SUQQU

My 6 Best Eye Shadow Blending Brushes

September 11, 2016

I love doing top 5 (or more) picks posts, and today I am sharing some of my ultimate favorite eye shadow blending brushes. If you ask me to pick only a few favorite lip colors, it will be nearly mission impossible, but with brushes it’s a relative easy job as I tend to reach out for these brushes all the time, and I just know that my makeup routine will not be the same without them! They are suitable for all budgets, ranging from the most premium high end such as Suqqu, to the very affordable brand from the rising star Zoeva.

From left to right:

Suqqu M, Chanel Large Tapered Brush #19, Tom Ford Blend Brush, MAC 217, ZOEVA 227, Edward Bess Luxury Eye Brush

All of these brushes are of very high quality, even though they are priced differently because of the type and source of bristles, where they were made and the packaging along with the brand name. However in terms of usability, they all stand the test of time and will last you at least 10 years of use. I have had each of them for a very long time, and none of them shed hair, change shape or fall apart.

MAC 217 – Using the MAC 217 as the standard blending brush. Needless for me to say how useful this brush is for eye shadow application, and you can find my detailed review for MAC brushes in this post.

ZOEVA 227 Soft Definer – If you love the MAC 217, you will love this ZOEVA brush made with goat hair which pretty much feels and works the same. The hair softness is similar, with an oval shape, but a tad more flat than 217 which is great for working the color into the crease. I love ZOEVA brushes in general which I have hauled a lot lately – they are affordable with a big selection, and I find that the quality is on par with MAC. Each brush comes in an individual zip bag.

Edwass Bess Luxury Eye Brush (available here in Australia) – This is the star product from his line. I have had this brush for more than 5 years. It boasts the same dome shape as the MAC 217, but slightly larger and feels softer and more dense against the skin. It is a powerful blending brush that gives lots of resilience so it blends eye shadow effortlessly. I normally like to use this brush for applying a neutral color over the entire eye crease area, and it only takes 1 to 2 strokes for the color to distribute evenly and seamlessly.

Tom Ford Eyeshadow Blend Brush (bought here in Australia) – The ultimate luxury eye shadow blending brush you could ever find, as the packaging and the handle feels so luxurious and precious that makes you not want to ever use it! Once you overcome the ‘obstacle’, you will find this is such a practical blending brush. The bristle is made of premium super soft goat hair, and it is all hand made in Japan. It is about the same size as MAC217, but the head is more tapered for a more precise application. It’s particularly great for blending the color just along the crease, and blending multiple colors.

Chanel Large Tapered Blending Brush (exclusive to Chanel.com only) This is best-seller out of the entire Chanel brushes collection. I was actually on the wait list for a while until it became available again. All Chanel brushes have black bristles, except for this exclusive edition with white bristles which makes me adore it even more! It’s made of goat hair, and is made in France. It’s a cute and ‘chubby’ blending brush compared to the MAC 217. The brush head is more rounder and dense with shorter hair, and it picks up lots of pigments which works perfectly with eye shadows that do not have intense color payoff. If you always want a brush that is tad smaller than MAC217, then this is the one to look out for.

SUQQU Brush M – Last but not least, leaving the best at the end. The Suqqu is the crème de la crème, as it has the softest squirrel hair that feels non scratchy even on the most sensitive skin. It is a smaller blending brush (same size as the Chanel) with a tapered end. The ultra fine and silky soft bristles deposit the pigments softly on the skin, so it is the best for applying dark colored eye shadows to create perfect shade gradation, as well as allowing for precise application around the eye corners. I have a post for the entire Suqqu brushes.

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Labels: Beauty Tools • BRUSHES • EDWARD BESS • MAC • My Favorites • SUQQU • Tom Ford • ZOEVA

Hooray to New SUQQU! Blend Colour Eyeshadow EX31 and Creamy Glow Lipstick EX21 Review and Swatch

May 29, 2016

This summer Suqqu has released an exclusive collection for Selfridges UK only. I was thrilled to receive the limited edition blend Colour Eyeshadow EX31 and the gorgeous Creamy Glow Lipstick EX21. Long time readers would know how much I am obsessed with Suqqu, and they are my most loved and treasured makeup collection.

