CC cream Archive | Berries in the Snow

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Review: O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion

23. August 2015

I’m always excited when trying new Korean brands I didn’t know before, like the O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion. Did you hear of that brand already? It was my highlight of the August BNTnews beauty box (two reviews are still to be made the next days).

O’melon is a Korean cosmetic brand, which doesn’t have a lot of popularity outside Korea, as it seems. For me it was the first time I heard of this brand. Moreover, the product I’m reviewing here is a CC cushion, which I’m always very curious to try. I never thought I would have more than one cushion foundation, but as time proceeds my collection seems to grow :D The O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion first of all comes in a very luxurious and pretty packaging. Even the cardboard box the cushion compact comes in is made of reflecting color-changing paper, which has a rainbowish shade depending on the light. Unfortunately, the beauty of such packaging is hard to capture for me in images, so you will mostly see pink/purple colors :D This color changing material used for the packaging fits perfectly to the name of the product, since a chameleon can adjust its color towards its environment.

The O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion is a CC cream in a cushion compact, with SPF 45 PA+++. The packaging description is in Korean only, apart from the ingredients, which are luckily written in English on the side of the cardboardbox. I added the ingredients to COSDNA and the used components are safe to use. Moreover, this is the first time I saw the ingredients of a CC/BB cream which contains a whole bunch of amino acids. Apart from the amino acids there are various plant extracts included, hyaluronic acid, pearl extract, collagen, but also alcohol.

The beautiful cardboard box contains an even more beautiful cushion compact, seated on a velvet-y coated plastic holder in classic red. The compact has a very pretty golden lid with sparkling dots, which reflect the light in different colors, too.

The O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion contains 15 g of product and has a shelf-life of 12 months after opening. I couldn’t find a price, but I guess it will be more expensive than Missha Cushion for example. A replacement puff is included inside the cardboard box, too.

The shade I received is called #11 Cover Beige and like all the other cushion compacts you will have a container with the CC cream insde the pact and a mirror in the lid. The puff applicator sits on top of a plastic lid which keeps the CC cream inside from drying. cushion foundations have a characteristic cushion sponge inside this container, which is soaked with the CC/BB cream or foundation.

So what is so special about the O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion? This 3-shade CC cushion is supposed to flaunt perfect waterproof coverage. The three shades contained are beige (50%), white (25%), and pink (25%). The different colors have each their own purpose:

Beige: Covers dull tone, freckles, blemishes and pimples.

White: Contains various plant extracts to help complete smooth and natural makeup and preserve it.

Pink: Contains rose essence for a healthy and bright complexion.

The colors show off on the sponge in a pretty swirl and the cushion reminds me a bit of the Elishacoy Pink Blooming Cushion.

The O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion is also equipped with a vegetal cooling essence to sooth heated skin and treat wrinkles while boosting elasticity and thus it is advertised for summer use. Since it has a satin finish it does not look greasy on the face for most of the day. actually, I’m surprised how long lasting this cushion is. after a whole da it gets a bit flaky around my chin, but when reapplied over the area it looks great again. While patting the three colors on your face they start to blend with each other, since the colors are not pre-mixed as you can see below. This can be a bit tricky because in order to have all the three colors you have to push the puff on the sponge in a way you will get all colors. The CC cream feels cool on the skin, like advertised. If it treats wrinkles and boosts elasticity I cannot say. I didn’t feel any changes. The shade is similar to other Korean shade 21 BB/CC creams. It is a bit lighter than my skintone at the moment, but it is still wearable. The coverage is good, too. It covers for example my birth mask at the corner of my mouth nicely. Rednesses of the skin are evened out, too.

Altogether, I’m positively surprised by O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion. I really do like the packaging design and the idea of having a CC cushion with skincare components. The three colors of the O’melon Chameleon Essence Queen CC Cushion look lovely together, too. It would be nice to know what other shades are available for this cushion and what the price tag says for the product. Did anybody else try this brand before? I would be curious about your impression, if you know that brand.

This product was provided to me by BNTnews for reviewing. Don’t forget to visit the other BNTGirls Kim, Bella, Mary, Celine, Alene, Joanne, Chermaine, ,Mitha, and Blair and check out their reviews for the August BNT Beauty Box. And visit BNTnews for the latest Korean news and trends:

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Just as a short reminder: All products mentioned and reviewed on this blog are of my personal opinions. This product here was sent to me for reviewing purpose by http://www.bntnews.co.uk/ which doesn’t influence me in providing my honest opinion on the products.

