1. Revlon Colorstay Oil-Free Foundation

The Revlon Colorstay Oil-Free foundation is pretty much difficult to let go of because of the great coverage and finish it gives my face. I love how it transforms my problem skin into a flawless canvass. It delivers well in controlling my facial oil mine sans a primer, thus, making my makeup long wearing. Revlon Colorstay Foundies are among the few brands that offer a wide selection of Filipina-friendly shades.

Sadly, it made my skin red and patchy all over after every use. I gave it several chances but it gave me the same ugly-skin-after-foundation result and so I had to let go.

2. Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream

I especially love BB creams since they seldom break me out. Skinfood Aloe Sun BB cream has been one of my on-the-go face makeup for more than a year because of the healthy, radiant glow my face gets from it. I was able to cut down on my AM primping time since everything I need is in the tube already: a moisturizer, foundation, blemish-buster and sunblock.

However, Purederm's 3-in-1 Magic BB cream, which is locally available and a bit cheaper than Skinfood's, came into the picture. I get the same glow and fresh-look I've loved from Skinfood Aloe without having to scour ebay for affordable tubes (Skinfood counters here have unbelievable mark-ups!). And ever since that Fake BB Cream scare, I felt safer with having to buy bb creams from the stores themselves.

3. The Bodyshop Oil-Free Foundie

If this foundation didn't cost as much, I would've made it a vanity kit staple. The Bodyshop Oil-Free foundation's performance is average and I don't mind adding a few hundred Pesos to get outstanding brands that's been reputed to perform better. 

I'm always around The Body Shop counters for their Lip and Cheek Stain, shower gels, body butters and aromatherapy essential oils. This foundation just failed to make it to that list.

4. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch sunblock

This is the first sunblock my skin has ever loved! I've always wanted sun protection that has a gel consistency, an impressive SPF, and something that doesn't feel heavy and oily. Minus the type of consistency, I got everything from Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch sunblock SPF 50! It may be in cream form, but it's a lightweight product that glides smoothly on the skin and dries up nicely on the skin in a minute.  

I have used this product for half a year now and I'm not sure how to use it all up. Ever since Hamilton sunblock SPF 80 came into my life, I never looked back. Plus, I recently discovered a tinted sunblock I that contains plant-derived placenta and collagen.

5. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

It's sad to let go of a product that served both as a moisturizer and primer to me. I am letting go because it gave me numerous and tiny bumps on the chin. I suddenly can't believe that this same product has always been responsible for keeping my skin soft, supple and wrinkle-free for almost a year!

Who knew that the girl who always woke up with calmer-looking skin because of Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel would freak out one morning with countless pus-filled zits on the chin?

Don't be taken aback, but yes, BB creams are being defrauded too nowadays. I was surprised to read about this beauty breaking news and wondered if I ever did slather on a fake BB cream. If you can recall, I was able to get my hands on several BB creams including Skinfood Aloe, Elianto Miracle Multiplex, Purederm Magic, Dr. Jart Silver and Skin79 Waterdrop. I wish I knew how to check each tube's authenticity.

If there's one good thing about this sad news, not all BB creams have been duped. Currently, only Missha, Skinfood and Skin79 brands are experiencing issues.

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I have to commend these girls for sharing their Sherlock Holmes moments. They did an amazing job with their BB cream sleuthing to alarm readers about these rip-offs. Here are more beauty detectives:

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However, I cannot rule out the fact that these posts might not be as real as they seem. These write-ups might be circulated to bring certain companies down, eliminate resellers, or whatever purpose there is that you can probably think of. The articles seem to be authentic (actually, helpful!) in my opinion, but it is equally essential to still consider the other possibility.

Please read these three blog pages that I referred to for an in-depth note. You can make your own conclusion after reading each post. While Sparkle Apple seems to be the most reliable post, she failed to do a side by side testing with the original product. I'm a bit skeptic about Vivavoomz' and Little Makeup Box's posts since the former posted pictures provided by Skin79 Singapore while the latter was promoting their BB cream shop.

I'd love to know what you think of these fake bb creams and on the articles that are supposed to help us check out our blemish balm babies.

If fake bb creams are truly just around the corner (hello, ebay), please be careful in purchasing. I love bb creams (my current love: Purederm Magic) and I hate to conclude that there are phonies wrecking the market.

I'm back with reviewing and I'm pretty much back with loving bb creams!  I've reviewed Skin 79 Waterdrop vis-a-vis Dr. Jart Silver Label, and Elianto Multiplex.  Now, it's Skinfood Aloe BB Cream's turn! 

Skinfood Aloe Sun BB Cream, #1

I got Aloe among the other available variants (there's Gingko, Mushroom, Peach Sake and Agave, whew!) since it was: meant to control oil (Gingko is for dry skin), had good packaging that does not spill (Mushroom has a bad tube), comes in a 50g tub (Peach Sake costs as much but has only 30mL of product in the tube) and is relatively affordable (Agave is a bit overpriced and performs the same as Aloe, IMO).



