Addiction Damask Rose cheek stick

Addiction by Kose came out with new cheek sticks not so long after the release of their fall collection and one of them, Damask Rose, cought my eye.

As I'm a fan of their cheek sticks, of course I had to get my paws on it  I had to order it once it came out.

For those who are not familiar with cheek sticks, they are basically a cream blush in a stick form. The Addiction ones are made like a lipstick bullet and can be used on the cheeks and on the lips as well.

Damask Rose is a beautiful deep rosy pink and this shade is nothing like what I have so it kind of fills a particular gap in my stash.

Addiction Damask Rose cheek stick

The texture is really creamy and blends like a dream on the skin. Even people with dry skin will be able to use it.
As mentionned before the cheeks sticks can also be used on the lips but I personnaly prefer to use it on the cheeks because they cause my lips to dry out a little.

Damask Rose is one of the more pigmented one of the range and only a tiny amount is needed to get that healthy flush on the cheeks.

Here are some swatches of Damask Rose compared to other shades that were kind of simular but none of them were exact dupes.

Swatches in natural lighting

Indoor lighting

1. Addiction Damask Rose cheek stick: a deep rose colour

2. Addiction Amazing cheek stick: a cool candy pink shade

3. Kevyn Aucoin Myracle powder blush: more of a cool blue toned pink

4. Tom Ford Narcissist blush: a cool toned pink

Small update on the last swatch. For some reason, I thought it was the Addiction cream blush from the holiday palette untill I realise that shade is much darker and warmer than Tom Ford Narcissist. My apologies for the confusion.

The cheek sticks are one of the stand outs in the Addiction range (besides their eyeshadows and blushes) and I hightly recommand to try them out. 

The Addiction cheek sticks retail for 2940 Japanese Yen and can be purchased only in Japan. Online retailers like Ichibankao sell them too but with a markup.

Addiction Moroccan Rose holiday 2012 collection!

Every year Addiction comes out with a special pre-made palette and for this year 2012 the holiday palette is called the Moroccan Rose collection.

The holiday palette comes with a pretty candy pink nailpolish in a simple black and gold coffret.

ADDICTION holiday 2012 promo picture.

So of course I had to get my hands on these and ordered it when it was release the 9th of November 2012.

From all the holiday collections this year, this was the one I was the most excited about.

ADDICTION Moroccan Rose set

In this set you get a quad and a nailpolish, all wrapped in a pretty black and gold case with 2 pieces of strings to tie the box shut.

The quad doesn't only consist of eyeshadows. In this palette you get:
- 2 eyeshadows: Damask eyeshadow (a complex mix of pink, mauve and white colours) a gold (unnamed) eyeshadow
- 1 cream blush: a cool mauvy pink shade
- 1 black khol liner

The shade that has intrigued me the most is Damask. I didn't expect such a complex colour, yes even for Addiction. A mix of different colours but when applied, it comes out as a lovely cool medium pink colour.  

Texture is a bit drier than most of the regular Addiction eyeshadows but still smooth and pigmented nonetheless. No visible shimmers was added to this colour so it will give a lovely matte finish.

The gold colour however is a different case. It feels like a pigment that has been pressed together to a solid consistancy.
It's definitely shimmery and not as pigmented compared to Damask but still smooth and buttery which can define most of the Addiction eyeshadows.

Applied over a good eye primer there will be zero chance to have any fallout. A bit of layering will be needed to get this gorgeous shade to show up better but luckily it's easily buildable.

Next is the black kohl liner which I thought will be simular to the other kohl liners that Addiction has released before for their Desert Rose fall collection 2012.
Let me tell you this, it is not simular. The texture of the black kohl liner in this palette is a not as soft and smooth compared to the buttery goodness of the kohl liners from the fall collection.

The shimmers in it are very subtle but once applied on the skin it's a completely matte finish. Very pigmented and used with a proper eyeliner brush (I prefer an angled brush for this type of kohl liners) it will give you a flawless eyeliner look.

Last but not least the cream blusher. The shade is a gorgeous mauvy pink colour and the texture is superb. Very creamy, pigmented and easy to blend on the cheeks (no need for a brush to buff it out).

Texture reminds me a bit of the Becca cream blushes but slighty creamier and with the exception that it's not as opaque that there will risk of overapplying it (like Illamasqua cream blushes where a light hand is definitely needed).

                          

Close up of the holiday palette

Here are some proper swatches of this beautiful palette.

Swatches in natural lighting.

Indoor lighting

Addiction decided to make a fun set this year so of course there had to be a nailpolish in it. A candy bubblegum pink colour nonetheless!

The nailpolish is called 'Miss You More' and the shade is a must have for the girly girls out there.

Addiction Miss you More nailpolish

Texture is very creamy but not very opaque with just 1 layer which can result in a streaky application.  I needed at least 2 coats to get a even finish but it's really worth it.

Brush of the nailpolish is not really wide but it's firm which will make the application quite easy. When applied it will dry up to a matte finish (which I personally love) and used over a decent base coat it will last you several days without chipping.

The Addiction nailpolishes reminds me of the Butter London polishes but a bit creamier and easier to apply.

Miss you More polish applied on the nails

This limited edition Addiction holiday set retails for ¥7,140 Yen and can only be ordered in Japan.
Some online retailers like Ichibankao or Bobodave have carried this holiday set as well but be quick since their stock is limited.

ADDICTION Dessert Rose collection (Fall 2012)

Before I start, I want to let you all know that I'm fully aware that the fall season has ended and that the holiday collections are already out now.

This post is long overdue but I wanted to share it with you guys anyway. The fall collections this year have been quite amazing in general and I was more than happy to purchase quite a few items from several brands.

