This is another of those brands that I so totally wished had stores in the Philippines! I do think that some online stores in the US carry 3 Concept Eyes, but in general I don’t think that it has made a global expansion in terms of physical stores yet because it’s still only in Hong Kong aside from Korea. 3 Concept Eyes, together with Style Nanda and KKXX (you must have heard of these Korean brands by now) form one store, so if there’s a Style Nanda store there’s most likely a 3 Concept Eyes kiosk in it.
Before our Hong Kong trip earlier this year, I thought that 3 Concept Eyes didn’t have a physical store in Hong Kong which is why I did not bother looking for it. Turns out, there are indeed some outlets in Hong Kong already. I ended up getting this one from a store in Prince Edward that resells Japanese and Korean makeup.
This is their duo blush in the shade of #Make Me Blush. This is the pinkest and one of the most balanced ones in the product line.
There are four other shades to choose from, and either the duo is warm or cool. The one I got is more or less the only duo to have a warm and a cool color. Actually that’s the reason I got it too because I felt that I’d be able to make good use for this blush as I can bring it with me and expect that I have a warm and a cool shade to choose from.
So this is the box. I have no idea why their shades have hashtags, but meh let’s leave it to them.
This box is more or less as big as the box of a normally sized face powder.
The product itself is the size of a small powder compact. For a blush, the packaging is quite big, and the pan’s size is also a bit bigger than average (but not my biggest though).
On the back this is how it looks like. I have no ingredients list for this one because either there’s none on the box or this label or it’s because everything is written in Korean that I can’t understand a thing.
At least, for this one and all my other 3 Concept Eyes stuff, they include a safety seal for consumer welfare.
The box has an inner pink lining. I was actually surprised because I thought that they’d just leave it white but turns out it’s a nice pink after all.
And this is the pan up close. On the left is this super light, cool toned cotton candy pink. It’s not bubblegum pink because it’s lighter in color and more opaque that you can expect this shade to get on your cheeks the way it looks on the pan.
On the right side is this darker, warm toned reddish pink. This reminds me a lot of Majolica Majorca’s red Puff de Cheek blush as it’s a muted cherry red and not a real balanced red. This also has a bit of a salmon colored influence to it, given how orange the whole product line is, but just a little.
I think they’re trying to copy MAC’s blush packaging because it’s the same design (circular pan, window panel on the lid with logo printed on window) and the same size. I’m just not sure if they’re copying the net mass of MAC blushes.
I am also not sure if their logo is trying to be cute or trying to give tribute to the Illuminati hahaha.
Since the packaging is bulky as I’ve mentioned, it also feels really sturdy and strong. I haven’t dropped this yet, but I do think that this would be able to withstand some shock without any problems.
To show you what i meant by going on opaquely, this is my finger after one swipe of the left side color.
And these are the arm swatches. The first two stripes are the left side’s, the first stripe applied strongly and the second stripe feathered out and blended. The last two stripes are the right side’s blush, one stripe opaque and the other blended out. I think the redness of the right side color is now more apparent here.
But there’s nothing to worry about because the moment you mix it with the other shade, it instantly becomes this corally pink shade. You can either apply the red one thinly, or mix it with the pink one to get this nice color.
I like how this is truly matte, especially because Japanese blushes usually have shimmer or some sort of microglitter in them. Only when I use products from Korea that I really get a truly matte effect. I think this has something to do with the general Korean aesthetic of having a barely there look paired with unbelievably silky skin, unlike the Japanese aesthetic of having natural makeup paired with glowing skin. I mean Koreans have glowing skin and all, but it’s usually the Japanese who like to make shimmery products to market them as products that give a nice glow. Japanese people are not as barely there in their makeup aesthetic compared to Koreans, despite both nations having a generally natural and barely there approach to makeup.
Texture wise, it’s relatively easy to work with and relatively easy to blend on the skin. It’s able to last the whole day against heat and the skin’s oils, but is not able to withstand rubbing and other forms of friction. This will stay amidst a humid climate but will easily rub off with tissue. This will probably not be the blush you want to use for parties when you are bound to make beso with a lot of other people. But for everyday use wherein you probably won’t greet that much people, this blush is already okay.
I think it’s also worth noting that it does not work well with HD face powder, but works fine with non-HD powders. On HD powder it tends to apply in blotches… These photos here were when I was sporting Sexy Mama and not an HD powder.
The color itself is flattering, but I am aware that this suits a very small range of skintones. It’s not a universally flattering shade as it will work with only fair and light skintones, if not extremely dark skintones (for the pink color). I have tried to use this blush on several occasions on my friends with darker skin (kayumanggi/ medium), but to no avail. The color does not appear, and since it’s purely matte, it lends no hologram sheen and just fades altogether on medium skin. This is probably not the blush for the typical kayumanggi Pinay as it will tend to fade into the skin and not pop out. It just might work though for people who want this really really light blushing effect or a subtle glow, and I have made the pink color work as a cheek highlighter shade for my friends and it’s more or less worked. But if you want this blush alone to be fairly visible, maybe not this product and shade.
I got this one for about 145 Hong Kong dollars (approx Php850++) from Kr-Zone in Prince Edward. You can check out their other 3 Concept Eyes products for sale right here.
In terms of value for money, for personal use I really like the color of the blush and I feel that I’d be able to use this all the time. Staying power and longevity are also good, which is why I think that this product is worth it. In general this is also more or less how much my Majolica blushes cost so this isn’t really that expensive in itself, despite being a little steep.
As a makeup artist however, this works on a limited number of skintones, which is why if you plan to buy this to use on others, it’d only be a good decision if the bulk of your clients are very fair or fair skinned.
All in all though I think it’s a good buy overall.
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