Cheap thrills.

Today I'll be reviewing a product I bought on a whim. I've been looking for an affordable BB cream to try for a while now, something that's light and easy to apply for everyday use. I don't usually like wearing bases but sometimes it's nice to have a lil something on, you know?

I was supposed to buy a local BB cream that's apparently really good but when I saw how small the bottle is, I didn't even bother. So I checked the iWhite products in Watsons and decided to try their BB cream. I wasn't expecting something spectacular but this wasn't a waste of money, surprisingly.

I got the iWhite Korea's BB Holic Everyday BB Cream in Beige (Php 24.50). Not gonna lie, I was impressed when I saw the shade: a medium brown! I was expecting something that's at least 2 shades lighter (because, lezbehonest, that's always the case) but this one's a good medium shade. I say I hit a winner in the shade department because this one's almost a perfect match (almost because it's around 0.5 shade lighter than my skintone).

As you can see, this shade can match most Filipinas out there with medium to slightly deep skintones. It's quite warm, with a hint of orange undertone but lightens up slightly when blended. This shade is really close to my skintone which makes me really really happy! 

Now let's talk about its formula, consistency, and the works. The BB Holic's consistency really reminds me of a water-based moisturizer. It spreads easily, feels very light, and gets absorbed easily. It doesn't feel thick and goopy at all. Because of it's lightweight consistency, this is on of those products you can easily apply with your fingers. As for the scent, it has this pleasant fruity scent, like apricot or peach. 

(Sorry if my photos look a little pale and washed out. I took these photos by the window and forgot to adjust the camera settings. I tried to somewhat correct these in Photoshop, though. Nothing heavy, just adjusted the saturation slightly.)

I mean, I'm not that super fair IRL but look at how it looks on my skin. It's not too pale on me! It looks and feels like second skin. I only applied a thin layer all over my face and I instantly noticed its brightening effects. Not brightening because it's a shade lighter than your skintone, no; brightening in a way that it lifts and gives subtle light to your face. It lessens the dullness of your complexion but still manages to look natural. It also has a slightly dewy/semi-matte-sh finish. If you want full matte, you need to set it with powder, no doubt. I didn't powder it on the photos above and it still looks pretty decent.

Now I'm not saying it's perfect as it has its flaws. For one, it won't impress those who are looking for a heavy coverage BB cream. This has a sheer to light coverage, medium if you push it. It slightly lessened my redness and darkness around my eyes but it didn't conceal them. Also, its oil-control powers are non-existent. After 5 minutes of application, my T-zone oils appeared like no big deal and mind you, I was wearing the QuickFX No-Shine Mattifier underneath it (although to be fair, that product isn't really that good either with oil-control teehee). So I guess it's safe to say that if you have an oily skin type, steer clear of this product. Normal to dry, you might want to give this a try.

Overall, I'm pleased with this product. It's cheap, it matches my skintone almost perfectly, and it's very lightweight, just what I'm looking for in an everyday base. As for it not working on my T-zone, I'll just set it with powder next time, I guess. For longevity, it lasted for around 4 hours and that's without powder. After that, I looked like a disco ball and I'm pretty sure some areas of my face don't have any product already. I will keep using this and I will repurchase it because why not? And oh, I wish they had a full bottle of this BB cream. That'll be so much better than buying sachets!

Look, the sachet can be divided by two! I like how they packaged this product. You can try use one sachet first then keep the other half  in the meantime. Genius!