Estee Lauder Spring 2011 Wild Violet eyeshadow palette

After writing I was interested in the Estee Lauder Spring 2011 collection, I was fortunate to be sent some items from the collection to try. The Wild Violet eyeshadow palette was the item I was most interested in, and I have been impressed with the quality of the eyeshadows and the colour combination. The colours are:

1. sparkly oyster beige (semi sheer)
2. slightly warm mid-brown shimmer
3. sparkly bronze (semi-sheer)
4. cool brown/taupe shimmer
5. deep violet shimmer with subtle sparkle

Swatched:

Applied. Taupe (4) on my lid, mid brown (2) in crease, oyster (1) underneath brow, bronze (3) patted on to middle of mobile lid, smoky violet (5) to line the eye.

The shimmer shades are very well-pigmented and apply and blend easily. They are not quite as fine-textured as Suqqu or Guerlain palette shimmer shades, but they are easier to build up colour and apply in a hurry. I would prefer it if the oyster was a semi-matte or satin texture, as then it could be used as a base shade as well as a highlight, but that's a matter of personal taste. I prefer mixing matte/satin textures with shimmer shades, instead of all out shimmer, and I prefer a satin colour on my brow bone. 

As I was swatching the colours it occurred to me that the colour combination seemed quite similar to the Suqqu Blend Colour Eyeshadow 06 Ginbudo, so I took a picture of the two together. The differences are more apparent when placed side by side; the Suqqu palette is much cooler toned, and the white and dark plum shades are both matte. The gold accent colour is similar in texture to the bronze in the Estee Lauder palette, but the taupe/grey in the Suqqu palette is less pigmented (although a finer texture) than the two brown/taupe shades in the Estee Lauder palette.

In conclusion, this is a very wearable palette and a nice way to inject a touch of colour for Spring. The Wild Violet collection is currently exclusive to Selfridges, but rolls out to other Estee Lauder counters in February.

Disclosure: Estee Lauder palette was sent without charge by the PR officer for the brand.

Lush Caca Brun review

I mentioned in a previous post that last weekend I dyed my hair with the Lush herbal hair colour, Caca Brun. Caca Brun is a mixture of Henna and Indigo (a blue dye), with coffee grinds and clove essential oil in a cocoa butter base. It also has a bit of nettle and moss powder in it, but importantly no metallic salts (metallic salts are the additives sometimes used to change henna colour results that can give weird results if you attempt to re-dye the hair after using them).

As I have long hair, I used all six blocks. I could probably have gotten away with four, and I was struggling to slop the last of it on my hair by the end.

I read quite a few reviews on the Caca before using it, and the consensus seemed to be that it applies better if you grate/bash the blocks up before adding hot water to melt. I double bagged it and then bashed it into a crumbly powder with a rolling pin, a block at a time, before adding boiling water to melt into a green swamp-paste. Getting the texture right is the hardest bit - too runny and it'll be running down your face constantly, too thick and it'll be impossible to apply. I settled for something like the texture of very thick royal icing. I also added about a quarter of a cup (100ml or so) of cider vinegar, as apparently this helps to cover greys and to release the henna dye. Don't use any metal implements - I used a plastic bowl and an old wooden spoon to mix.

I let it sit in a warm place for an hour or so for the dye to develop, then warmed the mixture again in the bowl over a pan of hot water. You want it as warm as you can comfortably bear. I then proceeded to slop it on my dry hair, starting with the roots in sections, and finishing by glopping it on my ends and working it in like a (swamp) shampoo. I used a bit of barrier cream around my hairline and on my ears before applying to prevent dyed skin/ears (I used Lush Ultrabalm, but any grease-based ointment/balm would do).

Yes, it's green. It smells of hay/cloves too.

Lush say you can wrap it in clingfilm for a redder look or leave unwrapped to make it browner. Frankly, with my long hair it was far too messy to leave it unwrapped, so I clingfilmed it up.

The biggest complaint I'd heard about Caca Brun is that it doesn't have much of an effect on the hair, and the people who seemed to get the best result from it tended to have left it on for a really long time. I left it on for five hours, with Mr London on drip-spotting-and-wiping duty (he was rubbish at it - quite often I'd only discover I had green goo running down my face when I rested my chin on my hands). Wear old clothes and don't go anywhere near upholstery if you henna your hair.

