Addiction Soda Lunch FOTD (Basquiat collection for summer 2013)

First of all I hope everyone had a great start in 2014 and that many resolutions will be achieved this year. :-)

One of the more outstanding collection that Addiction made was probably the Basquiat collection from last summer.
I know they are already many reviews in the blogosphere around so I'm going to keep my rambling to a minimum about them and focuss on the products.

For those of you who don't know, Jean-Michel Basquiat is a famous American graffiti artist (of Haitian/Puerto Rican origin) who even briefly worked with Andy Warhol himself. Inspired by street art, post-punk and hip hop, he was also considered a Neo-Expressionist painter who unfortunately died at a young age due to an overdose.

For this collection, Addiction has made 6 readily made eyeshadow palettes with different colour combinations. Only on 1 palette case will the famous Basquiat dinosaur be featured, while the other palettes only bear the typical Basquiat graffiti in black and white.

Now for a quick overview of the 3 palettes I purchased.

The first one is called Soda Lunch and this is also the palette that has the dinosaur imprinted on the case. It's definitely is the brightest palette of them all and although the colours may not be for everyone, the quad is versitale in its own way.

Unlike other Addiction palettes, Soda Lunch only consist of matte shades. Soft but not overly powdery and highly pigmented which pretty much sums it up in terms of texture.

Swatches of Addiction Soda Lunch quad

Even for those who don't like the colours, you should get this palette anyway because... you know....dinosaur! Who doesn't love them?

Another one that caught my eye was Mudd Club. In some way it reminds me of the Kevyn Aucoin #06 palette which also has more or less the same colour combo.

Like Soda Lunch, Mudd Club also only contains matte eyeshadows which makes this excellent for a daytime look as well.

To give you a better idea of the colours, some swatches of Mudd Club.

Third and the last palette is Sugar Rush. If you are into neutrals, this one will be right up your alley.

Unlike the previous 2 palette, Sugar Rush does have shimmery shades. The shimmers are very delicate so that the finish is really polished and tasteful for everyday wear.

Although it's quite warm, they should work on most skintones.

 

The one that is unique is Soda Lunch and although bright and colourful, you can make varies looks with it, from subtle to bold.

 

I chose to do a simple rainbow eyeliner type of look with it. Simple and fun to do!

 

 

 

Soda Lunch has been made permanent by Addiction but they will be available only in the typical black case. The dinosaur version of the cases are limited edition unfortunately.

Each palette retails for 6510 Yen and can be purchased at the Addiction counter or online at shops like Ichibankao.



Suqqu EX-14 Ruridama palette (summer 2013 collection)

I know, I know.... summer is almost over for most of you but I had to share some of the stuff that was released with some summer collections.

Although Suqqu hasn't been on my radar lately when it comes to eyeshadow palette, they have released another limited edition quad called EX-14 Ruridama.



The first thing that crossed my mind was that it looked simular to the Mizuaoi palette from their permanent range.

Unfortunately I don't own Mizuaoi (yet) so I can't compare them side by side for now.

The colours do indeed look very summery and as you can see Suqqu has put some pretty pastel shades in this palette, esp. the lilac colour drew my attention.

Normally I don't tend to gravitate towards pastel colours because personally I don't feel they suit my skin tone very well most of the time.

But of course curiosity got the better of me so I did order the palette anyway to see if this quad will be a winner or not (and to make up for the fact that I don't own Mizuaoi but let's keep that between us shall we?).

For those who are not familiar with Suqqu eyeshadow palettes, each quad consist of 2 matte shades (in this case the navy and the pink colours) and 2 shimmery shades (here the yellow/gold and the lilac shades).

The right bottem shade is usually the 'base' shade or a primer and in most of their quads that would be a matte white shade. In limited editions palettes Suqqu usually chooses other colours than white.

Texture is like most Suqqu quads excellent, buttery smooth and the shimmery shades are quite unique and nothing quite like anything I have seen before. Like most Asian eyeshadows, they may not be the most pigmented eyeshadows out there but the complexity and texture definitely make up for that.

