Displeased Pink: Peripera Ah Much Real My Cushion Blusher 01 Pleased Pink Review + Swatches

I was happy when Renee reported that she had snagged a Peripera cushion blush in the Peach & Lily sample sale.  I’d been eyeing this blush and in particular the beautiful creamy pastel goodness of the various shades (aaaaand the irresistibly cute doge name).

The full name is Peripera Ah! Much Real My Cushion Blusher.  It’s $16 for 20 ml at Peach & Lily, and I have the shade 01 Pleased Pink, a milky, pastel peachy pink.  (Some shops might call the shade 001 Sweet Pink, which is what the English-language overwrap says.)  With the consistency of a thin lotion, this liquid blush is dispensed by squeezing the tube to push the product through a floofy (real word) puff.  So it’s not a real cushion (unlike my DIY cushion blush!), but it is applied by patting the puff onto the skin.  Blend with your fingers or a brush.  (Blending with the puff doesn’t work because that just moves it around the cheek.)

The claims are that it’s dewy and natural-looking.  Peach & Lily and Birchbox also claim that the color is buildable to full coverage.  HA!  Commence side-eye.

I found that no matter how many layers I applied, the color was at best a barely visible pale peach.  It’s buildable from invisible to super sheer.  That’s it.  The only way full coverage would be obtainable would be if you barely touched it and just let it dry like a patch of paint.

It really is too bad because the puff is actually a convenient applicator.  It can be popped off and washed, and it’s small enough for precise placement–about the same size as the head of a MAC 109 contour brush.

The ingredients and backside if you’re interested:

Here’s how it looks freshly applied and unblended.  This photo is with the color saturation turned UP.

And here’s how it looks after I’ve done the rest of my makeup.  This is FOUR layers and with the color saturation turned slightly up.

When I looked at my cheeks up close, the pale peach color was patchy and barely visible.  My sunspots were also more visible because the repeated blending took off foundation.  From a distance, my cheeks did look brightened/paler overall, but the low pigmentation meant that the usual life imparted by blush was lacking.  In sum, not worth the effort.  A more pigmented product could have created the same–actually better–look with far less effort and product.

Other makeup worn:

• IOPE Air Cushion XP Intense Cover in I23
• Dior Lip Glow Coral with NoTS Sweet Raspberry mousse in center of lips
• Anna Sui brow palette in Ash Brown
• MAC Expensive Pink eyeshadow
• Clio Kill Black liquid eyeliner + K-Palette 1 Day Tattoo Real Lasting liquid eyeliner for wings
• Heroine Make Kiss Me Long & Curl mascara + Long & Curl Super Film on the tips

The shortcomings might be limited to this particular shade.  Enough folks on Instagram praised the other shades (lavender, coral) that I wouldn’t rule out trying another shade.  If it fell into my lap.  As it is, I won’t be using Pleased Pink again except maybe as a base for powder blush (a tip from Amanda @mycroftian).