Product Updates - Skinfood Mushroom Multicare BB Cream SPF 20, Estee Lauder Idealist Refinisher

Every so often, I will do a review on the products I've already reviewed before if there's been any changes. Since our skin can change with the seasons, or whatever products we use, this will help you make an informed decision.

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Remember when I reviewed the Skinfood BB Creams awhile back?

If you read my entry, you'll remember I didn't like the Skinfood BB Cream at all. The color spheres didn't spread out on my skin...they sat on top of my dry patches, they creased and gathered in certain spots, and the product wouldn't mix very well with moisturizer. The bb cream just looked gross. I was ready to throw it out--but I didn't.

Well, as I've been taking care of my skin more lately--drinking tons of fluids, cleansing and toning properly, moisturizing, and using Estee Lauder's Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher, my oily/dry combination skin has improved so much! My skin is regulated and balanced now. My forehead and nose actually DON'T get oily after washing. For the first time, I can wear thicker moisturizers on my T-zone and chin! This is very exciting.

Well, now that my skin has improved, and my skin type has moved into the "normal" category, I started reaching for the Skinfood BB Cream again. And I must say, having good skin makes all the difference with how makeup will turn out. I've been applying the Skinfood bb cream around my nose and under my eyes to reduce darkness, on my chin, and I am not seeing the spheres settle or oxidize anywhere! And since my skin doesn't get oily anymore, the color stays in place all day.

So, once again, I have to rave about Estee Lauder's Idealist. If you have combination or oily skin, I highly recommend you try out this product. You might not like it at first--since it does have this sort of silicon/primer texture to it, your skin will feel slippery and oily to the touch after application. This just means that the product is doing its work, and penetrating your pores to get the oil out. If you experience this discomfort, I suggest you start by using this product as part of your night time skincare regimen. Wear it to sleep alone, and if you need more moisture, apply some cream on top. Make sure you cleanse and tone thoroughly so the Idealist can absorb better into your skin. If you see results, then you can work your way to also using it during the day under your makeup, so you maximize its efficacy. If you exfoliate your skin regularly, it's great to use this product, since it aids in improving skin texture and cell turnover by eliminating the dead skin.

As for the Skinfood Mushroom BB Cream, I would only recommend this to ladies who have normal or dry skin types. However, don't use it if you have flakey dry skin as it will cling to all your dry patches. As always, make sure to wear your regular sunscreen, primer, or both underneath to give the bb cream a smooth canvas. This way, your skin will look more natural and flawless.

I received the Clarisonic brush last Tuesday, so I'll be updating on that in a couple of days. I intend to give you readers weekly updates on that, so stay tuned!

Skinfood Mushroom Multicare BB Cream SPF 20 / Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream SPF 20

As promised, here is my long overdue review on the Skinfood Mushroom BB cream.

The tube is slightly larger than the one my Skin 79 Beblesh Balm came in, and very pretty. The cap seems to encased with fiber paper and little gold embossings. The scent isn't too bad, either--I've read many complaints about the mushroom scent, but I didn't notice anything of the sort. The scent is very sweet and pleasant (though if you have strong hay fever/a sensitive nose and sneeze easily like I do, beforewarned: the scent is pretty strong, you might want to brace yourself before you squeeze it out).

Coverage of the Skinfood Mushroom BB cream is medium. It evens out my skin tone, covers up most redness, evens out my under eye area, and hides some acne/blemishes. The bb cream feels very smooth and nice on my skin. It has a semi-thick consistency, but simultaneously feels like it contains a lot of water (as opposed to mineral oil). I got this in Shade #2, which is for the darker skin tones (#1 is for very fair skin, #2 is for medium fair skin). The shade blends very nicely into my skin tone.

The bb cream contains adenosine and arbutin extract, which is supposed to brighten dull skin tone over time. Aloe and mushroom extract serve to soothe and protect skin from dryness and fine lines. Thus, the label on the front of the tube promises the cream's "triple function" as a "whitening, anti-aging, and sun block" product.