13 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion

27. March 2015

// KBEAUTY / MAKE UP / AFFILIATE LINKS //

Apart from the Missha Magic Cushion Case this is actually the first CC cushion I’m trying, the Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion. This post is picture-heavy and the two larger images appear blurry, but when you click to enlarge you’ll be able to see everything in detail. Sorry for that ♥ I saw this cushion first time in one of Pony’s youtube videos and I knew I had to get this (again). Here are my impressions:

Innisfree is an eco-friendly Korean skincare and makeup brand focusing on natural ingredients and recycle packaging. The design of their products is simply and neat and nicely reflects the ideology of the brand. Innisfree products are ususally free from harmful ingredients. The Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion is supposed to be a “Long-lasting moisture cushion” that keeps your skin “hydrated for a long period by restoring moisture to your skin”, according to the description of the product. It contains jeju green tea and jeju mineral powder and since it is a CC cushion the finish delivered should look natural and brighten up the complexion. The cushion comes in a cardboard box made of recycled paper and printed with soy ink. I bought this cushion from innisfreeworld, and it was a special kit for the 15th anniversary. The cardboard box contains one filled cushion and one refill, and I received a second refill as part of the deal. I picked shade No.21, which fits nicely to my skin color, but I think that it will be too light for me once summer is starting. If you want to have a closer look at the descriptions on the cardboard box feel free to enlarge the image below. You’ll also find detailled description about this product in the Innisfree store.

The ingredients are listed on COSDNA and you can look them up >>here<<. They are safe to use :) Apart from niacinamide and some sunprotectors, like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, the cushion has also listed some plant extracts. The refill contained in the box is separately packed in a plastic bag as you can see below, and contains some short description, too. The Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion has SPF 34 PA++ and is available in three shades, #13, #21 and #23.

The Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion comes in a round plastic container. The lid of the container contains a mirror and you will also find a sponge (Eco air magic puff) inside the container. Everything together makes these cushion products really portable and handbag-friendly. The backside of the cushion container contains some description again and has the production date imprinted, too.

The product itself is separated from the container by a second plastic pan, with a plastic lid on its own. For the first time use, when you open the lid you’ll find the cushion still sealed.

Removing the seal will reveal the cushion soaked with the CC cream. With help of the Eco air magic puff, which has a very soft and dense material the cushion can be applied. The touch of the CC cream feels very refreshing and moisturizing. It has a herbal scent, typical for most Innisfree products. You can see the swatch of the CC cream on my hand below and you can tell right away that it has a glowy finish. So the thing which intrigued me in first place about this product is the fact that it contains ampoule, that imeans that it has extra skincare benefits, especially for dull and dry skintypes.

The coverage of the CC cream is medium and the consistency of the CC cream is fluid and not so creamy as most CC/BB creams from tubes. If you have lightly reddened skin, like I do have below, the Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion will provide enough coverage. I usually apply one layer, and if I still see some red skin I add a second layer on top and it doesn’t look cakey at all. I also think that the glow is not too strong, but rather natural, when comparing my before image with the one on the right. In natural light the skin doesn’t look greasy or anything. I also used the Innisfree No-Sebum Mineral Powder before applying the cushion and it makes the glow a bit more matte but yet visible. Applying loose powder afterwards will create a matte finish, but still makes your skin feel moist on the inside, which is great!

All in all, I’m very pleased with my first cushion product. The finish looks natural and it is really perfect for taking it along with you. And since it is hydrating it does not make my nose and chin flaky at the end of the day, and even when I think I need a touch up I can do without worries. For dry and combination skin people I would recommend to try the Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion!

You can get the Innisfree Ampoule Intense Cushion from:

Innisfree Official: refill 14US$, varoius cases 9.50US$

Amazon.com for 29.95US$

What is your favourite cushion?

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20 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Cinema City

13. August 2014

When I received MeMeBox Global No. 11 the first product I recognized was the new CC cream by Too Cool For School, called Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Cinema City. I’m a huge fan of the Dinoplatz line by Too Cool For School, and previously I reviewed another product from this line, the Dinoplatz Lost Identity Lip Crayon. This line has such a creative and unique packaging and it is so adorable in my eyes! Receiving this product made me super happy, and so finally here is my impression on Too Cool For School’s Dinoplatz Cinema City.

