Suqqu Eyeliner Creamy in Black (02)

Suqqu's eyeliner creamy, or rather creamy eyeliner, has one of the nicest eyeliner-in-a-pot consistency I have ever come across so far. It is not too hard and not too soft - just creamy effortless eyeliner perfection. I also like that these type of eyeliners give the option of creating a much softer line than their liquid counterparts. One can gently glide the eyeliner across the eyelid without any tugging or dragging. Suqqu's eyeliner is also waterproof and lasts well with literally no fading or smudging of the corners which, in my experience, typically wear away first. However those with extremely oily eyelids like mine may find some feathering of a crisp line after a long day.

The overall packaging is, as Suqqu always is, absolutely fantastic. The whole thing is presented in a deceptively large black box with a black plastic mold that snugly holds the frosted glass screw top jar and accompanying retractable brush. The brush is phenomenal, and, in my opinion, justifies the otherwise high retail price of the whole ensemble.

Price: £22/3.3g

Ingredients: Isododecane, Trifluoropropyldimethyl/Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Cyclomethicone, Polyethene, Phenyl Trimethicone, Barium Sulfate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Silica, Phenoxyethanol [+/- May Contain: CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499]

Shu Uemura Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil

Along side the Suqqu Liquid Brow Pen (review here), the Shu Uemura Hard 9 pencil is another brow product I absolutely adore. The pencil itself isn't particularly special or unique in my opinion - it is a brow pencil like any other - but their shades, though limited, are wonderfully versatile and will work for a wide range of people. Stone Gray is perfect for those with black hair like myself, and I love that I can create very full brows that never looks overwhelming or unnatural. I still rely on my Suqqu Brow Pen for smudge free brows in hot humid days - not that there are many in the UK - but this is an absolutely staple for the rest of the year.

Price: £15.50/4g

Ingredients: Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Stearic Acid, Cera Microcristallina / Microcrystalline Wax, Candelilla Cera / Candelilla Wax, Carnauba / Carnauba Wax , Rhus Succedanea / Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax , Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Oil [+/- May Contain: Mica, CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499 / Iron Oxides, CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide]

Suqqu Eyebrow Liquid Pen in 01 Green

My biggest beauty dilemma has always been figuring out what to use on my eyebrows, but there are so many brow products available nowadays that it is not too difficult to find one or two that would be suitable. I have black hair and so colour wise I find Asian brands make brow products that suit me best. My all time favourite is the Eyebrow Liquid Pen by Suqqu, and my love for this product stems from the fact that it doesn't easily rub off like most pencils and powders. My mother who - thanks to an eye lift - is missing the tail of her brows is also an avid user of this pen. There are only two colours available: 01 Green which is ideal for those with cool toned hair (ie black), and 02 Brown which will be perfect for pretty much everyone else. Initially the colour payoff is super sheer, almost worryingly so, but with enough patience the intensity can be built, and most importantly it always looks natural. My only complaint, which my mother also shares, is that it can take a little too long to build up the opacity to suit our tastes. Most pencils requires a few strokes to get the job done, but this needs a lot more to give a similar effect. Not exactly the sort of thing one has patience for at six in the morning, but short of tattooing them on, this is the next best thing in terms of durability.

Price: £18/0.7ml

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Ammonium Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Diethylhexyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate, Alcohol, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Soluble Collagen, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Proplyparaben [May Contain +/-: CI 42090, CI 17200, CI 19140]


My eyebrows in their virgin state... after a pair of tweezers of course. They are not as neat as they could be perhaps, but sculpted eyebrows require way too much maintenance for me.


My eyeglasses partially obstruct my eyebrows anyway so I can get away with a lot but this is how dark I typically go


... and just to show it can be built up more heavily for Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth-esque eyebrows.

H&M Give Me That Special Glow Eye Shadow Palette

After my underwhelming experience with two of these eye shadow quads by H&M (here) I wanted to experiment with a more colourful palette before I write them off completely. Honestly speaking I think the quality of the shadows in Give Me That Special Glow were even poorer than the ones in the two neutral palettes I reviewed before - such a shame really because I love the colour combination (a shimmery off white, a warm golden orange, a bright aqua blue, a deep gunmetal brown). I absolutely adore the darkest shade, and it reminded me of Urban Decay's Darkhorse shadow from the Naked palette (review here) but when I actually swatched the two side by side, this was much lighter and almost looked like a taupe in comparison. It is so stunning, and I am currently on a mission to find a better quality dupe for it.

