The inventor of the famous double-decker macaron has now come up with their own cosmetic line "The Merveilleuses de Ladurée" (or 'The Wonders of Ladurée') in a collaboration with Albion (who is also the manufacturer of the Anna Sui, Jill Stuart and Paul & Joe cosmetics).
It was set to debut first in Japan in February 2012 before being released in Europe, USA and the rest of Asia later on this year.
No need to say that I was thrilled to be able to try some of their products and I thought I would share my experience.
Since it has only been released in Japan, I had some help from a lovely girl in Japan who was able to purchase these Laduree products for me.
The products I will be reviewing are the pressed cheek blush in #01 and the Rose Petals #02.
Laduree pressed cheek blush #01.
The pressed cheek blush is, as the name already mentionned, a powder blush. Each blush is a refill so you have to purchase the case seperately.
The Laduree pressed blush case- outside packaging
Laduree pressed powder case opened
The Laduree case also comes with a brush.
I chose the color # 01 which is a gorgeous mauve/purple color. I don't have a color like that in my collection hence why my eye was drawn to that particular shade. The logo is very feminine and it suits the brand's image.
Laduree pressed cheek blush #01
The texture is kind of dry and hard and the pigmentation is only adequate. I can definitely see people with dry skin having issues with this blush because it will probably dissappear by the end of the day.
Personally it didn't find it to last too well on my combo/oily skin compared to Illamasqua blushes. By the end of the day most of it has faded. That being said I think most of the appeal lays in the packaging. The color range isn't that unique and most of the colors are very dupeable in my humble opinion.
Do I think it's worth the price tag? No but if you're a collector I suggest to look into these blushes merely because of the gorgeous packaging.
Laduree Rose Petals #02.
I was most excited about the Rose Petals. They come in 3 different colors and I got #02 which is a very pretty warm pink color.
Simular to the pressed powder cheek blush, the case come seperately and is not included with the petals.
The packaging I got is the clear one (which I prefer) but apparently there is also a white case too that comes with a powder puff.
Laduree case for the rose petals (¥3150)
The rose petals came in plastic round box that was wrapped in a silk pouch. The refill rose petals cost ¥7350.
The rose petals are not made entirely out of make up. The make up has been put around a paper skeleton that has been made in the form of a rose petal.
I was sceptical about the pigmentation and the performance at first but I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth silky texture and the pigmenation is better than the pressed powder blushes. It lasted on my skin pretty well too during the day so overall, I'm very pleased with these petals.
This is definitely a luxury product and a collectors items. Is it worth the heavy price tag? Probably not but it sure is a must if you like luxurious and unique products and have a weak spot for pretty packaging (like I do).
The only (and obvious) thing is that these petals are not travel friendly. Although they are not extremely fragile, I would not suggest taking them with you when you travel because they will break or chip in your suitcase. I was surprised mine didn't get crushed during the shipping at all.
I thought it would be helpfull to do some swatches so you can see the pigmentation of them yourself.
I took the liberty to swatch Shu Uemura P 14 Red as well side by side because I first thought that the Shu Uemura blush and the Rose Petals were very simular but they are not. The Shu Uemura P 14 Red is warmer and redder compared to the Laduree petals.
As you can see on the picture, the pressed powder blush #01 has the least pigmentation of them all. I had to swatch it a few times before it shows up at all on my skin and I'm not pale to begin with.
For me, the rose petals are definitely the winner here. If you have money to spend, I would highly suggest to try the rose petals. You can always put the rose petals in some other packaging in case you don't like the original Laduree case.
Finally I just want to say that I'm glad I had the chance to try these out and I want to thank the person again who was able to get these products for me.
