Tag Archives: red blush

Canmake Cream Cheek Clear Red Heart & Clear Sunset Review & Swatches

Canmake Clear Red Heart

I have some quick swatches for you today. Canmake is a Japanese drugstore brand, and some of their long-time most popular products are the Cream Cheek blushes. I’ve been tempted by them before, but always decided against purchasing due to the colors offered; mostly pastels, with a white base – something I tend to dislike in blush. A few months ago, I heard that Canmake had released a “clear” series with a few additional shades. Clear refers to the fact that these have a clear base instead of a white base, which gives them a translucent, jelly-ish quality. None of the Clear series blushes have any shimmer or sparkle.

I purchased two shades, [CL01] Clear Red Heart, a true red, and [CL03] Clear Sunset – reddish coral; note that this one was limited edition, but is still available on Ebay (and mine has a broken compact, which is why it looks odd).

Canmake Clear Red Heart // Clear Sunset

There are also two pinks – [CL02] Clear Love Song Pink and [CL04] Clear Pink Joy – I’m not sure how they differ. Canmake recently released a fifth shade, [CL05] Clear Happiness, described as a coral orange, but, per this blog post, is sheerer and not as nice as the others.

I think the best thing about these is the texture – pigmented, yet easy to blend, and with a great finish.

Clear Red Heart // Clear Sunset

They also work well on the lips. I bought my blushes on Ebay; they are also available on Ichibankao for a dollar or two more.

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Milani Spring 2014 Coming Up Roses Blush Swatches & First Impressions

Purchased – No Affiliate Links

Last summer, Milani released four rose-embossed blushes and I bought & reviewed two of them – I was not impressed. So when I found this year’s set of four blushes, I thought I’d skip them. Luckily I posted a on Instagram and several people commented that this year’s were worth it. I ended up deciding to buy all four. I haven’t had a chance to really play with them yet, so today I have swatches and my first impressions.

First, here are too many photos of the blushes in the pan. They’re just so pretty.
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Addiction Revenge, Flash Back, Sandbar, Safari Mode, Concrete Jungle Review & Swatches

My Addiction palette – one blush & four eyeshadows in Compact Case II

I started this week off as Japanese Makeup Week, then got distracted, but now we’re back (and with a very long post). Today I have a review of one blush and four eyeshadows from the brand Addiction, which is exclusively available in Japan (sorry!). You can actually buy it online worldwide on Ichibankao, but it’s marked up about 50%. The best way to get it outside of Japan, and the way I got it, was to have a Japanese friend purchase it and mail it to me.

I really like the Addiction blush / eyeshadow packaging system – the blushes are exactly twice as big as the eyeshadows, and everything is easy to depot. The packaging the products come in is actually quite nice – it looks like the palettes, but is flimsier. The Compact Case I (which fits four eyeshadows) and Compact Case II (which fits six eyeshadows) are really gorgeous – the aesthetic is just my style, though do note that it holds fingerprints quite terribly. The lovely Kate of Drivel About Frivol has a better explanation with great photos here.

My Addiction purchases – boxed

Addiction Revenge, Flash Back, Sandbar, Safari Mode, Concrete Jungle

Left – Revenge; Upper middle – Flash Back; Lower Middle – Sandbar;
Upper right – Safari Mode; Lower right – Concrete Jungle

I purchased six items; Revenge blush, Flash Back, Sandbar, Safari Mode, and Concrete Jungle eyeshadows, and the Compact Case II to hold everything. Revenge is a matte pink-based red. Flash Back is a metallic taupe. Sandbar is hard for me to describe – it is sort of peachy in a heavy swatch, but a wash of shimmer on the lid. Safari Mode is a khaki green satin. Concrete Jungle is a purple-based grey with a satin finish. I have some shades that are similar to Revenge, Flash Back, and Sandbar, but the latter two shades are unique to my stash.

On to the swatches! First, I swatched the eyeshadows without primer, as is my standard practice – but I was slightly disappointed by the pigmentation level. It’s good – but not exceptional. And I’ve heard that Addiction makeup is exceptional.

Addiction swatches - Sandbar, Safari Mode, Concrete Jungle, Flash Back

No Primer: Sandbar // Safari Mode // Concrete Jungle // Flash Back

So, I also swatched them over primer. And, over primer, they look fantastic – complex, pigmented, and beautiful. Apologies for swatching in a different order!

Addiction swatches - Flash Back , Sandbar, Safari Mode, Concrete Jungle,

Over NYX HD Primer: Flash Back // Sandbar // Safari Mode // Concrete Jungle

Here is Safari Mode on the eye. I’m not wearing primer, but I’m wearing MAC Soft Ochre paint pot as a base. I’m wearing Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Daring Green on my upper lash line & Prestige Total Intensity eyeliner in Intense Olive on my lower lash line. I don’t remember what mascara I’m wearing. As you can see, Safari Mode is fairly subtle – more akin to the first, no primer swatch. However, I didn’t try to pack it on – I’m sure I could have coaxed more intensity out of it if I had wanted to.

