Canmake and Cezanne 2019 Summer Collection: Are They Worth the Hype?

Canmake Summer 2019 Collection

Canmake Creamy Touch Liner

Canmake Creamy Touch Liner is a soft, waterproof gel eyeliner with a thin, 1.5 mm tip. It's packaged in a twist-up plastic case, and comes in three colors.

This line was first released in early 2018, but for this review we tested [03] Dark Brown, the new shade for spring/summer 2019. Color-wise, we had no complaints! The colors were as rich as advertised, and had a subtle gloss.

The eyeliner's packaging says that it "melts like chocolate" when applied. From our tests, this was maybe a little too accurate. The combination of the ultra-fine tip and creamy formulation made the product very delicate, and we found it broke quite easily. If you find applying eyeliner tricky already, you may find it difficult to draw straight lines while trying not to let the product crumble under the pressure.

The formula is waterproof, and is said to resist moisture and friction all day. We found this to be very accurate, with the downside being that it was pretty hard to remove, even after trying a few types of cleansers and oils.

Because of the breakage issues, we wouldn't recommend trying to use this liner for bolder lines or wings unless you have a very steady hand. It's also not the best for eyeliner beginners. But, if you're looking for a very thin, waterproof liner to fill in lashes close to your waterline, the Canmake Creamy Touch Liner might be one worth considering.

Canmake Melty Luminous Rouge

Canmake Melty Luminous Rouge is a hydrating, rouge-type lipstick with a glossy finish. We really liked the hydrating texture of this lipstick, and it was very comfortable to wear. The petroleum jelly and oil in the formulation gave it a texture that felt smooth and moisturizing with a lightweight finish.

Pigmentation wise, we found it to be more on the subdued side, which makes it best for an everyday look. If you prefer a more bold lip, these probably won't give you the coverage you're after. We found all three tones very flattering and wearable, but [01] Sweet Pink was particularly good for our reviewer's fair, cool complexion.

One thing to keep in mind is that this lipstick is quite soft, so it's important not to twist the product too far out at once. Canmake recommends extending it just 3 mm at a time. Because of this, the lipstick comes with a straight, horizontal cut, rather than a diagonal point you see on many lipsticks. The oil-based formula should also be protected from high temperatures, so if you live in a very warm climate, keep that in mind.

The tube itself is very impressive, with a solid finish that feels much higher quality than you'd expect from its affordable price point. The lipstick itself comes printed with a cute love heart on the tip and a jewel-like cut around the edges which we really liked.

Cezanne 2019 Summer Collection

CEZANNE UV Silk Cover Powder

Cezanne UV Silk Powder is a pressed powder with SPF 50 PA++++ protection. Cezanne has a range of UV protective powders, but this is the one with the most coverage in the line. You can use this as a foundation or as a way to touch up your makeup and SPF protection in one step.

Our first impression of the product was how gorgeous the case was. While the outer plastic packaging is simple, which is pretty typical for budget cosmetics, the case itself is beautifully designed with a white, lace-inspired outer shell and a transparent gold-toned interior. The powder comes pressed with a pretty pattern that reflects the design on the outer case.

While the included puff was pretty standard for Japanese pressed powders, we found it was soft and easy to use.

The product blends very easily into the skin and gives a natural-looking finish. While it won't give you the same effect as a full-coverage liquid foundation, we were happy with the finish. 

Unfortunately, the product only comes in two shades: [01] Light and [02] Natural. While a powder type foundation can sometimes be a little more forgiving shade-wise than liquid types, these may not suit those with medium or deeper skin tones.  

It's free from parabens, alcohol, talc, and chemical UV absorbing ingredients, which means this is a physical-type sunscreen that should be suitable for more sensitive skin types. If you're looking for both coverage and solid SPF protection in a pressed powder, this is a good one to check out!

CEZANNE Stretch Concealer

Cezanne Stretch Concealer is a high-coverage, waterproof concealer. The "stretch" in the name reflects the fact that the concealer is formulated to move with your skin to resist creasing and cracking.

We tested this concealer in shade [30] Orange, which is an apricot toned, color-correcting shade designed to help neutralize dark under-eye circles. It also comes in shades [01] Light and [02] Natural, which have more natural tones you can use all over your face. Unfortunately, like the Cezanne UV Silk Cover Powder, the shade range is quite limited.

As you can see from our swatches, the orange tone is quite pronounced, so it's best to use this sparingly as a spot-correcting concealer in areas that have blue or brown tones. This is a somewhat specialized product, but at only 600 yen (plus tax), it's a very affordable way to deal with dark circles.

Some people also use orange-toned concealers as a way to conceal dark sun and age spots. This tone can also work well as color-corrector that can help warm up ashy medium to dark skin tones, but the effect will depend on your undertone, so it's best to try swatching it first.

We did like the formulation of this product. It melted into the skin easily, blended well, and dried to a light, powdery finish. The coverage was good, which means that if you're using this shade as a spot-corrector, you do need to take care not to blend the orange too far outside the areas you're correcting. 

Cezanne Stretch Concealer is fragrance free, mineral oil free, and gives SPF 50 PA++++ UV protection, making this also a useful way to give some extra protection to the delicate under eye area, too.

