Wednesday 1 October 2008

Review: Canmake Color Strip Palette


After getting the CanmakeColor Strip Palette #3 Coconuts Brown, I finally got around to testing it out this week. I've tried Canmake's Eye Nuance trios (609yen) before and I have to say, the new Color Strip Palette beats the Eye Nuance in terms of color payoff. The texture is very similar to the Eye Nuance trio but it was much easier to build up the color to a rich finish with a nice glimmer. There are no obvious sparkles or chunky glitter, so there is no need to worry about fall out onto your cheeks as the day goes by and the colors are soft enough to wear for the office. The eyeshadows lasted well on me throughout the day without fading (I used my usual eyeshadow cream base).

The shimmery apricot peach shade on the extreme left of the palette is meant to be used as a blush but I used it as eyeshadow in the crease blended just above the golden brown shade (second from right) and the chocolate brown shade as the liner. The palette comes with an applicator that has a broad flat nylon brush on one end and a sponge applicator on the other end.


First, I use the nylon brush to apply the white highlighted shade all over the lid. Then I use the sponge applicator to first brush on the chocolate brown shade along the upper lashline, then flip the sponge applicator over to use the other side to apply the golden brown shade. As the finishing touch, I use the nylon brush to pick up the apricot shade and brush it in a semi-circle motion in the crease, blending it between the white highlighter shade on the brow bone and the golden brown shade in the crease.



All in all, I would say the Color Strip Palette is a must-buy. It's even more impressive considering that it's super cheap at only 924yen. In contrast, Majolica Majorca's Majolook palettes are 1575yen and Kate's palettes usually run about 1680yen (or 1344yen after the 20% discount in Japanese drugstores.) That is simply unbeatable value. The shades are also likely to suit most skin tones.

It would have been even better if there was a mirror in the palette but nevertheless, I still like the simple clear packaging of the Color Strip Palettes. The quality of Canmake can be quite uneven but when it's good, it's excellent like with the Cheek Gradations and now, the Color Strip Palettes. I don't own many Canmake products so I can't really recommend other items in the line-up but it's definitely worth checking out if you visit Japan or if Canmake is available where you are.

I hope Canmake adds more palettes to this line-up, which is far superior to the Four Shiny Eyes range. I haven't seen it at the Watsons in Singapore yet but I read on Cozycot that it is available at John Little (Somerset).

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