So today I'm going to review my go-to BB cream. My favorite one in fact -- The FACE Shop's Aqua Tinted BB Cream in Natural Beige.
As you can probably tell, the bottle is pretty old. I actually got this way back when in June 2012 and just got straight to using it, not even thinking to properly review it first haha. But now that I have the time, I thought I'd share it with you because I just love it so much!
The Packaging
The product comes in a somewhat metallic blue inverted tube with a matte finish, which like I said before, tends to get dirty quite easily (see above picture where it no longer looks metallic and just looks dull because of powder that's transferred on it). The tube itself is useful for product regulation and because it's upside-down doesn't really require a lot of fuss to get the product out. Each full-sized tube comes with 40mL/1.35 fl. oz. which is surprisingly a lot considering how little it takes to cover your entire face. To put things in perspective, I had the smaller size tube before and it lasted me a year with intermittent but frequent use hahaha. I wonder how long it'll take me to finish this one -- it's already been six months since I've bought it and I haven't even made a dent lol.
Claims
Sorry guys! Since I opened this one up a long time ago, I've gotten rid of the box. I really only have the tube to go on and most of the stuff is in Korean. What it does say on the tube though is this:
"With a 70% Moisture Content, including DEEP SEA WATER, light application provides a sense of coolness, and freshness the moment it touches the skin"
The description actually says most of it. It's very moisturizing without being oily and cake-y. It's light and you barely feel like you have it on. I can go on for ages about the benefits of Deep Sea Water, but if you guys are interested, this page sums it up quite well. In a nutshell, real deep sea water is the bomb. I say real because I'm not sure if what's in this is actual deep sea water, but there's other good stuff about it too.
UV Protection
Unlike the Candy Bar BB Cream, this BB cream doesn't really have that much gimmick attached to it. In fact, it's honestly one of those classic finds that just work well on a daily basis. This BB cream also has SPF20/PA++. What exactly does this mean? SPF, which stands for Sun Protection Factor and is essentially a measure of how well a product protects from UVB, which causes sunburn. Obviously, the higher the SPF, the more protection the product affords. Additionally, some products may list PA, which is a measure of how well the product protects against UVA, which rather than sunburn, can cause long-term skin damage, pre-mature aging, epithelial cell mutagenesis and extreme cases skin cancer. You can see now why these values are so important.
As a person, I'm not very conscious of the sun. I couldn't actually be bothered to even carry around an umbrella for shade, and I'm not exactly fond of the white cast and sticky feeling that sunblock causes. There are other BB Creams out there with higher SPF, but in all honesty, I like this one the best, because despite having SPF and PA, it still maintains a thin light consistency, as opposed to more SPF-heavy creams which tend to apply like heavy foundation. So essentially, I get protection and a nice finish.
Consistency
To elaborate on how this BB Cream fairs consistency-wise. It's actually rather runny -- not serum runny or anything, but it definitely feels like there's more water in there than oil, and that's a good thing for people oil problems. You can definitely feel the water content in there and the pigment itself seems suspended in a colloid of mostly water as opposed to cream. So at the same time it's still good for even people with somewhat dry skintones as well. The consistency thus allows for excellent blendability and lightweight wear (you can't even tell it's there!).
Coverage/Color/Finish
The coverage I'd say is light to medium. It's buildable, but it definitely won't be able to cover more noticeable blemishes. A little goes a long way with this one. In fact, I only use a pea-sized amount for my entire face. Two dollops if I want a little bit more coverage and I'm set. The product itself is able to even out my skintone quite well and the reflectiveness gives my skin a bright look.
There are (to my knowledge) only two colors available at the boutique. Obviously, I chose the darker one (Natural Beige) because of my darker tone, but it still comes off as a bit light on my face. After awhile the product adapts to my skintone, but doesn't necessarily oxidize on my skin. There's definitely still that white cast as a result of this product having SPF, but it's easily fixable with a little bit of finishing powder and bronzer.
Below you can see the difference of my skin with BB cream and without. You can also see my ginormously huge my nose looks without contouring. Now you know my secret guys! I look so alien-like in the below picture without my eyeliner and brows. I hope you guys aren't scared :P Back on track, I set the BB cream with a powder that's exactly my skin-tone just to lessen the whiteness, and additionally (not shown), apply a bit of bronzer where appropriate to bring warmth to my face. You can tell by the difference in color from my neck and face how the color blends in eventually.
The finish itself is still somewhat dewy, but as compared to a lot of BB creams out there can almost be considered semi-matte. It's definitely not as dewy as some of the Etude House BB Creams out there. At the same time, this stuff does not go cake-y on me at all, and I've tried and tested this out for almost half a year in school on 12 hour shifts with no blotting at all. But then again, I don't exactly have the oiliest skin out there.
Effects
I think I can personally testify to the effects of this BB cream on my skin, since I've been using this since my first year of college. My skin it less dull, less prone to flaking and my pores have been minimized. I'm sure this is attributed to the BB cream and not other skincare products because I'll be honest: I don't even use facial wash -- I use shower gel on my face for Pete's sake. So IMO, with continued use, this BB cream can do absolute wonders~ Again, that's just my experience haha.
Beauty Tip!
One of my other secrets that makes use of the BB cream is when it comes to lip color, especially with lip glosses and sheerer lipsticks out there. I use this BB cream as a lip concealer as well (you can see in the picture above). The reason it works so well is because while normal concealers that aren't designed for lips tend to dry them out, this BB cream is actually quite moisturizing and manages to cover redness quite well. Try seeing if your BB cream works well as a lip concealer some time as well!
The Verdict
As a full time student, I absolutely love this BB cream and it suits me just perfectly. But again, we all have different skin types, requirements and tastes and I can't assure you you'll like this as much as I do.
Pros:
Lightweight
Moisturizing without being oily, heavy or cake-y
With SPF
Blends really well
Doesn't Oxidize on my skin
Lasts pretty long on my skin
Doesn't break me out, in fact helped with my Acne!
Semi-matte finish!
Supposedly contains deep sea water (pfft lol)
Cons:
Matte packaging gets dirty easily
Only two shades available last I checked
Still has that white cast
So, what do you guys think? Have I converted you? LOL. If I have, if I've at least made you curious, do let me know in the comments below :)
Ada, signing out~
