Canmake is a popular Japanese drugstore beauty brand with reasonably priced products, and it was on my list of brands to purchase from for years. (A few years ago, I tried a couple of Canmake items that were kindly passed on to me from a friend.) Some time ago, I decided to get Cheek Gradation in 06 Candy Stripe. (Since then, I picked up a couple more products, which I will talk about later.)
Canmake is owned by IDA Laboratories, which also own Cardinale, Country & Stream, Fiancée and Profael. IDA Laboratories are part of IDA Group, which also owns brands such as Cezanne and Sweets Sweets. Canmake mainly carries makeup items but it also carries fragrances and fragranced handcare and bodycare items.
Cheek Gradation (¥800) was launched in October 2006 and 06 Candy Stripe was added to the lineup in April 2010. It has a coloful mix of shades: orange, strawberry pink, light pink and ivory white. All the four shades contain shimmer, and the ivory white (which is meant to be used as a highlighter) is more pearly and shimmery than the three blusher shades.
The strawberry pink is my favorite shade in this variation. It is noticeably more pigmented than the orange and the light pink, but it is not too densely pigmented and is still easy to work with. The orange looks less flattering on me but it is nice to try something different. (Some orange-looking blushers go on peachier, but this one does look orange when worn.) The light pink doesn’t show up very much on my light-to-medium skin tone and it mainly provides additional shimmer.
These three shades are softly shimmery and not too shimmery or sparkly. Even though I tend to go for shimmer-less or minimally shimmery blushers, I can still fairly comfortably wear these shades during daytime.
The ivory white has a high-toned pearly and shimmery finish. I wouldn’t use it on my T-zone but I like it (sparingly) under the outer corners of my eyes. Its dimensional finish doesn’t look flat or frosty and it doesn’t over-exaggerate the look of pores.
I nearly dismissed the tiny flat brush that came with the product, but it is useful in picking up the individual colors. (Because the colors are arranged in relatively thin stripes, it is difficult to pick up the individual colors with the usual blusher brushes.) Also, its soft, dense and bouncy hair spreads and blends the powder quite effortlessly.
(It seems that Canmake is phasing out the Cheek Gradation range, and I think it is replaced by Glow Fleur Cheeks and Mat Fleur Cheeks, both of which feature four shades in each variation.)
Related posts:
Canmake Fall 2014 Makeup Collection
{ 0 comments… add one now }