Addiction By Ayako Summer Limited Quad in Soda Lunch

Addiction By Ayako summer 2013 saw the release of 6 quads, two of them being limited. Soda Lunch is one of those limited quads that I just had to have. Since this is beyond ridiculous to get hold of and now OUT OF STOCK, this post is purely for ogling purposes! The dinosaur is so sweet on the front and his look really matches the colours inside. The 3 brightly coloured shades are a matte in theory but go on with a creaminess that defies their 'matteness' - huh! They all have a sheen to them making them a matte, BUT BETTER. The yellow shade is fearless and goes on like a vinyl overlay on my lids. I feel like a manga goddess with thigh high boots when wearing this shade. When I am feeling a little less bold, the teal and purple shades are fun option worn together or alone. I have seen a few awesome blogs where these colours as shown as washes, but I prefer them in all their shocking glory. The white shade I do find a bit stark against my complexion but I a sure I will find an opportunity to use it. I did also purchase two palettes, not limited and still available - Mudd Club and Sugar Rusk, which I will review in time.

Enjoy the view!

A

Addiction By Ayako in Flash Back and Midnight Drive

Addiction By Ayako has an extensive range of single shadows. They are housed in a sleek black compact, with the pan able to be snapped out of it for easy de-potting. They can then be place a variety of compacts that can house a mix of shadow and blushes. When I bought all my Addiction goodies a while back I chose two single shadows - Midnight Drive and Flash Back. I could not quite decide on what to choose, and wanted to try out Addicion shadows as they come hightly recommended by some of my favourite beauty bloggers.

Midnight Drive

Both these colours are a HIT. Midnight drive is a mint green which is a bit dusty, like it has lost its freshness.  Flash Back is your classic taupe, but this formula is creamy and has serious staying power (here are comparisons with other taupes). I can only believe that the other shadows in Addiction stable are just as impressive as these two. Pigmention is incredible and they blend so easily. They look like velvet on the lids. Flash Back is a perfect basic and Midnight Drive a great accent and for highlighting areas of the eye

Flash Back

These to colours paired together are close cousins to Nars Habanero duo, but more subdued. The Midnight Drive equivalent is crisper and the Flash Back one is more of an intense plum. As we know from previous posts the creator of Addiction- Ayako - was an intricate part of the Nars team way back when. I am loving these shadows from Addiction and hope to increase my Addiction collection soon.

They are amongst my favourite in eyeshadows ranking up there with Rouge Bunny Rouge and Tom Ford. Wish they were more easily accessible........

What are you favourite eyeshadow brands?

Hi Friends. I would appreciate it if you could refrain fron including self- promoting links in your comments, as I then have to mark them as spam. I love to hear from you, but can only publish comments that adhere to the above. I am really forward to hearing from you all!

Addiction by Ayako Cheek Stick in Amazing - the name says it all.....

Addiction by Ayako has a multi-purpose cheek stick, not disimilar to Nars Multiples. When buying my Addiction eyeshadows in Flash Back and Mudnight Drive, I also threw the cheek stick in Amazing into my virtual basket. Unlike the Nars Multiple which is a large turn -up flat head bullet (everyone get that?), the cheek stick takes on a lipstick form. I prefer this Addiction size for more precise application and for use on the lips. Never in a million years can I use up the Nars Multiple and I just hope I can use half of it before it goes bad. Back to the Addiction cheek stick - it has an unusual gel-like formula, but slick like a silicone product- whatever it is I LIKE. It looks like a really bright colour, but once buffed into the cheek area exudes a natural flush to my face. There is no glitter or sheen to this product. I really wears well on my oily skin and lasted the entire day.

I apply a small amount to the apple of my cheeks and a little more angled up towards the hairline. I use a stippling or buffing brush (fingers too) to blend it in my skin. The effect is rather seamless, even more so than my lovely Daniel Sandler Watercolour blushes. This is a natural creamy stain for your cheek.

I have also worn this my lips. It is comfortable, long-wearing, non- drying with a semi-matte finish. It comes up as a bubblegum pink and can be worn as a light stain or layered for girly intensity. Sheer with a gloss is cute too.

Addiction By Ayako cheek stick come in 14 shades where every skintone could find a good match.

Hi Friends. I would appreciate it if you could refrain fron including self- promoting links in your comments, as I then have to mark them as spam. I love to hear from you, but can only publish comments that adhere to the above. I am really forward to hearing from you all!

