Review : Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery BB (PICTURE HEAVY)

Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well!

Not long ago I needed to restock on my usual sunscreen by Biore and while browsing, I thought I'd order a couple of other products in their UV Aqua Rich line. I'll do reviews for each of them after I start testing and trying them out. :)

I really love the Biore UV Aqua Rich line especially their Watery Mousse sunscreen and their Watery Essence sunscreen as it does wonders for my normal-combination skin, leaving my skin feeling protected from the sun, hydrated and finished with a velvety powder finish.

The first thing I was really eager to try was the Biore Aqua Rich Watery BB which was their latest releases from their UV Aqua Rich line and also because it's a BB (assuming its a BB cream).

Retail Packaging.

This BB cream comes in a beige tube containing 33grams of product retailing online on Ebay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Biore-KAO-Japan-Biore-UV-Aqua-Rich-Watery-BB-Cream-Face-SPF50-PA-33g-/221208045088?pt=US_Skin_Care&hash=item338106e620) for approximately $13.50 AUD and comes in only one shade. This water-based product has a SPF of 50+ / PA+++ consisting of Hyaluronic acid and many citrus extracts of orange, grapefruit and lemon. Claims to protect the skin from UV rays whilst evening and brightening skin tones leaving the skin feeling refreshed and light. The only concern I have is that Ethanol is the third ingredient on the list, which may be a concern for those with dry-sensitive skin.

Just a side fact about Hyaluronic acid; It is commonly used in conjuction with vitamin C to help penetrate the skin further for effective results and is also commonly used for anti-aging purposes to correct or 'reverse' aging skin. It is also a common substance used to treat dry or damaged skin (such as eczema).
For the citrus extracts, citrus is a great source of Vitamin C being ascorbic acid which is commonly in skincare products to help stimulate other substances to make it more effective such as the synthesis of collagen. In this case, It helps the Hyaluronic acid to penetrate deep into the skin. Vitamin C is also known to help fade scars, and minimise wrinkles and fine lines.

Back onto the review, the squeeze tube comes in a nozzle after removing the twist cap off which is excellent as it is hygienic, not messy and also distributes the product easily. Upon swatching the product on the hand, the salmon-pink tinted cream is super lightweight, wet and very easy to spread- almost felt like a water gel. The cream did have an odd scent unlike the other products in their UV Aqua Rich line which had a subtle lemon scent. The BB cream smelt like PVA glue, which wasn't really pleasant. Once the cream was blended, a white sheen finish could be seen which did brighten the skin and did leave the skin feeling hydrated. After the cream settled after 3-5minutes, the cream had a nice velvety powder finish without being sticky.

First swatch test- consistency and texture.

Upon testing the coverage on the upper exposed wrist (as shown in image below - click to enlarge) the coverage is very thin, it did even the skin tone out and brighten the skin as it claimed to but didn't really cover.

Now it was to try on the face. Lately the weather in Sydney has been quite relatively cold which leaves my normal-combination skin dry in some areas such as the sides of the nose and cheeks whilst still have some oil in the T-zone area. I apply the BB cream by dotting and then blend it out through the face and down the neck like any other BB cream.

After blending and waiting 4 minutes for the BB cream to set, I would say that my skin has definitely brighten up and that it really did even my skin tone and cover up the redness around my nose but It didn't have enough coverage to cover the redness of my pimple below my lip. 
There were some difficulties in blending the product as it kept leaving patches of the cream behind which required me to literally rub into the skin. Even with further rubbing in, there was still residues hidden in my eyebrows which looked really awkward up close. Not sure if the skin where my eyebrow lies was dry or not BUT it did leave my cheekbone area and the sides of my nose some dry patches.

Applied it on the other side of the face and I can say that my skin definitely did feel hydrated as it has this cold sensation as if you have the air conditioner blowing into your face, despite leaving some dry patches on the areas that was already dry. I'm guessing this was the result of the ethanol being third in the ingredient list. 
After allowing the products to settle in, there were still some white residues of the product on my eyebrows. On the positive note, my skin tone was really evened out and also brightened and surprisingly with flash photography- It didn't really leave such a harsh white cast as most sunscreen would've. Also my skin felt quite firm and had this plumpy feeling to it which was great.

