An Unexpected Discovery in Josie Maran’s Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

Purchased By Me

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

Even before Josie Maran was launched in Australia, the first thing I knew I wanted to try when I heard of the brand was a Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee. These cheek tints are incredibly popular from Josie Maran and when you tell me it’s a jelly blush, you know I have to get my hands on one. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to finally source one for myself even though they’ve been out in the market for quite some time.

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

When a dear friend was in the US, I asked her to pick this up for me from Sephora (amongst other things because, well, why not?). When I took it out of the box and unscrewed the cap, I gasped at how perfect it looked in the pot. The shiny, unmarred gel was screaming at me to try it out pronto.

Well, I did and it was not at all what I expected.

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

The blush really does feel like hard but slightly squishy jelly in the pot. When you press your finger on the brush, you can actually feel the jelly “go down” and it feels a tad boing-boing. The shade I picked up was in Pink Escape, which is a cool-toned cherry pink. In fact, the shade and how it looks in the pot reminds me a lot of Majolica Majorca’s Blood On Lip and Cheek Tint.

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape Ingredients

However, while the Majolica Majorca’s tint is quite rich in pigment, the Watercolour Cheek Gelee is not. I had to press my finger on the surface of the “jelly” and really give it a good and hard swirling to pick up the tint on my finger. When I finally apply it on my cheeks, you can barely see any blush on my face! I had to swirl the Cheek Gelee with my finger many times in order to get a decent amount of blush showing on my cheeks.

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape Swatch

My next problem is actually using the Cheek Gelee with my fingers. Y’see, I rarely use a makeup brush to apply foundation on my skin (unless I need that flawless and long-lasting finish for special and important occasions) and tend to use my fingers to apply foundation most of the time. What I didn’t realise when I used the Cheek Gelee was even though I’ve wiped the foundation off my fingers with a tissue prior to using the Cheek Gelee, the “jelly” absorbed some of the foundation. As you can see in the photo, my Cheek Gelee now also has swirls of foundation in the product.

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

Now I’m stuck. I was hoping to also try the Cheek Gelee out on my lips as it’s also meant to go on the lips but I can’t because the product is tainted with foundation. Do I just scrape at the surface to hopefully try to remove the tainted bits? Or just leave it as it is?

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

Either way, I’m highly disappointed in the Cheek Gelee. I didn’t expect the “jelly” to absorb the foundation even though I’ve wiped it off my fingers prior to using it and I certainly didn’t expect the product to be so sheer on the skin. After all, this product received a good amount of positive reviews. I guess I’m one of the few who doesn’t like it. And to think that this was the product I most wanted to try from the brand and so far is the one I’m most disappointed with. Sigh.

Josie Maran's Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape

Josie Maran’s Coconut Watercolour Cheek Gelee is available in 6 shades and retails at AU$27.00. It’s available at Kit Cosmetics and the Mecca Cosmetica online store.

What I like about it: Cute packaging; the “jelly” looks delicious in the pot. Pink Escape is a lovely shade when worn on the cheeks.

What I do not like about it: Goes on very sheer; have to rub and scrape at the blush to get a decent and visible amount of product on the cheeks. Absorbed the foundation from the fingers even though I’ve wiped it off. It’s now tainted and I cannot try it out on my lips.

Has this happened to you? Do you like the Watercolour Cheek Gelees from Josie Maran? How did you get it to work well for you?

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15 comments… add one
  1. Angie

    Eek. Now I’m glad I resisted this one! The packaging does look super cute and the jelly looks like fun hehe…. but it would annoy me to not see any colour payoff on my skin, seems kind of pointless.
    Angie recently posted..The Lazy Girl’s ManicureMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I definitely had fun squishing my finger in the blush because it’s quite, erm, springy. Not very hygienic I know but it’s already tainted with foundation anyway so I’m squishing away! 😛

  2. Allisonl

    Oh, no! I was excited to see your review on Facebook because it definitely looked like a blush I would love to try since I prefer cream blush to powder usually. But what a disappointment. I’ll pass on this one at the Sephora VIB sale this week!
    Allisonl recently posted..City Cosmetics Eye Serum & Dark Spot CorrectorMy Profile

    1. Tine

      It sure is pretty in the pot but I’d recommend you save the money for something else. Unless you want to try this out as a lip tint. Still, pretty expensive for just a lip tint though. Save your $$ for better things!

  3. lyn

    Awww… bummer it didn’t work out ‘cos it looks really pretty on you. I’ve never tried this before but I generally don’t use liquid, gel or cream blushers much.
    lyn recently posted..theBalm Cindy-Lou Manizer Highlighter, Shadow and ShimmerMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I love cream blushes, especially for summer, but this really is meh. Yeah, huge bummer indeed. 🙁

  4. Hexia

    I’m not surprised, i swatched them in mecca when they arrived and was like nope, no pigment = see yah
    i actually heard the most hype for the cheek and lip creamy oil and when i swatched that, it was relatively good pigmentation, maybe you could try that?

    1. Tine

      Right? Right? Just before I picked the blush up from my friend who got it for me in the US, I tried it out at Kit Cosmetics and I was like …euuwww I don’t like it! Where’s the colour?? Sigh. Should have just kept it in the box unused and gift it to to a friend. Now it’s dirty with foundation and I’m stuck with it. 🙁

  5. Tram

    So expensive for a sheer blush! The packaging definitely does look cute. I’ve never heard of this brand though, probably because I’m a drugstore lurker. Hehehe. Your eyes are dark today Tine!!!!! Looks good.
    Tram recently posted..Handbag Declutter: OctoberMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Thanks Tram! Eye makeup’s from the Face of Australia Eye Do palettes. Review coming very soon! 🙂

  6. Me my best and I

    Oh nooooo – had high hopes for these too 

    1. Tine

      Me too! Hence the disappointment. 🙁

  7. Joyce (bronzerbunny)

    EEK! I would not like that. All right, so taking it off my list!
    Joyce (bronzerbunny) recently posted..♡ Aesop Reverence Aromatique Hand BalmMy Profile

    1. Tine

      There ya go. Money saved. Onto the next! 😛

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