little white truths

The product comes in a standard plastic tube and it has a directed nozzle (see above). I really like directed nozzles, I must say. My favourite packaging is still tubes with pumps, but these nozzles come in a close second. They give you more control so you don't squeeze out too much. Winning.

Now for swatches.

Below I've given you a heavy swatch, a partially blended one and a blended one in different lights.

Indirect sunlight:

Direct sunlight:

Verdict

It's hard to know where to start with this product because it doesn't work for me at all and I have very few good things to say about it. Funnily enough, though, it has some great reviews online (see eg Adore Beauty) and I've seen people rave about it in the beauty community - so perhaps it just doesn't gel with my skin.

It's a medium-thick cream that comes out looking more ashy/neutral in tone, but as soon as it hits my skin, it warms up and looks more golden. If that were the end of it, it would be fine, but unfortunately it keeps warming up on me and five minutes after application I look downright orange. If it didn't oxidise then it would be a great colour on me, but alas it does so it's not.

The product has a very faint, sunscreen-y smell that I'm only aware of if I hold the cream up to my nose, so the scent shouldn't bother most people and I don't think it's offensive.

It has a radiant, dewy finish that isn't too greasy and I do like that about it, plus it sets a little so it doesn't slip around as much as other BB creams I've used. Note that the finish is tacky to the touch, though, so you may wish to set it with a powder (I always do) to ensure that your blush and bronzer blend more easily.

The coverage on this product is good - you can build it to a solid medium or just leave it as a light-medium, depending on your preferences - so it has that going for it because not all BB creams offer as much coverage as this one does. No complaints there.

My main issue with this product, however, is that I can't get it to look good on my skin. It cakes up over dry patches like nobody's business (and indeed it gives me dry patches that I never knew I had), plus it doesn't spread well so I get strange streaks and concentrated patches of pigment on my face when I wear this (they look like paint, and they won't blend out), so unfortunately this isn't a product I can wear by itself. It also settles into pores around my hairline, which isn't a good look.

Normally when a product looks cakey on me, I can add a drop of oil or two to help it spread out and apply more evenly. I can't do that with this. Even five drops of oil isn't enough to stop it from caking up, and of course I look downright greasy if I use that much oil anyway.

The only way I've been able to use this is to mix it with another BB cream and also a liquid illuminator or primer in equal parts. If I use a 50/50 mix, this product still cakes up - so I have to use one-third of it in any mix and no more.

Overall I can't recommend this product and I also want to point out that only three shades are available, which certainly isn't enough for most people to find a good match (especially considering how golden this turns on my skin), so I don't mind saying 'avoid this' because it's a limiting product anyway.

Still, if you can find a match, plenty of people love this so I suppose it's worth testing to see if it works better for you than it does for me.

Disappointing.