Wednesday 1 July 2009

Banila Co Copacabana blush/bronzer

In my last Gmarket haul-post I already showed some of my enthousiasm for a new product. I am a person who often tries new cosmetic items, and most of my readers are as well, even though I have some HG products. There could be something out there with even more HG powders, right?

Banila Co, one of my favourite Korean Brands, lauched a summer collection which is slightly different from the normal philosophy of Korean cosmetic brands. In Korea, and most of the other Asian countries, bronzed skin is not supposed to be the summon of beauty, except for the weirdish Ganguro style (lol, see this excellent video on Eki's blog, which most of you have probably seen before, but I consider it a classic now).

When Banila Co launched their 2009 summer collection with the name Copacabana Rio de Janeiro, I knew it would be bronzy and summery. Question was...how dark would Banila Co go?

I only bought the blush/bronzer compact. The other liquid highlighter for the face and the bronzer for the body look interesting too, but I do not like the liquid bronzer highlighters so much. Which meant that I skipped them.


The Banila Co seller on Gmarket already advertised with adding some BB Let Me Bebe samples as a GWP. I also received some square cotton pads in the pink striped box.


The compact itself is a pink colour with tends to look lilac in some light. It has a soft shell-like glow over it. The inside powder is rippled, or ruffled, like soft waves. The powder looks slightly metallic as is not as soft as normal blushes. I am not sure if it is baked or not...Banila Co often bakes its blush/highlighter products.


I can answer my earlier question with a satisfactory answer. The colour is light enough for light skin. Even pale skin can get away with this colour.

So, why am I so enthousiastic about this? Ok, it is the fact that it is not merely a bronzer, it has enough rosy colour inside to make a realistic glow and a pop of believeable colour. I tend to tan in a rosy/light brown way, and lots of light to pale skinned persons do.

The bronzers that I am looking for should be realistic enough to pass for a tan. I have some samples of other bronzers in this post, which shows the different sorts of bronzers compared with each other. (btw, the Paul & Joe bronzer has not been used that much, so it is probably going away soon)
The next swatch is some of the Banila Copacabana on my finger. It shows the lightness of the colour, and the bronziness. It is not as rosy as it is on the picture, however, it shows a bit of the slightly metallic glow. The metallic glow is not scary, though, I am very particular about my blushes and I do not like overly sparkly, unnatural or metallic blushes. This one has the right amount of glow.


That is why I included a picture of the Banila Co Copacabana bronzer on my Mac travel brush . This is a more accurate colour depiction.


A close up of the brush. It reminds me of Benefit Dallas, only lighter and less muddy. I think it has the right amount of bronze and rosiness that flatters my skin.

Overal, I love this new acquisition and it was worth the hassle and tax I complained about in my previous post. I think it is a good start for pale (Asian) skin, or Asian girls who take a first step into a world called 'sunkissed skin'. I also believe it can give tanned or darker skin a fresh rosy glow, although the colour would not pop so much.

11 comments:

Beautify My Day said...

if you do decide to get rid of your P&J bronzer id be happy buy it :)

anna said...

it's so sad that european people must usually pay a crazy amount of tax when ordering outside EU... i'd love to order from gmarket but i'm not willing to pay ~30€ taxes>_<
that product looks lovely though, i'm really pale skinned too. banila co's products are so nice.

fuzkittie said...

It looks sooo pretty! such a nice shade!

Unknown said...

preeeeeeeeeeeeeety!!! I resisted on make up on my recent gmarket haul and bought me a right heap of silly fings! You wait till you see them......haha

kuri said...

wow, that looks gorgeous! Especially on the brush. I may have to dive into gmarket...

Laura L said...

oh, the shade is pretty!

Anonymous said...

looks very nice!

Jamilla Camel said...

That bronzer looks like the PERFECT shade for your fair skin!

Great stuff!

Unknown said...

i really like the packaging. its so pretty and girly. I dont think Ive ever tried any Korean cosmetics.

The shade of that bronzer is pretty as well. I only own one bronzer and, I'm still trying to finish it.

izumi said...

looks very pretty! i wish i was lighter to pull off some of these gorgeous lighter shades!

Anonymous said...

The powder looks really beautiful! No wonder, you are so in love with it, hehe... ;) The packaging is cute as well!

Btw, thanks for entering my contest! <3