Addiction By Ayako Kohl Eyeliner in Night Dive

Addiction by Ayako is an amazing brand out of Japan and owned by beauty powerhouse Kose. Do not read further if you value your hard earned cash. Addiction is described on the website as "the sense of wanting"- this brand will drive that sense to its limit! The creative mind behind Addiction is Ayako. She was International make-up director for Nars - another of my favourite brands. Addiction has the interesting and surprising colour range of Nars together with the superb texture and quality found in many of the high-end Japanese brands. This makes for a stunning combination.
I bought the Kohl Eyeliner in Night Dive from their Fall 2012 collection, though I think it might become permanent (my japanese is non-existant). Cake Liner like these seem to be a mini trend as Bobbi Brown with be releasing one in an upcoming range. This pan is nice, because it come with two shades -Deep coal black and dark shimmering meridian blue.

This liner reminds me of the makeup of the geisha and how artfully the eye makeup was applied. You can created the same ink black eye with this kohl liner. It works well with an angled eyeliner brush or a thin pointed brush. A pressing motion with the angled brush - MAC 266 - is need to ensure less fallout. But, crisp lines are definitely achievable. A smudged effect can also be obtained. After laying down your line you could use a pencil brush like MAC 219 to soften the edges. It is buildable and an intense sooty line looks amazing.This wore until I took it off and it still looked fresh and precise.

Applied dry

The Kohl liners come in four variants. Addiction by Ayako single pans can be taken out and put in a compact case with other shadows or blushers. Quite creative in that it is one system- you as the customer do not have to have half your makeup in normal packaging and half in refill pans as they all snap out easily- this make it much better in my opinion.  I also bought two eyeshadows in Flash Back and Midnight Drive which will be reviewed soon. I bought my Addiction By Ayako product from Ichibankao.com

I really am enjoying using it and creating new looks with it......... the little devil on my shoulder is bidding me to buy MORE.

Which Japanese brands do you love?

Suqqu Blend Colour Eyeshadow in Tsukiakari EX-07

Suqqu is another reason why my love affair with Japanese makeup has reached fever pitch. I decided to invest in my first Suqqu quad and chose the limited Tsukiakari from the Suqqu Fall /Winter 2012 collection. This palette is a lesson in restraint. Highly pigmented, refined, modern, versatile are the words that come to mind when trying to describe this eyeshadow quad. Let's let the picture do the talking.

*Sigh*

Ok, back to business. The Suqqu quad is housed in a sleek black case with Suqqu lasercut into it. Full size mirror for on the go application and 2 mini, double ended applicators - one with sponge tips, the other with brushes. These have varying lengths and shapes for lining and blending. Suqqu brushes are world renown for excellence and these are a little slice of heaven.

The top left shade is an iridescent pastel salmon pink. The top right is a deep taupe that can be blended out to be quite soft. These two colours layer beautifully together creating a new mauve-toned shade. The addition of the cream shadow is new for this palette. The lower bottom left shade is navy with micro glitter in a slightly lighter blue. The bottom right colur is winter white. The white be used on it's own, just with the navy as a liner. All the shades are buttery in texture and as easy as 1-2-3 to blend.

I have done comparison's of the taupe colour below. You can tell in the swatches that the Suqqu colour is more of a deeper, golden taupe with sparse micro glitter. The Burberry is lighter,  matte and has less mauve. Flash back has more of a grey undertone and has the most metallic quality and gorgeous micro glitter. RBR is most similar to Rosewood but with more iridescence.

L-R Suqqu Taupe, Burberry Rosewood, Addiction Flash back,
Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon

Suqqu Blend Colour eyeshades are silicone and amino-acid coated. These ingrediants are meant to increase wear time and help keep your lids healthy. The Suqqu ethos is to enhance you eye and bring out their natural beauty. This quad does this and more. The navy cream shadow gives this particular suqqu palette a moody edginess.

The Navy cream shadow can be used to line your eye or as an all over base to create a super cool lived- in look with the other shades blended over it. I did a daytime winged eyeshadow look, with the navy on the outer corners winged out slightly. The taupe I pressed into the outer corners as well and pulled it back into the centre of the lid. The pink I patted over the centre on the lid and then blended. You can then go back over the navy with a soft touch to add a bit of intensity. I dragged the navy softly under the lower lashline to bring it all together. Suqqu looked great by the end of the day and I detected no fading.

I bought my suqqu quad from Ichibanko.com. The lovely Kelly was very helpful and the shipping was super fast (I added expedited shipping). You do pay more for the palette, but since many high-end brands where I live have hyped up prices, I felt relatively comfortable doing so. Suqqu is sold through limited vendors throughout the world, and only hope that it becomes more accessible. This is a deluxe, beautifully made product and will be in heavy rotation through the coming months. Now onto pick out my next Suqqu quad.............

Which Suqqu quad is your favourite?