At first glance the difference with Mizuaoi would be the following: 

- there are no dark purple & baby blue shades in this quad

- the pink shade in Ruridama is more cool

- the yellowish gold colour is very sheer, barely noticable on the skin (unless you're very pale)

To be quite honest I had high expectations of this quad and maybe that's the reason why I was a little disappointed.

The main raison for this are not the 2 darker shades in this palette (which are very pigmented and easy to work with) but the problem lays with the 2 lighter shades.

Although they are buildable the yellow gold and the pink shades are very sheer and hardly show up on my NC25/30 skin. Applying them in layers to build up the intensity of the colour did work to a certain point but after that it can look very uneven (even a bit chalky as I noticed with the pink shade) on the skin.

I don't know if my skin tone is to blame here but personally I don't think it's worth getting this quad just for the 2 darker shades, the navy and the lilac colours.

I highly suggest to check out this palette in person if you happen to be near a Suqqu counter to see if this quad will work for you.

As usual I will also leave you these swatches of Ruridama. 

Suqqu EX-14 Ruridama swatches- indoor

Same swatches- outdoor lighting

Surprisingly all the colours in the quad do work well together and I manage to use all these colours in 1 eye look.

Suqqu EX-14 Ruridama is a limited edition palette and retails for £45 GBP in the UK and can be purchased at any Suqqu counter (in Japan, Thailand or the UK) or Selfridges (in store and online).

Laduree #05 Eye Color palette

After some much needed break from blogging, yours truly has some finds that she would like to share with you.

Although Laduree cosmetics has had some attention in the blogosphere, I find their eyeshadow palettes don't get the attention they deserve.

I managed to get my hands on one of the palette which is just labelled #05. 

This time I only opted for the refill and didn't purchase the packaging as I'm personally not a big fan of the plastic white and gold case.

Other reason being that this way it's much easier for me to put it in an empty palette or to take with me for travelling.

What caught my eye about this particular palette is the combination of the yellow and the purple shade along with some interesting neutral colours.

For me this palette is quite versitale in terms of different eye looks you can create with it. The gorgeous purple shade can be used for a smokey night look with the pop of yellow for some colour while the brown/beige shades can be used for a minimal daytime look.

The texture was surprisinly very smooth, almost buttery but not powdery and very very pigmented. I hardly had to swirl with my brush to get some product so very little is needed.

It wore pretty well during the day but at the end of the day I did see some fading but nothing dramatic or noticable.

Here are some swatches I took of the palette for some indication of the colours.
Notice that the purple shade has a hint of brown in it that makes it more complex than it looks in the pan, isn't it just gorgeous?

Swatches of the Laduree #05 palette- indoors

Same swatches - Outdoor lighting

I tried to incorporate most of the colours from the palette in 1 look and here is the result.

The Laduree Eye Color palette cost 4200 Yen just for the refill (the additional case cost another 1575 Yen) and can be found at the Laduree stores in Japan or at sites like Ichibankao if you are willing to pay the marked up prices.

Chanel L'Été papillon summer collection 2013

The summer is coming up soon so let's talk about summer collections shall we?

The Chanel one is one of the few that I was excited about and the collection is called 'l'Eté Papillon' collection which basically means 'the Butterfly collection'.

And if you take a look at the collection, the name would make a lot of sense because of the bright summery colours that very much remind me of the colours of a butterfly.

Besides the usual lipglosses, nailpolishes and lipsticks Chanel came out with something new for this summer and they are the eyeshadow sticks (or crayons as I would like to call them) which was the main reason I have been eyeing this collection.

Personally I love eyeshadow stick and some of my favorites are the By Terry Ombre Blackstars, Kiko eyeshadow sticks and the one made by Topshop are very nice and are quite simular to the By Terry ones (for those who are looking for a cheaper and more accessible alternative).

Another eyecatcher in this collection are the coloured Inimitable mascaras to complete the butterfly look this summer.

So needless to say that my main focus is on the eyeshadow crayons and I got 4 of them. To my surprise when I was playing with the mascaras I found it to be very pigmented and easy to apply. So I decided to give one a try and purchased the yellow mascara as well.

