Kose Addiction eyeshadow in Flashback

Today I have a new brand I would like to introduce. Actually, Kose is a familiar brand in Japanese cosmetics. However, their daughter line Addiction by Akaro has been launched since the summer of 2009, so it is rather new.

Although this line looks incredibly sleek and promising, I have not found that much information in English about it online. According to Rougedeluxe it is a line that focusses on City career women, who "who want luxurious couture-like makeup that is simple and effective to use, even in creating dramatic looks" (from rougedeluxe).

That is also the feel I get from their website, that has a NARS-like appearance. I am a bit ambivalent about Kose using a Caucasian woman for their promotion picture, though. I think that a brand that focuses on the Asian public (the website is only in Japanese and not in English) should have picked one of the many gorgeous Asian models.

I agree that this model is suitable for the edgy look, however, I think that a model like Gwen Lu could have been more perfect for this. I mean, I am Caucasian myself, but I do not think that a superblonde woman with typically Caucasian features should represent a Japanese brand.

Ad Campaign: AvantGOD, Fall 2009/Winter 2010. Source: asianmodelsblog.blogspot.com

All right, the website for Kose Addiction reminded me of Nars, the eyeshadow itself looks like a lovechild between Bobbi Brown and Shu Uemura. The indication of eyeshadows in categories such as ME (metallic look), M (Matte), S (Shimmer) and P, something that Shu Uemura does as well. The eyeshadow comes in a similar size as well as Shu Uemura's eyeshadows.

The case is not translucent as Shu Uemura. So this is Bobbi Brown coming in. It is a glossy square compact with the word Addiction written upon it. No reference to Kose.

I was interested in Neverland as well, that looked like a dark-teal smoky colour on the online swatches. I still picked Flashback, as it looked like a wonderful taupe that is always flattering.


Indeed, I received a wonderful taupe colour that is velvety and smooth in application:

For the real taupe lovers, *cough* Pink Sith, know a taupe is not merely a taupe, it can be laced with different dimensions that can make a seemingly safe colour a delight and adventure to wear (sorry, poetic over here).

The taupe of Kose Addiction's Flashback is a taupe with a hint of red laced throughout. It is not so visible in cool daylight:

But this picture with flash shows a tiny bit of red in it. That is fabulous news for the girls with green or blue eyes, as a hint of red has the ability to make eyes pop .

This taupe rocks!!! It has the perfect texture and the right taupiness.

As I mentioned earlier, I have not seen that many swatches on beautyblogs yet. Good news is that Lokolo has made a ton of swatches on her blog (here) of the majority of eyeshadows. Now I am looking for some good swatch pictures of their lipsticks too.

The only website I have found that sells Kose Addiction is mihokoshop.com. I have ordered once from them, and I received my package after a week with EMS, so I am happy about their service so far. Mihoko sells the eyeshadows for $31.