Nov 7 2010

Review: Canmake Cream Cheek 01 Peach Dream

Following on from my post of Canmake Cream Cheek swatches, here is my review of Shade 01, Peach Dream.

Appearance

Canmake Cream Cheek comes in a small, slim and see-through case. The lid and pan are attached by a hinge, but this hinge is a little flimsy (the lid just came off in my hand yesterday, but it was easy to reattach). The case’s size makes it great for carrying around in your bag for any touch-ups in the day.

Canmake Cream Cheek

Here is how Canmake describe the shade:

[01] Peach Dream☆

A delicate pink like a fairy.
For an innocent look.

which isn’t very helpful. So here are some comparison swatches with Ben Nye Powder Rouge in Dusty Pink, and Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzer in Antigua.

Product Comparison

While Peach Dream and Dusty Pink look almost identical in the pan, the swatch shows that Peach Dream is a lot more pink than Dusty Pink. It also has blue tones. Antigua also looked similar in the pan but it is much more of a browny peach. Peach Dream is definitely peach (see the full face pictures below) but it leans towards the pink side of the spectrum. It’s a pretty shade, hardly unique but it adds a natural tint of colour to your cheeks.

It also has glitter in it that you can see if you click for a full size version of the swatch. I’m really not a fan of glittery blushes- I just don’t see how that could ever look natural, but when Peach Dream is applied on my cheeks I can only see the shimmer if I look very closely and turn my head really slowly. (I’m lucky I live alone…). This cannot be said for a few other products from this range: shade number 2 showed up as very glittery in my swatches and I read recently on Lotus Palace that it was too glittery to wear.

Application

I apply this blush with my fingers. It is quite easy to blend, not as easy as the Illamasqua Cream Blushes but it comes close. You don’t have to be too careful when applying this: of course with all blushes you can go overboard, but with Peach Dream you can use a decent amount and still look human.

This is shown in the photo below – I applied a lot to show the true colour of blush. After this photo was taken I patted the blush down with my fingers and now it looks natural. (Excuse the no-makeup face – it’s Sunday!)

Full face closeup

Lasting Power

This blush lasts a really long time when applied on bare skin. A few times I’ve powdered my face beforehand (which I think is a no no with Cream blushes?) and the colour only lasted a few hours. On bare skin, however, it stays on until you wash it off.

subheadconc

Overall I quite like this blush. It lasts a long time and it’s really easy to use. While the glitter only shows up if you look closely in some lights, I’d rather it wasn’t there at all.

So Application gets 19/20 (it’s super easy but not quite Illamasqua standard)

Appearance gets 11/20 (the shade is pretty but it doesn’t have me excited to wear it, and the glitter is unnecessary).

Lasting Power 20/20

Overall: 16/20

Oct 12 2010

Review: Majolica Majorca Extreme Makeover Reshaper Cheek Blush in RD255

Here is my long-overdue review of Majolica Majorca Extreme Makeover Reshaper Cheek Blush in RD255. I bought this when I brought the Customize Brow Powder that I reviewed two weeks ago. I also bought a little compact that can fit a blush in it or two eyeshadows.

While the compact is really cute, I think I may save it for eyeshadows because I find the slide packaging of the blush really cool already, here it is in action:

The one issue with it is that if you are disorganised and keep a bunch of your make-up crammed in a box (which, obviously, I don’t…) the lid for the blush can just slide off leaving it exposed. There’s no ‘click’ mechanism to keep the lid in place, just the idea that you’re not going to be an idiot and store it sideways…

Ok, review time!

subheadappearance

RD255 is a peach pink shade, emphasis on the peach part. It has golden shimmer in it but it’s not glittery, in fact it’s quite subtle (which is good – I’m not usually a fan of shimmery face products). At first I thought it was similar to Illamasqua Rude Cream Blush but it is actually much warmer than the Illamasqua – its undertones lean brown-red. I’ve heard people say it’s a dupe of NARS Orgasm blush but I can’t vouch for that; if you’re looking for a dupe though, check this out. Here’s a swatch of it on my arm to give you a vague idea of the shade.

The red-tone visible in the right-hand swatch is very difficult to replicate on the face. Many people I’m sure wouldn’t want their cheeks looking so red but I bought this blush in the hopes of getting a deep red flush that many people with red hair naturally have…but I don’t.