As with most summer makeup collections, the Suqqu Blend Colour Eye Shadow EX31 is a more colorful palette than the usual color themes from other seasons. First thought of the palette was that the burst of orange eye shadow was definitely not in my comfort zone. However after playing with the palette for a few weeks, my worry was eased as the rest of the 3 neutral colors were extremely easy to work with, and they helped to ‘soften’ the pop of orange and make it more flattering. I am not the most creative person with colorful bright eye shadows, so I googled for orange matte eye shadow inspirations, and I found some really great looks that I thought I’d share. It is actually getting more fun to wear this palette, and my preferred application is to softly apply the orange shade over the crease area, then apply and blend the golden shade over all the lid (similar to look 1).

The quality of this palette is consistent with the permanent line. It contains 3 matte and 1 shimmer shades. Suqqu’s matte eye shadow is the best of the best – they are very smooth and even to apply and blend like a dream. Their shimmer eye shadow is also no exceptions – silky buttery smooth with a beautiful satin sheen. All the shades in this palette are very highly pigmented, so a little goes a long way.

Color Description (clockwise)

soft shimmer gold

matte off white

matte dark chocolate brown

matte burnt orange

Swatch

On to the Creamy Glow EX21 Lipstick, which is my holy grail lipstick out of all the brands I have (more review here). Suqqu’s lipsticks have the most nourishing, hydrating formula, and it has a lightweight, creamy and silky consistency without being overly slippery. It gives the most plumping, and hydrating effect to the lips immediately after application, and keeps the lips moist for hours. EX-21 is an ultra pigmented bright raspberry pink with a hint of plummy undertone in full coat. The color becomes more of a soft rosy pink for a sheer coat, and it looks more soft and girly.

Full coat

Sheer coat – applied with a lip brush

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Labels: EYESHADOW • LIPSTICK • SUQQU

A Travel-Friendly Skincare Review

February 2, 2016

I often get asked about my updated skincare routine from my readers, and it seems a very big job for me to consolidate everything I use into one post. I am currently in the process of shortlisting a handful of products that I absolutely love. In the meantime, I like to share with you a selection of products that I am bringing along with for my upcoming 2 weeks vacation in Hawaii! These are the trial and tested products that I pulled from my current skincare selections (not just random samples), and they are mainly for keeping my skin clear, congestion free, hydrated and lifted (so more photogenic) on a hot destination.

CLEANSE:

TATCHA One Step Camilia Cleansing Oil: My holy grail cleansing oil for removing makeup. One pump is all you need for removing the makeup completely, and it emulsifies well and most importantly it doesn’t make my vision blur for days if it gets into my eyes accidentally.

SUQQU Eye Makeup Remover: It removes the eye makeup including waterproof mascara easily, and is super gentle for my sensitive eyes.

TATCHA Polished Rice Enzyme Powder: Love this gentle powder exfoliator that also helps to brighten. It totally deserves a separate review post for it.

MASKS:

GLAMGLOW PowerMud DualCleanse Treatment: It is currently my favorite deep cleansing mask. I love it so much so I bought a mini size just for this trip. It is gentle (doesn’t sting), but very effective for lifting all the impurities and clearing out the pores.

SK-II Facial Treatment Mask: My go-to paper mask for ultimate hydration and glowy skin. I plan to use one a day so it helps to reverse the damage from the sun, and keep my skin hydrated and brightened.

DAY & NIGHT:

La Mer The Reparative Face Sun Lotion SPF 30: If you want to simplify your skincare routine, this is possibly the only product you need in the morning. It is La Mer Moisturing lotion + SPF30 sun protection. This milky lotion is less richer than their famous cream, so it is light enough to use in the morning with the same repairing benefits as in all La Mer products.

