little white truths

Slowly slowly I'm getting to reviewing each product in this kit. Today I'm looking at the moisturiser with sunscreen, which was one of the last products in the kit that I opened because I had a day cream on the go that I wanted to finish before getting to this one.

After this I'll review the facial oil, and then I'll do a round-up post of the kit as a whole - just in case anyone's interested in buying the set.


Alpha-H claims/product details:

• This broad-spectrum SPF 30+ moisturiser protects against harsh UVA/UVB rays and future proofs against photo ageing
• It entwines sun protection with skin health to ensure your daily moisturiser acts as a three-in-one age blocker, wrinkle preventer and collagen saver
• For all skin types
• Protects the skin against the signs of ageing
• Combines five high protection sun filters with antioxidants to nourish and protect the skin
• Lightly textured and provides an excellent makeup base
• Instantly absorbs into the skin without a white residue
• Non-comedogenic; won’t clog pores
• Ultra sweat-resistant and low irritant – excellent sports moisturiser with sun filters
• Broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection 
• Water resistant for 4 hours
• Key ingredients include aloe vera and vitamin E
• To use: apply liberally and evenly to all unprotected areas 20 minutes prior to exposure to the sun; reapply after swimming, towel drying, exercise and excessive perspiration
• RRP $46.95 AUD for 50ml, but do shop around

Verdict

This is fine as a sunscreen, but I don't love it as a face cream.

I just put some on and I must have accidentally got some in my eye because my eye is stinging a bit and watering a lot. So be careful of doing that!

It's a white cream that's quite light and smells like sunscreen. It's not too thick and it spreads easily and absorbs well.

I think it's fine as a sunscreen, but I wouldn't use it as my daily moisturiser - the reason being that it's quite greasy and it doesn't feel like it's hydrating my face much. It also doesn't have a brightening or plumping effect, and I look for both those things in my day cream.

On the product claims: yes it protects the skin (I haven't burned yet!) and it doesn't clog pores, but I don't feel that it's particularly nourishing and I don't feel that it provides a good makeup base because it's so greasy.

It's fine, but it's my least favourite item in this set and it's not one I would buy.

I bought this a while back in the Violet Box shop when there was a sale on, and I'm a bit annoyed with myself now that I bought two (I picked up Submissive as well, which I haven't opened yet) because the quality of this one isn't great so I'm wishing I'd started with one and gone from there.

Still, at least I bought two versatile shades that can be used in a number of different ways  - I could even use both to highlight my shoulders in summer - so they won't go to complete waste.


Be a Bomshell claims/product details:

• Nudist (gold) is described as 'intense creamy light gold with shimmer' 
• Formula: a highly pigmented, long lasting product that can be used as a single cream colour or as an eye base to build colour
• Application: apply lightly with fingertip to create a natural finish; layer for added colour
• Bombshell tip: to intensify your look, use under our powder eyeshadow; have fun creating many different looks from our bombshell assortment
• RRP $16 AUD (which isn't too bad in terms of mark-up because the US price is $14)

As you can see above, it's a beautiful pale gold colour. The colour is quite sheer, but you can build it for more intensity if you wish.

There's a swatch:


And again in direct sunlight:


Here I've applied it to the inner corner of my eye and along the upper lashline. You can see that it has transferred straight away from the lashline to the crease and above it (note the gold glitter dots above my crease - that's not where I want them):


Below I've applied it over my lid travelling upwards. It's quite sheer here so you can't see it well. I've used a primer this time, so it doesn't transfer as badly (but I still have to smooth it out where it hasn't dried properly in the crease):


What I've done here is add a neutral brown eyeshadow over the top. As you can see, the glitter bits still show through, which isn't what I want (I'd hoped the shadow would cover them):


Here I applied a matte brown eyeshadow on my arm. On the left I've used the eye base underneath, and on the right I haven't. You can see that the left stripe is a little more intense, but not a lot:


Here's how the stripes look after four hours of wear (I wore a shirt over the top so that rubbed at them a bit, as would happen on your eyelids). You can see that the left stripe is holding on a little better, but not much:


After that I gave them both a good rub with my hand. Both stripes are almost gone, but the one on the left is a touch stronger:


Verdict

Unfortunately I don't love this product. As mentioned above, I'm annoyed about that because I did buy two of these in one hit (purely because they were on special and I needed the second one to qualify me for free shipping), when it would have been better to start with one and go from there.

Anyhoo. It could be that Submissive is somehow better. Doubtful, but you never know.

Be a Bombshell has some great products - in particular the blushes - but its eye products can be hit and miss. I think if you don't have hooded eyes or oily eyelids, this product might be ok for you, but it's certainly not on me.

If I wear it alone without a primer, it creases and transfers in a heartbeat. I would expect more from a cream shadow that calls itself an 'eye base', so I'm annoyed about that too.

With a primer it does fare better, but I still have the same issues with transferring and creasing - just not to the same degree.

The best thing you can do with it to keep it in place and stop it from creasing is to not only wear a primer, but also to set it straight away with an eyeshadow or finishing powder. That's all a bit too much work for me but at least it's a good colour for the inner corners of my eyes, so I may stick to using it there. I had hoped that it would make a good highlight for my lashline - that's why I picked it, since I have issues with my powder shadows transferring from there to above my crease, which isn't what I want since this highlights my puffy eyes - but unfortunately it doesn't work for that because it does shift so easily.

In terms of claims, this doesn't meet any of them in my opinion because it's not a good base, it's not long-lasting and it creases and shifts.

I can see myself putting this on my Project Pan list pretty quickly since I'll be able to get through it by using it on my collarbones and shoulders in summer, but otherwise it's not one that I can get a lot of use from.

Note, however, that if you don't have hooded eyes or oily eyelids, then you might really love this product: indeed, I've seen other reviewers say that these products are great, so it could just be me.

Also, I should say that I'm not sold on the texture of this either - it's quite hard and mousse-like (almost like it's been whipped) and so it comes out of the tub unevenly and also makes even application difficult.

All I can say is at least it's only 2.5g in size, so I have some hope of getting through it before it goes hard, as cream shadows tend to do.

Low marks from me I'm afraid.