DRUGSTORE WALLFLOWER: Careline Oil Control Blush-On

Careline Oil Control Blush-on
PHP 90 at Watson's
PHP 99 at Mercury Drug

I admit, I perceive Careline's cosmetics line as toys, one that's catered to tweens and young adolescents who are taking baby steps in makeup. I think it's because I purchased my first eyeshadow palette from them when I was in high school. That palette had sky blue, pink, purple and gold eyeshadows on it - colors that a girly kid who has zero knowledge on makeup will like. I bought it because I liked the colors, but I never considered how garish it would look on a 14-15 year-old me. So I cluelessly used it for a couple of times, then I realized that it's something I shouldn't be using for school, and the palette ended up in the dark abyss of my dresser.

Fast forward to August 2014, when school has just started, and I was longing for an innocent-looking powder pink blush like Pony uses in most of her makeup tutorials. But Pony's blushes were usually from Shu Uemura's, and I simply do not have a budget for that! So when I saw this at Mercury Drug near my place, I immediately got it.

Read on to find out more about this blush that I love!

About the Product

According to Careline: Now Careline Single blush-on is made better for a more Prettilicious you! Have a natural looking blush without the danger of oily skin ruining your day. With its oil control and vitamin E enriched formula, you remain oil-free all day long without over-drying your sensitive skin. You stay moisturized without the grease all the time!
  

  

The compact powder blush-on is housed in a sturdy, cute round case. I like that the compact came in white as it complements the cute, pastel-like shades that they have. It came with a small puff, which I definitely did not use. I prefer brushes in using this, and you'll find out why in a jiffy.

On the left is A Touch of Pink, while on the right is Peach Glow.
Don't they look so candy-yummy? :)

I bought Touch of Pink way back in August, which explains why it looks like I'm almost hitting pan with it. I bought Peach Glow 2 weeks ago.The Careline Oil Control Blush-on comes in a lot of colors - I think I saw 6 at one Careline counter last week. The color range is impressive, as they have deep colors as well.

Pigmentation and Finish

Both shades that I got have a powdery feel to it. Touch of Pink in particular, looks and feels powdery bordering on being chalky. Both have minimal shimmer, but to me, this is mostly matte in finish. I only get to notice the shimmers if I look for them, and I usually notice them under a strong lighting source.

These blushes (at least, the shades that I got) are not that pigmented in the sense that I won't get the color as it was on the pan in one swipe. The swatches below are made by rubbing my finger a couple of times on the pan. This is not an issue for me though, as I hate blushes that are crazy pigmented when I'm in a hurry (which happens most of the time). Very pigmented blushes, when used in a hurry, does not give me control on how much color should I want to place and will most often result in Deniece Cornejo-cheeks. Well...I like it, but it's not really school-friendly. It looks too...overdone.

These blushes can be builded up gradually, and for that, brushes are crucial, as blending is particularly important to ensure that your cheeks won't end up chalky looking..

Swatches: Touch of Pink (Left), Peach Glow (Right)
Taken under natural light.

Taken under artificial (flourescent) light

Taken with flash

Me wearing Touch of Pink. In theory this powder pink shade suits fair-skinned girls,
but it still looked good on me, right? :)

 

Me wearing Peach Glow. Of the two, this gives me a more natural looking flush.

 

 Lasting Power

Now here's something that you'll definitely love about this blush: THIS THING LASTS. The blushes I own from pricier brands like Prestige and Lancôme will show color on my cheeks but after 3 hours, they're gone. But this one, I can go on until lunchtime and I can still see some color on my cheeks! Awesome, isn't it?

Me wearing Peach Glow, after 6 hours!

What I Liked

• Affordable! 
• The packaging is cute and simple, and definitely does not feel or look cheap.
• The pigmentation isn't that crazy intense, so it gave me more control with how much pigment I want to place on the cheeks.
• The blush is buildable and can be blended easily using a blush brush.
• Has an awesome lasting power! 
• Has a variety of shades to choose from. I'm actually looking forward to buy some more shades.
• With Careline being a sister brand of Ever Bilena, I expect that this is available in almost every major department store, supermarket, convenient store, and yes, even Mercury Drug!

What I Didn't Like

• The shade names aren't easily seen on their original packaging. Refer to the first picture. Can you see the shade name at first glance? It wasn't until I purchased a 2nd one that I figured it all out!
• The shade Touch of Pink was bordering on being chalky.

I highly recommend this to ANYONE who like to have some color on their cheeks! But I recommend this especially to those who are starting with blush-ons since you can start with the more demure looking shades like these two. By experience, I know that demure-looking, beginner-friendly shades (like these two shades that I have) are quite hard to encounter, and at such a cheap price! After trying these you can slowly advance to the more intense pinks/reds - I saw that they also have shades that are more intense, and I'm looking forward to try them as well, and so should you. Seriously, you should try this. :)

Stay girly!

Kat