Hada Labo Air BB Cream SPF20 PA++

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As always I couldn´t resist this new "BB cream" from Japan, this time from Hada Labo.
I got a tube in the lighter of the 2 available colors from Alphabeautyuk on eBay who states about this product:

"Features
1. A single tube gives you all-in-1 foundation performance plus skincare benefits from the Hada Labo series
2. It helps depress excessive sebum secretion, cover pores & small flaws, and even skintone.
3. It contains hyaluronic acid and collagen for skin nourishment
4. With effective whitening ingredients like arbutin and vitamic C derivatives
5. No fragrance, mineral oil-free. Alcohol-free. Preservative-free.
6. With SPF20 PA++ sunscreen support"

Sounds quite good but unfortunately this BB cream in its plain white tube is a total fail.
First off this stuff has nothing to do with a BB cream. This feels like a pure silicone cream which means it features this weird powdery feeling once you apply it. Furthermore this has zilch coverage, not even the least bit.

As you see on the swatch pic a bit below this stuff has a color like mustard but once applied it is so sheer that there is no color, no coverage, nothing.
I might give this the credit as a silicone makeup primer...it´s decent in this respect but it´s NOT a BB cream. Sorry, Hada Labo, by just writing "BB cream" on the tube it doesn´t morph into one!

This is unscented and I haven´t tried this long enough to determine if it would cause blemishes like many other silicone primers tend to do.

This was also on the pricier side at around US$20.
Rating 2/5

Coffret d´Or Fast Beauty Foundation UV SPF33 PA++ BB Cream in 01 Bright Skin

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Coffret d´Or whipped up their own kind of BB cream a few months ago so I picked up a tube when I was in Hong Kong.

The Fast Beauty UV Foundation BB comes in a silver squeeze tube...not really and kind of exciting packaging but it is convenient and hygienic.

This BB cream has a very smooth but not overly thick consistence and is very easy to spread evenly. It gives about medium coverage so it evens out my skin nicely and I don´t need another foundation.

This cream is unscented and doesn´t irritate my skin at all. This has an added sun protection of SPF33 and PA++.

01 is a yellow-toned light shade suitable for light but not for super pale skin-tones. For me it´s too yellow and dark but it blends in somewhat well.

Overall a nice Japanese BB cream but the color is a bit too yellow for my liking.
I don´t remember the price I paid for my 30g tube but I think this retails for around US$32 on Adambeauty.
There are 2 more colors available: Natural and Healthy.

Rating 3.5/5

Kanebo Kracie Moistage Perfect Essence BB Cream UV SPF 16 PA++

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And yet another Japanese BB Cream hit the market! And of course I had to test it hehe =D

The Moistage by Kracie series is targeted towards dry skin-types and so is the new Perfect Essence BB Cream UV SPF16 PA++.

According to the seller I purchased this from (as so often alphabeautyuk on eBay) this cream has the following benefits:
-essence
-emulsion
-UV protection SPF16 PA++
-skin correction and pore coverage
-skincare ingredients include silk protein, squalene and collagen
-does not require removal with a makeup remover

This BB cream is really moisturizing so right now in this hot weather it feels a bit too heavy even though I have rather dry skin. However for the cooler month this should be a nice product.

To me this is not really a BB cream, it´s more of a lightly tinted moisturizer as it doesn´t give much coverage and the heavy silicone-y BB cream feeling is missing, too.

The color is a very fair yellow peach which blends into my skin very well.
The Perfect Essence BB Cream UV is not scented and doesn´t irritate my skin at all.


Overall a nice lightly pigmented tinted moisturizer ideal for dry skin and cooler weather.

Rating 4/5

Spring 2011: Visée Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish & Mineral BB Cream Baby Finish

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Woohoo! Visée managed to jump on 2 bandwagons with 1 product: Mineral BB Cream! How cool is that =D

I picked these goodies up from Adambeauty before I went to Hong Kong and I am happy I did as I didn´t find Visée in Hong Kong myself when I went there. Probably missed whichever shop stocks Visée!

Anyways, I picked up the Mineral BB Cream Baby Finish and 3 of the new Mineral Cheeks Baby Finish blushes.

I like the white and sort of lighweight and airy design of the new Visée products as it looks really pretty.

The Mineral BB Cream comes in a quite small squeeze tube containing only 25g for a retail price of 1400 Yen.

It´s unscented and has a slick slightly thick texture ike most other BB creams but still it´s neither heavy nor uncomfortable to wear. The color is really light and quite neutral-toned however it will work for most skin-tones as it´s really sheer so to me this is more like a makeup-base rather than a regular BB cream as the coverage isn´t really sufficient but it does even out my skin a little.

The finish is slightly dewy which is really pretty in my opinion.


Overall this is a really lovely and mild makeup base but not really what I would classify as a BB cream.

Rating 4/5

The Mineral Cheeks caught my eye the moment I spotted them on Rouge Deluxe so I instantly knew I´d have to pick up some of these.
There are 4 colors in each palette. The lower 2 colors are deeper and a bit more matte and the top 2 colors are shimmery and more suitable as highlighters.

