Celebrate Colour with Kanebo this Spring 2019
The Japanese typically favour soft pastels colours for Spring, so it is a wonderful surprise to see Kanebo design an entire collection of makeup around the colour red. For Kanebo, red symbolizes the essence of life, and defines the complexion. So to bring out everybody’s inherent beauty, Kanebo has developed its own 5R color story that has a different hue and intensity of red pigment to suit every skin tone and imbue it with a natural healthy color.
At the heart of the collection is a brand new line of Kanebo Liquid Rouge. These are soft liquid lipsticks that are infused with Kanebo’s 5R color story, culminating in 10 red-based shades. The plexiglass packaging transitions from sleek opaque black at the top to completely clear at the bottom so that you can easily identify the shade at a glance.
The doe-foot applicator is slightly smaller and narrower than most other Western brands, but allows more precise application around the corners of the lips. On the other hand, I found it picks up less product, so I needed multiple swipes to get full coverage on my lips.
The Kanebo Liquid Rouge is a hybrid product in my mind – it has the pigmentation and opacity of liquid lipsticks, but in a soft fluid texture that is more akin to gloss. It never dries down completely and sets, although I found that it does not transfer quite as much as traditional lip glosses.
In case you gravitate more towards the translucency of glosses, Kanebo has also released a special fistful of Liquid Nuance Rouge. With similar packaging as the Liquid Rouge above, it is easy to mistake one for the other. However, the Liquid Nuance Rouge is markedly sheerer, designed to layer over lipstick or worn individually. There are 3 permanent shades, and 2 limited editions.
These Kanebo Liquid Nuance Rouge boasts a subtle pearl and different degrees of shimmer, some more pronounced than others, but the result is a lovely dimensional effect on the lips. The shade 02 White Rainbow is meant to tone down other darker or bolder lip colors.
For the eyes, there are 2 Kanebo Selection Colors Eyeshadow 5-shade palettes. 07 Botanic Orange shown above is a stunning choice that offers the wearer the ability to dial up or down the intensity as she wishes. I swatched the shades according to their relative placement in the palette below.
All the shades in this Botanic Orange palette are soft, finely milled and nicely pigmented. There are 2 light glitter shades that add an element of fun and may be used either on the inner corner of the eyes or layered over the 2 darker shades for complexity. I love the combination of the satin coral with the dark brown for an easy, elegant smokey eye.
If you are missing the pastels for spring, you should consider Kanebo Selection Colors Eyeshadow 08 Crystal Blue. I fell in love with Crystal Blue at first sight because it is the perfect pastel palette imho, as it plays with pastels the way they should be – as shimmers and glitters, and it packs a couple of deeper shades to allow for better definition.
By the way, I should mention that I really appreciate Kanebo throwing in 2 dual-ended applicators of varying sizes. I particularly enjoy the fluffy brush that lays down and blends colors like a proper brush, and the flattened stiff angle liner brush.
Unfortunately, at least 2 of the shades are a little lacking in pigmentation. Most brands have a problem with blue tones, but by and large most of the Japanese brands I’ve tried have excelled so it is doubly disappointing that the dark navy in Crystal Blue applies patchy and sheer. On the other hand, there is a very lovely bronze in here that is super pretty.
In the makeup look above, I wore the bronze lightly laid down all over my lids and used the dark navy on the outer corners for definition. I added a dash of crystal white glitter on the middle of the lids and inner corner. On the lips, I was wearing Liquid Rouge in 03 Feel Relaxed.
Lastly, there is a new shade of Kanebo Variant Brosse in the shade 05 Orange Petal. It features a medium warm-toned orange blush in a matte finish, and an icy shimmery highlighter. Kanebo has designed these to be modular so Orange Petal is available as a refill only, and the palette casing and brush are sold separately.
In this makeup look, I’m wearing Botanic Orange on my lids, Orange Petal on the cheeks, and Liquid Rouge 09 Let’s Groove on lips.
Kanebo Spring 2019 makeup collection are now out in stores. Have you tried any Kanebo makeup before?
This post featured products that were generously provided for my consideration. Regardless, all opinions expressed here are my own honest, unbiased views.