Skinfood's aloe variant comes in two shades: #1 and #2.  Most beauty bloggers categorize shade #1 for those with yellow undertones, the latter for those with pink undertones.  I have no idea how they came up with that.  I've tried both shades and I couldn't really tell if #2 suited pink undertones since it kinda suited me (I have yellow/olive undertones) but it made me look tad darker.

Got it from: ebay's skinfood2you ($13, free shipping worldwide)
Transit time: 2 1/2 weeks
Best applied onto face with: fingertips

Skinfood Aloe BB cream blended well with my NC30ish skintone.  It can be scary white at first, but it blends pretty well with the skintone after ~5minutes (quite long, I must say).

without bb cream



Scary white at first glance




3 minutes post-application, bb cream slowly blending in

	Skinfood Aloe Sun
Consistency	Thick, difficult to blend (you have to blend fast enough)
Coverage	Sheer;  not nice when layered on
Shade range	2 shades
Price (over ebay South Korea)	P600+ ($13 to $18 ), inclusive of shipping
Finish	Dewy, may tend to be oily if applied in a humid condition (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)
Make-up Base ability	Poor
SPF	15
Oil-control (airconditoned room)	Great

I think Skinfood Aloe might've fared better for oily gals like me when applied inside an airconditioned room.  I noticed that it controlled oil better that way.  Also, if you need coverage, this might not be the bb cream for you.  It has a sheer finish and can look ugly if you layer it on.

	Skinfood Aloe	Dr. Jart Silver	Skin79 Waterdrop
Consistency	Thick, difficult to blend (you have to blend fast enough)	Thick, difficult to blend	Thin, blendable
Coverage	Sheer;  not nice when layered on	Medium to heavy	Poor
Shade range	2 shades	One shade only	One shade only
Price (over ebay South Korea)	P600+ ($13 to $18)	P1200 to P1600 ($28 to $33)	P600 to P1000 ($12.50 to $21)
Finish	Dewy, may tend to be oily if applied in a humid condition (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)	Dewy, not matte (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)	Dewy, not matte (for a matte finish, top it off with URFP)
Make-up Base ability	Poor	Can be cakey	Great make up base
SPF	15	35	0
Oil-control (airconditoned room)	Great	Great	Great

May 1 - Labour Day
A treat for a job well done: BB CREAMS!

I got these babies over ebay. Thanks legendeux for promptly shipping my stuff over! I'm one happy gal to have gotten these BB creams within six days after winning the bids.

1- Dr. Jart Rejuvenating Blemish Base Silver Label, SPF 35, 50mL, $24.95

2 - Skin79 Shiny Pearl Water Drop, 43.5g, $9.99
3 - Skin Food Aloe Sun, SPF 20, 50g, $10.49
4 - Skin79 Super Beblesh Balm Pink, SPF 25, 5g
5 - Skin79 Super Beblesh Balm Gold, SPF 25, 5g
6 - Skin79 Diamond Collection Prestige, SPF 25, 5g
7 - Skin 79 Diamond Collection Pearl, 5g

I got myself a box of skin79 BB Cream Super Plus Diamond mini-set (which is earning a couple of good reviews, by the way) coz it looks so cute and easy to tote along:

Set of 4 fab BB Creams for $10.49

Yipeee! Freebies galore! Legendeux is such a princess to throw in these beauty prods in my pack of stuff:


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First thing I grabbed was the water pearl drop that I was lemming on a couple of weeks ago. I'm in love with it! I feel like a princess in it.

Will post reviews soon!

Royally yours, Bleak

Skinfood's Pineapple Hand Cream perfectly fits the summer season mainly because it smells like real pineapple. Before you get freaked out by the scent, let me tell you that it smells like pineapple... IN A VERY POSITIVE WAY. Everytime I put this on, my folks would tell me how nice it smells.

Skinfood Pineapple Hand Cream, 45mL
Around 600+PHP (~ 13)

The Edge:

• scent spells out summer: it's pineapple right at your fingertips! (pun intended)

• moisturizes the driest hands

• small amount should do; product goes a long way

Uh-ohs:

• feels kinda greasy if you accidentally put on too much

• tends to make the hands too shiny instead of moisturized-matte (perhaps because I don't have dry skin type)

• it's too liquefied. it should be a cream, duh!

Less is more: a little amount is good enough to minimize the ugly lines on your hand
and moisturize it!

(L): I accidentally squeezed out too much product
(R): Too flowy. I sort of expected a creamier prod

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ROYAL RATING: Spend-worthy? Not really. There are cheaper alternatives. I just use this product during special occassions, say, holding hands with boyfie *royal chuckle*. No, really. That's when I use it coz he loves the scent on my hands.
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Hands are so precious that it needs to be pampered after a long day's work. Why not try giving your hands some massage using a hand cream/lotion? It's a stress reliever for me!

Royally yours, Bleak