Finally, I washed it out. I ran a sink of warm water and dunked my head in, working my hair with my hands to get the swamp slime out. The cocoa butter is more difficult to remove than the henna; I used a thin, silicone-free conditioner in copious amounts to dissolve the cocoa butter (like conditioner-washing). I used the 3 More Inches pre-wash treatment which I haven't yet used up, but something like Original Source conditioner would work (and would be a lot cheaper). I then rinsed and rinsed again, until all the swamp residue was out.

I didn't do an actual shampoo with shampoo and conditioner until the following day, as I read that henna continues to develop even after being removed from the hair. Before using the Caca Brun the ends of my hair had faded to a slightly brassy light brown (I hadn't had it dyed since the summer) and I'm much happier with the colour now, which is a rich, even, glossy chocolate brown which shines red in sunlight. These pictures were taken yesterday, a week after applying the Lush Caca Brun, and after three washes.

No lipstick in this picture - hence disappearing lips!

Apologies - could've brushed it before taking a picture.

I'd certainly use henna/indigo to colour my hair again, although I think I might go for a henna/indigo mix without cocoa butter from somewhere like www.henna-boy.co.uk instead of the Lush Caca.

Gosh Velvet Touch Eyeliners in Truly Brown and Pure Natural

Gosh Velvet Touch eyeliner pencils get a lot of positive reviews, and deservedly so. They cost £5 each, they come in a wide variety of colours (including some very good neutrals) and they wear like iron.

Truly Brown is a neutral dark brown, and Pure Natural is a (darkish) beige.

Swatched. Pure Natural is a hair too dark for me to use to brighten my waterline, but it works well for me to add a little natural shadow underneath my lower lashes - I don't like the look of heavy eyeliner underneath my lower lashes, but sometimes it can look unbalanced to me to leave them completely bare. Pure Natural is also an excellent shade to use on the eyelid as a base for powder eyeshadow, although you do have to work quite quickly to blend it over the lid before it sets.

Truly Brown on upper lashline, Pure Natural underneath lower lashes. The Pure Natural is subtle (and shows up even less in a photo) but I do feel like it balances the overall eye look.

Gosh Velvet Touch eyeliners are sold in Superdrug chemists, and if you are visiting the UK or doing a swap with a UK friend they are one of the things I'd recommend picking up.

Lancome GWP from 01 February 2011

Lancome has a 5 piece gift with purchase launching on 01 February with the purchase of two items. There is a choice of two lip colours, a choice of two face creams, a Hypnose Precious Cells mascara, Bi-Facil cleanser and a Genifique serum. Lancome GWP sizes are usually quite generous, and a good way to try the more expensive serums and creams from the line (I also like that Lancome puts popular products in their GWPs, and not just stuff that nobody buys).

On the other side of the flyer is the image for the Lancome Spring 2011 collection. I'm not sure about the lavender eyes, but I do like the nail polish.

Caudalie Premier Cru The Eye Cream - initial thoughts review

The Eye Cream is the new companion piece to the popular Premier Cru face cream from Caudalie. I've been using the cream for a couple of weeks now (since it was sent to me by the PR officer for the brand) so I thought I'd do a quick initial thoughts post for anyone who is currently considering buying it. I will write a full review after another month's use.

The Premier Cru Eye Cream claims to be able to target dark circles, age spots, wrinkles, puffiness and loss of elasticity. In line with the rest of the Caudalie line, the active ingredients are based around grape/vine extracts - grapevine resveratrol to rejuvenate the skin, viniferine from wine sap to brighten dark spots by regulating melanin production and antioxidant grape-seed polyphenols to help prevent future damage. It also contains moisturising ingredients including avocado butter and hyaluronic acid, and caffeine and peptides to combat puffiness and dark circles. Like other Caudalie products, it does not contain parabens or mineral oil.

It's a shame this wasn't available following my pregnancy with Miss L, because I had quite bad dark spots at the top of my cheekbones/orbital socket then due to hormones. Those have all faded now, due to diligent use of sunscreen and treatment products. I will be interested to see if this does have any effect on my dark circles; so far, the only thing that really works on those is a good concealer.