The texture of these is a little dry but finely milled and easily blendable. The thing I dislike about these blushes is that the colors are all too glittery for my liking except for the deepest color which is matte. It´s the kind of glitter that is quite obvious and not giving a dewy but indeed a shimmery finish.


The colors are quite standard and nothing special at all.
The included brushes are quite soft and can work in a spot but I still prefer my regular blush brush.

Overall cute blushes but they can be skipped in my opinion.


PK-1 is a sweet pink combo

PK-4 is a dusty rose combo

RD-5 is peach-tangerine beige combo


Rating 3/5

Sana Pore Putty Keana Pate Shokunin BB Cream SPF50+ PA+++

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And another Japanese brand released a BB Cream! Seems the craze has not calmed down yet!

The Pore Putty from Sana Noevir line is quite popular and has quite a variety of bases, powders and concealers to choose from so it was just a matter of time they´d release a BB Cream!

I like the squeeze tube which looks quite pretty in my opinion. 30g retail for 1260 Yen in Japan but I got mine from Alphabeautyuk on eBay. Adambeauty is listing this, too, I believe.
 
As with many Japanese BB creams the texture is incredibly smooth with a slightly siliconey feel but not as heavy or suffocating as many of the Korean brands. And best of all it´s not scented!
My skin feels really smooth and soft and not dry when wearing this however having a very fair pink-toned skin-tone the color is not a good match for me as it´s darker and more yellow than I can wear. The coverage is decent but as the color doesn´t fit I can´t wear this.

Overall this could be such a nice product but the color match is a total no-go for myself. Ladies with a slightly tanner complexion will probably enjoy this product a lot though! And it seems to be very popular in Japan!

Rating would be 4/5 but since I can´t wear it I have to give it a 1/5

Holika Holika Peach Cream BB Cream SPF37 PA++

The Peach Girl BB Cream was the other BB Cream I purchased from Holika Holika a short while ago.

This is actually a very nifty product as the BB cream also contains a universally flattering peachy shade of cheek/lip cream and a mirror housed in the cover of the tube!
 
The peach colored tube is quite cute but the sticker might come off if you handle it roughly.
This BB cream comes in 2 colors so I chose the lighter one. I suppose the cheek cream should be the same shade but since I don´t have #2 I can´t compare them.

The texture is like the typical silicone-y BB cream texture but like the other Holika Holika BB cream I reviewed recently it dries down to a nice lightweight and smooth finish so it doesnt feel heavy or makes me sweaty.
My skin gets very soft and doesn´t feel dry at all so I am not sure about the oil control this provides.

Color #1 is a light peachy beige which blends into my skin perfectly and evens it out nicely. Coverage is about medium so it´s a bit less than the other Holika Holika BB cream but it´s still enough to cover up all my little skin woes. I prefer to only top this with an ultra-light dusting of loose powder or no powder at all as otherwise the BB cream can get cakey and the nice dewy glow disappears that way, too! 
Lasting power is decent, about 4-5 hours before reapplication is necessary or a bit longer when wearing a bit powder.

The cheek/lip cream is a pretty shade of a pink grapefruit/peach color. It´s quite pigmented and looks really gorgeous as a blush! It blends very well so it looks quite natural. When wearing both I get a real peaches-and-cream complexion so I really love it!
For me personally it´s too dry as a lip color and on my lips it looks somehow matte and weird unless I top it with gloss.

This product is lightly scented and didn´t cause and irritations on my skin at all.
Removes easily with cleansing oil and foaming cleanser but I recommend not skipping the cleansing oil/milk/cream step as otherwise the cleansing result might not be sufficient. 

Overall a really nice product and very handy for a quick mini makeup in the morning!

So far Holika Holika has really wowed me with most of their products however the lipsticks are so-so and I´ll review them soon!


Rating 4.5/5

Holika Holika Moisture Petit BB SPF 30 PA++

The Moisture Petit BB SPF 30 PA++ was a freebie from Holika Holika as I hauled products worth more than 60000 Won (around US$55). That´s quite a good freebie if you ask me as the tube is a 30ml size, so possibly full-sized.
 
I think the tube looks cute, I really like that cat and the purple colors used.
To be honest I was quite out of the BB loop in favor of regular foundation as most foundations just look better and many BB creams have the tendency to get clumpy or cakey when topped with powder. Also the color match wasn´t always ideal and the heavy silicone feeling turned me off, too.

Anyway, the Moisture Petit BB is a thick smooth cream with a distinctive floral scent. It´s rather strong but fades some minutes after application (or my nose gets used to it...whatever). It offers incredible coverage even for a BB cream so a little of this stuff gives me almost flawless skin covering all the redness and small freckles on my cheeks.

The color is very light with a slight yellowish tone. It blends in perfectly with my skin and dries down to a smooth but not greasy finish within a few minutes taking the heavy feeling out of the cream.

Lasting power is good, when I wear this on my lazy no-makeup days without powder I reapply this after about 4-5 hours (if I am out in the sun).
Like most other BB creams this doesn´t like to be combined with powder as it can look cakey and blotchy but since it feels very comfortable without powder and has this gorgeous dewy glow this is a nice product all in all.
Before:

After, when wearing the BB cream

Rating 4.5/5