Review: Etude House Play Color Eyes Palette in Cherry Blossom and Ice Van

Hi guys, I'm finally back. Since it's near springtime, I thought I'd share with you guys a review about Cherry Blossom Palette from Etude House. Also, Ice Van palette that I bought about two years ago that never make it to appear in my blog. I think it's about time!

CHERRY BLOSSOM

The packaging is maybe the only reason I bought this palette, it's just too cute to handle. The case is made of sturdy baby pink plastic. Although it's sturdy but it's also very thin so most likely will fit into your makeup pouch. It also comes with a pink box with flower prints. So much for the cherry blossom theme.

Inside, you'll find two dual-ended sponge applicators and a mirror. An important note, the mirror will look blurry since it's covered with a thin film, peel it off first and you'll find a decent mirror underneath. The expiry date is printed at the bottom.

The pan is protected with thick mica plastic with flower prints on each color. The Korean letters written on it were the name of each color, which I'll explain later. And as the name implies, this palette has such strong springtime/cherry vibe in it. The colors are all about romantic pink shades.

The shades in sequence, from left to right:

1. The End of Spring. A very pretty metallic rose gold with gold particle. 
2. Cherry Blossom Rain. Light peach color with matte finish. 
3. Sweet Jujube Tea (RD301). Dusty rose with matte finish. 
4. Classic Chocolate Shop (BR408). Medium matte brown. 
5. Rosy Filter (BR425). Bronze with shimmer finish. 
6. Twinkle Wink (BE105). Metallic champagne color, almost like sparkly. 
7. Orange Way (OR217). Shimerry light peach. 
8. Cherry Blossom Festival. Shimmery coral-pink color. 
9. Pink Bakery (PK015). Deep red-pink with metallic finish. 
10. Popped Cherry Blossom Popcorn. A very pretty shimmery white with pink and white particle. 

You'll notice that some of the shades are marked with codes, that's because they previously were launched in single pans. So buying this palette is like a summary of several shades and can save you a lot of money.

Twinkle Wink is so pretty on the pan but it has no pigment at all, it's just sparkle all the way, this shade will be perfect as a top coat, same goes with Popped Cherry Blossom Popcorn. The best pigmentation goes to Classic Chocolate Shop. It's not very pigmented though, but it has the best one in the palette. The shade Pink Bakery, which I adored so much (this color is the reason I bought this) is also not very pigmented

To be honest, I didn't expect the pigmentation would be very pleasing, just like most Korean eyeshadow, they are very subtle. But I had no idea that it's gonna be this... well, what do you say, pigmentation lacking? The colors are exceptionally pretty though, but the feel on the pan is not buttery even on shimmery shades. But despite from that, the shades can be easily blend. They're not the type of shades that will disappear when blended. I also found the several shimmers don't stay put at the end of the day. 

This palette is pretty and all, but that's that. The shades, especially the shimmers are lack of pigmentation. The mattes are pretty good actually although they don't show up pretty well. But I'm not sure if I can label this palette as bad because the shades might work better on pale skin. Who knows?

I bought this from althea.kr for IDR 211.000.

Here's an eye look I created using this palette. I'm not very fond of subtle Korean eye makeup, so I made a bold look instead. 

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ICE VAN

The second product I'm gonna be reviewing is another variant of Etude House Play Color Eyes Palette which is Ice Van. I bought this about two years ago and now I feel almost embarrassed to show you this palette since the form is no longer its best and the box is already dirty.

The packaging is not much different from the Cherry Blossom design, except for its blue-turquoise plastic case and a cute drawing of an ice truck on the top, which is pretty much the idea of the whole palette: ice cream truck. Inside, you'll also find a decent mirror and two sponge applicators. 

Just like the Cherry Blossom, the color pans are also protected with mica plastic, but this one is with ice cream design. I simply can't just throw it away because it's too cute. Since it has an ice cream theme, I thought the name would have something to do with ice cream or sweets in general, like macaroon or sundae (very stereotype, I know), but I guess I was wrong. Well, partially wrong.

Here are the shade names in sequence from left to right. If you notice, there are several grammar mistakes on the name. It's not mine, though. I copied the names from their official website.

1. Goddess with an Acoustic Guitar. Shimmery bronze color. 
2. Fresh Grapefruit Tea. Coral orange color with satin-matte finish 
3. Sh! Secret. Ashy dark brown with shimmery finish. 
4. Come With An Wind. Champagne-pink dual chrome color with metallic finish. 
5. Strawberry Jubilee. Peachy pink with shimmery finish. 
6. Rose Tea. Lighter version of Strawberry Jubilee but with a satin-matte finish. 
7. Vanilla Bong Bong. Creamy beige color with satin-matte finish. 
8. Shooting Mint. Minty green shade with metallic finish. 
9. Mom is an Earthian. Ashy dark brown with satin-matte finish. 
10. Finish a Marathon. Rose gold with shimmery finish. 

None of the color is perfectly matte, however, the ones with satin-mate finishes can be considered as matte since the shimmer is almost invisible. The most disappointing shade in my opinion is probably Shooting Mint, I thought it's gonna be a pretty opaque shimmery mint color, but turns out it's just all shimmer, I can barely see the pigment. It's still pretty, though, so I love to apply it as a top coat. 

The rest of the colors are pretty good, especially Mom is an Earthian with an exceptional pigmentation. My favorite would be Finish a Marathon and Goddess with an Acoustic Guitar. I find that the Ice Van palette has better pigmentation than the Cherry Blossom. It also has a wider shade range, from pinkish-corals and ashy browns, to beige and champagne.

The shades appear better with eyeshadow base. For daily use I prefer using just one or two shades at a time and at the end of the day, they stay on pretty well. Except for the shimmers that don't stay put too long. But at least this one is better than Cherry Blossom.

I bought this palette from local online store (forgot the name) for around IDR 250.000 something.

Here's an eye makeup I created using this palette. I don't know why but I accidentally created an eye makeup with the same tone with the above. Anyway, the two dark browns in the palette make my job easier. I think browns are a must in every eyeshadow palette.

***

In my personal opinion, between these two, I think Ice Van has better pigmentation and has a wider shade range. It's a pretty good buy compared to Cherry Blossom Palette. However, if you're the kind of person who love buttery eyehadow with heavy pigmentation like western eyeshadow, then these two palettes are not for you. K-Beauty is more like subtle and soft and all. What they created are colors for an everyday look. Also, don't forget that most Korean women are exceptionally pale, so the colors might not show up perfectly even on fair skin like mine.

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