Anyway, these are my thoughts so far:

• The pump mechanism is very sensitive, enabling you to dispense only half (or less) of a pump, so there is no wastage of product. 
• The cream sinks in quickly, leaving no residue on the skin's surface. The texture is pleasant to use and does not feel greasy or silicone-slippery. It works well under concealer.
• It moisturises effectively; fine lines are smoothed on application, and my eyes don't feel dry by the end of the day or when I wake up in the morning. 
• It does have a scent. It's described as a delicate oak rose scent, and it smells like an Annick Goutal Rose Eye Balm I used to use. It doesn't bother me and it does dissipate quickly.
• The brightening effect from the pearlised particles is very subtle indeed. I'm quite glad about this, as the one thing I'm not so keen on with the Sarah Chapman Eye Recovery I typically use is the shimmer particles. 

Sarah Chapman Eye Recovery (left) Premier Cru The Eye Cream (right), blobs applied, smoothed out and then blended in.

Caudalie Premier Cru Eye Cream is available from SpaceNK and Selfridges. 

Disclosure: product was provided without charge as PR sample. 

A Trollbeads Bracelet for Spring

It's not really even close to Spring yet, but I received a couple of nice flowery trollbeads for Christmas (and bought a couple more with Christmas money) so I've put together a flower/green bracelet combination. It's nice to look at something cheery in the gloomy weather.

Beads are (from left to right) stopper, lucky knot, pale green jade (limited edition), white snake (limited edition), christmas in Hawaii bead 1 (limited edition), Midgard serpent, rose, turquoise feather, three frogs, antique flower, angles triangles, buttercup, silver trace green-turquoise, viking, christmas in Hawaii bead 2 (limited edition), bee on hive, purple flower mosaic, stopper.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Deliquesce Make-up Melt Cleanser review

Rouge Bunny Rouge is one of my absolute favourite cosmetic brands, so I was very interested in having a go with the Deliquesce cleanser when the folks at Zuneta sent it to me to try out.

This cleanser has a fondant-like texture and is extremely good for facial massage; the rich texture allows me to work my skin and muscles without friction (thus avoids pinching my face) and it smells beautiful (a soft herbal/eucalyptus blend). It's also a very effective make-up remover and cleanser; this was my preferred cleanser for thoroughly removing the Dr Sebagh sun protection cream I reviewed last week, and it takes off heavy eye make-up without irritating or tugging my eyes.

To use, I apply about a 5 pence piece sized blob to my dry face and then massage it in thoroughly. I apply another blob (same size) to my neck and massage, and then add water to my face and neck to emulsify the cleanser. I remove with the muslin cloth provided (dampened in warm water) or with a Liz Earle muslin (I have a stack of these, which I love). Finally, I rinse my face with warm water, finishing with a splash of cool water. 

I do think that the amount (50g) is not particularly generous for the price (£46), and makes it one of the more expensive balm cleansers. For my normal-to-dry skin, there are other less expensive balm cleansers that suit my skin for regular use, and I am using the Rouge Bunny Rouge for a weekly treatment/massage cleanse, for the odd nights when I have a lot of eye make-up to remove, or for nights when I'm completely exhausted (I can cleanse with this and not have to bother with moisturiser afterwards). An extremely dry skin might consider the softening qualities worth the extra expense and use more regularly.

Summary - very effective cleanser, smells lovely, leaves skin feeling soft. Expensive for the amount of product. Like all Rouge Bunny Rouge, gorgeous packaging. Available from www.zuneta.com here.

Ingredients:

Disclosure: product was provided without charge. As usual, link is not an affiliate link.

Supplements to support hair growth (and joints!)

I was recently discussing the Nourkrin brand supplement with people on Twitter. Nourkrin is a supplement that claims to help to reduce hair thinning and support hair growth.

The Nourkrin packaging and website states that it is a 'marine based extract of proteins and polysaccharides' with silica and acerola cherry. The Boots website identifies the key ingredient as marine cartilage, which contains glucosamine. It's quite expensive at £40 for 60 tablets.

I take a supplement to support my joints because of the type of exercise I do, which also contains glucosamine, and mine costs £10 for 30 capsules. I buy a branded formulation; generic glucosamine supplements are available at a lower price than this.

Boots (and other pharmacies and health food shops) also sell silica tablets. I bought this one to try (it's £7 for 30 tablets, and I take one a day).

As I said, I have taken the Joint Care for a few years primarily for my joints, but thinking about it now I do think my hair may be fuller than it was before I started taking it. If you are interested in hair supplements, there are alternatives to Nourkrin which may be worth exploring if the price of the Nourkrin is prohibitive. (Although the two supplements I take cost £17 for 30 of each, so would work out at £34 if I took two of each a day - which I don't).

