Review: Be Original Edition – Hanbok Pt II (Romand)

This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.

It’s no longer a secret that I’m a huge fan of Romand and have this urge to collect pretty much everything they release. In my last review of their Be Original Edition, I looked at their See Through Veilighter and Glasting Water Tints (which I still use and love on the regular). I was once again blown away by their concept execution and formulations, so I wanted to get a few more things from the collection… so here’s part two!

This time, I’ll be reviewing the See Through Melting Cheek and the See Through Matte Tint – the blushers are a whole new formula for the brand whilst the matte tints are pre-existing, but still new to me. In addition to this, there is also the Be Original Clear Cover Cushion and the Better Than Eyes.

These are all still available at StyleKorean but for a very limited time only – I’m not 100% sure on this but I think that the collaboration is finished now (or finishing soon) so it’s just while stocks last. In a big fan of Romand in general so… I would always be recommending these!

Ready for the review? Let’s get into it!

See Through Melting Cheek | USD$11.20 (discounted from USD$14)

You may read my review on the Romand Better Than Cheek before (and, if not, it’s right here) – but this is an all new formula for the brand. Described as a ‘melting’ blush, this is essentially a cream blusher with a sheer, translucent finish – perfect for natural make up or more subtle looks. It claims to have a non-sticky finish, as well as blending smoothly for a flawless finish.

The See Through Melting Cheek comes in this limited edition Hanbok inspired packaging (no update on whether this will be a permanent product later on) and is available in three wearable shades:

• 01 Melting Beige
• 02 Melting Coral
• 03 Melting Lavender

Packaging

So the packaging for these blushers are absolutely beautiful. I love the Hanbok inspired Be Original Edition in general though so… everything has been right up my alley. They external packaging for this is almost the same as the Veilighters – it uses the same shape and size.

The blushers come in a simple cardboard box, with the front opening panel and a colour coded soft tint. The details are mostly in Korean – in fact, they have even used a more traditional, Korean style for their logo print! I love the attention to small details here. This box, along with everything else from Romand, also contains a small sticker for you to write the date on – this makes keeping track of product expiry a lot easier.

Opening it up, the compact for the blushers are made from a matte finish plastic. I love the frosted finish (which really ties in with the whole ‘see through’ concept) and the squared shape makes it easy to stack and store. My favourite thing about this is the colour coded back and the translucent front, which makes it easy to pick out the shades when you’re doing your make up.

It also contains a colour coded rubycell puff – the colouring is a cute touch and I like the overall monochromatic vibe. The closure also clicks shut very securely. I usually have trouble opening these but it’s surprisingly easy this time round – it’s definitely dependent on my nails and I’ve had gel nails recently. Overall, the compact is designed really well and I see no flaws in the packaging at all.

Personal Experiences

I was very pleasantly surprised at how accurate the shades were in comparison to the official swatches – see the below image. All of them are quite sheer but can be built up to a decent intensity, though I still think that these will only work for skin tones on the fair to light range. I personally really like to reach for Melting Beige, which is a very natural and almost nude blush tone – it’s great for every day whilst the other two have a more bright, lively feel.

Formula wise, the See Through Melting Cheek has a very creamy, emollient sort of formula – it’s definitely best applied over a more creamy foundation. Application wise, I like to use the puff to lay down the product, then either pat it out to blend or even use a brush (depending on how diffused I want the look to be). The puff is generally best if you want to concentrate it on certain areas.

The finish of this blush is very natural and with a slightly dewy finish – this would be perfect for people who like minimal make up looks or a glowy complexion. I’m surprised at how often I find myself reaching for these as I don’t usually use cream blushers, but these are just really flattering! It definitely delivers on the claims of being a non-sticky and smooth finish.

That being said, the shade range for this is just very limited. As a kbeauty brand, I understand that the formulation is more catered to lighter skin tones, but I would have at least wanted to see some berry tones to suit a medium skin tone. The pigmentation takes quite a bit of work to build up, so this may be hard for some people to use. If they do bring this out as part of their permanent range, I really hope that there are some slighter deeper shades too.

Overall, I am really enjoying these See Through Melting Cheeks – all three of the shades work well for my skin tone and the sheer formulation, although it may take a bit more work during application, really suits the make up styles that I’m leaning towards right now. The cream formula also means that I can use these on no-foundation days and I like how naturally it sits on my skin.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A range of three cream blushers with building pigmentation and a sheer, translucent finish

THE GOOD

• Good price point
• Sturdy and beautiful packaging
• Colour coded and functional compact design
• Natural, skin-like finish
• Non-sticky
• Buildable pigmentation

THE BAD

• Limited shade range – would only work for Fair to Light complexions
• Takes more time to apply compared to a powder formula

RATINGS

• PRICE POINT | 5/5
• PACKAGING | 5/5
• SHADE RANGE | 3/5
• BLENDABILITY | 4/5
• LONGEVITY | 4/5

OVERALL RATING? 8.4/10

THOUGHTS? It’s funny because I remember not rating the packaging on the Veilighters so highly, but I really love how it looks for these blushers! I definitely think that the frosted finish gave it a more luxe vibe, and the monochromatic rubycell puff was the perfect touch. I gave the shade range an average rating because I do like that the three they released are all very different – but my criticism stands that this is only suitable for lighter skin tones.

