Exploring Greek brands: Erre Due Wet&Dry sparkler for cheeks

Hi lovelies!

This post is going to be first in a series on Greek high street make-up products.

The reason behind this?

It's simple:
I've come to a decision to explore those well known affordable brands like Seventeen, Erre Due and Radiant- because, as of now, I'm only familiarised with their nail varnishes...

I'm really hoping that their products can compete the likes of drugstore brands like Maybelline, Bourjois, etc.- but I can promise you this, I'm not going to be all "soft" on them, just because my mind set is in their favour.

I have high hopes for this project, so I hope I'll discover some great
make-up products from Greek brands-
because after all, there's nothing better than supporting your country's companies!
And here's my little complaint: other than Greek companies doing well at their sales statistics,
it would be so nice to see a "made in Greece" tag on a Greek make-up product...
For the record, the majority of Korres make-up products are made in Italy! Why?!?

This time, I headed to the Erre Due stand.
I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected variety of product formulas and colours!

Now, Erre Due makes baked (or, dare I say mineral?) blushes and eyeshadows that they claim they can be used both wet and dry-
which I won't argue, but (and do correct me if I'm wrong) water ruins all powder compacts, so I'm not willing to waste my blushes or eyeshadows with water in any case...

As you can figure out by the post's title, I opted for a baked blush.

Although I was immediately hit by this particular colour,
I admit I had a hard time choosing between the available 12 shades...

So after a significant amount of time, I settled to this:

    #410, a beautiful orange baked blush with a hint of gold shimmer

   Pros:
* the clean-cut transparent packaging
* contains 2 gr of baked product
   which is fairly decent, considering that the Bourjois pot blushes (which seem to never end!) contain 2,5 gr
* very pigmented!
* easy to blend on the skin
* its golden shimmer is very subtle,
   so it works perfectly fine even on skin with visible pores
* fairly long lasting
* 12 shades to choose from
* it's made in Italy
   obviously, it's not made in Greece- but come on, it could be a lot worse!
    The common "made in EU" tag always alarms me about the product's backround...

   Cons:
* hmm, its price? I paid around 13 euros for it and I must say,
   for a greek "affordable" brand like Erre Due, it feels a lot...
   The similar Bourjois blush pots are definitely cheaper than that!

Let's see how it compares to other orangey blushes from my collection:

    Clockwise from top left: Seventeen blush, Elf blush&bronzer compact,
    Erre Due blush, the Body Shop Peach Shimmer Waves 

   Left to right: Seventeen blush, Elf blush&bronzer compact,
   Erre Due blush, the Body Shop Peach Shimmer Waves

As you can see (left to right),
the Seventeen swatch is weak in pigmentation.
The Elf swatch is light and matte looking,
the Erre Due blush is the most pigmented of all,
and the Peach Shimmer Waves compact is the most shimmery of all.

So, would I recommend this product, or any other shade from the range?

Yes. And no.

The Erre Due baked blushes are very well made and they definitely
deserve a peek.
They have passed my quality standards for a blush, but I think they're a
tad overpriced.

I truly believe that, with the economic austerity we're faced nowadays, the Greek companies should lower their prices for competitiveness reasons.
Why would I pay 13 euros for a blush by an "affordable" Greek brand, when I can have a Mac blush for around 16-17 euros?
(provided the 25% sale Mac offers frequently)

So there you go, these are my thoughts on this product.

Have you tried any of the Erre Due Wet&Dry sparklers for cheeks?
What are your ultimate faves from Greek make-up brands?

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