Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek

Majolica Majorca is not a brand that I would normally reach for.
If anything, the opposite is true. Usually, I tend to avoid it.

With its cutesy packagings and vibrant colors it almost looks like it could be Etude House's poor Japanese cousin.

Majolica Majorca is a low end Shiseido brand that can be found at any drugstore (and most supermarkets) in Japan. It's a makeup staple beloved by high school girls and starving university students countrywide.

And yet here I am, way past my high school days, writing about Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek blushers.

And no, these are not press samples, or things I got for free. I channeled my inner school girl and bought these products myself. Yes, I am OK, thank you for your concern.

So how did it happen?

While I am not a high school girl, my friend's daughter is.
And, according to her, it's a hard life being a high school girl in Japan.

There are uniform checks to make sure your skirt is the proper length and not rolled up at the waist to make it look shorter.
There are hair color checks to make sure that your hair is the color it should be. I'm purposely writing "should be", because while 99% of Japanese high school girls have black hair, there is this unlucky 1% with naturally brown hair. Unlucky, because, well... if your hair should be black but it's dark brown, then according to your school handbook it clearly means you colored it. My friend's daughter finally gave up trying to convince her school's hair color commando that she is indeed a natural brunette and dyed it. Black. Problem solved.
There are also nail polish checks and makeup checks. And that hurts the most. Because, c'mon, which high school girl doesn't love makeup?

And that brings us to today's contestants - Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek.

If you thought these were nail polish bottles, don't worry, you're not the only one.
They had me fooled too when I first saw them.

But my friend's daughter (who clearly enjoyed educating this ahem, ahem... older lady) very helpfully explained the basic facts of Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek:

• - No! It's not nail polish. 
• - It's creamy blush!
• - Look! So cute!
• - This bottle is so small! You can take it with you anywhere!
• - Much more convenient than a pressed blush compact, or a cushion.
• - You can apply it with nearly surgical precision, because it has a tiny brush.
• - Look! All you need is a tiny dot.
• - Now, just blend it with your fingers.
• - See? You don't even need a mirror - any reflective surface will do!
• - And, and, and... it looks so natural! Just like my own cheeks, only sexier (but don't tell my mom, please)
• - Some girls use it on their lips as well! 
• - And it's so cheap!
• - So of course, as soon as we leave the school grounds, we put on our makeup and then we go downtown. 
• - And it stays on the whole afternoon! And all day on weekends!
• - And this blush is so easy to use!
• - And it looks so natural! So even if we run into any of our teachers, they can't tell we are wearing makeup (Nope, dear girl, we can tell you are wearing makeup, we just pretend we can't and everyone's happy).

image source: Majolica Majorca Hong Kong


After such a heartfelt endorsement, I had no choice.
I went to Trial (which is like a ghetto version of Walmart, with cracked walls and missing flooring, but it's open 24 hours 7 days a week) and bought me some Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek. And because I was overcome with decision fatigue, I bought them all. All four of them.

The available Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek colors are:

• - RD 310 Coral Cream
• - PK 312 Shell Pink Cream
• - OR 313 Custard Cream
• - RD 411 Kiichigo (Raspberry) Cream

The bottles definitely look like nail polish:

 RD310 Coral Cream

And because they're made of that extremely annoying milky glass, they are also very hard to photograph.

RD310 Coral Cream

Look, they even have little brushes, just like nail polish.

 PK312 Shell Pink Cream

And here it is again in a different light:

PK312 Shell Pink Cream

PK 312 Shell Pink Cream and RD 310 Coral Cream are my favorite colors.

The girl didn't lie. They are indeed very natural looking, and totally dumb-proof.
Impossible to find a blusher that is easier to apply than this thing.

These two colors below I gave away and made two high school girls very happy in the process.

OR313 Custard Cream

It wasn't my color.

OR313 Custard Cream

And neither was this bright red:

RD411 Kiichigo (Raspberry) Cream

Just about the brightest, in your face, red you can think of:

 RD411 Kiichigo (Raspberry) Cream

Here are the colors as presented by Shiseido Japan:

And here are the swatches according to me:

I never thought I'd live to see the day when I can say that I honestly love a Majolica Majorca product.

There is literally nothing I can complain about here.
This is a great, affordable blush that is ridiculously easy to use.

Not sure who would be interested in ingredients, but I plugged them into cosDNA anyway. Because I'm awesome like that.

Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek PK 312 ingredients are here.
Majolica Majorca Cream de Cheek RD 411 ingredients are here.

So, to sum it up - it's a good buy.

And I'm glad there are only 4 colors available. Because if there were more, I'd buy them too.
Price? I think it was 850 yen plus tax.