Got my day started and ran around doing errands outdoor in the sun with the cold weather.  Got back after 5 hours of application of the BB cream and this is the result: 

You can kind of see the redness of the sides of my nose peeking through which shows that some of the cream or the tint of the cream has faded. My T-zone area was only abit shiny but definitely not as oily as when I go without it. My skin at this point still felt dry and powdery and still had that plump/firm feeling. The dry patches on the side of the nose, the pimple and the cheekbone area was still there and the residues on my eyebrow was still there. 
In terms of hydration and moisture, I'd say only 40% of it was left because my skin did feel abit tight in such that slightly on the dry side; but my skin did not feel heavy at all.

So lets sum up on the Biore UV Aqua Rich Watery BB.  
Pros : 

• Did evened out skin tone as claimed
• Did brighten up the complexion as claimed
• SPF 50+/ PA+++
• Lightweight cream and refreshing feeling
• Non sticky & Non greasy
• Dry velvety powder finish
• Cooling sensation upon applying
• Comes in a clean squeeze tube
• Not much of a white cast
• Controls oils quite well

Cons: 

• Didn't hydrate the skin very well
• Left some dry patches and residues
• Requires alot of blending and rubbing in
• Comes in one shade (quite light as well)
• Very little coverage
• PVA-glue scent
• Slightly pricey, almost $14.00AUD for 33grams (excluding shipping price) [Though I'm sure it's heaps cheaper in japan]

Final verdict :

I probably wouldn't really recommend this product if you're looking for an actual BB cream that moisturises the skin, has some coverage. I wouldn't even say this product is a tinted moisturiser and it doesn't really moisturise the skin. ALSO, definitely wouldn't recommend for those with dry-sensitive skin as it left me dry patches in some areas and my skin is normal-combination, wouldn't want to imagine what it would be on dry skin. Not recommended for sensitive skin because the ethanol content may be harsh for your skin. 

Not sure if I'd recommend it for oily-combination skin users but I'm guessing it'd be great to  keep your face less shiny.

Probably would use this more in summer where the sun is more harsh and my skin gets more oily. But $14.00AUD for this product, I'd probably prefer other products to be honest. Quite disappointing really because I'd expect it to be great like the other products in the same line.

Anyway hope this review is somewhat helpful. 

Please leave comments on your thoughts of the cream and the review, would love to hear it.

If you would like to purchase this product- I purchased it from Yoicho29 on Ebay (http://myworld.ebay.com.au/yoicho29) which situates from Japan, and delivers great service. [Not sponsored] And hey, Hello Kitty stamps! *^*!

Until then, stay well & take care!

Review & First Impression : Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream Bright Fit.

Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well :)

This post will be a review based on my first impression of the "Precious Minerall BB cream Bright Fit" by Etude House.

I received a small free sample sachet of the BB cream from one of my previous orders of korean cosmetics from http://cosmetic-love.com/

According to http://cosmetic-love.com , the retail package contains 2.11 oz (approximately 60g) and retails for $16.19US coming in 4 different shades.

This BB cream claims to be inflused with pearl extracts to leave the skin moist and radiant with a silky complexion. The coverage is sheer and has an SPF 30/PA++.

Main ingredients are pearl extracts, water, titanium dioxide, dipropylene gylcol, cyclopentasiloxane .

Claims to also have adenosine and arbutin for anti-wrinkle treatment and whitening skin.

So i wasn't sure which shade I received in but judging from the looks of it, it seems to be in shade W13 Natural Beige.

Before applying onto my face, I tested the cream on my hands for the consistency and color check.

The consistency of this BB cream is very nice and runny, almost a liquid form hence giving a sheer coverage however blending and spreading the product about the face would be more easy and even. 

