Kanebo Coffret d’Or‘s Smile Up Cheeks seems to be a popular item in Japan. It is currently ranked sixth in the powder blusher category at Cosme.Net (voted by the website’s members) and the variation in 02 Peach is third in the blusher category in Biteki‘s 2014 reader survey (February 2015 issue).
Smile Up Cheeks was launched in December 2011 for spring 2012 (with four variations, which are still available), but it was more than a year later when I got interested in the product. For spring 2013, two limited editions were released, and I decided to get 05 Coral Pink. (Notes on all the variations are towards the end of the post.)
Smile Up Cheeks in 05 Coral Pink (¥2300) features a lightly-to-moderately pigmented soft warm pink, a lightly pigmented light peach and a lightly pigmented cream white. All the three shades have a glowy and softly pearly finish with fine multi-hued light-reflective particles. They don’t look flat or frosty on the skin, and their staying power is decent.
According to the application instructions (printed on the outer box of the product and shown on Coffret d’Or’s official website), the inner two (blusher) shades are mixed and applied first. Then, the outer (highlighting) shade is applied around the outer edge of the blusher shades to create gradation and to add a soft glow to the cheeks. Personally, I prefer placing the highlighting shade below the outer corners of the eyes (just above the top of the cheek bones) and I also bring it up towards the temples.
I don’t usually like mixing shades in a blusher palette because I want the colors on the two cheeks to be completely identical. However, since the shades in this variation are quite light and sheer, I don’t have any problem with mixing the warm pink and the peach. My brush unavoidably picks up a little bit of the light peach when picking up the cream white, but it is not an issue for me either.
The look it creates is very natural, as the warmth of the colors blend seamlessly with the warmth in my skin tone. However, I do wish the two blusher shades were a tiny bit more vibrant as they (when mixed together) can look almost too subtle on my light-to-medium complexion.
The product comes with a small round brush. It can be stored on the separator tray between the blusher palette and the lid, and it rests snugly when the lid is closed.
I can certainly understand the appeal of Smile Up Cheeks. Almost all the variations feature very natural colors, and blushers with a glowy finish have been popular in Japan in recent years.
For your reference, here is a list of all the variations of Smile Up Cheeks released so far:
Spring 2012 (link above):
– 01 Pink
– 02 Peach
– 03 Rose
– 04 Orange
Spring 2013 (link above):
– 05 Coral Pink
– 06 Red Rose
Late spring/ early summer 2013:
– 07 Rose Pink
– 08 Peach Beige
– 09 Feminine Red
– 10 Sweet Pink
– 11 Pure Peach
Late spring/ early summer 2014:
– 12 Nudy Peach
– 13 Natural Rose
– 14 Coral Red
– 15 Natural Pink
– 16 Sweet Rose
(Information on some of the variation names is from www.cosme.net.)
The variations that are currently available are the four regular ones from spring 2012 and the three limited editions from spring 2015. The other ones are limited editions that are unlikely to be available now.
Among the seven currently available variations, 15 Natural Pink is probably the closest to 05 Coral Pink.
Related posts:
Coffret d’Or 3D Gradation Eyes in 02 Mint Brown
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