(Albion Eprise Water Face Color in 100)
Before talking about my first ever Albion purchase, I’d like to briefly mention the brand itself.
Albion is one of the largest cosmetics brands in Japan. I have also occasionally come across passing mentions of Albion as a brand favored by the Japanese royalty. Few can really be sure of this, but it is true that Albion has always had a very upmarket image. [The Albion website is for information only and doesn’t offer on-line ordering.]
Albion’s most popular products are mainly skincare and foundation items. The Essential Skin Conditioner and Exage powder foundations are almost permanent fixtures on most best-selling and magazine readers’ favorite product lists.
One unique aspect of all Albion’s various skincare ranges is a creamy skin-softening emulsion that is applied in circular motion with a cotton pad before the toner and the moisturizer. The Albion sales assistants often remind customers that this moisturizer-like emulsion is not a moisturizer and that it is used to help the absorption of all the subsequent skincare products.
I have tried samples from Albion’s skincare routines but I personally didn’t enjoy using the skin-softening emulsions. They felt quite filmy on the skin and I didn’t feel like using any other product afterwards. Plus the circular motion during the application left my skin slightly red, not to mention that most of them had alcohol. (So do many of the toners.) But I am aware that some people swear by Albion’s unique skincare routines and can’t imagine using anything else.
So, with Albion, their makeup ranges are much more suitable for me to get a taste of the brand. I had long been interested in trying out Eprise, one of Albion’s makeup ranges. (Albion’s website is completely in Flash, so do click on the Albion link above to find the Eprise line.) As someone that loves blushers, when I saw Water Face Color from the spring 2008 collection, I almost instantly decided that this would be my first-ever Albion purchase.
(Eprise Water Face Color)(image from www.albion.co.jp)
The bottle is shaken before application. The blusher liquid has a watery consistency and glides with ease. (But this is not a cheek stain and has a slightly milkier consistency than a typical water-based cheek stain.) It is very easy to blend and layers well for more intensity. The finish is softly luminous and non-greasy, without any visible shimmer. After the blending is done, it almost feels as if the color came from within the skin.
#100 is quite a natural pink for me. It has a bouncy feel but doesn’t make my cheeks look overly flushed.
Another aspect that impresses me is that the color is very long-lasting. I usually use a powder foundation so this liquid blusher would go underneath it. There were twice when I had it on for about 12 hours, and the fading was very minimal and barely noticeable. I was initially slightly worried that,
like a couple of cheek/lip staining items I tested, the color wouldn’t easily come off with a cleanser, but it came off swiftly and effortlessly with my RMK Cleansing Oil.Overall, this is a very good blusher for me. A little goes a long way, so this 10ml liquid blusher will last a long time and create a lot of long-lasting rosy cheeks. I have a feeling that it won’t be long before I am interested in trying another makeup item from Albion.
Related Posts:
Chanel Irréelle Blush in Tea Rose
(one of my absolute favorites)
(home favorites)
Budget Princess: Majolica Majorca
(featuring two blushers from the line)
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi PJ,
wow that’s very weird.. i have never seen or heard of this brand ( in japan) just before now.
the times i’ve been to departments like takashimaya etc, it’s never there. is it sold in boutiques?
Hi Nic Nic,
Thank you for your question. Hope you are well!
As far as I know, Albion is sold in most major department stores, just like Shiseido and Kanebo. (But the brand image is more low-key.)
I was double-checking the Albion website, and, in Tokyo, it is available in major department stores like Takashimaya Ginza, Isetan Shinjuku, Takashimaya Shinjuku, and Seibu Shibuya. You can find the list of the other retail points in Japan on the Albion website.
Hope it helps. :)
Thank you very much again for posting your question! :)
Hi PJ thanks for the info.. im just surprised I haven’t seen it around haha. must be very low key. I have been to the Ginza Takashimaya and i didn’t see it. nevermind =/ i’ll check it one day when i have the chance. thank you!
Hi PJ!
It’s me again. :) Just wondering if you can do a write up on make up storage?? You must have tonnes of makeup so am wondering how u store them or if you have any tips for storing them to keep them from turning bad (like mouldy lipsticks!)
Thanks!
I just came across your blog and I really like all the comments you made, especially on the new products launched in Japan since I have no access to them before I decided to purchase from any online store so it’s very useful! Thanks! :) But since not everything is available online so I always wish that I can go to Japan and grab them all myself.
I’ve tried the Essential toner from Albion and I think it’s one of the best toner for me so far; however, I also think that this product contains alcohol (unfortunately, I cant read Japanese) but the smell is very blessing.
I’ve read a lot of good comments on Albion Exage White line, do you have any comment on those? Thanks! :)
twins ;)
Great review on this and I must say I’ve very pleased with these so far. Very interesting product to say the least ;)
Hi Nicola,
You are very welcome! If you have a chance to stop by the counter, I do recommend that you have a look at this range of liquid blushers. Do let me know what you think!
Thanks again for stopping by! :)
Hi Kng Suan,
I see. Currently almost all my makeup items are either stored in drawers in a cabinet or displayed on my dressing table. Since everything is fitted fixture, taking photos of my makeup storage will involve showing part of the room furniture. I tend to be a rather private person, so I am really sorry that, at the moment, I would probably not plan a post on makeup storage.
But I have taken your point about specific tips on storing makeup, and I will definitely think about writing a post on this.
I am really sorry again, and thank you very much for your comment! :)
Hi $wEeT T!raMi$u,
Thank you very much for visiting my blog. I am very happy that you have found it useful!
I believe that the Albion Essential Skin Conditioner has alcohol. I have used a trial sample of it and I couldn’t actually finish it because of the alcohol content. Personally I think it would be a much better toner without the alcohol, but I know it has been a very popular skincare item in Japan.
On the other hand, I have not tried the Exage White line, so unfortunately I am not really able to say a lot about it. (But, again, I am aware that this is a very popular range from Albion.)
Thank you very much again for stopping by my blog and posting your thoughts. Hope to hear from you again soon! :)
Hi The Muse,
Thanks for reading my review! :)
Indeed, what a coincidence. I am glad you like them, as I am certainly enjoying using mine! I really like the texture and the staying power. A lovely item!
Thank you for your comment again! :)
Hey PJ
Have you tried the Albion powder foundations? I wanted to buy the JS compact (swayed by the beautiful case) but apparently Albions new powder foundation is very moisturising (which I need) so I am torn now! I am not familar with Albion at all :)
Hi R,
I see. I haven’t tried Albion’s powder foundations, so I am afraid I don’t really know very much about them. (I am only aware that Albion’s powder foundations are usually selling very well.)
I think that if there are Japanese brands that you are more familiar with than Albion (from your personal experiences and from other reviews), maybe you might want to stay with the familiar ones. Things are probably less likely to go wrong with them.
Let me know what you decide on and how you feel about it later on. Do keep me posted if you have other questions.
Thank you for your comment again! :)
Hi there, besides ebay, could you tell me where I can purchase the albion skin essential conditioner please? I live in Los Anegles, thanks
Hi Joey,
One place you can buy it from is ichibankao.com, which is based in Japan. They take PayPal and ship internationally. I have shopped from the site for several times and I’ve been happy with their services.
Hope it helps, and thank you for reading my blog! :)
I love the Albion Exage Milk… it’s fantastic stuff!Smells nice and seems to make my skin clearer.
Hi Sue,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts! :)