To get a proper idea of the blush, here it is on my face.

As you can see it gives a nice peachy flush and the red is kind of non-existent. Not a big deal, still a nice shade, but it’s not going to become one of my all-time favourites I don’t think.

subhead1

This blush is really easy to apply: be careful not to overdo it because it is quite pigmented, it’s better to apply a little and then add more. Saying that, if you do apply too much it’s not the end of the world because this blush is super easy to blend. It gives a real soft-focus finish because it blends so seamlessly into the skin, no lines or obvious transition areas.

subhead2

This blush lasts really well, better than any of my others in fact (most of which cost about three times as much, go figure). After applying it at about 7am, then going on two hot 40 minute cycle rides, and basically getting through the day in the Kyoto heat, I come back at 8 and see that this blush is still there, visible, and has hardly faded at all. Seriously impressive.

subhead5

Majolica Majorca is a very affordable brand, you can buy this blush from adambeauty for $80 HKD which is £6.50 or $10.30. The blush is a little small (3g, MAC is 6g, Bobbi Brown is 3.7g) but it still works out as good value. Also the packaging is really cute for such a cheap product – that’s one thing I love about Japanese cosmetics, even the cheapest brands can have really nice packaging.

subheadconc

Overall I would recommend this blush formula to almost anyone. I say ‘almost’ because after wearing this blush every day for review purposes I started breaking out a little on my cheeks. Nothing major but enough to make me stop wearing it. I may still wear it now and then but obviously I’m not as keen on it as I was.

Also the shade is not my favourite. This blush only comes in four shades and I haven’t swatched the others (though if you drop me an email or leave a comment requesting swatches I would be happy to) but I didn’t find them all that inspiring. I’ve found some swatches here if you’d like to check them out. If you do find a colour you like then that’s great but they’re not exactly unique. I’d highly recommend this blush formula but as it is I don’t think I’ll be buying another one unless they release new shades.

Aug 31 2010

Raview: Illamasqua Rude Cream Blush

You may have noticed my nifty misspelling in the title and if you’re feeling embarrassed on my behalf, quit it. You see what I’ve done is combined the words ‘rave’ and ‘review’ to make a better, ‘super word’: ‘raview’. A review which is really just me raving about something. Aren’t I clever?! Even I, dear reader, must often stop to marvel at my razor sharp wit and cutting edge intellect. I really should have coined this for the Shu Uemura review but, my friends, you can’t force genius.

Illamasqua Rude Cream Blush is a product most likely made by angels (with equal employment opportunity and health insurance), and every day I have the opportunity to bestow upon my face the honour of wearing this blush. Egh what a mouthful. Rude, much like a poison dart frog, tries to scare people away with its bright colour in the pan (not that frogs live in pans…). It’s the shade of faded orange highlighter on school notes: a pinky orange that, though not fluorescent, is very there.

However, on skin (especially my pale skin) the orange julius colour of the blush actually comes out as a peachy coral. It gives the wearer a Rory Gilmore, peaches n’ cream complexion. Usually I steer away from orangey shades (especially in bronzers etc.) because they just look silly on my skin, but this blush is actually a cool-toned orange. It can warm up the skin slightly (but not in the way sales assistants say it when they apply a foundation 3 shades too dark) but it still suits cool skin tones and doesn’t look like you’re wearing the wrong product.

Lasting power is quite good, I do find that it fades a bit but as I apply it with my finger it’s not difficult to touch up during the day. Its fading may also have something to do with my overzealous blending – by the time I’m done there’s not much product left to fade! I must say though, it’s very easy to blend. If you’ve used the MUFE HD blushes you’re in for a surprise with this one, Rude kind of melts on fingers (but in a good way) so it blends very well.

If you’re not a fan of cream blushes then there is a powder blush in the exact same colour and it’s called Excite. Unfortunately for me Illamasqua powder blushes break me out but luckily I have no problems with the creams.I also love this blush because it’s so different from anything I own. To be honest I think Illamasqua’s ‘dare to be different’ code of honour is a little tired, but in this case it stands true. The blush is totally different from my usual but in my opinion, it works.