Suqqu Eye Color Palette in EX-01 Benikakesora

Benikakesora is the poster shade for Suqqu summer 2015 collection. By the time I got interested by the brand (after getting the eyeliner brush), it was already pulled out from Ichibankao, of course that just meant that I absolutely had to hunt it down. 

Meaning to emulate the burning sunset of summer, Benikakesora  has an unexpected combo of colors (wait no, Shiseido Beach Grass and Nars Kuala Lumpur both look like this, so does Visee Glossy Rich Eyes PK3)- A red wine, medium golden peach and a clear glittery top wash. Even though I normally stick with my boring neutral and pastels, I deliberately picked this because it's not something I find in other brands. I think I just invalidated what I said, but heck...I don't want to deal with Nars' sticky packaging and I probably won't reach for the deepest shade in Visee if I buy it.

For some reasons I have been really into red-toned (bruised plum, red, pink and rose gold) eyeshadow lately and this looks like something to experiment with.

Let's start with the bottom: One of the cool thing (for me) with the trio is that it's not divided into base, lid, blending and liner (like how their quad is laid out). The wine shade is deep enough to add definition but still can be blended out as a medium lid color. Since I don't have much lid space, I generally don't worry about this getting too smokey...Instead, the malleability just makes it looks naturally occurred (reads: looks like bruise. Huh huh).

Next to the closest dupes I have. Smoldering Plum is deeper, drier and somewhat patchy. Prestige Addiction is cooler in tone but has more of a black base. The Suqqu wine/plum has the smoothest texture  (in fact, this/Suqqu is the smoothest, bendable powder shadow I have tried to date) but can be thinned out too easily. Its integrity and intensity are usually retained when it's applied on top of the lid shade.

Oh, here is also the obligatory (and useless) description of the subtle complexity (that you won't notice unless you tilt your head in a certain angle and let the light hit in a certain way) - The glitters in this shade are in pink, white (silver) and jewel purple.

The allover lid shade is a medium peach (with a golden pink flash thanks to the shimmer) that shows up as a coppery gold under sun. The color is boring but it's (like the other suqqu shades) smooth, refined and is beautifully transculent blended out. Thanks to its warm coppery tone and translucence, it sometimes looks like jaundice on me.

Swatched with L'Oréal Cherie Merie. A little side note, whenever I feel that the colors in these palettes are too delicate, adding a more pigmented shade (from L'Oreal Infallible or just American brands) on top or underneath will also works beautifully for a definedmonotonal look. Just don't get too far away from the spectrum. I mixed the plummy shade from Prestige with Suqqu peach, it was instant mud.

Lastly, the glitter top wash. This is chunkier than the other two (by design) but it's nowhere near gritty. It looks white in the pan but flashes yellow gold. This is a shade that doesn't do much because of its subtlety: The other two are already subtly glowy enough to make the skin look polished and this on top just only works to blend/sheer out what's already applied.

With L'Oreal Strawberry Blonde (I just love the lighter shades in the infallible line) which looks a wee flatter next to Suqqu.

All three shades of benikakesora swatched. 

Close up of the lid (this picture is best viewed with a bigger screen/not phone) - You might be able to tell I applied it the standard bottom-up gradation way/same layout as the palette. The shoddily applied eyeliner was L'Oreal Smoldering Plum. I feel that a bit of eyeliner is a must since the combo would look too bruisy on me otherwise.

The overall look can either lean red wine or eggplant (depends on placement and how much I blend the plum). Despite being a summer release, I feel I will enjoy it more for fall.

Overall: I get what the hype is all about. Benikakesora has very refined texture (I can feel that silicone-coated powder gimmick is doing its job) and can be layered without turning muddy or frosty. I am not crazy about this palette (I still love my "boring" from Lunasol, at half the price of Suqqu) but I certainly like this palette enough to wear it out several times already and it did make Lunasol feels inferior when I switched back (oh snap).

Before I end the post, let's take a look at the packaging. It's a small and sturdy compact with a generously sized mirror (that opens to 180 degrees!). Freebie brush is interior quality compared to the one found in their quad but at least the sponge side is squishy and usable.

I like the white plastic case as well, which is solid without being unnecessarily big or a fingerprint magnet. Unfortunately, it doesn't flash pink like their previous LE though :(

More Japanese palettes coming!