- Controls shine - Mineral clay formula helps keep skin shine-free all day
- Lasts all day - Powder finish resists sweat and sebum for up to 12 hours
- Clears - reduces the appearance of dark spots, redness, fine lines, and wrinkles
- Refines - reduces the appearance of pores
- Conceals - instantly hides flaws and imperfections
- Evens - corrects uneven skin tone
- Smoothens - makes skin feels smooth, soft and supple
- Protects - SPF 21/PA+++ protects against harmful UVA and UVB rays
I've always believed that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. But I'm willing to give this product the benefit of the doubt. Who knows, it just might be a great buy, right?
Before anything else, below is a snapshot of the back of the cardboard packaging showing the benefits and the list of ingredients for this product.
(Wait, is that an actual typo?!? The last time I checked, 'resists' was spelled with one 'r'. Plus there are a couple of typos in the ingredient list too.)
Anyway, I'm not a chemist so I have no idea that these ingredients are and what they're supposed to do. But when a product's ingredient list reads like a chemistry project, I become worried. Since the first few ingredients listed are what makes up the majority of a product's composition, I decided to do a little research on the first few ingredients on this list. Here goes:
- Ethylhexyl Palmitate (this reads 'ETHYLHEXYL, PALMITATE' on the packaging) - also called Octyl Palmitate, is a clear, colorless, practically odorless liquid. The Palmitate ingredients act as lubricants on the skin’s surface, which gives the skin a soft and smooth appearance. (Source: http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient_details.php?ingredient_id=174)
- Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer - a film former used in cosmetics and beauty products, as well as a viscosity increasing agent, according to research. It is a porous polymer that absorbs excess of sebum or acne-producing oils. It is formed when a copolymer of methyl methacrylate (an organic ester) is crosslinked with glycol dimethacrylate. (Source: http://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/methylmetacrylate-crosspolymer)
- Hydrogenated Polyisobutene - a synthetic oil that is used as a mineral oil substitute. It is an emollient & moisturizer, and prevents water loss. It's used for pigment dispersion in many cosmetic products and is a popular ingredient in sunscreens because it allows for SPF retention even after water exposure (like in waterproof sunscreens). (Source: http://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/hydrogenated-polyisobutene)
- Polyethylene - used to unite or bond surfaces together and to hold together the ingredients of a compressed cake. Polyethylene can be used to dilute other solids, or to increase the thickness of the lipid (oil) portion of cosmetics and personal care products. It helps to keep an emulsion from separating into its oil and liquid components. Polyethylene dries to form a thin coating on the skin, hair or nails. (Source: http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient_details.php?ingredient_id=452)
- Phenyl Trimethicone (this reads 'PHENTL TRIMETHICONE' on the packaging) - a derivative of silica, or silicone, and is used in cosmetics and beauty products as an anti-foaming agent, hair conditioning agent, and skin-conditioning agent. (Source: http://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/phenyl-trimethicone)
Looks like the ingredients above supposedly fulfill many of the claims of this products. I haven't seen any alarming warnings or side-effects either. This sounds promising. Ok, enough of the chemistry lesson... let's proceed to the review!
Packaging:
The BB Stick comes in a retractable stick form, similar to cream foundations in stick form. I love this packaging because it is very convenient to whip out and apply. However, the BB stick doesn't completely retract into the tube making it very easy to nick the tip whenever someone would remove or replace the cap. I actually dropped this while I was applying the product (I don't blame the product's packaging here, this is purely due to my clumsiness) and this left a huge dent on the end of the product. However, I wasn't bothered too much since nicks or dents won't really affect the effectiveness of this product and I found it easy to reshape the dented part.
Application:
I found that the texture of this BB Stick makes it very easy to apply and blend over my face. All I had to do was to swipe the stick a few times over my face and use my fingers to spread and blend the product evenly. The texture is actually pretty dry but product did not cake even if I tried caking it on by applying more. After application, the product felt smooth and dry on my face, not sticky like some other cream formulations.
Shade Selection:
This product only comes in two shades: 01 Fresh (a cool toned shade) and 03 Natural (a warm toned shade). I bought 03 Natural which fit my NC20 skin perfectly.
Coverage:
The coverage of the product was only light to medium at best. It was only able to conceal minor flaws like the light freckles on my cheeks. It wasn't enough to completely conceal the darkness under my eyes or the redness around my nose. To illustrate, below is a swatch of the product unblended and blended.
Staying power:
Although the product promised that it would last all day (up to 12 hours), I didn't feel that the product actually lasted that long. I have normal skin and after around 4 hours, I would notice the coverage fading around my eyes, lips, and nose. By the end of the day, I felt like there was nothing left on my face. I think to get a consistently fresh look, it would be necessary to reapply the product at least once a day.
Conclusion:
All in all, I was actually quite impressed with this product. It's very affordable and I think it would be great for those who are just starting out to wear makeup and want some coverage on their face but don't like the heavy feeling of a foundation. This would also be great for those lazy days when I just want a bare faced look.
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