CANMAKE

I am very honored to have the opportunity to have Elaine from Miss Elaine-nio doing a guest post for me. It was sad to see Elaine quit blogging some time ago, but glad to see she has not held back on her blush addiction! Her famous quote is “Once a beauty addict, forever a beauty addict“, so why not to showcase her stunning collection of the Spring 2012 Blushes with all of you. Enjoy reading.

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Hello!

Firstly, I want to thank my dear friend, Rei, for letting me guest & contribute this post on her blog.

Today, I am going to share my blush picks & thoughts from Spring 2012. This Spring, we’re swarmed with many brands spotting the romantic rose theme & pretty looking blushers.

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Summary:

Coffret D’or Smile Up Cheek in 02 Peach (5.5g/ Made in Japan): The finish is extremely glowy though I need to swipe twice for the color to show up better on my skin. The shimmers are very fine (not gritty!) & doesn’t emphasize on my pores. However, I dislike the bulky packaging as the cover is slightly pop-up & tends to take up a lot of space for storage.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Anna Sui Rose Cheek Color in 301 Dreamy Rose & 400 Anna Rose (6g each/ Made in Japan): The blush is palm sized & slightly rose scented. The embossed rose design is mesmerizing & an eye candy.

–          301 Dreamy Rose – mixture of pinks, orange, peach pink.

–          400 Anna Rose – mixture of reds, light & medium pinks.

The Rose Cheeks are very well pigmented & showed up with one swipe.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥

MAC Ombre Blush in Vintage Grape & Azalea Pink (9g each/ Made in Italy):
The Ombre blushes are re-promoted items. I am very curious how Vintage Grape, which looked so purple in the pan, would show up on my cheeks. It turned up to be medium purplish-pink (not too dark). Azalea Pink is a combination of lilac & soft pink. The Ombre blushes’re not powdery & showed up well with a dense brush.

Rating (out of 5): Vintage Grape- ♥ ♥ / Azalea Pink- ♥ ♥ ♥

Dior Rosy Glow in Petal (7.5g/ Made in France): I need not say more about this blush as I believed you have read about Rei’’s review here.

A pretty cool-toned blush infused with Fresh Color Reveal, which adjusts the color to create a rosy radiance according to your skin tone. This is the IT blush!

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Benefit Hervana (8g/ Made in France): The pinwheel design had tempted me to purchase this blush. This blush is above my expectations as the shades turned out to be more pigmented than the way it looks in the pan (looks pale).

Hervana is described as orchid-blossom in shade. It consists of 4 shades– lucky shell, divine peach, heavenly rose and berry delight.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Jill Stuart Mix Compact in 106 Sprouting Joy (8g/ Made in Japan): In terms of color, Sprouting Joy is a mixture of its permanent mix compact in Little Bouquet & Romantic Poppy. I don’t think this is a must have as the peach pink shade is dupable.

This is a Limited Edition & comes with a floral printed case.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥

Chanel Joues Constrate in 69 Fleur De Lotus (4g/ Made in France): The Spring JC blush’s texture felt extremely smooth compared to the regular line. The fool-proof peach pink shade spells love & felt extremely luxurious.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ ½

 

Lunasol Glowing Powder Cheeks in EX01 Pure Coral (6g/ Made in Japan): I do not fancy the cardboard packaging (seems like a Benefit-wannabe). The shade is not the most unique but it’s well-pigmented & gives a nice translucent finish.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ 1/2

Canmake Cheek & Cheek in 06 (Filled in Thailand/ Made in Japan): I would say to put Canmake Cheek & Cheek blush in 06 in your shopping cart for those looking for a cool-toned blush. The quality is superb for a drugstore brand. Extremely fine & well pigmented. This lilac pink is flattering for Asians.

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ ♥ 1/2

Sleek Blush BY3 in Pumpkin (20g/ Made in Taiwan/ Developed in UK): The shades in Pumpkin are vibrant & super pigmented. I find the shades hard to blend especially for P Pie. I had to use a stippling brush to apply & a powder brush to tone down the shades. The shades are pigmented but felt drier compared to its single blushes. Retailing at £10 for 3 shades, though it’s a value for money blush palette but it didn’t impressed me compared its single blushes.

Rating (out of 5):

Lavshuca Fairy Cheeks in PK (15g/ Made in Japan): Lavshuca Fairy Cheeks reminds me much of Guerlain Meteorites. This blush comes in a round cardboard packaging with a cute puff. The shade is the ‘standard’ pink which I don’t think it’s any unique.

