Colour Coordinating Corals

Summertime! Coral-time!

There is something about corals looking better in summer: they have this uncomplicated air that goes as light as your summerdress.

Still there's something about summer that gets me into a complicated mode: the ingenious structure of coordinating layering will fall away (like the layers); thus, I colour-coralinate!

 

So let's do the clique-ing...Summer also means more cliques in groups of friends, etc. I've been grouping up my corals based on compatibility...It's almost like the tables of a summerwedding:

Group 1: the Flushed Corals

The conversation starter is my precious Jadilla J My Ball Cubical Face blusher in Shinny Peach 2 -> and no, these spelling errors don't come from  Rosé-inspired blogwriting but they are adorable Koreanglish. So why do I have to giggle with 'my ball'? This Cheeky fellow is NOBB [NARS Orgasm but Better]. There is the perfect mixture of peach & pink, but the glitterfest has been left out. (original review here). 

I hope I've nailed the setting by adding Essie Plaza Sweet to this group. It's slightly a deeper pink than Jadilla but they have the glowy gold sparkle into them.

An eye for detail, MeowCosmetics is a mineral makeup company who're easy to sample: Paddle Pink absolutely matches. I hope it won't be too boring with so much compatibility!

Group 2: the Everything's Peachy's

 I want to keep it dusky by starting with MeowCosmetics Clawset Case: it's the mysterious one...Essie Anniversary Gala is the equivalent of the bubbly girl: She is perfect on her own but will add a sparkle to another. My latest rediscovery has been Lunasol Creamy cheeks in ex 4 Tender Pink Glow. It's like a cheekbone filler & glow-i-fying peel in a bottle, with the right hint of tender pink (review here).

Group 3: Dusky Corals

I like to think of this group as the mature ones: but not the mature in the Ikea-kind-of-way...These ones have travelled the world and had a couple of drinks too many. They are a sultry bunch and prefer to spend their money on another holiday than botox...They have stories to tell.

 

I love the way they look, but I like to have a special mention towards Julie Hewett's Thandi lipstick.  It's named after Thandi Newton and has a similar subdued beauty & intelligence over it: the right amount of coral without getting too ditzy & a good amount of burning terracotta without venturing on the middle age territory. The Radiance blush is a highlighter, but I love this one when lips and nails get more sultry

4. The Young-n-Beautiful Sheers

I have Lana Del Rey in mind...the young & beautiful crowd. Untarnished, hopeful and sheer.

Group 5: The Happy Oranges

There's something comic about orange. Perhaps not for the ones who watch 'Orange is the new Black' or my fellow comrades from Holland who saw the championship Soccer gone right through their fingers...awwww. Burberry Lipglow in Coral 22 is a colour I got last year (see here) and it returned for summer again. The Bourjois is older...no idea how old. But it makes a perfect match for Burberry. As for Tongue in Cheek, how to resist such a name and such a rusty glow to fake flaunt a bit of sunburn on a summer night?

And to conclude, these two resisted the cliques and made their own little togetherness:

Coral pants gets the girls on the fence

Cuteee!

Hakuhodo Mizubake

After my introduction in Hakuhodo brushes I went for a speciality brush aimed for cream formulas: the Mizubake:

It was not my only item:

I also picked a cheaper facebrush for on-the go: the K022

I like the K022 enough but I am baffled by the performance of the Mizubake.
 Let alone that it looks so incredibly beautiful and expertised as a tool for the face.

First I went 'skinny-dipping' into the products I bought it for: My cream formulas of foundation & cream blush.

I did a a *Cinderella Moment* to see if the brush fits: 

it was slightly too large for the RMS and the Julie Hewett cheeky, 

however,

the shoe brush fitted perfectly for my Lotree cream blush:

Mizubake dippin'  in

So I swatched that one...