Too Cool For School is a Korean brand, known for a unique packaging design. Their products are in the mid-pricey region and slightly more expansive than Etude House for example. The Dinoplatz line has a characteristic design showing dinosaurs in different scenaries. The colors of the packaging are white and a mint color. Too Cool For School dinoplatz Cinema City is one of their newer products. It is a CC cream and comes in the full sized version with a blush, a conceiler or a highlighter attached to the cap, which makes it a conventient multi product for travelling/your purse…The tube I will show you is a sample sized tube, only containing the CC cream. Below you can see the georgeous packaging of the cardboard box:

The Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Cinema City CC cream is usable for 12 months after opening. The further descriptions on the packaging are written in Korean, so I don’t have any detailled information on the ingredients. You can find some informations on the internet though: The product is 6-free, which means it doesn’t contain phtalate, GMO, acrylamide, tar color, benzophenole, steroid or animal derived ingredients. Some ingredients included are argan oil, apricot oil, niacinamide, adenosine and alaska mineral water. This CC cream claims to moisturize your skin, it also contains SPF 30/ PA+++ and contributes to protect your skin from sun damage.

It comes in a normal plastic tube. As said before, the full size product has a second clear cap attached to the cap, which contains the blusher/highlighter/conceiler. Even the sample size tube has a beautifully designed packaging and cute details on it. ♥

The CC cream itself has a light color. It is a fully tinted cream, not a CC cream with color changing beads. The consistency is rather runny. Also, the product needs time to be blended in when using fingers, otherwise it will stay visible on fine lines for example. Maybe a sponge or a beauty blender will do the trick, but I didn’t try it, so far I always used my fingers. The oil controll is medium. After applying, the CC cram leaves a white cast, but it adapts to the skin after a couple of minutes. The scent is floral, but not heavy.

As you can see above, if blended in quickly with my fingers, the CC cream is visible in the lines of my skin. If you take your time to dabb the CC cream into the skin it looks okay though. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t recommend you to apply a thick layer of this CC cream. It is not suited to be build up, because it tends to look cakey. Below, you see how it looks on my skin. On the image before (left side), I prepared my skin with my skincare routine products (toner, essence, moisturizer). On the right side you see how the skin looks after applying one layer of CC cream. As you can see, the coverage is low, but it evens out the skin tone and brightens up the complexion without looking to unnatural.

All in all, Too Cool For School Dinoplatz Cinema City is a very natural looking CC cream. If you don’t have a lot of skin concerns, you might like the light finish of this CC cream. If you have more visible skin concerns, you could either add a foundation or a high coverage BB cream on top of this. If you have very dry skin, I wouldn’t recommnd this CC cream to you. It might look to flakey on your skin. People with normal/combination or oily skin might like this more. The full sized product contains 30 ml and costs 25000 Won (around 25 US$) at testerkorea.

Did anybody else try tis CC cream? What is your impression? Did you try the full sized product?

6 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: The Saem Gem Miracle Black Pearl O2 CC Cream

20. February 2014

I’m a bit sceptical towards CC creams, especially towards those with color changing beads, because of the coverage which is just not enough for my liking. So, still I prefer using BB creams instead of CC creams, but nevertheless once in a while I’ll buy or try some CC creams or samples of CC creams. This time I tried The Saem Gem Miracle Black Pearl O2 CC Cream. This is also the first The Saem product I tried, although this brand offers some more products I would definitively love to try sometime.

The Saem Gem Miracle Black Pearl O2 CC Cream

Since I only had samples of this CC cream, I cannot say much about the packaging, except that it comes in a jar/tube with a pump. The sample packaging looks attractive with the colorful motif on it. I think the same motif is depicted on the paper packaging of the CC cream tube.

This CC cream has a white base and contains color changing beads in it. It feels very smooth upon application. This CC cream also contains a nice list of ingredients, mostly natural ones. You can look up the ingredients on COSDNA if you want to check them out first. The good point which I like a lot is, that it doesn’t contain parabens, mineral oil, talc, benzophenone, artificial color, PG or 3-ethonolamines, so people disliking these ingredients in their cosmetic might like this product as well. It has SPF 50+/PA+++, too, which supports anti wrinkle effects and prevents skin damage. As all CC creams it claims to have a lot of skin benefits and smoothen the skin.

