Skin79 Intense Classic Balm SPF 20 PA++

A reader friend reminded me that I haven't reviewed that many BB creams recently, and asked if I have stopped using them. Yes, I have not used BB creams for the last two weeks, but it was because I was trying out a skincare line, which interestingly asked its users to only stick to a few very basic products within the line for the first 4 to 6 weeks of use, and begged that one use no facial makeup (but eyes and brows and lips and blush are okay) for the first 6 weeks, so that you may experience the full effects sooner. I was hooked on this skincare line by my Korean derm, who loves all natural lines with minimum ingredients and no preservatives, and I won't say anything more about this line until I've finished my 6 weeks, and can give you a better idea. :P

Anyhow, that is why I have not used BB creams in two weeks and forgot to review them. However, my suitcase is packed with BB creams I bought in Korea, and this is just another BB cream I could not resist picking up at the skin79 counter. 

To be fair, I was somewhat acquitanted with this BB cream since I bought it from Korea almost a year ago, and planned on using it. However, my young teenage cousin (male) came to visit and was so sick of his acne issue so that no girls would talk to him. He snatched the most masculine looking BB cream on my vanity and used it. He liked it so much that I gave it to him. So this is actually the first time I'm trying this BB cream on myself. 

So enough of my rambling and on to the actual review. :)

Coverage: Medium. Quite blendable, but not as blendable, as some BB creams, such as the Skin79 Diamond Total BB Cream

Oil-control: The oil control is not bad. It seems to last through the day, even though I did seem to oil up on my nose by afternoon. 

Color: This has a sort of yellow undertone that would look quite flattering on most people, especially on photos. I feel it would be good for N15 to N35. 

Finish: Very matte look, which is perhaps why my little cousin/brother liked it so much. It looks rather perfect on a guy since it's matte, so it does not seem as if he is wearing something or doing any skincare (which most Asian guys, I learnt don't like). I would  have liked the finish to be a little more glowy for myself. My natural complexion gave off more glow than this BB cream did. 

Special properties: Protecting, slightly moisturizing, evens out skin tone. The SPF is not high enough for me, which is why I'm going to give it too my cousin too after using it for one week. 

I don't find this to have any specific healing properties even though it does not cause more problems for me. However, my cousin says it makes his pimples heal slightly faster. I suppose every BB cream is different for different people. 

Overall: Overall, I think this is a very good and basic BB cream, like the name implies. It does not have too many frills and does not claim many properties, but it does do very well as a basic BB cream. This makes this BB cream so perfect for guys. And perhaps for this very reason, I do not like this BB cream as much as many others. It's true that I don't rely on a BB cream for skincare capabilities, and don't really think a BB cream is superior just because it claims to have diamonds, gold or caviar in it. However, the finish of this BB cream is too matte for me, and it lacks enough SPF protection factor (which I don't rely on anyway since I always try to use sunscreen with BB creams, but it's still helpful to have a BB cream with good enough SPF just in case I'm in a hurry in the mornings). 

Skin79 Super Plus BB Cream VIP Gold Review

Many people have trouble distinguishing this BB cream from the VIP pink BB cream. They are after all so similar, with almost the same description, the same bottle structure, except for the color. I couldn't find that much difference between the two BB creams either, except for one thing. I discovered that this BB cream just might be the Hot Pink's twin sister for different skin types.

Coverage: The Coverage is pretty good. I'd say sheer medium, and I don't think it's really layer-able. I mean you can layer it without much cosmetic difficulty, but it oils up really quickly if you apply more than one layer.  It seems to give skin a smooth texture and minimize pores. The whitening effect is not as obvious as the Hot Pink's, but still noticeable. Unlike the hot pink, which I said tend to make you look as if you have cool skintone, this one doesn't disguise undertone. It just makes you a little bit whiter, which is a natural look that many of my coworkers prefer. I personally don't need much more whitening on my skin, since I'm pale enough, but I don't mind the temporary whitening power. 