La Mer The Mist: A very refreshing and hydrating mist that is great to use during the day to replenish the moisture and keep the skin cool.

Dr Ci LaboVitamin C Special100 Series: Pure vitamin c oil that moisturizes and also helps to improve pigmentation and brighten up the skin. It’s great for mixing in with other products.

For Beloved One Mandelic Acid Renewal Serum 20% . It is the newest ingredient that surpasses the effect of BHA+AHA which is trending everywhere in Asia now. It gives a deep exfoliation (like a mild peel effect) to the skin, and it is the most effective I have ever used for clearing up pores, and preventing pore congestion. If you notice your skin is not as smooth, or has white heads, and congested pores but difficult to remove, then this serum brings all the dirt and impurities to the skin surface and help to dissolve them after 2-3 uses. Continuous use will help the pores to stay clear longer. I use it twice a week, and always mix it with the vitamin c oil to make it more diluted and apply it over the areas prone to congestion.

Beauty Bar 24K Gold: My favorite portable beauty tool for de-puffing and a temporary more lifted look (reviewed here).

Methode Jeannue Piaubert Visagist Facial Slimming Roll-On: This brand makes the best slimming and contouring body products. I was excited to find out that they also have a slimming skincare product for the face. I bought this in Europe earlier this year, and unfortunately I can’t find any stockist online.

HAIR & BODY:

Jurlique Hand Cream: Holy grail hand cream that I have repurchased over and over.

Original Mineral Frizzy Logic Shine Serum: A weightless serum that repairs the hair and control the frizzes. Similar to Argan oil but I prefer this one.

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Labels: Beauty Tools • Dr CiLabo • FOR BELOVED ONE • GLAMGLOW • JURLIQUE • LA MER • MASK • ORIGINAL MINERAL • SKII • SKINCARE • SUQQU • TATCHA • TRAVEL

SUQQU 2015 Christmas Makeup Collection Kit A and B Review and Swatches

December 6, 2015

I have a weakness for the limited edition holiday makeup sets, particularly from Suqqu. Thanks to Selfridges who made access to Suqqu much easier world wide, I got hold of the two LE Suqqu Christmas Makeup Kit A & B 2015 as soon as they became available online. Each set contains a trio eye shadow palette, a deep blue gel eyeliner (Ex02) that applies almost black on me, an eye makeup remover and a well-made tweed makeup pouch. This review is for the two eye shadow palettes only.

Every time I tell myself I don’t need anymore eye shadows, here it comes another release of some irresistible new eye shadows that I may or may not have in my stash. This time around I totally fell in love with the unique design of these palettes – love the color combinations, and can’t get over how beautiful they look in the marbled tweed texture. The quality of these eye shadows are on the same premium level as the other Suqqu eye shadows. Buttery soft to the touch, smooth to apply with no fallout and the pigmentation is actually quite intense (more than Dior and Chanel quads) by Japanese standards.

Kit A contains the Suqqu Eye Color Palette in EX-03 Aosaori that is my favorite of the two. The shades lean more neutral, and the colors are versatile enough to use for either a daytime look or smokey eye makeup. Though this palette is designed for layering all 3 colors together, I personally find that they can look too warm and a little muddy on me when layering all 3 shades. My preferred way of application for a soft look is just to apply a wash of the bronze color over the lid, and gently tap the gold shade above the crease, or in the center, then line the eyes with the darkest shade.

Shade description

Top: sparkly gold with an extremely finely milled texture and feels creamy and silky to the touch.