And, as requested, here’s a comparison of Addition Safari Mode and Inglot 419P – as you can see, they are quite similar in color, but the finish so different that they don’t really appear very much alike. The Inglot is highly pearlized, almost metallic, while the Addiction has more of a satin finish. This picture is a touch too yellow, as you can see from my skin, but still useful as a comparison.

left: Inglot 419P // right: Addiction Safari Mode

On to the blush – Revenge has a very soft, smooth, and slightly dry texture. It is not powdery, and the dryness doesn’t interfere with the use of the blush – it doesn’t appear dry on the skin; it’s just not a particularly buttery powder. It’s very blendable – the reason the swatch doesn’t look particularly well blended is that I used a sponge tip applicator rather than a brush 🙂

Addiction Revenge

Here is a full-face swatch where I am wearing Revenge – I find it very flattering! My lips are Tarina Tarantinto Prong (review), and my eyes have several eyeshadows layered, but the main shade is Fyrinnae Shenanigans, used damp.

Both Revenge blush and the two eyeshadows I’ve tried, Safari Mode and Concrete Jungle, lasted all day.

Overall, I’m happy with my purchases. I don’t see Addiction becoming one of my go-to brands, both because it’s so hard to access and because I prefer a more buttery eyeshadow formula (vs. Addiction’s slightly dryer formula), but I do absolutely love all the colors I picked out!

Sleek Blush By 3 Review & Swatches – Pumpkin, Sugar, Flame, Pink Sprint, Lace

Last February, I read that Sleek Makeup (a UK drugstore brand) had released five different blush palettes, each with three blushes. Sleek has a fantastic blush formula, so I was immediately intrigued. However, the blushes were not available at the time on Sleek’s website, and though they were on Ebay, they would have cost double the retail price so I decided to wait. Eventually, they showed up on Sleek’s website, but because shipping was so expensive and because I couldn’t decide which ones to get, I didn’t buy any.

Then, a few weeks ago, Sleek relaunched its website with a 20% off discount sitewide (now over, sorry!) and reduced shipping costs to the US (permanent). I thought it was time to finally buy a couple of the Blush by 3 palettes. Since they were on sale, I decided to just go for it and buy all five. Picture heavy post ahead!

A few general comments: All five of the Blush by 3 palettes are smooth and blend nicely. Four of them are quite pigmented; Sugar is less pigmented. There are a mix of shimmery and matte shades, but most of the shimmery shades are fairly subtle and will add dimension rather than obvious shimmer particles. I plan to use the matte shades as my main blush shades, then layer the shimmery shades over the top lightly to add dimension without too much shimmer.

Each shade has a name, listed on the back of the palette – it looks like this:

Here is a size comparison of the Sleek Blush by 3 with a single Sleek blush and a NARS blush – I cleaned the packaging, but they were hopelessly dirty! NARS blushes contain 4.8g; Sleek single blushes contain 8g; the Blush by 3 palette contains 20g (6.7g per blush – more than NARS!).

I really like Sleek’s packaging – it’s very compact and efficient, and I’m always a fan of black packaging. It would be ideal if the lids were clear for these so I could tell them apart more easily, but this works too, and there is a nicely sized mirror in the lid.

On to the swatches! Because there are 15 blushes total, I don’t have full-face swatches (sorry!). I have flash and natural light swatches for each color.

Pumpkin 363 – lantern, squash, pumpkin pie

Pumpkin 363 – flash / natural light

All three shades in the Pumpkin palette are nicely pigmented and smooth. Lantern, on the left, is a red with subtle shimmer; Squash is a cool pink with a slight sheen, and Pumpkin Pie is a bright cool orange.

364 Sugar – Turbinado, Muscovado, Demerara

Sugar – flash / natural light

Each of the three shades in the Sugar palette is less pigmented than the other palettes. I even swatched it twice to make sure I hadn’t done something wrong the first time (how do you swatch incorrectly, though?). However, they have plenty of pigment to work – they’re just not AS pigmented as the others.

Turbinado, on the left, is a matte berry red. Muscovado, in the middle, looks almost brown in the pan, but swatches plum with gold shimmer. Turbinado is is a muted peach/brown.

Flame 365 – Furnace, Bon Fire, Molten

The Flame palette has three lovely red shades. All three are very pigmented. Furnace looks very slightly patchy in the swatch, but gives no trouble when applied. Furnace is a soft red with some shimmer. Bon Fire an orange-based matte red. Molten is very similar to Furance, but slightly more muted.