Finish: The finish is really natural and pretty dewy. I really like the look since it seems to either fill in or cover pores, which is great. If you apply too much, it can be shiny. 

Oil Control: The oil control is not too great. I think this BB cream was made for dry skin, which makes sense for the oil control to be minimal. I found this BB cream very moisturizing. My coworker said that she can wear this BB cream in the morning without moisturizer in a pinch, and not feel dried out throughout the day. It tried doing this once, and I quite agree. however, I'm not a huge advocate of dropping skincare products just because the BB cream is moisturizing enough. 

Spreadability: This is a milky texture, but more creamy than the Hot Pink. Very spreadable, but takes a little longer to blend because of the milky texture (you have to rub as it forms a film over your skin). I found that using smaller quantities help a lot in reducing the time I have to spend spreading it, but it also reduces coverage. 

Skin Benefits: I've started to not expect much skin benefits out of BB cream, since I love my skincare anyway. This BB cream doesn't seem to have any too obvious skincare benefits except for great moisturization, but I think it at least doesn't harm skin (which is more than most foundations can say. My Laneige foundation doesn't give me any troubles, but I always wear my Laneige base with it which should cut down on the trouble foundation gives). 

General comments: This is a pretty good BB cream, with a great smoothing ability. It is definitely richer than the Hot Pink BB cream, but in other aspects pretty much identical. This one contains quite a lot of supposedly beneficial ingredients, such as caviar, but I wouldn't really count on it. Caviar may have great benefits when ingested, but it may also clog skin when applied topically (as well as irritations for people who are sensitive to marine products). For the price, I don't really think there would be a significant amount of caviar. I have learnt that the wonder ingredient in BB creams is often arbutin, which ironically, people find quite controversial. 

This is in my opinion, the twin to the Hot pink BB cream, for drier and maturer skin. 

P.S. Sorry I haven't been posting daily (as I wanted to do). I'm still stuck in Korea and the life is hectic here. 

Skin79 Super Plus BB Cream Hot Pink Triple Functions Review

As I mentioned before, since I'm staying in Korea, I might as well try out some other BB creams. This is just another BB cream sample I picked up at the Skin79 counter with my purchase. I actually used this before for two weeks, but I wanted to get a sample to refresh my memory before I do the review (I actually tried a total of 60ish BB creams before :P) I didn't really expect much out of it. Skin79 is a good brand, so I expected it to be safe, but it's targeted to teenagers and people in their 20s, so I didn't really expect anything too great either. I guess I was just curious since I liked skin79's diamond total BB cream, and wanted to try out the entire line-up to see if there is something better out there. Well, I wouldn't say this is my favorite BB cream, but it is much more than I expected

This BB cream, like most Korean BB creams (except for my beloved Laneige), promises quite a lot. On the bottle, this BB cream claims to be triple functioning (SPF+"wrinkle improvement"+whitening) while on the website this BB cream promises ten functions (Whitening+Wrinkle Improvement+Oil control+Moisturizing+Protection from the Environment+UV Protection+Perfection, which I assume means complexion perfection+skintone correction+skin adhesion+base makeup), which is quite a lot. In a nutshell, this BB cream is supposed to act as sunscreen, primer, foundation, as well as having some skincare benefits. 

A lot of people told me they steer clear from this BB cream because of the "wrinkle improvement" part since many people are young and don't have any wrinkles to improve. The SA told me that the wrinkle improvement part actually means anti-aging, and she secretly told me that one shouldn't rely on a BB cream to improve wrinkles, which I quite agree. I also don't really rely on this as a sunscreen, but that's just me...

Coverage: The Coverage is pretty good. I'd say sheer medium, and I don't think it's really layer-able (on my second layer, it becomes quite cakey). It seems to give skin a smooth texture and minimize pores. 