Middle: shimmery warm bronze color with a gold undertone

Bottom: shimmery dark midnight blue with a hint of purple

Swatch

Kit B contains the Suqqu Eye Color Palette Ex-04 Shisouori which is a combination of shimmery pink and purples. The colors are obviously more feminine and girly and would look stand out on blue and green eyes. On me I need to make the color appear more smokey (almost like a dusty rosey plummy pink) to make it work. These are not my everyday go-to colors, but they are unique to my stash, and are fun to use as I need to be more creative, and experiment with new ways of applying these colors for different looks that are different to the neutrals.Shade description

Top: Sparkly icy pink

Middle: shimmery lavender pink

Bottom: shimmery dark plummy color

Swatch:

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Labels: EYESHADOW • Holiday 2015 Collection • SUQQU

Holiday Wishlist – Beauty

November 11, 2015

I always get really excited during the months leading to the Holidays, as there are so many beautiful makeup releases and gift packs during this time of the year. I have been devouring online as well as hauling here and there at the stores over the past weeks, and here is the wishlist I came up that will put a big smile on every girl’s face!

1. Suqqu LE Christmas Kits – This holiday season Suqqu has released two limited edition kits – each kit includes an eye shadow palette, a gel eyeliner pencil and a 50ml makeup remover in a lovely tweed pouch. As usual they are selling out extremely fast, and I have purchased both sets (this and this) as I love the design this year. Along with the Christmas Kits, Suqqu also released the Murasaki Dahlia set (sold out within minutes), and a glamorous Kimono set.

2. Giorgio Armani has just released a set of new premium makeup brushes that are hand-crafted in Japan – now available in the US and UK. It is interesting to see how these brushes are made by the Japanese artisan in this video. I absolutely can’t wait to try them out once they become available in Australia! Another palette that I am highly anticipating is the Giorgio Armani Luxe is More Palette.

3. Guerlian Winter Fairy Tale Holiday 2015 Collection – needless for me to say how crazy this collection is. The must-have products are the LE Meteorites Pearls and the Rouge G Collector Lip Color which have probably been all sold out worldwide. If you are interested in Australia, the Meteorites Pearls are on back order for a limited number at the David Jones Sydney store.

4. The iconic Burberry Military Red lip color now comes in a limited edition gold packaging. Also loving the new Eye Color Cream in festive gold.

5. The highly coveted Charlotte Tilbury Life Changing Lash Curler can now be purchased individually! On Nordstrom in the US.

6. Head over heels with this new Bobbi Brown Luxe Lip Color range (available here in Australia) – love the colors and the highly intense and moisturizing formula of this new range

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Labels: BRUSHES • Giorgio Armani • Holiday 2015 Collection • SHOP • SUQQU

Suqqu Eye Colour Palette Bordeaux EX01 Review, Swatch and FOTD

October 26, 2015

I have been frequently reaching for my Suqqu Eye Colour Palette Bordeaux EX01 lately so I thought I’d write up a review and FOTD post for it. I love the color combination of this palette. They are different to the usual neutral earthy palettes that I normally gravitate towards. The colors are relatively more vibrant outside of my comfort zone, but somehow I find them to be very wearable yet fresh looking, with the signature Suqqu’s subdued elegance to it.

The Suqqu eye shadow is among the most superior eye shadows you can find. The quality of the newer 3 eye shadow palette feels quite similar to their regular quad. I have done many reviews for them in other posts, and overall the texture of Suqqu is slightly different to the western brands. The powder feels more creamy and moist to the touch, and they glide on weightless, silky smooth and evenly without looking powdery that would really work well on dry skin. The color payoff is also great for this palette – one to two swipes will show the true color as you see in the pan.

Shade Description

Top : Icy white color, slightly sparkly

Middle: Shimmery coppery golden peach.

Bottom: Wine color with a purple undertone in semi satin finish. It contains multi colored glitters but they don’t show up once applied unless you look at it very closely at a certain angle.

Swatch with one swipe

FOTD:

Other products used in the FOTD

Face:

Shiseido Pore Smoothing Corrector

Shu Uemura UV Underbase Mousse – totally obsessed!

Tom Ford Powder Compact Foundation (reviewed here)

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette

Eyes & Brows

Tom Ford Brow Sculpting Kit (new, review coming soon)

MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set in Toasted Blonde

Dior Addict It Liner (reviewed here)

Lancome Mascara

Lips (my current favorite combo!)