Talking about hair, I hennaed/indigoed my hair with Lush Caca Brun today (despite the threat of a Twitter lynching for thinking about using it!) Mr and Miss London are a little disappointed it hasn't turned green. It has definitely had an effect on my hair, and I will be posting a full review of the process soon.

FitFlop Short Superboot

I saw a preview of the FitFlop Autumn/Winter collection late last summer, but was never sent the pair that the PR promised to. As sending more than one 'Hey, where's my free stuff?' email seems somewhat inelegant to me I didn't chase it up, but I was impressed enough by what I saw at the preview to buy a pair of boots myself when FitFlop reduced them in price after Christmas.

I didn't buy these for the bottom/leg toning claims; I am sure that three or four hours of karate a week do more for my thighs than special soles can. I bought them because I have very high foot arches and as a consequence my feet, knees and back often ache after a long day. The FitFlop boots are the most comfortable shoes/boots I have ever worn, I haven't had any backache or foot/knee pain since I've been wearing them.

The leather Short Superboot looks a bit like a biker boot. It's not a very feminine style, but I quite like that. I like them best with skinny jeans or tights and a casual skirt/dress; I've worn them underneath bootcut trousers, and they do look a bit orthopaedic worn that way.

I bought mine from www.fitflop.com, which still has them available at 30% off. Even with the discount they aren't particularly inexpensive at £87.50, but I would recommend them for anyone who walks long distances or is on their feet for prolonged periods.

Dr Sebagh Sun-City Protection SPF 30

I was sent this Dr Sebagh sunscreen to try a couple of months ago. Instead of being sent a full size product I was sent a heap of samples; more than enough to try the sunscreen for a month or more, and I still have a few left.

Ingredients: It's a physical sunscreen with Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide providing protection, in a mostly silicone base.

Texture: it's a thickish white cream. 

Immediately after being rubbed in. This is the full amount shown above, which is more than I'd usually apply on a surface area the size of the back of my hand (it's enough for my face, although I'd need more to do my neck). Immediately after applying, the sunscreen does leave a sheen, although it does not leave a white cast on my skin.

After a couple of minutes, it dries to a matte finish. With a normal amount applied to my face, it's more matte than the finish in this photo.

The other hand, without sunscreen, for comparison.

The Dr Sebagh gives a very matte finish; it's actually too matte for my skin in the winter and I found my skin was a bit dry on my forehead and cheeks by the end of the day, even with moisturiser layered underneath. I also found that I had to cleanse very carefully to remove it all; it required a thorough massage with a balm or oil cleanser to remove it. 

Summary: this isn't for me for everyday use, but an oilier skin might get on very well with it. I'd use in high summer if I was going to be outside a lot on any particular day, but for everyday summer use with only incidental sun exposure I will stick with the Chantecaille Firming Sun Cream. 

Dr Sebagh is available at Selfridges and Space NK. 

Disclosure: samples provided by PR for brand without charge. 

rms Beauty Living Luminizer

rms Beauty Living Luminizer was another product I received as a Christmas present this year, and it has immediately joined its stable mate, 'Un' Cover-Up in the ranks of 'products that live in my everyday make-up bag.'

The texture of this highlighter is brilliant - it feels nourishing and like the other rms Beauty products it melds seamlessly with the skin. If you don't like the feel of most silicone-heavy liquid highlighters this would be a good one to consider, and the balm texture makes it easy to control the positioning of the highlight. I most often apply it in a C shape from my cheekbones to my temple, and a little on the bridge of my nose.

Swatched on my hand. It's applied neat at the top of the swatch and blended out at the bottom. It gives a lovely soft pearly gleam to the skin with no glitter or gaudiness. It's just off-white, so is less stark than a pure white highlight.

Ingredients:

A maverick beauty blog that's well worth a read

Beautyandthebullshit.blogspot.com (the writer does like to call a spade a spade) is written by ex-beauty insider Rowena, who was a manager for a global make-up brand.

She dishes the dirt on why your favourite product gets discontinued, why mascaras never work the way they claim to and how the beauty industry manipulates you to make you buy more. This is all stuff my logical brain knows, but my 'la la la, not listening...' impulse tries to make me ignore.

