introduction to the brand and the reason Addiction was at the top of my counters-to-check-out-in-Japan list.

Singita (P)

Nostalgia (P) -- warm peachy-brown with silver glitter (somewhat gritty)

Baghdad Cafe (P)

Sandcastles (P)

Rigoletto (ME) -- another pitch-perfect shade name in a brand full of 'em

(I missed out Earth Wind. Please don't whip me -- I have this condition, blindness-to-warm-browns.)

UPDATE: I swatched the Autumn 2011 Aurora Reflection eyeshadows (which join the permanent line-up) here, and reswatched the shades I own (Concrete Jungle, Flash Back, Fudge, Neverland and Sandbar) here.

Teaser

Just a few pictures of my Japan haulage. Reviews, FOTDs and swatches will follow in due course.
All pictures taken in artificial light+flash because I suspect another tropical storm may be brewing.

Suqqu quads from Christmas Sets A and B

Addiction eyeshadows, cheek sticks, powder blush, lipgloss and foundation

From the Autumn 2011 Aurora Reflection collection

Horizon, Poetic, Blue Moon, Deep Forest

Pink Python, Ice Storm and Silent Scream eyeshadows

Miss You More lipgloss

Dewy Glow Foundation in 01 Wafers

Revenge powder blush, Concrete Jungle and Neverland eyeshadows

Revenge and Amazing cheeksticks

THREE eyeshadow quad, loose pigment and lipstick-pencil

4D Eye Palette 02, Shimmering Colour Veil 20 Ziggy

Vibrant Lip Crayon 03 Ruby Mist

Lunasol eyeshadow base, undereye concealer and liquid lipstick

Eyelid Base N (new version) in 02 Light 

Under Eyes Base in 00 Light Beige

Full Glamour Liquid Lips in EX04 Clear Red (LE from Summer 2011)

Hakuhodo brushes -- I focused on travel sizes as I have a Chikuhodo brush haul incoming :)

All links are to the Japanese site as the US one doesn't have everything.

Misako portable lip

Push-up lip flat BkA

champagne-gold-handled portable version of B007

champagne-gold-handled portable version of B162

champagne-gold-handled portable version of B127

champagne-gold-handled portable version of B021

a new Basic Series brush that is as yet nameless -- measurements etc. in review

Shu Uemura Synthetic 10 and Natural Portable 4R brushes

Nova Diva Tutu Lashes (Autumn 2011)

Finally, some drugstore bargains -- Retinotime and Uriage lipbalms, ViseexSmacky Glam quad, the new bizarre-o KATE Art Dial mascara.

ViseexSmacky Glam Glam Glow Eyes BR-7 Bitter Brown (LE Holiday 2011)

Beauty tripping

Come lurch with me into various Japanese drugstores!

Which, like their posh department-store counter counterparts, usually had testers for the Holiday collections and even some Spring 2012 collections out. *spoilers ahead?* No swatches unfortunately, or indeed even decent-quality pics...but on the off-chance that among those reading there are freaks like me who enjoy all aspects of beauty-geekery, including drugstore displays...

Esprique Holiday 2011 preview. The pretty little bags are a typical feature -- they pack together the Remake Gel (a targeted spot-primer) with blisterpack samples of the forthcoming lipsticks.

The yellow heart-shaped stickers show what products/shades are used in the ad image.

Close-up of the two quads

The display for those Esprique lipsticks I like so much (the right-hand semicircle is the 'Colour' line, the left is the 'Glow' line). Stickers show shades used in ad again.

 

And it tells you which shades are the best-selling! *geekgasm*

Another display (Kiss) that uses @cosme rankings and consumer reviews (the Japanese equivalent of makeupalley, but far bigger) as advertising.

Visee + Smacky Glam Holiday 2011 (the purple sticker reads 'Limited Edition')

 Coffret D'Or Spring 2012 preview -- see atouchofblusher for more info. The eyeshadows are your standard meh (...I may still be bitter over the revamp) but the liquid lipsticks are DEEEVINE and my most-anticipated items for next year.

 

A closer look at the swirly blushes

 Majolica Majorca Holiday 2011 -- some teens grabbed those limited-edition blue Lash Expanders off the display after I took this pic, and naturally they were sold out in every other drugstore I visited *sigh*

Aube Couture Holiday 2011 -- as usual, palettes containing three lip shades and a neutral eyeshadow palette in the same vein as their autumn collection. Four variations, all very work-safe and unabashedly pretty. It's a shame there aren't many blogging fans of this line -- everything is good quality and the layouts are muggle-friendly but I think most beauty addicts would yawn.

 Some of the hot new skincare ingredients include snail

and bee toxin (this seems to be a huge health trend right now)

As far as I know, both of those originated in Korea, as of course did the BB cream makeup bandwagon, which rolls ever-onwards, accruing new jumpers all the while

Whatevs. However, as a Londoner, I'm indignant that Japan gets the cute Rimmel stuff...

And a LilyLolo counter when we plebs have to order online!

Actually, mineral makeup and 'organic' brands seem to have a much bigger presence in Japan than in the UK. Especially brands like Mimo and Zuii. I didn't see any with red lipsticks, so no more deets :P

I did spend a lot of time mesmerised by all the bath salts. Japan is a big bathing culture and as I was deprived of a chance to hit an onsen this time, I pretty much wanted to take all of these home:

(The ones with the malignant chilis on are meant to make you sweat out all your toxins. Not recommended for junk-food fiends, ask me how I know...)

Look ma, I made a moe say ick! :D

Finally, the obligatory snerk-if-you're-twelve pic...