– MAC Lip Pencil Rosy Rim (reviewed here)

– MAC LipStick Please Me

The Suqqu Eye Shadow Palette can be purchased here with international shipping available (TAX will be automatically deducted at the checkout), and more colors are also available at Selfridges.

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Labels: EYESHADOW • FOTD • HOURGLASS • MAC • SHISEIDO • Shu Uemura • SUQQU • Tom Ford

What’s in my makeup bag

May 10, 2015

I have recently re-organized my makeup bag before my trip to Sweden, so I thought I’ll do a ‘what’s in my bag’ post. The makeup pouch is from Louis Vuitton 2015 Summer Collection limited edition. I really like the bright pink V graphic on it and its matching hot pink interior – it is very on trend and adds a playful touch to a rather classic style! The size is also quite compact, and I like the round shape (rather than a flat pouch) so it’s great for holding lots of makeup!

Clockwise:

1. Dior Eye Reviver Eyeshadow Palette – reviewed here

2. Bobbi Brown Cheek Palette Pink – reviewed here

3. Suqqu Cheek Brush – The greatest investment you can make for a brush! I have been using it everyday for the past 3 years and it is still in perfect condition (reviewed here)

4. Chantecaille Corrector Concealing Pen – reviewed here

5. Beauty Bar 24k Gold – Highly recommend! I use this face massage tool whenever I can for an instant lifted contour (reviewed here).

6. Dior Rainbow Powder – I use it as a setting powder with a kabuki brush for a soft glow with a brightening effect (reviewed here).

7. BBrowBar Brow Pen – Best brow pen I have ever used (reviewed here)!

8. Charlotte Tilbury Liquid Pencil in Eye Cheat – Can’t live without this pencil now. I use it on the lower waterline and it instantly makes my eyes appear more awakened and bigger (reviewed here)

9. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eyeliner in Marron Glace – A lovely rusty brown color I like to use on the along the lower lash line.

10. Chanel Le Volume Mascara – This mascara gives the most feathery fanned out lashes.

11. Dior Addict It Line– Review coming soon. Absolutely addicted to this liner!

12. Chanel Rouge Coco Ultra Hydrating Lip Color in Roussy – reviewed here

The interior

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Labels: ACCESSORY • Beauty Tools • BOBBI BROWN • CHANEL • Charlotte Tilbury • DIOR • Louis Vuitton • MASCARA • My Favorites • SUQQU

Suqqu Blend Color Eye Shadow 16 HANASHOUBU Review, Swatch and FOTD

August 4, 2014

I love looking at new makeup, as much as I love having my wardrobe filled with brand new clothes with tags on. Is there a name for such a syndrome?! Anyway I finally decided to use my beloved Suqqu Blend Color Eye Shadow 16 HANASHOUBU for the first time last week which I have had for quite a while. It is such a beautiful palette that is not so neutral so I decided to take some FOTDs.

I fell in love with this palette as soon as I saw the preview picture from its Spring 2014 collection. A bright lavender is the only pop of color I feel comfortable having it on my eyes other than the usual neutral shades, and I have 100% faith in this palette by Suqqu. The rest of the colors are beautiful neutrals that complement the purple. The quality is as good as an eye shadow can get in a refined and elegant way. All shades are velvety smooth, soft, and adhere to the skin beautifully without enhancing any dry lines on your eyes. All the colors have a soft shimmer with a delicate gleam.

Color Description:

Top Left: Milky vanilla with shimmer that makes a perfect base color

Top Right: Medium taupe brown with shimmer – perfect neutral brown shade for my complexion

Bottom Left: Lavender with iridescent shimmer that is highly pigmented

Bottom Right: Nude pink with shimmer (slightly more sparkly) that is great for highlighting

FOTD

I applied the vanilla shade all over the lid, then the taupe brown along the upper lash line then I layered the lavender on top to create a soft smoky look.

For the lower lash line, I just lined the lavender shade along the outer 2/3, and highlight the inner corner with the pale pink shade.