Fresh Friday: This K-Beauty Brand Is All About Bite-Sized Beauty

“Fresh Friday” is a new MBB series where we explore products from new beauty brand (and veteran brands that are new to me). Let’s discover new makeup!

Two pressing life-related conundrums:

1. So…when did 7:30 p.m. become late for me? Because I swear, 7:30 is the new midnight now. When the clock strikes 7:30, I turn into a pumpkin!
2. Am I the only person who assumed that because Kaja Beauty refers to their products as “bite sized,” they’d be teeny and tiny for travel?

From Sephora:

“We create bite-sized beauty packed with Korean innovation that once you experience, you’ll want to share. It’s packaging as beautiful on the outside as our product is on the inside – feel-good formulas made for everyone, all skin types and skin tones.”

How cute is this line? I think their bite-sized hook is a little confusing though, since all of it looks pretty full-sized in person.



Kaja is a new Korean beauty line that launched last (this?) fall exclusively at Sephora, and here’s a fun fact for ya: Apparently, Kaja means “Let’s Go” in Korean!



The brand has a Milk-meets-Glossier vibe, with a pinch of Too Faced cuteness, and while there’s a decent helping of eye, cheek and lip products, the line’s relatively minimalist when it comes to foundation… In other words, you aren’t going to find 20 million foundation shades a la Fenty here. For face makeup, they have one primer, one color corrector and a handful of concealers.

Yup, that’s it! No powder or anything else.

The concept is a fresh-faced, dewy complexion with a kiss of color and glitter on lids, cheeks and lips.

I definitely feel like it’s a line that skews to a younger makeup crowd, like teens and early 20-somethings, but even if that’s way beyond your age group (HELLO, ME), it can be fun, fast and fabulous for quickie looks…which is every day of my life lately, ha!



Standout: The Cushy Vibe High-Pigment Lip Stains

I’ve tested a few of the products so far, and I dig the Lip Stains ($18). They’re REALLY good. They come five bold colors (blue-red, wine, mauve, plum and purple) and have a light whipped texture that glides right over your lips.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that they feel light as feathers, either, because they last a long time. I put Chiffon (the raspberry shade) on my lips in the morning a few days ago thinking I’d need to reapply after lunch, but after two cups of coffee, three glasses (OK, more like jugs) of water, snacks AND lunch, it stayed on my lips and continued to last for practically the whole day.



Also worth your time: Mochi Pop Bouncy Blush

The cream-to-powder blushes ($19 each) are also standouts because they’re like more affordable Chanel Joues Contraste blushes. I’ve been wearing Atmosphere, a rosy shade similar to Chanel Pink Explosion, and it has that gorgeous tell-tale semi-transparency that you’ll find over at Chanel.

Now, let me say for the millionth time that sheer blush ain’t a bad thing, especially if you don’t want to spend hella days blending out the edges, and/or your ultimate makeup fear in life is walking around with clown cheeks.

Take-home message: These look very natural on the skin, don’t appear obviously powdery, and they’re long-lasting as well.



But how about those cream blush stamps?

Kaja’s cushion blushes are very cute; I’ll give them that. Each blush has a ❤️ heart-shaped stamp in the cap, which you dip into the cushion, stamp on your cheeks, and blend.

Fun! I like it on bare skin because, like the Mochi blushes, it’s sheer and allows my skin to peek through. But when I wear it on top of foundation or concealer, it breaks up my face makeup… I don’t wear it often, although you’d think I would because it feels very silicone-y and slippery to the touch. Plus, it blurs pores like a mofo.

A few quick reviews of the rest of the things I’ve tried…

• Blur Drop Weightless Water Primer ($22): Minimal pore-blurring, feels lightweight, not very moisturizing, dewy finish
• Cat Nap Under Eye Brightener ($19): Doesn’t settle into fine lines, comes in only one shade (peachy) that might be too dark for lighter skin tones
• Don’t Settle Concealer ($19): Demi-matte finish, lightweight and highly pigmented like the Urban Decay Naked Concealers; good color selection for skin types with yellow undertones
• 2’s Company Nude Lipstick & Liner Duo ($16): Smooth, pigmented, doesn’t settle into fine lines
• Beauty Bento Bouncy Shimmer Eyeshadow Trio ($21): Glittery and frosty with a great deal of fallout

I think Kaja is a young, fun makeup line for folks who like wearing dewy, minimal face products and lots of glitter and color.

Oh! — and definitely check out the Lip Stains!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF.