Do you remember the first installment of my Japanese Drugstore Hunt 2000JPY & Below: Lipgloss? Check it out if you haven’t and you can also read about why I’m doing this feature in more depth. Basically I’m featuring a bunch of affordable cosmetics (by category) from Japanese drugstores that are great to have in your collection.

Today’s category is blush and I’ve got both powder and cream to recommend.

From left to right: Canmake Cream Cheek 11, Canmake Cheek & Cheek 04, and Cezanne Lasting Cheek 04.

Canmake Cream Cheek 11; 609JPY: This is an all-time classic that anyone who is into Asian cosmetics would know. It actually surprises my Japanese friends that Canmake is so popular outside of Japan but I think I’m probably speaking to the wrong demographic. Canmake is a teen brand that has a huge following of young girls. It held the number one spot for cream blushes on Cosme at the time of writing — and it’s always in the top three at any given time. I would say give this a go as it’s a high quality cream blush that is pigmented and long-lasting. It doesn’t break me out so that says a lot too as I’ve got ultra-sensitive skin.

Canmake Cheek & Cheek 04; 714JPY: Another hugely popular item from Canmake is their duo powder blush. I’ve gotta admit that I didn’t like this product at all when I swatched it but so many bloggers were raving over it and it keeps holding a position in the top five of the powder blush category at Cosme. When I swatched it on my hand, I thought it was way too pink and bright and chalky, but curiosity got the better of me and I just bought it anyway. And guess what? It was pretty awesome on my cheeks. I used a big brush to blend it onto the apples of my cheeks and I got a lovely warm pink hue which wasn’t chalky at all. The finish looks matte, but upon closer inspection, there are teeny tiny sparkles which are seriously not noticeable unless someone puts their face right up to your cheek.

Cezanne Lasting Cheek 04; 504JPY: Even cheaper than the Canmake Cream Cheek, Cezanne has a pretty respectable cream blush as well. Canmake has an oilier finish while Cezanne has a drier finish but it still maintains a slight dewiness. It’s not as long-lasting as Canmake’s one but at such a low price, I can’t complain. It tends to get lighter as it oxidizes which is strange to me so the end result is more like a cheek stain than a blush eight hours after you put it on. This product is always hot on the heels of the Canmake Cream Cheek at Cosme.

The picture here are swatches of the Canmake (top) and Cezanne (bottom) cream blushes.

I’ve got another powder blush gem up my sleeve and it’s Love Clover‘s Four Colours Blend Cheek no. 3163; 1800JPY. The quad design with four squares of pinks and oranges remind me of my Jill Stuart Mixed Blush Compact 09 Little Bouquet. But the packaging is of course completely different. I love feminine, girly designs (I am secretly lusting after some Pixi, a Swedish cosmetics brand) so this drew me in immediately.

I didn’t swatch this as it’s quite light and you won’t be able to see it very well at all. The quality is definitely on the powdery side and I needed to put on three layers to get a more pigmented effect. This is indeed quite typical of cheaper drugstore blushes but it’s really not a big deal to me to put on more layers. Sometimes highly pigmented blushes are actually harder to work with as putting on too much is all too easy and harder to rectify.

Also, Love Clover is not available in regular drugstores but you can get it at Loft or the Plaza online shop.

I love the slight pearly shimmer it has on the cheeks and it’s such a fresh peachy shade that makes me think of the beach, waves, and coconut trees. Maybe I’m thinking too much about my holiday – haha! But it is very fresh-looking for days you need a perk-me-up and the gorgeous palette always makes me smile with pretty butterflies and a cute owl.

Do you have any other products or brands to recommend for drugstore blushes?

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