The colour deposit afterwards:

I don't know which reviewer(s) it was, but I agree with her that it looks so satisfying when having a white brush: you can see perfectly how the formula is distributed on the brush: really equal:

same Mizubake & Lotree, only taken with flash

And that is how it translates on the skin:

 

[I used soft, swirling motions and *deliberately* didn't blend out to the sides so you can see the position I placed the brush]

Actually, since I have this brush I started to rediscover my *slightly* neglected older cream blush formulas like the Lotree one above. I have been loving peachy blushes lately so this colour above fits the bill.

Also, it works like a dream with the RMS concealer/foundation: it's spreads out so much thinner than if I would do it with my hands or another brush.

Conclusion:

• Incredibly beautiful brush with that hint of 'Orientalism'
• excellent for cream formulas
• equal colour disposition of cream formulas 
• perfect for thicker formulas of (cream) foundations, especially when spritzing the brush beforehand with a toner/filtered water/etc
• pleasure to feel it swirling on the skin 
• rediscovered my beautiful 'wallflower' blush thanks to it

A more expertise review and what got me going for this one is on LolasSecretBeautyBlog and TheNonBlonde has been pretty convincing as well. GlossedIntoTranslation loves it so much it even became her header...can you figure?  

It's available from Hakuhodo over here.

The Palette Swatching project: Julie Hewett Boudoir

I have been lacking on the colour-front lately. Somewhat I feel saturated with the heaps of stuff that I hardly can store around. So I decided to swatch the things that I have, starting with ♥palettes♥.

What I love about palettes...

• Often colour-coordinated (not always, and sometimes they add the funniest colours aside)
• smaller sizes to try out (I cannot remember once that I finished one eyeshadow completely, this is perfect for the fickle and experimental amoung the makeupsquad)
• travel-friendly (most of them)

• the treat-factor: so nice to give to other people, but most to yourself when you were good (or you were bad and you try to make yourself feel better about it)
• Sometimes eyes only, sometimes blush and lip, sometimes lip...what's next?
• "Hurray, a new limited edition!" Want Want Want (for no particular reason, makes me go to that Rolling Stones song again, "you can't always get what you want...you get what you neeeeeed"      

Julie Hewett palettes are made of cardboard and keep looking sleek and glossy even after being toted around by me:

They have 4 colours inside:

 

• one specifically for lip (Vampie) 
• Cleo is a overal highlighter but pigmented enough for eyes
• Natural is their Cheekie blush: I have this in full-size and it makes an awesome shader
• Goldie is  a frosty gold and more a highlighter 

However, all have a cream-formula so they are multiple-applicable for the total face.

SWATCHES (natural, cool light & 1 layer )

Visuals:

• Vampie applies beautifully on the lips: both as a flush stain, or more sophisticaded as a burgundy lipstick
• Cleo's lasting power is long and works even longer over a primer (UDPP)
• Natural has already been a favourite blush of mine (read here comparing hybrid blush)
• Goldie looks wonderfully layered over other eyeshadows or fantastic in the inner corner of eyes making them larger

CONCLUSION:
I enjoy this palette for the excellent Julie Hewitt quality inside, the versatility of the different colours, the naturalness of the total colour-scheme without going too safe (by keeping the lipshade sensually deep).   Also the thin-ness of the palette is like a little notebook easy for carrying around. It also carries the minimum of colours that it doesn't complicate people not being into a multitude of products, and the cream-formula is easy on the makeup-minimalists too. The exterior cardboard isn't perhaps the most luxury one but that also means it doesn't break either. As for hygiene? When you take out clean brushes this wouldn't be the largest problem. At least, it doesn't get (too) messy because all formulas are creams, whereas some palettes mixing creams with powders can get messy with powders ending up in the creams.

Availability:
Gosh, I've just wrote this whole review seeing it has been discontinued...Darn, still keeping it up as her other palettes have a similar quality/value (see some sold here and here).