I've noticed that this BB cream has somewhat of a whitening effect after applied and tend to give people a cool undertone. I watched my coworker apply it, and she had quite warm skin tone before application, and her skintone became a delicate cream and roses complexion which is quite pretty. The BB cream isn't overly pink, and I think it gives a rather natural look. 

Finish: The finish is really natural and pretty dewy. I really like the look since it seems to either fill in or cover pores, which is great. It reminds me of the skin I get in the morning after plenty of sleep and lots of my beloved night cream. 

Oil Control: The oil control is better than I expected, though still mediocre for me. I got shine on my t-zone on the 6th hour, and a little oily on the 8th. However, after trying the Skin79 Lovely Girls, I was quite grateful that it isn't drying. :) 

Spreadability: This is more of a milky texture than a cream texture, so it's easy to apply, but needs more patting and blending than a more creamy BB cream. Not bad though. 

Skin Benefits: I've started to not expect much skin benefits out of BB cream, since I love my skincare anyway. This BB cream doesn't seem to have any too obvious skincare benefits, but I think it at least doesn't harm skin (which is more than most foundations can say. My Laneige foundation doesn't give me any troubles, but I always wear my Laneige base with it which should cut down on the trouble foundation gives). 

General comments: This is a pretty good BB cream, with a great smoothing ability. It seems like a pretty average BB cream, but if you think about it, it doesn't have any obvious faults that would make me never touch it again (which 70% of BB creams can't achieve) so...I'll wear this when my skin is a little dull or has bigger pores from lack of sleeping as it really gives perfect dewy skin (if you need more coverage, by all means use a concealer). The oil control is mediocre, and I don't blot or powder, but 8 hours is pretty acceptable, as I hate to wear makeup (to me is defined as anything with a tint + many many other products) too long anyway. I would not really advice using this as a makeup base since layering it makes it rather cakey. Great BB cream overall. 

Skin79 Lovely Girl BB Cream Review

Since I'm pretty much stuck in Korea for a while anyway, I decided to try out a few more BB creams, since the Korean counters are pretty generous with samples (when you buy another full sized product). So I went to the skin79 counter to buy another bottle of my beloved Diamond Total BB cream and asked for a few samples of a few other BB creams they carry. The samples are small, but since I only use a little BB cream anyway, each sample should last a week, which should be sufficient to do a review.

First off, this BB cream is designed for young girls between the ages of 17 to 22. I thought I barely fit into the age range, so I tried it. (lol, I'm not telling you my age, sorry). I can see how this BB cream would be targeted to the younger age range, because....

Coverage: The coverage is nothing to write home about. When layered, it is sheer medium at most. With the regular amount, you get sheer coverage. However, this seems to contain some light reflecting qualities, so that your imperfections are as clear when you take a photo or look in the mirror in the sunlight. 

The smoothing ability also seems quite good. The SA showed me that she has large pores on her nose, and after putting it on her nose, the pores are quite invisible. 

Finish: The finish is really natural, perhaps a little more glowy than my natural skin. I can see why this is targeted around young girls, since in some schools in Korea and China, girls aren't allowed to wear makeup. With this BB cream, it will be barely noticeable (or not at all) that you are wearing makeup. 

Oil Control: The oil control is really good like I expected. In Korea, most products that are targeted to young girls tend to have super oil control. The first day I wore this, I did my usual skincare, and three hours after putting this on, my cheeks actually felt dry. My T-zone stayed oil free until the 10th hour, which is pretty amazing, but I also sprayed a bit of makeup mist onto my cheeks since it felt so dry. 

Spreadability: This is needs a little rubbing to get it spread evenly, which I don't like, but if I don't wait for my moisturizer to dry, this seems pretty great. 

General comments: This is a pretty good BB cream for young girls, with a great smoothing ability. It looks really natural and the oil-control is superb (perhaps a little too much). It is less spreadable than I would have liked, but I think it is oil-free in order to be suitable for girls. I would really recommend it to girls who need a lot of oil control, and I think it will function great as a base if you need more coverage.