Review: Visee Mineral Cheek Baby Finish PK 800

My last review of the last haul was my initial favourite of the bunch.

Spoilers ahead: I will maintain my initial enthousiasm about it, only more nuanced:

The idea is that I used to like MAC and the likes, and then came the Lunasols, Rouge Bunny Rouge, Le Metier de Beaute and the superb Burberry Beauty on the scene. Those fantastic blushers made MAC a bit meh. I can still understand its massive appeal, but being more spoiled is just that you reach for the ones you like better. I think the other niche snobs afficionadas know what I am saying ;-)

And then again there is my like for Japanese cosmetics and my undying curiosity to try out new blushers. Moreover, I had a steady love for mineral makeup for a while when my skin was really on the edge, and I loved the way it got it calmer on both inner and outer level. So the word mineral brings up really positive connotations, although I hardly use it anymore.

Basically, minerals are beautiful, especially when your skin is not really happy, but the slightly chemical foundations can make you look slightly more polished. So when my skin got better and happier I tried some more chemical foundations, and stuck with them. Similar with blush.

Makes me think of it: is the Visee Mineral cheek a true mineral? Probably not (still not fluent with the language on the box), however, the element of mineral must be present or otherwise why would Visee promote it quite clearly?

Ok, return to the blush itself instead of all the mineral-chat. It has a hygienic tube-like distributor. Mind this is more hygienic than the Lavshuca Girly Whip Cheek I showed you a couple of days before.

Highly pigmented, I already said that in my first preview.

Which basically stays that way on the skin:

When I blended it, I had the memory of my Kose Addiction Cheekstick in Revenge in mind. So what else to do than compare the two?

Swatches: on bare skin/no foundation

This first one is slightly blended :

 Which basically says my memoric powers were right! They are really similar with the difference in finish. Both are vivid corally pinks with a slight neon-ish undertone. The only thing is that Addiction cheekstick looks slightly more pore/line diffusing than the more gel-like Visee Mineral cheek.

Completely blended:

In blended state the difference is even less visible. However, the Addiction Revenge probably has more silicones or other fillers that makes the skin looks slightly more polished. Still both blend well and give out a lovely and quite regular flushed complexion.

I tried the Visee on lips too: it gives out a vivid stain but the gel-formula also makes the lips feel dry (so bring out the lipbalm to top up). Opposite to Kose Addiction, which is a true hybrid 1 (original review here) 
(1. noting that I only found this in the colour and formula of Revenge and not so much with Rose Bar).

VERDICT:

I liked this blush on first sight, although I was quite shocked of the vividness of the colour. I placed a couple of tiny dots on the cheeks and it blended quite easily and without being blotchy. Not all of these gel-like products do that: I personally do not have that much luck with the Becca Beachtint variety.

It becomes a peachy pink with a slightly neonish undertone after 20 seconds of blending. It makes my paler winterskin look fresh and slightly flushed in a good way, as it is a part of my fantastic healthy life (ahum). I like the fact it has no glitters or shimmers. The promise of baby finish is quite true too.
What I like most of it, is the potential to work on darker skintones. If you blend it less vigorously as I did, the pigment will look vivid on a darker complexion too: that is not something that every brand can say about their blush simply being targeted on lighter skinned complexion only.
The durability is about 5 hours with a slight fading after that time, depending on the base underneath (it works on non-foundation skin too).

CONCLUSION:

I like it a lot and think it would be a fantastic summer product as well, although I haven't tested it waterproof-ness. Perhaps my Australian or other Southern hemisphere readers can do that for me as they have a delightful promise of summer approaching (not jealous...ehm). I am thinking about buying some other colours too, for example the more subtle rosy mauve PK 801 looks enticing. The price is right for $13.50 over here.

Kose Addiction Cheekstick in Rose Bar 06

This spring I fell in love with the texture, durability and colour of my first Addiction cheekstick in Revenge (here). I had it compared against a couple of other hybrid multitaskers and I found it to be the ultimate no 1.

 I still love this colour a lot, but as I've been blogging lately I feel the need to return to my original favourite colour for autumn: a more muted rose. Kose Addiction doesn't have the largest colour selection on the cheeksticks yet (but wait for Autumn to have four new ones) but they have two muted rosy colours.

From the two muted Rosy's I picked the non-shimmery one: Rose Bar 06

Their beautiful and minimalistic outer cast doesn't say anything about the colour inside. The deep fuschia colour is a part of Ayako's detailed design. I actually like how she put the DD  of ADDiction in a rounder way.

The colour is a bit lighter than I expected. Still a delightfully Rose with a velvety texture.

I remembered stating my reason for going for Revenge first this spring because I considered having multiple dupes of this colour already. But I wouldn't be a beauty-blogger if I didn't see the nuances in one muted rose over another. 