Price: £2.99/6g

Ingredients: Mica, Talc, Nylon-12, Dimethicone, Magnesium Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Bis-diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Cetyl Dimethicone, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract [+/- May Contain: CI 77891, CI 77742, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77007)




...and here is photographic proof of me testing all the shades. I had no intention of leaving the house so I amateurishly whacked all four shades together, but I wouldn't usually wear this much colour many shadows at the same time. Primed my eyelids with Urban Decay's Primer Potion first and applied all the shadows using a sponge tip. Some of you may now be recoiling in horror but trust me when I say that a normal eye shadow brush would not pick up pigment.

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Eye Intensifier Eye Shadow

For one reason or another, I never got round to posting the review I had originally typed up for these eye shadows back in April. Having never been tempted by L'Oreal in the eye shadow department, I was extremely surprised by the quality of the product when I first picked one up. The texture was good, the pigmentation was good, and I liked the overall variety colours within the range. Now that I have had amassed a few in my collection, they're not quite as impressive as I initially believed. They're not as soft as I remember, and quite a few of the shades are on the glittery side (thus prone to fall out). The colour payoff is still good, not as richly pigmented as other brands (ie Urban Decay) but very much buildable. Eye Intensifiers are not bad eye shadows by any means, certainly not the worst I have tried, but unless there's a particular shade which catches my eyes, I wouldn't rush out to buy more.

Price: £5.99

Ingredients: Talc, Calcium Aluminium Borosilicate, Mineral Oil, Magnesium Stearate, Castor Seed Oil, Oleyl Alcohol, Silica, Isopropyl Myristate, Lanolin Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben, Microcrystalline Wax, Paraffin, Methylparaben, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Tin Oxide, Ethylparaben, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-DI-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Alumina, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Polyurethane-11, Various Colours.

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» Pink 222 (Blue Eyes) is a pale cool toned icy pink with a pearly sheen (Pearlescent).

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» Brown 282 (Blue Eyes) is a bright orange with gold shimmer (Shimmer).

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» Brown 284 (Blue Eyes) is a warm taupey brown with golden shimmer (Shimmer).

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» Violet 360 (Green Eyes) is a cool toned violet (Matte/Semi-Satin).

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» Brown 380 (Green Eyes) is a light mushroomy pink with shimmer (Shimmer).

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» Nude 511 (Brown Eyes) is a pale warm toned pink with a pearl sheen (Pearlescent).

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» Blue 552 (Brown Eyes) is a dark shimmery blue with dark grey undertones (Shimmer).

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» Brown 581 (Brown Eyes) is a cool toned copper brown with shimmer (Shimmer).

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» Green 640 (Dark Eyes) is a pale mint green with shimmer (Shimmer).

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» Grey 670 (Dark Eyes) is a shimmery silver (Shimmer).

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Like the Studio Secrets Lipsticks, the eye shadows are separated into four different categories according to eye colour - blue, green, brown and dark - with 4 different shades in each that compliment the particular eye colour. I wouldn't adhere within my own category consciously, but I think L'Oreal has chosen well in this case. There are definitely shades from the others that I wouldn't be able to pull off in a million years (Brown 282, a bright orange with shimmer, intended for blue eyes) and I would saved a lot more money by just sticking with the colours that have been 'designed' to suit my particular eye colour. As for the eye shadow finishes, according to the Boots website there are three or four different ones, and I have tried my best to sort them out, but please note I don't know whether they are 100% correct.

H&M Eye Shadows

H&M has a fairly extensive range of makeup products, and to my knowledge, one of the first fashion stores to come out with their own beauty line. Other than the nail polishes, I haven’t tried many of their products as the cheapness is somewhat off putting but I picked up two neutral eye shadow palettes to try and see if they were worth mentioning. In The Dark (cool palette above) and Biscotti Dreams (warm palette below) are both shimmery palettes, but the shimmers are virtually nonexistent in many of the individual shades, and the ones that do are on the chunky side. They have decent smoothness, and decent softness, but it is a little bit on the powdery side if I'm being really picky about the texture. The sheer pigmentation is a little bit more disappointing, but I do own more expensive shadows that are sheerer still. These are buildable, but an eye shadow base is absolutely necessary here.

My main criticism is the lack of diversity between the shades, and as a result, only one look can be created from each palette. The sheerness will be off putting to many, and particularly those with darker skintones as these shades will truly struggle to show. Good for those in search of shades for a wearable look to work or school, but perhaps not worth bothering with for serious eye shadow consumers.

Price: £2.99/6g

Ingredients: Mica, Talc, Nylon-12, Dimethicone, Magnesium Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Bis-diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Cetyl Dimethicone, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract [+/- May Contain: CI 77891, CI 77742, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77007)