One of them is Addiction which is called Desert Rose.

With this collection Addiction has released 6 new eyeshadows, 4 kohl eyeliners, 2 striped blush mixes and 4 nailpolishes.

No need to say that I was quite excited to try some of them so I ordered immediately when it was released on August 17th 2012.

Let start with the regular powder eyeshadows. I've purchased 4 of the 6 new shades: Sand Dune, La Mamounia, Sheltering Sky and Mustard Tree.
All of these shades have a matte finish and very pigmented. One of my favorites eyeshadow texture from Addiction because they are so easy to work with, blends like a dream and true to color as well.

Sand Dune is, like a the name already revealed, a dirty beig sand color. This color is appropriate for this collection which is called Desert Rose.

Sand Dune

Sheltering Sky is a bright blue color which is not as dark as it looks in the pan. Some people have mentionned that it looks a lot simular to Midnight Oasis so for those who already own that one, it think it's safe to skip on Sheltering Sky.

Sheltering Sky

La Mamounia is gorgeous dark cranberry and the perfect color for fall and winter.

La Mamounia

Mustard Tree is a true mustard yellow, not as bright as a regular yellow shade.

Mustard Tree

I took the liberty to make some swatches as well of the colors.

Swatches in natural lighting.

One of the new products that they released are the duo powder kohl eyeliners. I haven't seen anything like this before because they are technically not eyeshadows.
I've purchased 3 of the 4 kohl liners and they are hands down my favorite product from this collection.

Texture is very buttery and silky and glides on without any problems. They all contain subtle shimmer which makes it perfect to draw attention to your eyes. All of these duo kohl liners all contain a shimmery black color to create a more dramatic eye look.

Arabian Night, Night Dive and Secret Night.

Arabian Night was the one that has drawn my attention from the very beginning. A gorgeous burgundy/mauve color with a black color on the other side. But the burgundy color is the least pigmented liner from the three I own.

Arabian Night

Night Dive contains a navy color with the same black colors that you can find in the other kohl liners.  Very pigmented and true to color and definitely one of my favorites of the bunch.

Night Dive

The teal/greenish color in Secret Night is just divine and even more stunning in real life. Like Night Dive it's very pigmented and smooth and easy to apply.

The best way to apply these powder kohl liners is with an angled brush like the MAC 266 or 263. It gives a bit more control than a regular pointed eyeliner brush.

I haven't experienced any fallout with these but for those with oily eyelids, an eye primer is highly suggested to keep the eyeliner from smudging.

Here is how they look like once applied to the skin.

Swatches of the kohl liners in natural lighting.

The concept of the striped blushes in this collection is nothing new and some of you may remember that it has been released before in the holiday 2010 palette.

Addiction holiday 2010 palette.

The nailpolishes are intruiging as well but there seems to be a restriction on shipping nailpolishes outside of Japan. Packages have been confiscated before so for those who want to order some nailpolishes, you have been warned.


The eyeshadow cost 2100 Yen and the kohl liners retail for 2625 Yen on the ADDICTION website and can only be bought in Japan. Some websites like Ichibankao or Mihokoshop sell Addiction on their website as well.

Addiction haul + swatches

Addiction by Kosé is a fairly new brand in Asia and has been created by makeup artist Ayako Yoshimura in 2009.

The line, which is targeted at careerdriven, urban women, was unveiled at retailer Isetan in Shinjuku, Tokyo, before entering stores in Kobe and Osaka. Kosé also has created a website for this new line at http://www.addiction-beauty.com/.

The name Addiction is quite an accurate name for this brand because I was hooked ever since I got my first Addiction product awhile back. Last month I decided to haul some more Addiction and I thought it would be helpful to do some swatches as well to give you an idea of the colors and how the products apply.

                        

If you never tried this brand before I highly recommand to try their eyeshadows. There are 3 different eyeshadow finishes: Matte (M), Pearl (P), Metalic (ME) and Sparkle (S).
Some of the metalic finishes can feel a little gritty and can have a bit of fall out like for example Mariage. Most of them are very smooth, almost buttery and very pigmented.

Although there have some lovely browns and taupes in their collection, neutrals are not their strength so I would definitely check out the brighter and bolder colors because they are more unique compared to the other shades.

Here are the eyeshadows that I got in close up followed by the swatches of each colors.

Another stand out in their collection are their blushes and cheek sticks. The powder blushes are very finely milled and not too powdery so it applies very smoothly and evenly. Addiction powder blushes are probably one of my favorite blush textures. I already have Revenge blush so I only swatched it side by side with Rose Bar and Sometime for reference.

The cheek sticks are creamy and you need to blend it into the skin very well because it's so pigmented. It last all day on my combo-oily skin and that says something about this product. I got Amazing (a gorgeous cool tone hot pink) and Suspicous (a dark berry color). The best part is that they can double up as a lipstick, which I already tried. It feels like nothing on your lips but they do dry out your lips a little so if you have dry lips and need something more moisturizing these are not for you.

Addiction also released new eye glosses in May so I immediately jumped at it and got 6 of them. Can you tell how excited I was?

I will do an indepth review soon, comparing them to the Paul & Joe eye glosses since I heard they were very simular.

I also got 2 empty compacts (#2) that fits 6 eyeshadow or 4 eyeshadows + 1 blush or 2 eyeshadows + 2 blushes or 3 blushes. You can mix and match as you like to customize your own palette, which makes it very interesting and fun.

Last but not least I bought their tinted moisturizer as well and will review that one as well in the near future. All I can say now is that the finish is matte (which I like) and it covers quite well, more like a BB cream than a regular tinited moisturizer.

I think I covered everything for now and I hope this what somewhat helpful. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask me.