SUQQU Nuancing Cheeks EX-03 Akanemizu

Along with SUQQU 2012 Spring collection Blend Color Eyeshadow #11 Himesango, I have also hauled one of their Nuancing Cheeks in EX-03 Akanemizu. This my second SUQQU blusher. Akanemizu in Japanese Kanji is 茜水 [茜=brilliant red, 水=water], roughly translate "a watery brilliant red", which is quite a vivid imaginary painting concept in itself.

EX-03 Akanemizu is an extremely wearable and non-overwhelming warmed toned blusher shade that works in perfect harmony with my NC-25 skin tone. When it comes to blush I tend to like those that are not overwhelmingly pigmented (to avoid looking like a monkey's butt when I am applying blushers at a hurry), nor too sheer or it will not show up on my NC-25 skin tone.

Nuancing Cheeks offers a lovely combination of a duo pan blusher palette: a rosy pink color on the left and a coral pink color on the right. 

The blush compact comes in the usual SUQQU black lacquer packaging, which is a super fingerprint magnet but very sleek and sexy to look at. The included blush brush is of very high quality and probably one of the best brush included in any palettes that I have ever owned. The bristles are made out of horse hair and it is so soft upon application---it is non-scratchy and after using for a few times, there is no issue with any bristle shedding. And it does its job very well, by picking up the right amount of blush and blending it evenly on my cheeks.

SUQQU Nuancing Cheeks retails at £38 each and contains 3.8g of product. Overall a very good buy given the price and how long a blusher can last me. Unlike Chanel, SUQQU's blushers does not come scented. Quality and color are the two most important decision making factors when it comes to blushers.

The left rosy pink color appear to be more like a satin and have subtle shimmers throughout, while the right coral pink color is more of a satin matte with very sparse occasional flecks of shimmers (and larger as well) in the pan. But again these shimmers are very subtle and unless you put a direct spot light over the blush duo, you will not see the flecks of shimmers. When applying to my cheeks, there are some noticeable silver sparkles, but not dramatically overwhelming. The tone of this warm coral blush compliments well with my complexion and a with a light hand it warms up my NC-25 skin tone nicely. Lasting power is decent and it lasted me over 8+ hours for the entire day out.

Iris of Rouge Deluxe has her share of this wonderful blush palette here.

Drivel About Frivol offers an in depth description and swatches from all of the three blush duo included in SUQQU spring 2012 collection. 

Below is a photo taken in the shade, the colors appear to be cooler than what it is supposed to be:

A closer look at EX-03 Akanemizu:

under sun, by the window

under sun, at another angle

Here the right coral color appears to be a more satin matte finish compared to the left rosy pink color.


This picture here shows the right coral shade has some sparse distribution of flecks of shimmer:

taken partially under shade

Swatches:

under sunlight

by the window

under shade

under diffused indoor lighting during the day, noticeable shimmers

I truely think this duo blusher is very appropriate for work with a subtle balance of pigmentation and shimmer. This is fool proof choice for those who doesn't have the luxury of time to apply blush then blend, blend, and blend to perfect the look, it's a ready to go kind of blusher.

Finally, ending with a FOTD:

Eyes: SUQQU Blend Color Shadow #11 Himesango reviewed here

Brows: B&C Labo Browlash EX Eyebrow pencil and liquid (grayish brown)

Cheeks: SUQQU Nuancing Cheeks Ex-02 Akanemizu 

Face: base-Sonia Rykiel Smoothing Gel Base, foundation-SUQQU Frame Fix Foundation

Lips: Sofina AUBE couture lipstick in RD 504 and Sofina AUBE Couture Designing Premium Rouge in  RD 595 in the center of the lips for highlight.

Final Thoughts...

SUQQU makeup products never fail me. This Nuancing Cheeks, in particular, compliments my NC-25 skin color very well with a hint of warm rosy/coral tone. The shimmers are barely noticeable and the amount of pigmentation is just right for me, with a good 8+ hours of wear time. A quick few strokes on my cheeks is what I need and I will be ready to go with a flush of color on my face. It is definitely a great buy for me, a truly a great collectible classic for a makeup junkie like me!

SUQQU Blend Color Eyeshadow 11 Himesango

Along with my haul for SUQQU Blend Color Eyeshadow #11 Himesango, which is part of SUQQU 2012 Spring collection. Himesango in Japanese Kanji is 姬珊瑚 [姬=princess, 珊瑚=coral], roughly translate "Coral Princess", which is quite a novel idea. 

I particularly love the taupe shade on the upper right and the peachy shade (though I am pretty sure it will not show up on my NC-25 skin) and this color combination is similar to #05 Sakurakaba, a palette that I regret not picking up. I think both Himesango and Sakurakaba are sisters, they belong to the same pretty pink and warm neutral group!

Reika of Front Row Beauty has her full in depth review and beautiful EOTD look of this awesome palette here. Iris of Rouge Deluxe has her share of this wonderful palette here.

The older Blend eyeshadow palettes has a total of 6.7g of products while the newer Blend Color eyeshadow palettes has a total of 6.5g. While the newer ones from this Spring 2012, numbers 09, 10, and 11 have only 5.5g of total product! We are getting less and and less product while the price kept going up!

Instead of the usual 4 colors in a pan that SUQQU offers, the spring collection comes with 5 colors with an additional strip of deep liner color at the lower left pan . Other than being attracted to such a novel name "Himesango," as a taupe and neutral palette junkie, I went for this palette. SUQQU always deliver the highest quality-densely pressed and smoothly milled eyeshadows, and the pigmentation of this range in particular is richer and more vibrant than its previous quad collection. 

