Beauty File: So Susan Cosmetics

I'm currently obsessing over a new makeup and product line that I've discovered called So Susan.  I have always been a sucker for packaging.  A pretty box? I'll keep it forever.  I love makeup too, so it's an added bonus that the So Susan line comes packaged in adorable illustrated boxes (some with gold lettering and illustrated macaroons - so cute!).

I got to test drive some fun makeup from the line.  Below I'm showing you the products and  swatches.

Below, I have swatched and reviewed the Cheek Jelly, Eyeshadow Palette in Midnight Gardens, Lip Dome in Rhubarb Rouge, and the Wonderlight Luminizer in Luminescence. 

Cheek Jelly is described as: a lip and cheek gel stain that tints in a luminous natural wash of color.  I really liked this stain.  I reached for it when I wanted a dewy, flushed look.  It leaves skin with a sheerish pinkish glow, similar to what you get when you're finished working out.  It's buildable and melts into the skin.  As you can see from the initial swatch, it's not a gel consistency at all, but rather, a liquid.  I applied it by putting it onto my finger tip and dabbing three small dots onto my cheeks, then I blended upward until it looked natural.  This retails for $15.

Cheek Jelly, not blended, with a swatch of lip dome in the color Rhubarb Rouge

Cheek Jelly when blended. 

The Wonderlight Luminizer is a two-sided product.  On one side, there is an eye primer that I found a bit difficult to blend. I used it as an under eye concealer, and that did not work at all because I could not blend it in to the skin and it caked.  I then used it as an eyeshadow base, and that  worked really well to grab the pigment (below I have shadow swatches with and without, so that you can see the difference).  The other side of this product is the 'luminizer' that I used as a cheek bone highlight.  I love this product. I applied it the same way as the cheek jelly - by applying three or four dots along my upper cheek bone / under eye area, and then I blend it upward, into my temples.  It gives the prettiest, subtle sheen.  I loved using the cheek jelly and luminzer together.  This retails for $17.95

The next product is the Lip Dome in the color Rhubarb Rouge: this is a chubby lip pencil.  It's fairly pigmented and applies smoothly.  The texture is similar to that of an actual lipstick.  The super round, dome shape on the pencil made it hard to apply around the corners of my mouth.  You could probably use a lip brush to apply it, but that defeats the purpose.  I found that this color was a dupe for the Burt's Bee's lip crayon in Hawaiian Smolder, but the consistency of BB crayon is more of a glossy to matte finish. The So Suasan Lip Dome lasts longer, too.  Lip Domes retail for $12.

Next up: the Liquid Powder Shadow Palette's.  They're described as a one of a kind liquid eyeshadow formulation that is hot-poured, solidified to form a creamy, firm powder.  Infused with radiance boosting minerals.  Vitamin K to alleviate dark circles and Copper Peptide to promote Collagen and Elastin grown around the eye area.  Ok, well, that's a lot to take in...but I couldn't bring myself to love these.  I thought that the color payoff was poor when an eye primer was not used.  Even with a primer, I didn't think they were the best or most pigmented shadows I have tried.  Still, they're a good value for $14.95 and you get a good sized variety packed into a tiny palette.  There were four matte shades and four more creamy, sparkly shades.   The matte shades were the most difficult to work with and I found them to be chalky.  Below are some swatches with and without primer, so that you can see the difference.  I will do a full eye look using these shadows soon.