There is a slight scent of similar to a Frangipani flower which is very common in korean cosmetics.

At first through looking at the cream, the color seemed just a tad darker than my skin however upon spreading it and blending it into skin, it definitely is not the color you see.

As you can see in the image above, the side with the BB cream applied has a nice dewy finish and a sheer coverage that evens out the skin tone. 
In terms of texture and feel, the BB cream did not feel sticky or greasy; it was more smooth with a powder finish.  From this finish, my skin didn't feel very hydrated but more on the dry side. This is rare since my skin is normal combination being oily at my T-zone area.
For the color, once applied the color did seem just a tad darker than my normal skin tone just like the color seen of the BB cream. 

Here is an image of my face with the BB cream applied on both sides of the face.

The BB cream definitely does promise to give a dewy finish and the "BRIGHT FIT" definitely did show through this product. It made my skin look like a porcelain doll where light was reflected upon high point features such as my cheek bones. 

After 5-10 minutes to let the BB cream oxidise and settle into my skin, for some reason I was really pale with a white cast.

Now you're probably thinking just from looking at the picture that it's just the lighting BUT REALLY, I was really pale to the point even my dad noticed (usually he doesn't even know I wear stuff on my face). I also noticed that the BB cream seemed to settle into my lines and cracked, giving a flaky look. My skin did feel powdery which is the same as once I applied it earlier but it has lost some of that dewy finish so my features aren't highlighted as much.

I continued to have the BB cream and catch up with my day with some errands and chores. 

After 2-3 hours, this was the result:

The BB cream has pretty much faded and left some residues in my fine lines and even my eyebrows. At this point my face felt super dry and also felt sticky as if I sprayed hairspray onto my face. 

I decided to leave the BB cream on again till the night however 30minutes after that photo was taken, my skin felt really itchy and dry so I really had to remove this BB cream off my face ASAP.

Verdict? I absolutely do not recommend this BB cream. Even though it had a nice finish once applied, totally not worth it if it doesn't last long, doesn't provide moisture to the skin as promised, longevity of the "bright look" was poor. And to be honest, the BB cream did feel like hair spray on the face and even in the hair as I had some on my hair which felt like as if I had hairspray. 

That concludes this review. Hopefully it is somewhat helpful.
Until then, stay well & take care!

Received Ordered Package from Cosmetic-Love

Yo! Hope you're all doing well!

So I received a package yesterday from Cosmetic-love.com consisting of the skincare products I ordered online. The package two exactly two weeks to arrive, and what can I say- everything was great.

Before I get into what I ordered and review abit of the service, thought I'd share a little of Cosmetic-love.com :) 

Please note that I am NOT sponsored by them, I just thought I'd give a little review and share where I order my products from and hopefully you receive the same service I do.

So Cosmetic-love.com is a online shopping website based in Korea which sells a wide range of Korean cosmetic products from various Korean brands susch as Skinfood, Laneige, The Face Shop, Missha, Etude House, Skin79 etc. They obtain their products directly from the retail shop and/or manufacturer so it is guaranteed that the products are genuine; and I even searched up the code and checked on packaging etc online for certain products I bought (such as BB cream). 

I knew Cosmetic-love.com through their Ebay store since I ordered something from them a while ago and their service was really good; dealing with and solving the issues I had really well and fast. Upon receiving the last message, they shared their newly opened website and since then I order my korean branded skincare from Cosmetic-love.com . The service is great as usual, and also standard shipping is free on all products which is great :D 

From Korean to Sydney, Australia it took 14days exactly for the package to come to me as stated in their FAQs page and as stated in the shipping notification messages. Their packaging is great, each product is individually wrapped with vast amount of bubble wrap, along with adding some of the foam paddings to keep the package steady. Also, every order contains a free sample of a korean product for you to try in which I thought was a super great idea because I actually do want to buy some of the products that are samples haha. Another thing to add is that their prices on the products are quite decent and cheap also compared to the more popular sites like sasa.com.