Seriously, this is something I have been thinking about for a while. BatB recommends blogs as a good source of impartial reviews, but the brands have definitely cottoned on to blogs as potential influencers, and I'm a little uncomfortable with the way that the beauty blogging world is going in this regard currently. On the one hand, PR samples enable bloggers to write about more products, but on the other, if there isn't full disclosure it gives a false view of what the actual (consumer) purchase of products is, and leads the reader to believe that it's normal to buy every single product from every launch. (See? There's that manipulating you to buy more).

I do accept PR samples for this blog if it is something I'd have bought for myself, and I do always disclose PR samples. I am quite consciously buying less colour cosmetic products myself, and so it is likely that I will be posting less often going forward. I also believe that the smaller brands I like do tend to deal more ethically with the consumer.

Nails Inc/ Diet Coke Caramel comparison pictures

I know you've probably seen/will see the Nails Inc/Diet Coke nail polishes on a lot of blogs, but I thought I'd do a quick comparison post with Nails Inc London from last year's Diet Coke giveaway and Nubar Sandstone, which is my favourite nude nail polish.

Caramel (left on picture, on my ring finger) is a cream texture, and more yellow beige than London (middle finger) which has a definite mauve tone to it (also cream texture). Nubar Sandstone (right, index finger) is paler, more of a grey toned beige, and has a subtle pearlescent pink glow.

pictured left to right: Nubar Sandstone, Nails Inc London, Nails Inc Caramel.

I don't much like Caramel on me. It's the closest to my skintone out of the three polishes pictured, so if you're a pale yellow/olive skintone looking for a mannequin nail polish colour it's got potential, but I think it just makes me look jaundiced.

Caramel (and three other shades, I want the blue one) are available at Boots, free with the purchase of two 500ml bottles of Diet Coke.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume GreenWitch review

I have wanted GreenWitch ever since I read the reviews of it on Scent Hive and The Non-Blonde back in March last year when it was first released. Mr London kindly gifted me a vial of the perfume as one of my Christmas presents (in the interests of full disclosure, there had been some pretty heavy hinting on my part).

When I first apply GreenWitch I get a blast of fresh, wet seaweed, but then like a slippery, silvery fish the fragrance disappears completely into my skin for about 10 minutes. However hard I sniff it blends completely into my own natural skin-scent and I have to resist the temptation to apply a bit more, because after about 10 minutes, the fragrance suddenly blooms.

It blooms beautifully. This is a classic chypre blending a fresh bergamot top-note, elegant floral heart and a primarily mossy base, with a salty seaweed chord flitting in and out of the other notes. My skin absolutely loves salty fragrances, and on me personally it is much more sea than beach. This perfume is the answer to anyone who thinks that natural fragrances are clunky or basic; GreenWitch would hold its own and beat off any Big Perfume House scent.

I've tried a few of Illuminated Perfume's beautiful fragrances, and while I've loved all of them, GreenWitch feels the most 'me'. It's not too girly (a man could wear this) and it is elegant and unusual without being weird. GreenWitch isn't a heavy perfume and wears quite closely to the skin, but the addition of a little africa stone (fossilised hyrax poo) to the blend adds real depth and longevity to the fragrance.

This fragrance deserves all the praise it receives, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It is available on the Illuminated Perfume Etsy shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop/IlluminatedPerfume.

Mine is the 1ml vial - this is the perfume extract, so you don't need much of it and a 1ml vial of Illuminated Perfume's liquid perfumes typically lasts me a month or two of daily application (I like to reapply before bed quite often, so I smell nice as I drift to sleep). At the moment, GreenWitch is only available as a liquid fragrance, but Roxana Villa has indicated that a solid version may be coming this year.

Bobbi Brown Desert Rose Blush

Desert Rose is one of the paler, pinker neutral blushes from Bobbi Brown. I find Tawny (one of the most popular original neutral Bobbi Brown blushes) is too dark and goes a little orange on my skin, likewise Sand Pink gives me a bit too much colour for me to consider it a neutral. Desert Rose is just right. There is absolutely no shimmer or sheen to this blush, the texture is a soft and forgiving matte.

My one is in the old style, round packaging. These now come in square pans that work with the Bobbi Brown palette system. From a look at the counter, the colour and formula of the blush appears to be exactly the same to me.

Swatch: BB Desert Rose top, Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata below for comparison.

Desert Rose is more pink and does give more of a rose tone. I have swatched it quite heavily here; applied normally it gives subtle colour to my pale (but not porcelain) skin.