Pink Sprint 366 – Pink Parfait, Pink Ice, Pinktini

Pink Sprint – flash, natural light

Sleek Pink Sprint – flash / natural light

Pink Sprint is the only palette with three mattes. Pink Parfeit is a soft berry rose; Pink Ice an almost neon pink; and and Pinktini a stunning, very pigmented dark raspberry.

Lace 367 – Crochet, Guipure, Chantilly

Lace – flash, natural light

All three shades in the Lace palette are very smooth and pigmented. Crochet is a matte peach with orange tones, Guipure is a pink with gold shimmer – the strongest shimmer out of all five of the palettes – and Chantilly is a pink-coral.

Overall, I am totally in love with these palettes! I am going to have a lot of fun playing with them. Does anyone need 15 blush shades? Not really – and especially not me – but I am so happy to have them, and they add a lot of variation to my blush stash.

If you are in the US, Sleek Blush by 3 palettes sell for $12.49 each on Sleek’s website. Shipping starts around $5 for one palette, and goes up when you buy more.

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Red Blush Comparison, Swatches, Photos

Red Blush Swatches

Today I have all my red blushes swatched for you! I have three blushes that I would consider true reds (Black Radiance Rasperry, Inglot 382M, and La Femme Red), and then above I’ve also swatched two close-to-red blushes for comparison purposes – the LE MAC Bite of An Apple, and La Femme Coral. I also have individual swatches of the red blushes.

Black Radiance Raspberry

Of the red blushes, Black Radiance Raspberry is by far the most sheer; the left swatch below took several swipes to build up, and the blended swatch was very easy to do. Although Raspberry looks very red in the pan, it applies a little bit berry and is quite cool toned. Since it’s sheer, it would be a great first red blush for someone who didn’t want to deal with the pigmentation of starting with something like La Femme.

Black Radiance Raspberry

The Inglot I have, 382M, is actually an eyeshadow, but since it’s a matte red it works well as blush. The pigmentation is medium compared to the La Femme. It’s not quite as blendable as I would like; you can see from the swatches that it’s a little bit patchy. It would be workable over powder and with some effort, but it’s definitely not easy to work with.

Inglot 382M

And finally, the pigmentation on La Femme Red is just crazy.

La Femme Coral, La Femme Red

La Femme Red

As you can see from the swatches, La Femme blushes are super, super pigmented, but also incredibly smooth. It takes some effort to work with them – I explained the technique I use midway through this post – but I find it totally worth it.

And once again, the comparison shot – the La Femme pigmentation really stands out!

La Femme Blush On Rouge Review, Swatches, Photos

La Femme Blush on Rouge

Lately, I’ve been looking for a good red blush (see why in this post!) Since La Femme blushes are pigmented, high quality, and very inexpensive (around $3), I thought I would give La Femme’s “Red” blush a try.

Instead of buying online, I bought in-person at Nigel Beauty Emporium – a beauty supply store located about 20 minutes away from me. I had never been before, and WOW – it is the most fantastic store I have ever been too! They have so many brands, including the full line of Inglot, OCC, Kevyn Aucoin, Ellis Faas, MUFE, Ben Nye, and so many more. I spent about two hours browsing!

Among my other purchases, I bought two La Femme blushes – Red and Coral, to add to the four I already own (swatched & reviewed here).

Here are swatches of all six together:

La Femme Blush on Rouge: Coral, Red, Pink Velvet, Magenta, Misty Plum, Peach

For blended swatches and face swatches of the four I already owned, please refer to my previous post.

La Femme Coral

La Femme Coral – applied

La Femme Coral is a matte red-based coral. I had no trouble getting a sheer application, despite the intensity of the pigment. My technique for a sheer application of a pigmented blush is as follows: first, use powder (I even powdered my arm – this really helps it blend). Then, use a stipple brush to lightly touch the blush. Touch the stipple brush to a tissue to get rid of any excess blush – you want only the smallest amount of blush on your brush. Then, apply to your face. Use a clean brush to blend.

La Femme Red

La Femme Red – Applied

La Femme Red is a vibrant, bright red with some sparkle. The heavier swatch shows the sparkle, but in the blended out swatch, the sparkle disappears – so little of the blush is used that there is virtually no sparkle visible (which I like). At Nigel Beauty, I compared an Inglot red blush, two MUFE red blushes, and this one, and I liked this one best – the color was the most vibrant and seemed the most true red. This one is a touch more difficult to blend out than Coral, because it is SO pigmented, but I was still able to do so using the technique outlined above.

And, here’s a look at my blush/face palette – it’s in a giant MUFE palette (only $11!) that I bought at Nigel Beauty. I prefer to keep most of my blush in single pots, but the La Femmes come as pans, the packaging on one additional blush broke, and I’ve depotted some bronzers and one highlighter because I found the packaging annoying.

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