The positive things I have to say about this bb cream end here.

I had read only good reviews about this bb cream online so I had very high expectations. Most people who tried this one did not like the Skin 79 Beblesh Balm (the original spf 15 version I reviewed here), so I thought this one would be even better. I was SO disappointed with this product. I've been using this product for several months now, in humid and dry temperatures, and my opinion hasn't differed in either situation. First of all, you probably have to already have great skin if you use this product--re: smooth, acne/blemish free, normal (not dry or oily) skin. I have combination skin that tends to be either super oily/break out, or very dry and flakey. Thus, the only place this cream works nicely on is my cheeks/under eye area. It does keep my skin very smooth and hydrated when that part of my face isn't dry or breaking out. However, on my T-zone and chin, this cream does not work anywhere as effectively as the Skin 79 cream. What distinguishes bb cream from other foundation is that it looks so natural--after application, it is supposed to actually melt into your skin. The Skin 79 cream definitely melts into my skin, whether it's dry and flakey, or congested/breaking out, so my skintone is completely evened out and most of my acne and redness covered--so my skin looks naturally flawless and glowing. The Skinfood bb cream just sits on top of my skin, only to oxidize. If there is any flakiness or uneven skin, the spheres of color just gather on there, so it looks extremely cakey and artificial. I also tried mixing the Skinfood bb cream with moisturizer, to lessen the coverage on days my skin is less problematic/drier, but the bb cream doesn't mix well with moisturizer for some reason, and doing this actually makes the bb cream even harder to blend onto my skin.

I don't know why the Skinfood bb cream is so cakey. My theory is that the ingredients for the Skin 79 bb cream are not only higher quality, but also blended together very, very well. And in the Skinfood bb cream, whatever ingredients they used as a mixing medium separates from the pigment when you apply it to your skin. I've tried using a stipling brush, foundation brush, and sponge to apply the product to my face, but it looks cakey no matter which tool I use.

So my verdict? Don't buy this, unless you have perfect skin!!!!! If you've tried the original silver Missha bb cream, this bb cream is similar in terms of cakiness. I am so dissatisfied I don't know what to do with my tube--I'm torn between throwing it out, or just giving it away. Boo.

If you have medium fair skin, go for Skin 79 Beblesh Balm. If you have lighter skin, I suggest you shop around for a different product that matches your skin tone. At MAC, my shade is between a NC25 and NC30. I find the Shade 2 to be a little too pinkish for my skin (I have neutral-yellow undertones).


I also bought the Aloe Sun BB cream



which is just as cakey so don't bother purchasing within the same brand. I have not tried the Gingko version since I wanted something with SPF, and though I've heard that one is more sheer and moisturizing, I'm not willing to take the gamble.

BB Creams Overview, Skin79 DermaRX Beblesh Balm Review

BB Cream, also known as Blemish Balm, is a medicated cream originally developed in Europe for patients who underwent skin laser treatments or surgery to soothe, protect, and heal the delicate skin from scarring. Eventually, Korean celebrities got their hands on this product and sparked a frenzy when the media noticed how smooth and flawless their skin looked. Recently, various skincare and cosmetic companies in the Korean market launched their own version of blemish balm for the general public. These BB Creams are marketed towards women and men with "troubled," acne-prone skin.

BB Cream is a hybrid of liquid foundation and tinted moisturizer, except it delivers the soothing, medicinal qualities of the original blemish balm. As a result, BB Cream is special because it not only covers imperfections, but it can also improve and correct the condition of your skin over time, when used regularly. Every brand claims to deliver different results (anti-aging, whitening, shimmer), but the basic principle behind the creams is the same.