Cheek/lip hybrids: the battle

When I received my Edward Bess lip/cheek in Island Rose, I tested it ofcourse and the first thing that I thought was "Darn, my Kose Addiction is still the grand no. 1 compared to this one".

But to get things really precise I dug out all of my hybrid cheek/lip products, which turned out to be a lot, and tested them based on texture and hybridity. I only tested the products that directly marketed as being a hybrid lip/cheek: there are other products that work brilliantly for both and are still marketed as only blush or only lipstick, but I won't review those.

And even though I already gave out the outcome which is my fave no. 1 (Addiction), I still discuss them all for other no. 1s on other fields.
 

sorry for the NARS multiple looking so grubby: I cleaned it a lot but, it's reality: NARS stuff really gets a yucky packaging after a while

Ok, let the battle begin:

1. Julie Hewett Cheekie:

One of my first and still a good favourite of mine
Lip performance: it brings out a medium colour on the lips that spreads easily. It has a glowy texture, which is flattering. It feels a tiny bit waxy, but quite like a MAC lipstick so not really unusually un-lipstick
Cheek performance: A glowy colour with a medium coverage. It glides easily over imperfect skin (I have a tiny scar from a laser treatment that still has to heal) and doesn't sit in the pores. It last for approximately 5 hours before it diminishes in colour. The fading is natural and non-blodgy.

2. Etude House Angel Kiss Lip and Cheek

It's a light-pink colour and really the unusual one in my collection
Lip performance: For a light pink colour that normally wouldn't look good on my or would sit in the folds of my lip, it is quite dewy and glides over the lips and makes them appear smoother. The colour pay-off is medium to high cover. It feels somewhat waxy, but not too hindering. It lasts for approximately 2 hours.
Cheek performance: It dissapeared on my cheeks after a couple of minutes and I first thought that must be the colour, however, I saw it when I applied it at first. It is dewy enough to glide over that tiny scar I mentioned before.

3.  Etude House Sugar Pink Lip & Cheek

I like Etude House, obviously, and they have lots of hybrid performers
Lip performance: it felt grainy and waxy on my lips. The colour didn't spread equally and settled in the lines so it needed high grade of blending and a pre-lip product first: not something that you want from a easy-to-carry hybrid product.
Cheek performance: that part was a lot better! It spreads quite equally over cheeks and the colour payoff is light to medium. It lasted for about 3 hours before fading.

4. Lotree

My ultimate fave Korean brand for a while, and then it suddenly was really hard to get on gmarket, darn.
Lip performance: smooth and glowy on the lips with light to medium colour-payoff.
Cheek performance: one of my favourite blushes for a while and I was glad I reviewed it for this post because I will wear it again. I love it! It glides over the skin, last for 4 hours with equal fading and has the perfect neutral colour (oh, sorry, I wouldn't discuss colour over here but it's so lovely)

5. Edward Bess lip/cheek Island Rose

The newbie in my collection of last weekends haul!
Lip performance: Quite light! I saw it on Sabrina from beautylookbook who branded this item as her ultimate date saver but it might be that her lips are lighter because I don't see as much colour payoff as the others I reviewed. The scent is lovely, a fig-type and it feels really balmy and smooth. But it's more a lipbalm on me.
Cheek performance: Also quite light. I also found it settling in that scar after a while which made that darn thing more obvious. I think this one will go up for swap on makeupalley.

6. Bobbi Brown Lip/cheek in Cabo Coral

Probably the best known one! I bought it for the colour that is a coral/tan shade and perfect on (fake) tanned skin.
Lip performance: Probably discussed endlessly on other beautyblogs and reviews but it's quite light (to light medium) and dissapears after 1 hour. The plus side is that it is so lovely for smoothing out lips and it doesn't sink in any beginning lines around the mouth.
Cheek performance: Vivid and creamy. It needs good blending but if you do that it will look lovely on. It last for 4 hours and even through a dance workout!

