I first saw this online at the skin79 website. Since my friend, Lisa, was not impressed by the former "light pink" diamond collection, I thought nothing of buying it. However, while walking through a mall in Korea, I saw this on display at the skin79 counter, along with the rest of the collection. This collection was so beautiful that I couldn't drag myself away. I believe the whole collection contained three different kinds of BB creams, pressed powder, loose powder, twin cake, concealer, and blush. If I bought the entire collection, it would have been around $120. Frankly I was tempted, but recalled that I never cared for powder blush, concealer, or powder. I checked kimoko's reviews, and found that the BB cream that came in the bottle (not the tubes) was highly raved.
That afternoon, I bought this bottle. It contained powders of five precious stones, including diamond, which did not mean much to me. I love diamonds, and I take serious pleasure in wearing engagement ring consisting of diamonds and aquamarines, but it means nothing to me to wear diamond powder on my face. To be honest, I was even afraid of the powder making the BB cream coarse, which would damage my skin. However, the BB cream is very creamy, and did not have beads, fragments, or anything of the like in it.
The next day, I tried to put it on. I had some trouble at first, because I did not know that you were supposed to twist the head of the bottle before you could squeeze anything out. After I finally figured out how to open it, I spread a thin layer of BB cream on my face with my fingers. The result was a natural-matte finish. The coverage was sheer medium, since it covered some of my fading pimples, but did not cover the new ones. (I was getting pimples from my trial with the clarisonic, which turned out to be not so good. I'm sure it did not damage my skin, but.... well, I'll post a review soon :D)
My Quick Take:
Coverage: Sheer to medium. Very blendable, but not as layerable as some BB creams I've tried. What I mean is, you can pile on a pretty thick layer without caking, but the coverage would not increase dramatically (although it would increase some).
Oil-control: I started oiling up around my nose after 7 hours without blotting or powder. However, the coverage and natural-matte finish lasted till I washed it off (11 hours after I put it on).
Color: This has a sort of yellow undertone that would look quite flattering on most people, especially on photos. I feel it would be good for N15 to N35.
Finish: No glowy look, just a very natural-matte finish as though I am wearing nothing. Very very natural.
Special properties: Protecting, slightly moisturizing, evens skin tone, and good anti-aging properties. High SPF factor of 37, which I like.
Overall: For a while, I was ready to acknowledge this as my HG since it is so pretty, and fit all of my criteria. However, I found that the healing properties are not as prominent as that of some other BB creams. The healing property is as good as all the other ones (VOV, Jadilla J) I've tried, but I've heard of more "miraculous" creams, so I'm still on a search for those.
Generally, however, this BB cream does shrink my pimples, and fade my pimple marks faster.
In a word, this BB cream is really good for mostly clear skin (or not inflated skin with whiteheads and blackheads) needing sheer medium coverage. It looks VERY natural, and GREAT in pictures!
Samples:
5ml: $6 plus shipping (can be combined, and should be under $3)
email me for larger samples or the whole bottle
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI'm currently researching on BB creams and trying to decide which one to try. I saw in this review that you read Kimoko's review on this BB cream? The one I read on her LJ was the Absolute Total BB cream which is in a tube.
Is this one the same as the one in the tube or is this a different formulation?
How would you compare this product to the Castledew VOV whitening BB cream?
I hope you don't mind the Qs~ Thanks!
Thanks for visiting my blog. Yes, it is the same one, but I am probably much more into pretty packaging, so I bought the bottled version.
ReplyDeleteCastledew VOV whitening BB cream was the first BB cream I ever tried. I thought that everything was pretty good about it, but the SPF was too low. The Diamond Total one was better cause it has 37 SPF. The color is also a little more natural directly after applying from the bottle, whereas the Castledew gave me really white (but natural) skin the first 20 minutes after application.
They are about equal in spreadability and coverage. Oil control wise, I think they last about equally long. The skin79 diamond one carried a smell (quite pleasant actually) that lingered on my fingers for 20 minutes, whereas the Castledew's smell was a little more generic although very pleasant also, and there was no smell left after 1 minute.
I think the Castledew one might be easier to remove because it has lower spf, but since you are using a BB cream, it's encouraged to use a makeup remover before your regular cleanser anyway, so it wouldn't make much of a difference.
No, I don't mind your questions at all. Please feel free to ask more questions if they will be helpful. :)
Cathy