When comparing the texture, Himesango is super buttery and velvety... what a luxurious sensation!! As usual, SUQQU offers a matte highlighter shade which is the ivory white in the lower right, but this has a slight sheen to it. A picture from Rouge Deluxe's post best capture this sheen:

This ivory white shade is non-chalky at all and provides a very good base/canvas for the following color application. The other 3 colors (top row and bottom left) are shimmery shades that glides on to my eyelids silky smooth and contain the finest micro-shimmer.

Moving on to a closer look of this awesome eyeshadow quad #11 Himesango:

The colors offered in this palette are foolproof and they layer together beautifully is actually a cool taupe with a slight hint of shimmer on the top two shades in the quad. But compare to the newer SUQQU eyeshadows, this palette is is not as shimmery and the colors are more subtle, hence more work appropriate.

A closer look at #11 Himesango:

sunlight from the right

sunlight from the left

under shade

A quick description of the 4 colors in the pan:

A: Shimmery peachy pink with very noticeable refined silver shimmers and very fine pink shimmers. It is the most shimmery shade out of the quad,  This shade is a warm pink peach shade in the pan but unfornately the true pink colors does not show up on my NC-25 skin, but I think it will work for fairer ladies. When applied to my lids, it appears to be more of a silvery finish. Texture of this is extremely smooth, and no fall-outs during application.

B: The loveliest warm taupe color of my entire eyeshadow stash, which is packed with fine micro gold and silver shimmer(barely noticeable), with a nice sheen, in various iridescent hues of taupe, grey, with the occasional hint of cool brown

C: A pigmented dark chocolate matte shade on the left strip to be used for lining, ultra smooth with no fall out when applying. The larger right strip is a lovely warm brown satin, which is also very smooth on application with extremely fine gold and bronze micro-shimmer occasionally scattered throughout, which is very flattering for my NC-25 skin tone. 

D: Ivory white with the slighest pearly sheen to it when looking at an angle, but when it goes on to the eyes it is not chalky at all, perfectly smooth, silky, and provides an excellent canvas base before applying any of the above A, B, or C colors.

Texture of this palette overall is extremely smooth and velvety, and no fall-outs during application, which fulfill my expectations for SUQQU eyeshadows. I think pigmentation and silkiness of the new 2011/2012 Blend Color Eyeshadow range in general is much than the earlier Blend Eyeshadow range from 2010 or prior. Applying these colors is like applying silky on to my eyes, and I did not experience any fading or fall outs for a good 10 hour day of wear.

With one swipe with my finger tips:

Swatches at the back of my hand:

under sun

normal indoor lighting

under shade

slightly blurred to show the shimmers in A, B and C

I truely think this palette is very appropriate for work with a subtle balance of pigmentation and shimmer. This is one of my favorite SUQQU palettes in my collection.

EOTD with #11 Himesango:

Finally, ending with a FOTD:

Eyes: SUQQU Blend Color Shadow #11 Himesango

Brows: B&C Labo Browlash EX Eyebrow pencil and liquid (grayish brown)

Cheeks: SUQQU Nuancing Cheeks Ex-02 Akanemizu reviewed here

Face: base-Sonia Rykiel Smoothing Gel Base, foundation-SUQQU Frame Fix Foundation

Lips: Sofina AUBE couture lipstick in RD 504 and Sofina AUBE Couture Designing Premium Rouge in  RD 595 in the center of the lips for highlight.

A very soft warm taupe hues that is non powdery or chalky, and is very wearable and subtle. As always, I love how smooth and silky SUQQU eyeshadow can offer... and no issues with glitter or liner color fall out... which is very work appropriate! I can see why SUQQU is targeting professional woman as their main audience.

Final Thoughts...

SUQQU palette, as usual, are of exceptionally high quality.... and I was very grateful for my friend who has helped me CP this well sought-after palette from Selfridges. Though SUQQU's price point is high, the warm neutral colors offered in this palette is really well composed and suitable for any day or night occasion. In the end, I would still save up and add it to my stash of prized collection. And not to mention, I love the novelty of the naming of this palette, Himesango!

SUQQU spring 2012 collection

SUQQU released their spring collection sometime earlier in February and I was lucky enough to ask a dear friend in UK to order them from Selfridge. It was a much delayed post but I would still like to post my loots here to share with everyone!


SUQQU Spring 2012 consists of: Please refer to Rouge Deluxe's post for her full description here. She has really good pictures of the exact same eyeshadow in #11 Himesango and cheeks in EX-03 Akanemizu, which is coincidentally, the same ones I picked up from this collection.


In around April I have asked my friend to purchase Blend Color Eyeshadow #11 Himesango and Nuancing Cheeks EX-03 Akanemizu (limited edition blusher) from Spring 2012 collection, as well as Blend Color Eyeshadow #04 Keshizumi from an older collection from Selfridges in UK and mail them over to the US.

The reason for hauling #04 Keshizumi is because of knowing SUQQU has already pulled out a few colors from their permanent line, I decided to get the colors I like while they are still available, before I regret.... (#5 Sakurakaba is one that I cannot get, big time regretting!!)


Picture galore:

As expected, SUQQU is the highest quality makeup that I have ever encountered, with its finely milled pressed powders and subtle color that can be layered on nicely without creating a dramatic statement.


To do them justice, I will be dedicating a seperate post for each eyeshadow and blush palette. Please stay tuned to follow these amazing little gems!