The texture of the Chanel eyeshadow sticks is creamy, pigmented, quite shimmery and glides over your eyelid when you applied but they are not as buttery soft like the By Terry Ombre Blackstars.

They also contain a lot of shimmer in them but I haven't experienced any fallout so far (but I do suggest to use a good eye primer underneath). In terms of shades the Chanel ones are definitely more complex but the shade range is quite limited (only 6 colours in total) compared to the Kiko or By Terry eyeshadow sticks. 
The first one I got is called Pink Lagoon and as the name says, it's a cool bright vivid pink. Perfect for an easy wash on the eyelid when you have to run out the door in the morning.

Chanel Pink Lagoon

This collection wouldn't be called the Butterfly if there wasn't a green shade so Chanel created Jade Shore. A mint green colour for a pop of colour during the hot summer days.

Chanel Jade Shore

Chanel didn't forget those who love neutral colours to wear everyday to work so Moon River will fulfill that purpose without any issues. A gorgeous taupe with a hint of silvery shimmers in it will compliment any eye colour. 

Chanel Moon River

Last shade I bought is the black one and it's called Black Stream. It looks scary in the tube but the shimmers in them makes Black Stream a perfect shade to use as a base underneath another eyeshadow colour or as a simpel eyeliner that you can easily smudge out for a more natural effect.

Here are the swatches that I took side by side but the pictures don't do the shades justice to be honest.

Indoor lighting (from L to R):

Pink Lagoon - Jade Shore - Moon River - Black Stream

Same swatches in outdoor lighting.

Some people have noticed that Jade Shore is quite simular to Rouge Bunny Rouge 'Periwinkle Cardinal' and some have also wondered if it was any different from the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Rivière (which was an Asia exclusive shade from last year).

Since I own both of these, I swatched it side by side to see if they were identical and I'm pleased to say that all 3 of them are different enough to not be called dupes of one another.
Rivière is lighter and cooler while Periwinkle Cardinal is a tad darker compared to Jade Shore.

Swatches from L to R:

Chanel Jade Shore - Chanel Rivière -

Rouge Bunny Rouge Periwinkle Cardinal 

The yellow Chanel Inimitable mascara is called 'Zest'  and was quite easy to apply mainly because of the wand that is made from rubber and is designed to give your lashes volume and seperates them at the same time.

A quick look that I did using all 4 of the Chanel eyeshadow crayons and the yellow Inimitable mascara.

The Chanel eyeshadow crayons (limited edition) retail for  $34 USD / 28 EUR each and the Inimitable mascara for $30 USD / 28 EUR and can be purchased an any Chanel counter or online at the Chanel site.

Givenchy Le Rouge #310 Croisière Coral (summer collection 2013)

Givenchy came out with 2 new Le Rouge lipsticks and as a huge fan of these lipsticks, of course I had to check them out.

The one that stood out immediately was #310 Croisière Coral and purchased it without any hesitation.

Givenchy Le Rouge #310 Croisière Coral.

Croisière Coral is a corally pink shade and an absolute stunner in this collection. The other Le Rouge lipstick in the summer collection was Croisière Fushia and as the name already suggests, it's a fushia colour with a hint of pink in it.

As you can see, instead of the regular black leather case, the lipsticks in this collection both have a white packaging which is the only thing they changed.

Texture is creamy with a silicony feel to it without being slippery on the lips. Someone mentionned before that it's quite simular to the Addiction cheek sticks in terms of texture and I have to agree.

For those who have very dry lips, a balm underneath will definitely help to make this lipstick go on smoother. Quite long lasting and not drying on the lips whatsoever.

Some comparision swatches to see if they are any dupes out there and as you can see on the picture, I don't have a shade like Croisière Coral in my stash yet so this lipstick will fill that niche perfectly.

From L to R:

Hourglass Muse - Nars Lodhi - Givenchy Croisière Coral -

Paul&Joe Merry-Go-Around - Lancome Corset

lipswatch of Givenchy #310 Croisère Coral

The Givenchy Le Rouge lipsticks retail for $36 USD / 34,50 EUR and can be purchased at any Givenchy counter.