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!

Comments

  1. So pretty! And these three colors look amazing on you.
    Love purples like the darkest one here but they often make my skin look ruddy. I actually ordered the cool toned one from ichibankao and they cancelled my order without any explanation (sobs).
    I think I will get at least one Lunasol palette before attempting for Suqqu again, though. Texture and finish wise, how would you compare these two (in general)? :)

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    1. Oh, and L'Oreal Strawberry Blonde - swoon

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    2. For lunasol, I only used (bought more, didn't have a chance to rotate through them) sheer contrast eyes(earlier formulation and flyout heaven) and vivid clear (much better than earlier one). Suqqu is (hate to say this) noticeably superior than vivid clear: more buttery and easier to blend. I also like that it retains the translucency after primer/layering and blending. The shimmer seems more complex (creates more subtle depth) and delicate.

      I think I still prefer lunasol as they do boring neutral so well, as I don't really need that level of refinement. Oh, I have yosaizora (the blue trio/because benikakesora does look bruised on me sometimes and I thought I need to buy it before it's gone forever)and I love how it looks in the pans. Of course I won't touch it until I preserve it's beauty in picture-form.

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  2. I'm totally eyeing these and will look out for your review of Yosaizora! I love the 2 colors in the trio but hate the sparkling top wash, because it means I really only get 2 colors for the money spent :(

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    1. I bought it as a mental substitute for lunasol contrast variation (couldn't find it cheap anywhere so it turned out to be similar price as yosaizora...the good thing about suqqu is that it's so pricey that I don't waste money on cartfiller/to even out the shipping).

      I think you will like yosaizora at the very least, I generally trust the hype on weibo and these two trios are kind of hyped to death. Lol.

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  3. Oh my goodness, I absolutely adore the colors in this palette! If only Suqqu was an easy to access brand. =((

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    1. Admittedly, I think this pallette looks prettier in the pan (the plum is a little hard to control). I so wish they have suqqu counter in US (then I will cook my own lunch every single day just to allocate fund for it).

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  4. Oooh! The colors would look bruised on me too.
    I eagerly await your review of yosaizora :D

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    1. Confession time, I still haven't touched it since I am rotating through other palettes (so far I am surprised how much I love ginbudou) . Yosaizora was more of a mental replacement for tsukiakari/aoboshi (would want to hunt this down if it's not freaking 500bucks on ebay) and this fall's yuaoi ....Suqqu recycles their color themes a lot, apparently.

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    2. i've heard of Ginbudou I think - or maybe i'm confused since there's a Japanese dessert shop called Budou no Ki that I love :D

      Hrm... I will have to go play with Suqqu palettes on my next visit! Argh... as if I need more makeup...

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    3. I think Ginbudou (06 of Blend Color Eyeshadow released in 2010) has been discontinued in Japanese counters and now became an UK exclusive, that's what made it so desirable.lol. It has a really strange and deep color combo (gold. matte purple and charcoal plus white base) but is surprisingly wearable consider it's a sooty dark gray on me! Actually now I have really grown to love the boring 01-06 quads because they are so boring and mature at first sight but just look so flattering on. I think I will get Kakitsubata next and I will be set (Suqqu's upcoming collection were just meh to me).

      P.S. You can totally buy more eyeshadow (they last forever!).

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    4. Lol. I know, they totally do! But don't enable me! I still have an Addiction quad that I haven't touched yet, and a drugstore quad that reains unopened. But everyone says that Suqqu is so wearable...

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    5. It is (like everything I have tried from the brand), I recently got akanebara creamy glow lipstick and ended up wearing it a lot...I generally find deep/vampy "fall" lipsticks really aging but akanebara is such a pretty sheer plum that I can slap on and go (although the formula isn't that much/any better than Revlon lip butter...Well, I guess since I will get plenty of uses out of it so it's worth it). I think suqqu really nailed their target customer (people who work and like things that are not crazy/they can wear to work)...

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    6. Oh my! I am totally looking for a berry lipstick right now! Akanebara looks really nice. Argh. I will have to go try it on now.

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