Anyway their new website which was just remade is great and easy to utilise, heaps faster and more organised this time and has way less bugs compared to their old website. There's only one bug on the site is the link on the bottom of the page where it says "Powered by Cosmetic-Love" which linked me to a virus =_= but luckily my antivirus instantly detected it and removed it. I suggest everyone to NOT click it.

So yeah! Enough of that, TIME TO OPEN THE PACKAGE!

Once you open the package you have your products heavy wrapped in bubblewrap, surrounded with foam paddings and you have your free samples as follow:

Here I received three (3) free samples because I ordered 3 products from them. Received a "black charcoal nose pack" by NESURA, "Cherry Blossom Fresh Cleansing Oil" by Missha, and the "Super Aqua Visible Deep Cleanser" by Missha.

Ordered a 3-piece sample set of the "Intense Care Dual Effect Sleeping Pack" by TONYMOLY which is apparently great for wrinkle treatment due to the adenosine ingredient, and also brightens the complexions due to arbutin. This 3-piece sample set costed $3.90AUD.

I actually bought this for my mom as a present for her birthday because she ran out of skincare and her birthday was in March so I thought I'd treat her something special even though I don't have money but yeah. 

LETS JUST SAY, when I first unwrapped the bubble wrap for these- I had a 5 second moment of silence because I was just so speechless of the packaging of these samples. And then I just burst into laughter and just kept "oh my goodness"-ing. BECAUSE THEY JUST LOOK LIKE CONDOM PACKETS. THEY DO RIGHT?! I even showed my mom it and my mom was just laughing and saying that it really does and just missing the ring. Sooo funny. But yeah I won't be reviewing this product so much because It's for my mom BUT I will make an entry on whether these products are effective or not.

The second thing I got for her is the "Gold Caviar Collagen Serum" by Skin Food. This costed $29.49AUD for 45mL and can I just say that the packaging is amazing. It is literally a glazed glass bottle with a gold plastic cap with a nice charm on top. The bottle is a pump which is super hygenic and expected for serums. This serum is known for wrinkle treatments; infused with gold pigments, caviar and collagen which fills in the fine lines and wrinkles, tightening and firming the skin- leaving the skin to have a more tighter and brighter complexion. This product comes both in a serum and a cream, so depending on your skin type- you may choose either to have this product in a serum or a cream. I bought my mom a serum as a serum penetrates deep into the skin and repairs fromt under the skin going out. Whereas a cream repairs the outter layer of the skin first.

I actually tried this cream before I left the house for dinner, I definitely would not wear this out because I found it somewhat sticky and oily throughout the night. Which is expected of a serum but yeah, I think it's best as a skin treatment used at home. When dispensing the product, there was literally gold pigments in it which dissolved upon application which gave the skin a somewhat brighter complexion and surprisingly not shimmery. I did feel my skin slightly tingling which shows you can feel the tightening process actually happening. At the end of the night when the stickiness wore off abit, my skin was definitely more firm and so soft when I touched it. 

Let's hope there's results for my mom :)

Last item is actually for me haha! I ran out of BB cream and so I restocked and this time I bought the "VIP Gold super BB cream" by Skin79. I've actually used this BB cream before and I absolutely LOVE it because It suited my skin type really well. But I changed and tried another BB cream called the "Triple Function BB cream" also by Skin79 which ran out hence restocked and yeah, It was good but not the best compared to this one because I felt the other one gave me a slight white cast and made my skin feel abit sticky.

This BB cream however is wonders for me because it does retain moisture into my skin, everytime I wash off the BB cream- my skin does not feel dry or oily which is super good because I don't break out. It has SPF 25 PA++ which is a quite decent amount of sunscreen since Australia sun is just harsh, though I do prefer it if they had a stronger sunscreen but that would just give me a white cast in photos. When first applied, it's slightly lightly than my skin, but when oxidised after 5-10minutes it matches my skintone perfectly and evens out my skintone as well.

So yeah, good BB cream for me. I do recomment this.

And yeah, that's the end of this post :D
Until then, stay well & take care!