7. Becca creme blush in Hyacint

I'm not even sure it markets as a hybrid but its quite lovely so I put it up.
Lip performance: light to medium. It looks like a glowy lipbalm/lipstick colour and last for 2 hours tops.
Cheek performance: Hyacint is one of the sheerer colours, compared to the imfamous Turkish Rose. It still needs some blending to get it natural but it will last about 4 hours. Not my favourite for cheek colour. Turkish Rose has a medium coverage and Hyacint light-to-medium.

8. Becca Beach Tint Lip and Cheek

In contrast to the Becca above, this one is really long-lasting for both lips and cheek. Then again, it markets itself as a hybrid beach products that would suit surfer babes and swimming queens so that makes sense.
Lip performance: It is a gel-texture and feels a bit dryer when applied. However, it turns into a matte to velvet stain (I have Watermelon) that really last in a water-setting for a while. The coverage is medium but still quite natural. It smells really nice like a candied watermelon.
Cheek performance: This gel-like product spreads on light but can stills settle in a pore or scar so blending is needed. After that, it stays rather put and has a light to medium coverage without any shimmer. It looks quite natural. It market as a Beach product and they made quite the reasonable product for it.

9. Vapour Organic cheek/lip in Courtisan

Another newbie I will review in detail soon. Shortly:
Lip performance: Medium to medium/high coverage. It feels like a dryer lipstick (eg MAC or NARS) but that makes it quite longlasting. I do find, just like the other dryer lipstick types, that I need a smoother under this lipstick to make it appear more equal.
Cheek performance: high coverage and needs good blending due to the dryer texture. It stays on for about 5 hours before fading.

10. Kose Addiction in Revenge

My most expensive, but my ULTIMATE lip/cheek hybrid!
Lip performance: BRILLIANT! It is one of those velvety mattes that actually look good on me. Chanel makes a velvety matte lipstick as well, the Allure Velvet, but this one is even better in smoothing out the un-plumpness of the lips. The colour payoff is excellent: it lasted a vigourous excercise class and my lips were as corally pink afterwards.
Cheek performance: Just as amazing! The velvet texture that smooths out lips works brilliantly on cheeks as well and even without all the priming/foundation I can wear it without setting into that scar. And that is often what I like when wearing cream-cheek products, when I don't have tons of makeup on! It wears for 5 to 6 hours.

11. NARS Multiple (Beverly Hills)

The limited edition one: it's not as vibrant in colour as the other multiples but doesn't have that pesky glitter/shimmer thing going on either. I will discuss the texture of the Orgasm Multiple as well for review's sake
Lip performance: Beverly Hills is really sheer and smells somewhat alcoholy and gel-like. It dissapears in 5 minutes? Orgasm (or Copacabana) stays for about an hour or 2, but as discussed in tons of blogs: it's not a real lip-product and feels somewhat dry and doesn't plump up lips.
Cheek performance: Beverly Hills is sheerer and more gel-like than the regular Multiples, but I love the sheerness on cheeks for giving that supernatural but still visible change in colour. Similar as the gel-like texture of Becca's Beachtint, although this one glides better over the skin. The beachtint, in contrast, last longer.

Conclusion:
I already told you that the Kose Addiction in my favourite and I wish they came in tons of colours and half the price cheaper.  However, in the end I like them all for different reasons. Sometimes colour plays a great role too but I haven't discussed it today. Women like hybrid products for times we don't want to carry a lot of products a round or sometimes we want to colour-coordinate our lips to our cheeks. I don't think a hybrid lip/cheek product should be a hassle or too-much-an-effort to apply because I prefer my creamy blushers on a tinted moisturizer face or at least not too primed and powdery, otherwise I would have picked a powder blusher. So it has to have some ingredient inside that makes it easy to apply, but still longlasting and looking equal on both face an lips. That is a lot of things to demand and that's why I believe Kose Addiction did an excellent job: it's so travel-handy too.