Rating (out of 5):

Physicians Formula pH Matchmaker in Rose (6g/ Made in USA): Physicians Formula is a US drugstore brand. This is a gift from my friend- Olivia. The light-up mirror is making the blush very classy. However, the blush is about 1-inch thick making it very bulky & less travel-friendly. The texture may not be superbly fine but pigmented. It contains silver shimmers. The blush is said to be able to detect the pH level of your skin & adjusts within 60 seconds to create your perfect shade. Another innovative blush!

Rating (out of 5): ♥ ♥ 1/2

Stila Love at First Blush (6.2g/ Made in China): A continuation of Stila Make Me Blush from 2010, Stila came out with Love at First blush this Spring. The embossed hearts in graduation pinks look lovely on the pan but I find it too overly shimmering for my liking.

Rating (out of 5):

 

Swatches:

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Verdict(s):

 

I had always been into coral/peach blushes. For this Spring, I am a cool pink blush convert with neutral eye makeup.

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Top 3 Favorites: Benefit Hervana, Dior Rosy Glow, Coffret D’or Smile Up Cheek in 02 Peach

Best Quality: Dior Rosy Glow, Chanel Joues Contraste in Fleur De Lotus

Best Looking: Anna Sui Rose Cheeks, Stila Love at First Blush

Best Drugstore: Canmake Cheek & Cheek in 06

Most Innovative: Dior Rosy Glow, Physicians Formula Matchmaker in Rose

Thank you & do share with us your blush picks from Spring 2012?

Any favorites? Any misses?

Cheers,

Elaine

One who loves to share, Japanese cosmetics & a blush addict.

For reference: I am NC-25, OC-C & yellow toned

Disclaimer: All products are bought with my own money, otherwise stated.

 

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Puppy Eyes Makeup look is the opposite of cat eyes look. It has been the most popular eye makeup in Japan since it was featured in some of the top beauty magazines. A lot of girls are ditching the cat eyes for the puppy eyes look to have a more innocent and cuter appearance. With this kind of makeup,  no one will have the heart to say ‘NO’ to you haha

Basically rather than flicking the eyeliner up, I draw the eyeliner following the natural curve of my eyes till the outer corner of the lower lash line, to create a droopy eye look. Then I used a pair of corner lashes to complete the look. The rest of my makeup is kept at minimum – just a sheer wash of color on the cheeks and lips.

Final Look:

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The star product of this makeup is the Dolly Wink Corner/ Partial False Eyelash in No 4 – Feminine style. Quite expensive for false eyelashes imo but worth every penny. So easy to wear and both the hair and band are super soft.

dolly-wink-no-4-feminine-style-false-eyelashesOther than the false lashes, everything else used was really simple:

Nars All About Eve Eyeshadow Duo: perfect shades just to add a touch of sheen to the eyelids.

Shu Uemura Partial Eyelash Curler: to curl the middle part of the lashes only. It is important to keep the outer part of the lashes down.

Fairy Drop Volumising Mascara on the lower lashes. The beautiful Jade from Jade Musing did a fantastic review of it, so check it out!

Mac Creme Sheen in Partial Pink on the lips.

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Close-up of my eyes:

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From the side:

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FACE PRODUCTS:

Dior Radiant Base as a highlighting primer on the top of my cheek bones; temples and nose bridge.

Dior Nude Skin Natural Glow Foundation

Canmake Cream Blush in 03 on the cheeks, reviewed here.

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More pictures of completed look:

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Canmake Cream Cheek

May 4, 2011

If you are a makeup lover and you haven’t tried  Japanese drugstore makeups..then you are missing out!! One of my favorite Japanese drugstore makeup brands is Canmake,  it is a very pretty, girly and affordable makeup line that is insanely popular amongst the young girls in Asia. A lot of us (including me) look up to Lena Fuji’s style (a popular Japanese model) who is the ambassador of Canmake and she swears by Canmake’s blushes.

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Some pictures of lovely Lena wearing Canmake Cream cheeks

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Canmake cream cheek in 3 Strawberry Whip is a cool pink (almost like a barbie pink) with tiny particles of silvery shimmers.

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To my pleasant surprise, the pigment is very rich so a little goes a long way.  The texture is smooth and can be easily blended and dries down to a powdery finish.  I prefer to use my fingers to gently dab it on to my cheeks rather than using a buffing brush. Like many cream blushes, it does settle into my pores but it can be easily fixed if I prep my skin with a silicone based primer first. The lasting power is pretty average in my opinion – I am only left with some fallouts all over my cheeks after a few hours of wear.

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Overall: A nice range of colors (particular the girly pink ones) to choose from, mostly contain shimmers. A cute pink blush to have for less than $10 (that is how much I paid when I was in Asia). If you are buying it online for more than $15..I don’t think it is worth it…

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