Etude House Sweet Recipe Cupcake All Over Color - OR202 Peach Sugar Cake

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Another sickly sweet treat from the Etude House Sweet Recipe collection, Cupcake All Over Color may just be the cutest makeup item I have ever seen. Packaged in an intricately decorated cupcake motif tin and presented beautifully in a French patisserie themed case, I was so enchanted by the packaging that I was probably going give this product a positive review whether I really like it or not. Fortunately, the quality of this multi-purpose colour is just as high as the packaging is cute. Read on for my review!

Get glowy cheeks with makeup that’s good for you - Krave Blush Crush!

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I don’t know about you, but when I used to be a makeup newbie, the product I never thought of stocking up on was blush. I think a lot of people underestimate how important blush is to one’s look, and how much difference a good quality blush makes. I would go so far as to say that some people are afraid of blush, as if wearing blush at all would make them look like a floosy (I blame the 80’s for giving blush a bad reputation!). Oh, how I want to take these poor misguided souls by the shoulders and shake some sense into them! Not only is blush something you should never go without, but it’s one of the only makeup products that can been worn on its own, when you’re in a rush.

Last Christmas I gifted a Nepoleon Perdis makeup kit to my friend, which included their legendary cream blush. That was the first blush my friend had ever worn, and she reluctantly put it on for work one day. All day long, everyone was complementing her on how nice her skin looked, and she was a believer since. 

But unfortunately, not all blush products are equal. I’ve tried some amazing ones, and I’ve also tried some pretty disappointing ones. Krave Blush Crush, I have to say, is definitely the former!

Recently on the great blogsphere, I’ve been hearing whispers of Krave Minerale Cosmeceuticals, Philippine home grown brand producing high quality wearable organic makeup made with natural ingredients that’s good for your skin and totally affordable. It’s products are manufactured in the USA. Krave Blush Crush, a loose mineral powder blush, is made with Rice Powder and containing Natural SPF. And, for those of you who love key words, it’s also kosher, vegan, glutan free, hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic (doesn’t clog pores), non-acnegenic (doesn’t cause breakouts!), and like all Krave products, completely chemical free *phew*.

One look at Krave Blush Crush’s translucent glossy pink plastic container brought to mind adorable barbie makeup.

While I think the pot is really adorable, it does seem to be quite messy, and due to the small size, it’s difficult to apply this product with a makeup puff. This isn’t such a problem for me, however, as I use a brush for my blush.

This is the first time I’ve used a blush that’s not either in cake or cream form, and I thought loose powder would be difficult to apply as you can’t control how much you get on the brush. However, I didn’t have any problems with this at all, and it’s always a good idea to tap off or white off access product from the applicator before applying.

The powder itself is super fine and looks very pearlescent, and slightly shimmery. While this is made with rice powder, it doesn’t look at all different to other mineral lose powders out there. The colour, endearingly named ‘Pink Muffin’, is deep pink, slightly mauve.

While the product looks like it would super bright, it actually wears as a beautiful soft and subtle pink, which looks amazingly natural. While I expected it to be overly shimmery, there was no visible shimmer at all, and instead, my cheeks were given a lovely glow.

Now one thing I was concerned about with this product being made with rice powder, is would it adhere to the skin as well and last as long. I have noticed that the pigment is not as buildable as you would expect, but the colour does last all day!

By the way, on recommendation from my favourite M.A.C. makeup artist, I use an angled contouring brush to apply my blush by 3 Concept Eyes, purchased from The Powder Room.

• Made with organic natural rice powder and is chemical free 
• Doesn’t clog pores, and doesn’t cause breakouts
• Super wearable colour
• Gives the look of healthy glowing skin 
• Generous product size
• Very affordable, at Php 230 ($5AUD)!

• While packaging is cute, it can get messy

I absolutely love this product, and it’s now in my normal makeup rotation! You can get your own here.

Krave Minerale Cosmeceuticals was very kind to provide me with a range of products to review, and so far, I love each one of them. I’ll be reviewing each one in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned!!

Sponsored Review: Ameli Shiny Cake Blusher from VanityBox.com.au

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If you were impressed by the Ameli Eyeshadow I reviewed in a previous post, you’ll love the Ameli Shiny Cake Blusher. VanityBox.com.au were kind enough to send me both a blusher and contourer (and some other delicious gifts!). I’ve forever been a blush-skeptic because I find very few blush products work with my tanned skin tone.

If you’ve never heard of Ameli (where have you been! :P), here’s a background from VanityBox.com.au’s website:

It is an online only business(lower product costs compared to store front retailers) and has only recently opened to end customers(2008), prior to that they only specialised in providing cosmetics for make up artists. They have been gaining immense popularity over the past 2 years, recently winning the best cosmetics site award(In Style Korean Magazine). Having reviewed their products, we feel that Ameli eyeshadows are an excellent buy as they have a range of colours similar to that only found in branded cosmetics and is of equally superb quality. Ameli’s products also come in a generous amount, i.e – their eyeshadows come in twice the amount of content compared to a majority of brands -  at affordable prices. You can read more about Ameli here.

The colours I’m reviewing are #02A Ameli Blush(Pink) and #01B Ameli Contour Blush (Brown)

First lets have a look at the #02A Pink. This is a pale baby pink colour with light reflectivity. It’s well pigmented and very buildable.

This colour is so flattering, even on my skin tone. It brightens my cheek as well as ads colour, and gives an overall glowy appearance – I love it!

Next the contourer. While this looks brown, it’s a true contourer which diffuses light rather than adds colour. The effect is similar to the Canmake Shading Powder.

Personally, as I have quite a broad ‘flat’ face, I don’t feel that contouring really helps me achieve the illusion of a ‘smaller face’. However, this contourer works wonders at defining my nose.

• Both products are of high quality.
• Pink blush is highly pigmented and buildable so it can be worn sheer for a hint of glow or applied more liberally to complement the gyaru look – this is now my favourite blush and the only one I use!
• Though the blush is a super powdery baby pink colour, it’s flattering on even darker skin tone, like mine.
• The contourer diffuses light falling onto the face to give illusion of shadows(available in this range is a highlighter: #01A Ameli Luminizer(Ivory) – your face needs both light and shade).
• Generous product portions that go a long way, so it’s great value for money at only 19.50.
• Pressed powder, so no mess of getting the powder everywhere after a few uses.
• Package sizes are great for fitting inside your makeup bag.

• The blusher is currently not available in any other colours. I would probably buy this in every colour if they had it!

Get these products here.

This review is sponsored by Vanity Box (http://vanitybox.com.au). They are based in Australia (yay!), but they ship internationally as well! They are still quite new, having only been around since 2010, but with their amazing products, excellent customer service and super fast shipping, I can tell they are going to be the next big thing. But there’s definitely something special about this retailer that gives them an edge against other more established online stores. Unlike some Asian fashion retailers, Vanity Box doesn’t ‘cattle drive’ their stock. You get a feeling from the effort they put into their well built website and excellent product descriptions that they are passionate about everything they sell. Also I might mention that the store owner is a dear!

This description on their website:

Beginning in mid 2010, Vanity Box is an online boutique store focusing on chic and trendy Korean fashion wear and Korean cosmetics. At Vanity Box, we aim to provide a pleasant shopping experience. Our motto is to provide quality yet affordable products without compromising our service. Vanity Box is the only foreign supplier of Ameli cosmetics, a new contender in the Korean market with a strong following online.