Honestly, I really enjoyed using this CC cream. It made the skin look nice and more even. It doesn’t have super cover like Missha’s Perfect cover BB cream, but it has more coverage than Skinfood’s Vita Water Drop CC cream. The finish is also not glowing like the Skinfood CC cream but semi matte. If you have dry skin make sure to use a moisturizer before, because it doesn’t provide that much moisture. Below, you can see a comparison between this CC cream and the CC cream from Skinfood and The Faceshop’s CC cream I reviewed previously (you can enlarge the image by clicking).

I tried using this CC cream with two different moisturizers and also combined it with primer beforehand and it looked really nice in all cases, especially with primer it just looked great all day long. I would definitively prefer this CC cream over the Skinfood cream. for more coverage I would still recommend The Faceshop Face It Aura CC cream.

You can get The Saem Gem Miracle Black Pearl O2 CC cream here:

W2Beauty for US$ 25.85 (free shipping option. You’ll get a 5$ voucher upon registration with this link, which is usable for orders of minimum 30$)

Did you try out this CC cream? Or do you still prefer BB creams?

Rating:

10 Comments

asian cosmetics beauty review

Review: TheFaceShop Face It Aura CC Cream

2. October 2013

I wanted to do this review much much earlier, but due to shipping problem in Germany it was really delayed until know. There have already been a lot of reviews about this product, but nevertheless I want to share my thoughts about TheFaceShop Face It Aura CC cream with you.

Here is the description taken from TheFaceShop’s official web page:
usable for all skintypes, recommended for normal skin
description:
Brightening + Anti-wrinkle + SPF effect
Creates a “Spotlight Makeup” : turns up the wattage of your skin tone with enhanced skin luminosity
“A Born-color Cream” : just like you were born with a brighter ,healthier & naturally luminescent skin!
*12H Long-wearing : with its innovative darkening-proof formula, the makeup is maintained morning-fresh & bright for 12 hours.
*12H Hydrating: promotes Clear & lively skin tone
Super blendable & layerable texture allows buildable coverage & easy touch ups on-the-go.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? I was skeptical nonetheless, because most CC creams had a coverage which was to light for my tasting and were not able to replace my routinely used BB cream. But I read a lot of good reviews about this CC cream and so I gave it a try. The packaging contains a lot of description, too (you can enlarge the images). They put also some images on how you can add the refill. The fact that you actually can put a refill is great and is the first point I like about this product.

The pact itself is sturdy, but handy on the same time. The design is very clean and mature with a light pink color.

When you open the pact, it comes with a mirror on the one side and the CC cream container on the other. In between there is an application pad.

Now, in order to apply the CC cream you have to push the container and the CC cream is pumped through the hole in the middle of the container (you have to remove the sticker before). This CC cream looks like a BB cream. It is not based on color changing beads, but has an even tone. TheFaceShop Face It Aura CC Cream is available in two shades: light beige and natural beige. I bought natural beige. Below you can see the swatch of the CC cream on my hand. As you can see, I’m still a bit tanned from my vacation and this CC cream has a shade comparable to Missha’s No. 21, if I remember correctly. Nevertheless, it can be blended in nicely. I think the shade will work even better for me in winter :)

The coverage is really, really great. I didn’t expect it, because most CC creams have a lighter coverage, but this one does a good job and a better job than the Skinfood’s Vita Water Drop CC cream I reviewed before >>here<<. Below you can see an image of my face with and without the CC cream. You can clearly see how good the coverage is, it even covers my birth mark at my mouth’s corner. Also my skin tone is evened out and brightened up. Unfortunately, because of the SPF it is difficult to get a nice picture while using flash light. I also didn’t have any problems layering this CC cream on that parts of my skin which are not dry. With help of the sponge it looked always nicely blended and not cake-y. But, if you have dry parts in your skin or dry skin in general I recommend you to you to use a moisturizer before, otherwise it will not look nice, but a bit powdery/flaky. I don’t agree with their claim on being hydrating for drier skin types. For oily and normal skin it might be okay.
The staying power was nice, nevertheless, even if I would not say it lasts for 12 hours, but it lasts really a long time. Since I have skin on the drier side I cannot say anything about oil control. It performed nice enough for me.