After hearing about how amazing BB Creams were, I decided to give the products a try. Now, normally I was perfectly happy using loose mineral makeup with a kabuki brush. (Mineral makeup also claims to improve your skin over time, but I wanted to try something different.) So I bought my first tube of Skin 79 DermaRX SPF 15 Beblesh Balm (I'm sure this is one of those Engrish typos... wth is Beblesh?).


Purpose: brighten and whiten, soothe, cover imperfections, and protect from UV rays.
(see
http://rai01.filezaru.com/SHOP3/bb/derma3_total.jpg for details)
Contains: Nano-Coenzyme Q10, Arbutin, Vitamin C, Caviar extract, Chamomile, Aloe, TiO2, Witch Hazel, Licorice

Ingredients:
Water, Beeswax, Butylparaben, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1-Dimethicone, Sorbitan Isostearate, Calcium Stearate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Silica, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Cyclomethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Titanium Dioxide, Talc, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, Phenyl Trimethicone, Arbutin, Methylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Allantoin, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Caviar Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria)Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Acetyl Hexapeptide-3, Ubiquinone, Fragrance.

Now if you looked through the Cozycot forum link on BB Creams (VERY informative and helpful, but there are 200 something pages, eek), you'll see that many contributers didn't like this BB cream. The complaints mostly go: it has a greyish cast, it's too dark for my skin, it's not blendable, doesn't make my skin glow, etc.

I've been using this cream since December 2007 and I feel like I must defend it!

First of all, I did not particularly notice the "greyish" tint on my skin many of the users experienced upon application. This is probably because I'm not super fair skinned like many Asians, but I do consider myself light skinned. At MAC, my shade is between a NC25 and NC30. After the bb cream sinks into my skin, I find it fits my skintone perfectly. For people who DO notice a greyish cast, remember that it is probably a result of the sunscreen ingredients, and should fade into the skin within a few minutes of application. The cream does smell rather medicinal (thus, the DermaRX)...almost like kaolin clay. I don't mind the scent, as long as I'm not putting something fruity scented on my skin.

The cream has a medium consistency, and does not feel too matte or watery. The blendability is excellent (especially when compared with Missha's BB Cream--the silver tube with no sunscreen, for those of you who have tried it). For those who disagree, and think the cream is too thick, I suggest applying your regular moisturizer or sunscreen onto your skin, and then massaging in the DermaRX cream while your skin is still moist. What I really like about this cream is that it's heavy enough to cover my sporadic acne breakouts, but not so heavy that I look like I'm wearing foundation. When my skin is clear and I need even less coverage, I mix this on the back of my hand with a light moisturizer and then apply the mixture to my face.

Oil control on the DermaRX cream is decent. I have combination skin, so my forehead and nose will become shiny throughout the day, but my cheeks and undereye areas still feel moisturized and great. You simply need to gently blot your oilier areas (do not rub!) and your skin will be good to go. True, this cream does not make your skin look "dewy," but I prefer a matte look, since my skin is combination already. If you have dry skin, I definitely recommend applying moisturizer beforehand or mixing this with a bit of sunscreen. To determine what ratio of moisturizer and bb cream to mix, you simply have to add a little by a little, until you get the consistency and coverage that you like.
I highly recommend mixing it with Oil of Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion SPF 15. This is my favorite drugstore sunscreen.

ALSO...this bb cream is anti-microbial, so you won't have to worry about it infecting your pores or blemishes. Love!

Cons:
- This cream is only SPF 15. I would prefer something much higher.
- small tube. But I think all the BB Creams come in small tubes anyway, so that's a small gripe.
- design of the tube. If you travel, make sure you stash this in your purse or suitcase upright, with the tip facing up, or the cream can squeeze out into the cap of your bag.

So as you can see...the positives far outweigh the negatives. I really love this cream and it is a must-have in my makeup collection. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Postscript - for all of you Skinfood lovers, I just bought the Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream, SPF 20 in Shade #1 and the Skinfood Mushroom Multi Care BB Cream, SPF 20 in Shade #2. I will review these soon after I've had ample time to compare them.