review: suqqu deep nuance eyes ex-05 yakou

My testing experience with SUQQU Deep Nuance Eye in EX-05 Yakou was a bit of an adventure. I’ll get to that in a second, but here’s what you need to know: this is not your typical cream shadow that sets into a powder. Per the PR literature, it contains “a delicate balance of light oil and spherical powder” and “forms a flexible veil over the eyelids that moves with skin”. Reading that made me nervous because I have supremely oily eyelids and pretty much all cream shadows crease on me, but this review wasn’t going to write itself!

First, here’s Yakou in its pristine state. It comes in a little glass pot with a small brush that I found perfect for thick smudgy liner application, but not ideal for full lid coverage.

Yakou is described as a “glittering grey” and it certainly lives up to its name. I had the hardest time trying to photograph it to show its multi-coloured holographic rainbow shimmer, but it was totally worth it because Yakou is a stunner.

I mean, just look at it.

Even better – that sparkle shows up on skin as well. I used the included brush for the heavy liner swatch on the far left and equally heavy but more blended swatch in the middle. You can tell by my single finger swipe on the far right that Yakou is pretty sheer and needs building up if you want more than the barest wash of colour and sparkle (not that that’s a bad thing).

20 minutes after application however, the shadow still had not fully dried down. As you can see, the single layer finger swatch held its own, but anything thicker than that remained very emollient.

On my face, it gave me a grungy, slept-in smokey eye look that I loved. Here’s a darker, more editorial-esque shot to show you the effect, and let’s go ahead and pretend that my frizzy, dishevelled hair was intentional.

I’m not gonna lie: application of this effortless-looking rocker look was not actually effortless. It took several rounds of dabbing to build up a suitably smokey wash of grey on my lids, and when I was finally satisfied enough to move on to my brows, I realised the smokiness was fading at an alarming rate. It was as though my skin was just absorbing the pigment.

In my regular lighting conditions, you can see how sheer and light the colour is. It’s still a cool look, and very daytime appropriate.

I fixed the fading with another layer of Yakou which I then set with translucent powder. But by the time I was done with the rest of my makeup, I noticed tiny creases starting to appear. Cue yet another layer of Yakou, this time followed by a very light layer of Make Up For Ever eyeshadow in M106 (Slate) on top. Thankfully, Slate didn’t dull the pretty sparkles or alter the colour much.

Even with primer underneath and powder shadow on top, this look did crease quite noticeably by the end of the day. I’m not necessarily disappointed, since my expectations for the performance of ALL cream shadows on my uber-oily eyelids are low to begin with, but Yakou is such a gorgeous colour that I genuinely wish it were easier to work with.

I tested Yakou again the next day and did a lot better with the following, less complex application methods:

Left – a single sheer layer applied with my finger and set with translucent powder. As per the swatches at the top of this post, a thin layer seems to be the best way to wear this colour all-over since it sets a lot better than a thick coat.

Right – a smudgy liner applied with the supplied brush, which is probably my favourite way to wear this shadow. I’ve got it over bare lids in these photos, but I have high hopes for it as part of a more polished look with powder shadow underneath.

Knowing SUQQU’s propensity for sheer shimmers, I have a feeling these last two attempts are perfect examples how Deep Nuance Eyes were actually designed to be worn. I’ll be revisiting the liner look for sure, as I think the concentration from brush application really brings out Yakou’s sophisticated sparkle…even if it’s not particularly evident in these photos thanks to an overcast sky. As always I’ll check back in with updated thoughts and findings when I can, but in the meantime if you have any of the Deep Nuance Eye colours, I’d love to hear your tried-and-true way of wearing them.

Pricing and Availability: SUQQU Deep Nuance Eye cream shadows are priced at £22, is currently available at Selfridges, and from August 25th at Fenwicks of Bond St and Harrods.

 

 

These products were provided as press samples, however all opinions and observations are my own and not influenced by the brand or its PR team. This post contains affiliate links.