 

Blatantly, in the field of cream-cheeks I have not even sister to compare it with, only some cousins in the powder department. Only in the lipstick part I can say it looks close to Hourglass Fresco, only a couple of tones lighter. So I'm happy not having close dupes!

I am really delighted with this colour as a blush. I know it can work as a lipstick as well, and I raved about this with the Revenge colour, but it's a bit too MLBB to wear it on its own. On the other hand, it makes the perfect foil for a multidimentional lipgloss.

This is another masterpiece from Ayako's Addiction and their hybrid Cheek/lipsticks become truely my must-have staple. I am looking forward to the pinky & salmony hue that will be released this autumn.

(I bought mine at ichibankao)

Of Different Sunscreens

Today I am going to show you some of the sunscreens that I have.

I am not going to do a full review, however, I will keep it a bit general and discuss the different type of products that contain sunscreen, and how to handle them.

Most of us know that sunscreen is a part of a whole bunch of cosmetic products these days. What we do not know is that not all sunscreen is created equally and you have to think about what kind of protection you need for that day so you can taylor your sunscreen to that need.

If I get the comment that I look 'as pale as a ghost' (without wearing self-tan), I know I have done a good job with my sunscreen. Let's just face the fact that the sun can feel really good on your skin, but is one of the main causes of ageing. Ageing is good, as long as it doesn't show that much, which explains that a large amount in my cupboard is reserved for sunscreen-based products.

What do we have?

1. Etude House Glow Base Sunscreen in SPF 36

This was a part of their summer release in 2009. Overal, it is a highlighter-esque product that gives out a glow over the entire face. It also whitens a bit.

Protection factor:
I think I used it once in a hot climate and got a bit of a sunburn. So I would not recommend to use this as a full-on sunscreen in climates that are close to the equator (or other countries during warmer summer weather). It works as a protector when you are not in full sunlight or during winter-weather, though. Moreover, it is a brilliant highlighter/glowifyer.

It is also still fresh after 2 years. I stored this one in a cool and dark area, which helps to keep your sunscreen fresh and valid for a bit longer.

2. Aveeno Ultra-Calming daycream with SPF10.

 Sunscreens in daycreams or foundations NEVER have the same amount of protection as they would in the products that are real sunscreens. However, it filters out some damaging rays when sitting behind a desk behind the window or when you are simply commuting in cooler weather in colder climates. I always use an extra ('real') sunscreen when I know my face will get to see the sun that day.

3. Institut Estederm Photo Reverse Anti-brown Patches fluid- No sun.

I came across reviews of Institut Estederm thanks to Lisa Eldridge and CaféMakeup. It is a french brand and the common complaint of it is that it doesn't list the amount of protection given (SPF's, PA+) etc. I've tried it and it is quite thick compared to my usual stash of Japanese sunscreens (see swatches below). Positive is that it really does protect your skin in warmer weather, so it does work only it is not as brilliantly thin as some of my favourite Japanese sunscreens (or La Roche Posay).

4. Kose Suncut UV Protect Cream SPF 50+ PA++
Good protection in warmer climates. Still, for a Japanese sunsceen it is rather creamy and thick (see below). Still, it is thinner than the Institut Estederm one.

5. Orbis UV CUT sunscreen on face light SPF 34 PA++

This was my absolute favourite during 2010! I carried around everywhere, which, as you might see in the picture below, made it expire a bit before its date (see the runny texture at nr. 5). It is always advised to throw away your sunscreen after one season, but I believe it depends on how you store it too. With the Orbis I went everywhere and it got some serious heating in my purse.
Why I like it so much?
The texture is really thin and the light-skintone of it makes foundation optional. It really protects against stronger sun-rays and is scentless. It is quite cheap (around $17) and it did not give me pimples (some sunscreens do). I also love the smaller bottle that make it perfect for carrying around.

6. Claring Gel-Creme Solaire/Smoothing Cream-Gel low protection UVB 10/UVA

This is a thick cream, even though the name suggest it would be a gel-type of cream. I do like this one as a daycream type when the weather is not sunny, etc.  It gives out quite some protection even though it says SPF 10. I once applied it and suddenly the weather was really sunny (unexpected) and I had no higher protection with me. My face was exposed to this kind of sun for 10 minutes, but I didn't tan, so it did its job.

7. Olaz Proffesional anti-ageing Daycream SPF 30

Again, this is one of the daycream hybrids around. I believe that Olaz is the more serious one, because they target for American markets and they are really serious about good sun-protection. Still, I would always advise to go for a product that targets for a 100% on sun-protection, and consider hybrid products as an extra or just for a lower protection.

The textures on my skin:

I hope this helps out a little or refresh the knowledge most of the beauty-afficionadas already know ;D.

Remember that this article is partly my own opinion and partly scrambled information from all the other sources (magazines, other beauty-bloggers, academic 'research') I accumulated.  :D