Enduring Loves: Sonia Rykiel Quatre Eyeshadow 09 and 10 Swatches

It's been a while since I've posted about this brand, but Sonia Rykiel Beauté is still one of my underrated favourites of Japanese makeup. In particular, two of the core eyeshadow quads, 09 and 10, have survived so many stash clear-outs that they now qualify as core items in my wardrobe too and introduce a new series of posts highlighting some of my older favourites: Enduring Loves.

....which I tend not to post about paradoxically because I wear them so frequently, my brain somehow assumes everyone is as familiar with them as I am.... yeah, good job, brain. And with all the sugar I feed you, too. Thanks to a lovely reader email (hi Kathy :D And sorry!) I present Sonia Rykiel 09 and 10 quad swatches! (And if you want me to write about / take pictures of other stuff I've mentioned in passing, please do feel free to administer a gentle kick up the arse.)

09

Clockwise from top left: (colour/finish; texture)

v. pigmented dark brown satin with lime, ruby and sparse cornflower microshimmer; creamy

pigmented taupe satin with sparse silver microshimmer; v. creamy

moderately pigmented metallic rust with lime duochrome; silky

sheer icy blue sparkle with silver and very sparse palest lime notes; silky

natural light, sunny

flash pic to try and pick up some duochrome at bottom right

Swatches are one-swipe with a sponge applicator onto bare arm:

natural light, sunny

different angle, attempt to capture duochrome

slightly fuzzy flash pic to show textural variation

10

Clockwise from top left: (colour/finish; texture)

v. pigmented blackened green satin with lighter green and sparse white gold sparkle; creamy

pigmented warm metallic bronze with subtle cool silvery taupe flash; v. creamy

sheer icy lilac satin; silky

moderately pigmented cool candy pink shimmer with iridescent and white gold sparkle; silky

natural light, sunny

Swatches: one-swipe with sponge applicator onto bare arm

natural light, cloudy

angled

sorry -- yellow bathroom light / flash pic to show texture

It should be obvious why I love these: each shade is complex and in a quad add up to nuanced and inspiring combinations of textures, tones, temperatures and colours. The pigments (especially evident with the pastels) sit on a clear, not white base -- a distinction which Grace London crystallised for me only recently -- which makes them both inherently more flattering on my skin, and perfectly suited to layering for even more intricate effects.