Overall, I really enjoyed and loved this See Through Melting Cheek so I hope that they will bring out more with this formula – it’s really beautiful. I’m not totally converted to cream blushers (as I also adore their Better Than Cheek) but I have plenty to love about these.

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See Through Matte Tint | USD$11.20 (discounted from USD$14)

I’d been a huge fan of the Glasting Water Tints in the past (and yes, I’m aware that I have talked a lot of other people into buying them as well) so I was excited to try out another formula too – the See Through Matte Tint. As I mentioned earlier, this is an existing formula. It was previously available in six shades but they have released four new ones for the Be Original Edition:

• 07 Onion Beige
• 08 Flower Coral
• 09 Maple Red
• 10 Blush Purploe

The formula is described as having a matte, creamy texture that blending smoothly onto lips whilst also keeping them moisturised. It adheres well with a sheer, translucent pigmentation, which makes it perfect for softer gradient lip looks.

Packaging

The packaging for these are actually almost identical to the Glasting Water Tints – it has the same tube shape as their permanent range, with an opaque body and translucent cap. It also comes in the same four muted colours (pink, cream, grey and green) – however, these still have zero correlation to the actual shades!

The very subtle Hanbok inspired print is pretty, and I also like that they used a soft matte touch finish for the plastic instead of glossy (which is the only differentiating point between these and the Water Tints). Again though, I just wish that they had colour coded these. As someone who owns a lot from Romand – in fact, I have all eight of the lip tints from the Hanbok Edition now – I have to consciously read the packaging every morning to find the shade I want.

Overall, very pretty packaging that is consistent with the permanent range. However, not enough thought that been put into the use and functionality of the design.

Personal Experiences

These remind me of the Peripera Velvet Inks but with a more lightweight formula. The texture, as claimed, is quite creamy but has a powdery finish when it’s sheered out. It isn’t as thin as I originally thought it would be, but still feels weightless of the lips. It’s quite moisturising and doesn’t really dry out lips either, so I’m comfortable reapplying this during the day.

My main tip for using this is that less is actually more. I find that the doe foot applicator tends to pick up a lot of product – these Matte Tints can apply a bit patchy if you overdo it. It’s best to do a thin layer of colour overall, and then build on the center of the lips for a gradient look. This isn’t really unique to this product either – it’s just my personal tip for all of these matte tint type formulas.

I reach for these quite often but I do find that the shades are similar. Aside from Blush Purple, the other three are all close enough that I could use them interchangeably throughout the day (though they are different side-by-side). Rather than collecting them all, I would instead recommend choosing one or two that you really like.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A creamy lip tint with a matte, powdery finish

THE GOOD

• Good price point
• Tubes are simple and consistent with the rest of the range
• Very pretty packaging
• Moisturising formula that doesn’t dry out lips
• Easy to reapply
• Sweet, yummy scent

THE BAD

• Colours of the tubes don’t correlate to the shades
• Flat doe foot picks up more product than needed
• Shades can be quite similar once applied
• Transfers easily, especially when the colour is built up

RATINGS

• PRICE POINT | 4/5
• PACKAGING | 3/5
• FINISH | 4/5
• HYDRATION | 3/5
• COLOUR/PIGMENTATION | 4/5
• LONGEVITY | 3/5

OVERALL RATING? 7/10

THOUGHTS? I used to be a fan of the Peripera Velvet Inks, so naturally I do like using these as well. The formula is quite nice and I especially like how easy it is to build up a gradient lip. In the end though, I think that it really comes down to preferences and time – I’ve been leaning more towards dewy lip formulas lately, so personally still prefer the Glasting Lip Tints over these.

I would recommend the See Through Matte Tints for people who liked the Peripera Velvet Inks or even the 3CE Velvet Lip Tints. These are also a great alternative to matte liquid lipsticks – they don’t last as long and do transfer, but are much more comfortable for daily wear.

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If you’re keen on anything from the Romand Be Original Edition, then make sure that you get in quick! They do a lot of limited edition collaborations and things tend to move pretty quickly, so it would be sad to miss out. All of these are still available at StyleKorean or you can also check out everything else from Romand.

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