Being a big fan of the Canmake Cream Cheeks, I started a frenzy search for any online retailer who carries these because, well, they haven't made it (still!!!) to the Taiwanese shore. I have to say, it's occasions like these that I feel thankful for Ebay, even if I loath it every other minute in between. Let's just say I, umm, stalked Alpha Beauty UK everyday and snapped these up as soon as they made their appearance. I don't care that they're marked up to about 2/3 the Japanese retail. I wanted these so badly. I must have them.
From left to right: CL01 Clear Red Heart, CL02 Clear Love Song Pink, and CL03 Clear Sunset. All pictures taken in natural light without flash.
And my oh my, they are so worth going batty for - gorgeous, shimmer-free, translucent but pigmented gel cheek colors that are just stupidly easy to apply and blend, just like their creamier sisters. I love, love, love all 3 colors and have been using them daily for the past 2 weeks since they arrived in the mail. The permanent lineup has 2 colors, CL01 Clear Red Heart and CL02 Clear Love Song Pink, with a limited edition release CL03 Clear Sunset. All 3 are unscented, like the rest of the Cream Cheeks.
I was a tad surprise when I first touched their surface. Unlike the other Cream Cheeks with creamy surfaces that can be dented with some pressure, these feel significantly more solid, almost like a gel-like crayon. I swirled my fingertip (ring finger) twice and applied slight pressure, and have been repeating the same every morning during my makeup routine, but nope, their surfaces still haven't budged one bit. And just so you know, 2 swirls pick up way more than enough color for both of my cheeks (a dab on each cheek, wipe off excess on finger, then blend). Oh, and I use these exclusively on my cheeks, though now that I think about it, instead of wiping off the excess on my fingertip I ought to just dab it onto my lips for a lip tint. Note to self - stop wasting precious.
- CL01 Clear Red Heart: a translucent blue based strawberry red. Somehow, it manages to be the most translucent as well as the most pigmented one out of the three. How does that even make sense? Either way, I'm thoroughly impressed and I love it to death.
- CL02 Clear Love Song Pink: a translucent and neutral guava pink. After blending, this is the sheerest one out of the 3. That said, it also gives me a super flattering pink flush that just can't be overdone. Totally idiot-proof and perfect for me ^.^
- CL03 Clear Sunset: a translucent and warm reddish coral. I was keeping my fingers crossed for this one to be orange but the sunset in its name gave me false hope. Nope, it's not orange, even though I can almost see the orange in it sometimes. It's definitely coral, and a very pretty and pigmented one too! From the swatch it look as though it's even more pigmented than CL01 Clear Red Heart but it's not.
From left to right: CL01 Clear Red Heart, CL02 Clear Love Song Pink, and CL03 Clear Sunset swatched (top row) and blended (bottom row).
What are you waiting for? Go get them. Now.
See my previous Canmake Cream Cheek post.
12 comments:
Need the red and pink one! Thank goodness they're permanent - will be back in Japan next April. (Yeah!)
Btw, I had to laugh a little at this line:
"I love, love, love all 3 colors and have been using them daily for the past 2 weeks since I arrived in the mail."
That's a new one - my parents told me I was delivered by a storck. I guess with our unreliable mail system, they might have never gotten me. ;D
Hi there!
first things first- I loove your blog! It unites everything I love- Asia, (Asian) cosmetics and skin care and foooood^^ I lived in Shanghai for 2 years and miss all of it, especially since I can't easily get my hands on all the make up stuff where I'm now (Seattle...
So, here comes my question- I browsed Alpha Beauty UK and will purchase, but do you perhaps happen to know why they can offer high end stuff like Chanel to such low prices? I know, perfumes are veeery cheap in HK as they don't need to pay import taxes (or something..fee..), I'm wondering if same goes for high end western cosmetic products...
Have a great day, enjoy Taipei and keep on blogging :D
Melli
Julia,
LOL!!! Thanks so much for catching that! That's what happens when I blog late at night xD And how long will you be in Japan this time around? Damn, too bad I'll miss you :( But oh, yes, you'll like these clear cream cheeks. They're sooooo nice!
Cheers,
D.
Hi melli,
Thanks so much for reading and commenting ^.^ And sorry for the long answer -.-'
When I visited Seattle last year, a friend took me to this Asian shopping complex where there was a huge Japanese supermarket. I googled and the name Uwajimaya came up, but I don't quite remember if that was it. I just remember that it was a Japanese grocery store with a Japanese name. May be it was Uwajimaya? Anyway, it had a Kinokuniya bookstore next door selling current Japanese magazines (with freebies, yes!!!!) for around $15 a piece, not too bad considering the cheapest I've seen online is $20-30 plus shipping. And then across the parking lot from these two stores was a Daiso store. I remember standing there waiting for my friend to park her car and thought to myself, Hey, I could totally live here with these stores supplying my Japanese groceries, skincare, cosmetics, magazines, with Daiso as an added bonus! If you haven't been to this complex, you should totally check it out!!!
As for why high end stuff is so cheap in HK, I have no idea. I have only purchased Japanese cosmetics from Alpha Beauty UK, and even then, Ebay is my _last resort_ when all else failed. In general, I would not recommend purchasing high end cosmetics from Ebay, especially if they're shipping from Asia where counterfeit is rampant (they counterfeited even Maotai, rice, and eggs in China!).
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
D.
heya!
Thanks so much!
Yeah, after browsing a little, i saw that those were sample sizes. And same thought crossed my mind, too- counterfeit products- is also why I don't like to use ebay for that type of stuff.
Woah, thanks so much for the tip! Yes, it is Uwajimaya, my hubby and me hit it fairly often, they have a small skin care section but I didn't know about Daiso. yay!!
Thanks and have a wonderful day!
Hi Melli,
You're so welcome!
Actually, besides Uwajimaya any Asian supermarket will probably have at least a small section since Japanese skincare (and candies and snacks!) is quite popular throughout Asia. So you might want to check out the other Asian groceries too!
Cheers,
D.
Two years - getting my M.A. (^.^)/
Hi Julia,
NICE!!! You're going to have a blast in Japan! Man, I miss it so much T.T
Cheers,
D.
Aren't you going back some day?
And yeah, I hope I'll have some fun too and not just hard work. :D
Haa...someday...I WANT to!!!
But let's see where life takes me next as I'm moving home mid December T.T Gonna miss Taipei too *sobs*
Eeek, I guess I have to get the red one (and seriously, the markup is actually not that bad, I have seen seller charges 14 dollars for those)...and I am still undecided on the pink color.
P.S. The store front of alphabeauty is opened in other tab as I am tying this...
Hi Citrine,
Yeah, especially considering he's one of the few who has limited edition items from Canmake, at least listing them much sooner than the others ^.^
Can't wait to hear your opinions on these xD
D.
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