If you're new to this blog, here's the skinny: I've been on a quest to find the most perfect, shimmer-free, pastel pink cream blush known to mankind. Yes, I love the pinks in my current collection, but I'm really missing Ye Olde NYX Boho Chic sort of color...you know, before they started dropping shimmer in to the formula. And yes, I know that the shimmer in a lot of these pastel pink blushes isn't always super-obvious, but gaddammit, I just want one without shimmer!
And I know that you all totally understand and appreciate that sort of nonsense. Maybe. But the makeup industry doesn't seem to get it, so
(Now I want wine. I think this whole affair is turning me in to a lush.)
ANYWAY. Imagine my excitement when I was pointed to the Etude House Sweet Recipe Cupcake All Over Color...s. I refuse to keep typing that, so we're just gonna call them the "Etude Cupcakes." Etude is a Korean drugstore brand, so I had to order my pots off of eBay. I chose the popular f2plus1 seller and, fyi, was very impressed with their service. It was $14.99 for 2 of these, plus $2.50 shipping.
Yes, I bought 2, go on ahead and judge me. But I figured if I was going to wait a bajillion years (aka 3 weeks) from something to arrive from Korea, and if I was already $2.50 in on postage, I might as well try and fill in another gap in my collection: I don't have a true red cream blush. I'm not sure how I've avoided red cream blushes for so long, but now is the time for action! (And by action, I mean buying MOAR STUFF!!!)
There's no denying that these things are fucking cute. The lids are designed to match the product names; I bought PK002 Strawberry Chiffon Cake and ED301 Raspberry Mousse Cake, so the lids look like--you guessed it!--strawberry cake and raspberry cake. The lids always feel a bit loose on the containers, unfortunately, regardless of how hard you press them down or how much you twist them. I haven't experienced a sudden loss-o-lid yet, but it's worth noting.
The colors are a babydoll pink and a cool red, respectively, as described by the advertisements and as depicted in the f2plus1 pictures. I know that Asian drugstore brands are big on cutesy fragrances to match their cutesy packaging, so I assumed each shade would have a namesake fragrance, ie they'd smell like strawberries and raspberries. No, my friends, these smell very strongly of cheap peach candy. It fades a few minutes after you've applied the product, but until it does, I'm really grossed out.
Wearing the Strawberry Chiffon Cake shade on my lips, eyes, and cheeks.
The texture of both shades is quite slick and thin, akin to a lot of the gel blushes on the market. They're also relatively sheer, meaning you'll have to do a few layers to get decent color payoff, but at least you won't overdo it.
The sheer pigmentation and liquidy texture make them very easy to apply and blend out, particularly on the cheeks, without disturbing the foundation underneath. They dry down to a light powder finish, but maintain a bit of a soft glowy look. It does fade away after 3-4 hours, though, necessitating reapplication if you want your cheeks to stay bright and pretty.
Even more unfortunately, the "all over" Etude Cupcakes are useless on your lips and eyes.
While they look sheer and soft on your eyelids, the slickness of the formula results in almost immediate creasing, even if you use an eye primer. And even on freshly exfoliated and moisturized lips, the Cupcake shades look patchy and dry and disgusting, emphasizing lines and flakes you didn't know you had. If you're going to use this product at all, stick to using it on your cheeks.
The Etude Cupcakes aren't a complete and total failure. They come in cute containers, interesting colors, and are easy to apply. But you need that ease, because you'll have to reapply them to your cheeks throughout the day, and they're not as useful as an "all over color" as they're advertised. Oh, and the scent is just gross. I'm not going to say, "Hey, don't try these!", but they definitely didn't impress me, and there are tons of better cream blushes out there.
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Swatches: Sleek Scandalous (powder), Etude Raspberry Mousse Cake, Yves Saint Laurent Babydoll, Etude Strawberry Chiffon Cake