If you don't like to buy online or if you would prefer a more well-known brand, the Bobbi Brown blushes are an excellent choice, and my favourite of the 'Big Name' brands for blushes. Wearable basic colours are something that Bobbi Brown does very well, which unfortunately seems to have been a bit lost in the recent carousel of limited edition sets and palettes.

I would caution if buying online that the swatches on www.bobbibrown.co.uk don't reflect the true colours of products well on my computer monitor.

Guest Post: Winter Fragrance Combinations with Jo Maloniac

Today I'm pleased to bring you a guest post from Jo Maloniac, who, as you might expect from her pen name, writes a blog devoted to the Jo Malone line and the almost limitless different combinations of its fragrances. If you love Jo Malone, www.jomaloniac.com is well worth a read. 

What makes a fragrance a "Winter" fragrance? Since fragrance is so subjective, the answer will vary with whomever you ask. During the colder months of the year, people generally want to feel warmth and depth in their fragrance. The bolder and more intense fragrances help ease the Winter chill. These include Spicy, Orientals (warming and exotic) and deeper richer Florals. Of course anyone can wear anything and that is why I love fragrance combining with Jo Malone's arc of cologne, so that I can customize my own personal seasonal scent.

This Winter, I have been experimenting with several new favorite combinations. As a rule of thumb, when you fragrance combine with Jo Malone, you should consider spraying the warmer scent on first. Once dry (20 seconds), you can spray the lighter/fresher fragrance on second. This way, you won't smoother the lighter fragrance. After the fragrances dry down a bit, you will be able to smell the aroma you have created. Once you find a combination you love, try experimenting further with two sprays of the first and one of the second scent. Or reverse it by spraying one of the stronger scent and two of the lighter scent. These slight modifications will change the fragrance and tailor it specifically to your preferences. I am including a list of my favorite Winter fragrance combinations below.

Jo Maloniac's Winter Fragrance Combination Suggestions:

Pomegranate Noir and Lime Basil & Mandarin
- A rich, fruity and enigmatic fragrance brightened with herbaceous citrus

Vanilla & Anise and English Pear & Freesia
-A cool, mellow, fruity fragrance warmed with comforting, creamy spices

Black Vetyver Cafe` and Orange Blossom
-A shimmering, heady-floral perfectly partnered with rich, smoky depths

Red Roses and Nutmeg & Ginger
-A voluptuous, clean, sheer rose laced with nutmeg and ginger

154 and Vetyver
-A spicy, aromatic, woody fragrance intensified with fresh fruits and herbs

The world of Jo Malone has endless possibilities, just dive in and give fragrance combining a try.  You just might find the perfect scent combination that is all your own. To learn more about Jo Malone fragrance combining, visit my site, www.jomaloniac.com.

Happy combining!

Suqqu Eyeliner Creamy pictures and swatches

These are Suqqu's version of gel eyeliners, and although I generally prefer using a pencil eyeliner if I'm in a hurry (it's quicker and gives a softer line) I think the Suqqu gel liners are the best of their kind I've tried (I've also used those by MAC and Bobbi Brown). They also have the advantage of being packaged with a retractable eyeliner brush which applies the liner well enough that I don't use any other brush with them. Like most gel eyeliners, these don't budge at all until you remove them.

Eyeliner Creamy are £22 for 2.7g (including brush). I bought mine from Selfridges, Suqqu is also available online from www.dollyleo.co.uk.

01 Green. Dark forest green, with warm green/gold shimmer. From Moss Monochrome Autumn 2007, slightly drier than eyeliner creamy colours released with Hidden Beni Autumn 2008 collection.

03 Jet Bordeaux. From Autumn 2008, appears lighter in this picture due to sunlight (to show the shimmer), applies as a soft black with subtle red/purple shimmer.

04 Brown. From Autumn 2008, the shade I reach for most often. Neutral deep brown, with subtle warm brown shimmer.

05 Green Blue. From Autumn 2008, cool dark green with cool green/blue shimmer. I bought this to wear with the couple of blue eyeshadows I've bought from Suqqu, and as I very rarely wear those I don't reach for this liner very often either. I prefer the colour of 01 Green.

The other colour available is 02 Black, released in Autumn 2007. 

Swatched left to right 01, 03, 04 and 05, with Bobbi Brown Sepia Gel Eyeliner underneath for comparison. In my experience, the Suqqu shades have a creamier texture and are easier to apply than the Bobbi Brown gel liner that I own.