I love this CC cream! I was very skeptical about CC creams because I didn’t like formulas with color changing beads, but this one is a normally toned cream without any color adapting beads. The coverage is great and comparable to BB creams, like Missha’s Perfect Cover. It evens out the skin tone, has SPF and the application is great, too. I can live with the part of having to use a good moisturizer before, because I do this anyway. Moreover, it fits perfectly into any handbag :D I am totally happy with this buy!

TheFaceShop Face It Aura CC Cream contains 20 g and costs US$ 39.00. If you decide to buy something at Keautystore I can offer you a 5 % coupon code that they provided me. So if you plan to order at their store you can put my email address in the “referred email” box (which would make me very happy ^_^) and use coupon code listed below:

email: [email protected]

5 % coupon code: blog115

♥

Here is the banner and Link to their store:

(Also, if you order there, you can write reviews for the products and the samples you got and earn reward points. This is really a nice idea for review junkies. You can get 1 $ per review and additional credit for images.)

Rating:

28 Comments

Allgemein

Review: Skinfood Vita Water Drop CC Cream SPF 35 PA ++ D1

7. June 2013

Hello there ♥

My very, very first officially labelled CC cream…:D (I don’t count the color changing beads containing “BB cream” from The Body Shop ^_^” >>here<< )

Today’s review is about Skinfood’s Vita Water Drop CC Cream D1, the first CC cream by the Korean brand Skinfood. I presented it yesterday in my W2Beauty haul post (>>here<<) and I was so curious, I tried it directly :D

Probably I don’t have to tell you, that I fell in love with it’s ultra-cute packaging ♥ This CC cream is available in two designs and both are really adorable and the choice was really not easy!

Here are Skinfood’s advertising images for the Vita Water Drop CC cream:

It’s in Korean unfortunately. But I’ll try to summarize the product claims for you:

This is a CC cream, which means it’s a “Complete Control” cream. It has 5 claims:

improvement of skintone (color-control)
whitening
anti-wrinkle
SPF 35 PA+++
moisturizing

Unlike other CC creams, like the one’s from Etude House or Tonymoly, this one is not based on color changing beads, but it is tinted. I don’t like the principle of these color beads a lot. It’s based on the mechanism of blending. It means the more you blend the more color is released from the beads, which can result in too much or not enough color. Skinfood’s CC cream claims to be skin care and make-up in one product.

From the first swatch it doesn’t look much different to BB creams. It has a creamy texture which is more runny than Missha’s BB creams, for example. It blends in nicely, too, although I was afraid it might be too light for me. It adsorbs really quickly and doesn’t leave any sticky feeling at all. Moreover, the skin feels smoothed and silky! It provides a nice glow, too, but it doesn’t look greasy at all. The coverage is light. I would not recommend to use only this if you are in need of coverage. But you can add some concealer or powder..or BB cream afterwards, if you like. The scent is at the beginning very fresh and herbal, but it changes to a pleasant scent. I don’t know if you know what I mean, it’s difficult to describe, but according to my nose the scent is not the same at the beginning compared to afterwards-but it gets better :D. It is also quite strong in the beginning but gets lesser, until you don’t notice it at all. The product comes in a tube with a pump, which is very convenient. The first time you use it, you have to pump several times before the first bit of products comes out. You need 1-2 pumps of this CC cream to fully cover your face and neck.

You see, it really evens out my skin color and gives a nice glow, too! I tried the CC cream alone and also with some loose powder afterwards and I like how light this cream is and not greasy at all, although it provides SPF. It’s definitively a good choice for the summer! I can recommend it! But don’t expect high coverage, it has sheer coverage like most Asian CC creams do.

The full size contains 30 g and costs US$ 17.48 at W2beauty. If you use my link or the sponsor code 088505 for registration at W2Beauty you’ll get a 5.00 $ voucher after registration.
EDIT: A lot of people were wondering about the difference between D1 and D2 and you don’t find much information about it online, and especially you don’t find anything on Skinfood’s global page. Since I was curious, too, I asked Alice from W2Beauty again, to confirm if both products are the same, and she told me, that both products are proclaimed to be the same by the seller and only differ in their design. It has nothing to do with your skin type, so you can just choose by your favourite design :D

Rating:

29 Comments