Thursday, February 11, 2016

Earning My Blush Stripes: Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush in No. 1 Natural Rose

I used to be a major blush fiend (as evidenced in the Addicted to Blush Tag) and was obsessed with the idea of finding the perfect pinky peach, the most effortless baby pink, the ultimate universal nude blush. Recently though, I've sorta given up on that quest. Not that I don't love blush - my face looks uncannily zombie/ vampire like without it - but a lot of the different blushes I had would end up looking roughly the same on the face. So I did a bit of culling of the less-than-ideal formulas... and as a result of seeing all that empty drawer space, I purchased another blush. Sigh.
But you guys, it was just too pretty to resist - look at it! It's the Kiko Shade Fusion Trio Blush in shade no. 1 Natural Rose ($15 for 6g/ 0.21 oz, available online at www.kikocosmetics.com/en-us/ and at Kiko stores). When I visited a Kiko boutique in Warsaw, I was a bit surprised by the price difference between this new Shade Fusion formula and their regular Soft Touch blush, which was also on sale. But as soon as I compared the texture of the two blushes and taken into consideration the design of the packaging, I wasn't at all interested in the more affordable Soft Touch line. I had to get the Shade Fusion.
The compact of the Shade Fusion blushes is just beautiful - small but weighty, with a simple, clean, luxurious feel. There's a nice mirror inside, and no wasting of precious space to include a crappy brush. Since the metal is so reflective, it is of course a fingerprint magnet, but I can live with that - and all make-up fans should now heave an orgasmic sigh because the closing mechanism is magnetic. Aaaaah.
But the tactile feel of this powder blush is what really made me pull out my credit card. It's so smooth and fine, with a silky texture and no powder kick-up. Yet, the product isn't hard-pressed into the pan - it's very easy to pick up with both my swatchy fingers or a blush brush. Not sure how Kiko pulled that off, but it's just so, so pleasant to use.
L-R: Kiko Shade Fusion in Natural Rose, NARS Douceur, Hourglass Mood Exposure, Catrice Rose Royce
I obviously gravitated towards the most neutral shade in the range, no. 1 Natural Rose. However, similarly to the Catrice Defining Blush in Rose Royce, the Kiko blush doesn't really look rosey on my skintone at all. Instead, it's quite warm and very slightly peachy. Compared to my other 'nude' blushes, you can see that both NARS Douceur and Hourglass Mood Exposure are a lot more brown. The pigmentation of the Kiko Shade Fusion blush is medium but buildable, and the finish is quite matte. You could of course play with the shade depth of this blush by concentrating your brush on different stripes - sometimes I like dipping my brush into the two darker shades on the bottom and applying that to the back of my cheeks, and then using the middle and top stripe for the apples to give myself a more dimensional look.
All in all, I really like this new Shade Fushion Trio Blush in Natural Rose - it's pretty, it's easy, it suits a variety of eye looks or lipstick shades. If you've been skeptical about Kiko products so far, I'd say to give them a shot, even if the range seems a bit overwhelming at first. I think that for the price, the quality is quite outstanding, and the brands follows current make-up trends very closely - so if you wanted to try something a bit outside of your comfort zone, you could do so with their products without breaking the bank. Have you tried any Kiko products? What are your favorite things in their line?

7 comments:

  1. 15$ is quite expensive for a Kiko Blush. I remember paying the half of the price for one of the round shades. You may like the famous Kiko 103 - On my skin this shade looks tooo red. Nowadays I prefer subdued and dusty colours to bright and vibrant colours.

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  2. Kiko Natural Rose is such a beauty! I think its really something worth trying out. Lovely shade and great coverage.

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  3. Kiko is the shop I can't stop going to whenever I'm in europe. My husband got really pissed off with me. Nearly everything I got from them had a great formula and quality and SO CHEAP. Their LEs are really pretty too!! Mindblown.

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  4. Lord this looks good. i was in a kiko in Madrid just after christmas but the crowd was so enormous I stocked up on micellar water (kiko's is not particularly scented, which i like,) grabbed the Campus Idol Face Brush (looked so pretty!!!) on my way to the counter, and fled. I shall put this blush on my wish list!
    (for anyone interested - the campus idol face brush is not only Very Pretty, but quite a decent all-over powder/bronzer brush. I'm waiting for the cdjapan april sale to get a lovely Koyudo saikoho monster, but in the meantime i've discovered i have absolutely no complaints with my Kiko rainbow.)

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  5. Er.... forgot to finish -

    Regarding kiko cosmetics - i find the eyeshadow colors lovely and vivid in the pan, but prone to serious and rapid fading once on my eyes - or even on my arms as swatches. I have to spackle on the primer to get them to stick. Those I've bought I ended up giving away, with the exception of a green (#107) unique enough that i persevere and grumble and keep hunting for a dupe.


    Have you tried Itay's Wycon Cosmetics? I find their long lasting eye liners to be smooth, pigmented, blendable and unbudgable on my oily lids. (Holy Grail x 1000.) I've been using Urban Decay 24/7 liner pencils for years, but after wearing Wycon liners for 2 months straight, I want All the Colors and hope they'll come out with a whole extra rainbow or two.
    I also have a love for their liquid pearl eyeshadow formula, and would love to know if anyone has played with their powder shadows and blushes.

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  6. Very pretty indeed! I haven't had the chance to try Kiko yet.

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  7. Such a pretty pan, I have a few trio style blushes and find they are really lovely on the cheek too. I've never tried anything from Kiko but have always wanted to - do you follow the Sleep and Water blog? It's amazing and one of my very favourites, and she has reviewed some Kiko products and has made me yearn for a spree there one day.
    (link to her Kiko posts in case you haven't read them!)
    http://sleepandwater.blogspot.com.au/search?q=kiko

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