Sonia Rykiel reviews and FOTD -- part 1

As I said in my haul post, Sonia Rykiel is the best brand I've 'discovered' this year. Their foundations usually come in a very pale shade (10 is around NC10) and their eyeshadow quads are wonderful, with a mix of shades and textures that work beautifully together and look more complex on the skin than in the pan.

All swatches are one-swipe made with the included sponge applicators, onto bare arm.

natural light, shade

natural light, full sun

 artificial light+flash

Shades in 03:
1. Olive with sparse cool gold micro-shimmer, v pigmented metallic finish
2. Gunmetal with silver micro-shimmer, pigmented metallic finish
3. Bright pastel Paris green with silvery-blue micro-shimmer, semi-sheer satin finish
4. Silver-grey shimmer, medium pigment.

Shades in 08:
1. Cool grey base with sparse Prussian blue and silver shimmer, v pigmented metallic finish
2. Cadbury's blurple with brighter blue shimmer, pigmented satin finish
3. Palest blue/ green iridescent sheer shimmer
4. Light grey with sky-blue shimmer, pigmented satin finish.

All shades layer beautifully for even more complexity. Although these are somewhat 'dry' to the touch (more akin to Burberry than a creamy RBR or old-school Stila), they are also very silky and the tightly-pressed pigment makes it easy to pick up colour with the softest brushes. The dryness also contributes to their impressive lasting power: even in extreme heat and humidity, they wear perfectly all day without creasing or fading.

Ingredients

Sublime lipstick 02, one layer on the left (so the jelly-finish and pink tones are more obvious) and three layers on the right (built up to a cool cherry red, it retains that translucency.) It stays glossy on the lips over at least five hours and fades evenly, leaving a pinky-red stain behind even at the end of a twelve-hour day. It lives up to my by-now high expectations for the line and I will definitely be heading back for more of these faintly rose-scented beauties.

natural light

Ingredients:

Finally, a boring FOTD using quad 08 and one sheer layer of the lipstick 02 (this is my 'y so early?' face).

Shade 4 as a base, 3 on inner half of lid (I think this pic captured the green flash better than my swatches), 2 on outer half of upper lid and lower lashline, shade 1 to line both lashlines.

An FOTD using the green quad and a review of the Sonia Rykiel cream foundation in 10 received as a very generous gift are still to come.