CEZANNE Single Color Eye Shadow

Cezanne's single color eyeshadows are a great way to try out a new shade for around the price of a coffee! There are currently four spring/summer 2019 colors in the line, including a pearl-toned beige and clear glitter shade that you can use as a base or topper respectively. For this review, we tried out the two color shades for this 2019 collection, [02] Nuance Pink and [03] Matte Red. 

These eyeshadows are formulated with five kinds of moisturizing ingredients: hyaluronic acid, evening primrose oil, baobab oil, grapeseed oil, and rosehip oil. These ingredients give a moisturizing, naturally glossy finish that blends into the eyelid. The eyeshadows also have what Cezanne describes as a "rolling effect", meaning that the shadow particles roll over the skin to give a smooth and soft feel.

We loved both of these colors. The matte red is a very wearable way to try out some of the blood-toned eye makeup that's popular in Japan at the moment. The Nuance Pink shade is a pretty shading color that adds a sense of depth to the eyelid. If you have deep-set or lidded eyes and find darker shades are too heavy for your face structure, this is a good way to add some dimension without going too shadowy.

We also found the application and blending to be very easy. You can use these on their own for a quick color accent, or use them with some more neutral shades for a more defined look.

The packaging itself is simple with pretty bezel detailing. Their compact size makes them easy to keep in a makeup pouch for touch-ups during the day or to take when traveling, but we did find the case itself a little tricky to open at times.

All in all, these shadows are a really affordable and low-risk way to try out some of the trending shades in Japan, and they make for great, cute small souvenirs, too.

CEZANNE Gokuboso Eyeliner R

The Cezanne Gokuboso (Super-Fine) Eyeliner R is a thin, pen type liquid liner with a brush applicator that can create a range of widths. The Gokuboso Eyeliner R is a reformulation of the previous N type. This reformulation improved the pigmentation, but if you've used the previous version, the brush design is basically the same. 

This eyeliner is waterproof, but the film-type formulation is designed to come off gently with warm water or makeup remover. It's also free from fragrances, mineral oil, alcohol, UV absorbers, and contains raspberry extract, hyaluronic acid, and apple extract as moisturizing ingredients.

In our tests, this performed as well as other brush type eyeliners we've tried. It's fairly simple, but for only 580 yen (plus tax), we couldn't ask for a lot more! We did notice that it took a little longer to set than we'd expect. After letting it dry for about a minute, we noticed some slight smudging when we rubbed the line we'd drawn. We'd recommend applying this as your last step and to take care not to touch the area until it's dried completely.

CEZANNE Super Slim Eyebrow

Cezanne Super Slim Eyebrow is a very fine, 0.9 mm thin eyebrow pencil. It's designed mainly for detail work, such as drawing in individual strands and defining the outer point of your brow. If you have sparser eyebrows, filling them in with a brow shadow and then adding in some detail with this pencil can give you a natural, fuller finish. 

After testing this eyebrow pencil in the new color [04] deep brown, we did find it was difficult to lay a lot of pigment down. If you prefer a bolder brow, you might find that this isn't going to cut it for you on its own, but it could be used for detail work in combination with other products.

We also found the color blended very easily, so if you use other products like a power or brush to fill in whole brow, we'd recommend doing your fine work with this pencil last to finish up the look.

The product itself is very fine and delicate, and the official Cezanne instructions recommend using a light touch and only exposing about 1 mm of the product at a time. We did notice that the wick would break quite easily in our tests, so it's best to follow these instructions as best you can.

Cezanne Eyelash Serum EX

Cezanne Eyelash Serum EX is a 3-in-1 moisturizing serum that can be used on the lashes, eye area, and brows. It contains Wide Lash (TM), a peptide-based moisturizing ingredient designed to boost the natural body and volume of damaged lashes, and 11 types of moisturizing ingredients including collagen, hyaluronic acid, and a range of botanical oils.

If you regularly wear mascara or other eye makeup, it's a good idea to add a lash serum to your routine to help condition and strengthen the lashes. There are a lot of more expensive lash serums out there that claim to boost lash growth itself, but simply using a moisturizing serum like this can prevent damaged lashes from breaking or prematurely falling out. At only 500 yen (plus tax), regular use of a moisturizing serum like this can help your lashes stay looking thick and healthy. This is also a great souvenir because almost anyone can use it!

We really liked the applicator that came with this serum. It's soft and gentle on the lashes, so if you've found serums that come with a mascara brush-like applicator a little uncomfortable to apply, this is a good alternative. Unlike those types, this soft applicator also makes it very easy to apply product directly to the roots of the lashes, too. 

To use, apply the serum to clean lashes after cleansing in the morning and evening. While you can use it on the whole eye area, take care not to get it into your eyes. It's best to let the serum absorb before you move on with the rest of your skincare routine, too. Some people also like to use this type of lash serum as the final step of their nightly skincare routine to ensure it has plenty of time to absorb undisturbed.

 

Japanese Cosmetics Make Great Souvenirs!

We hope these hands-on tests of the latest Canmake and Cezanne products were useful! These budget lines makes it really fun and affordable to try out the latest makeup styles in Japan, and because they're marketed at younger women, their shades and styles always stick pretty closely to the trending looks.

Whether you want to pick up some Japanese-made makeup staples or try some new colors, you should definitely check out the Cezanne and Canmake displays in Japanese drugstores during your trip! They're also an easy and lightweight souvenir that any makeup lover is sure to have fun with.

 

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