Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Review: Candy Doll Makeup Base and KATE Mineral BB Gel Cream

It's been awhile since I've done a review on Japanese base makeup, since I've been experimenting a lot with more Western brands (mainly MAC and theBalm) most recently. In my first Tenso order I decided to order the Candy Doll Base from Candy Walker and KATE Mineral BB Gel Cream from Bi-sai.




Candy Doll Makeup Base in Shade 02
Description: Makeup Base that contains SPF 30 and can be used as a primer or alone as a BB cream. This particular shade has a gold pearl shade and finish for those with light-medium/medium skin tones.
Price: 1890yen
Size: 30g
Shades available: 01 (pink pearl), 02 (gold pearl)

Before                                      Application                                        

After

You can see that there is a difference from the start to finish with this makeup base, however it's definitely not enough coverage for me! For those who only need light coverage this would work as a BB Cream for you, but for people with more redness this is suitable as a primer. I love the gold pearl color as well, because it gives you an illuminated glow without the use of an illuminizer. Definitely great for brightening up my complexion compared to the before photo.
With using this as a primer, my base was able to last for 9+ hours without touch ups.

Pros:
- Golden pearl finish helps to brighten up the complexion and look alive.
- Works great as a primer, helps to keep your base on for hours.
- The liquid is very light out of the tube, and applies very easily.
- A little goes a long way!

Cons:
- Not enough coverage for me to use alone.
- Not exactly a color match for me to use as a BB cream.
- Might be too shimmery to use alone.
- Expensive for what it is, since you can get Canmake products that are the same size for half the price.
- Hard to get outside of Japan, and when you can buy it overseas the markup is huge.

Overall:
This will work as a great primer for people who have medium to dark skin tones. If you have light to medium skin tone with not a lot of redness, this will be great to use as a BB cream. However, since it's fairly hard to get I would only recommend it to people who have easy access to it or who really want it!

Where to buy?
Ichibankao
Tokyo Wink

KATE Mineral BB Gel Cream in OC-D
Description: A BB Gel Cream that is has SPF 30 PA++ and is alcohol and fragrance free with natural oils. This BB cream has coverage that is buildable and starts off as a gel and has a powder finish.
Price: 1500yen
Size: 30g
Shades available: OC-B (Light), OC-C (Medium), OC-D (Tan)

You can see it's a pretty good match when blended, maybe just a tad bit more on the yellow side though.

                     Application                                  First Layer

Second Layer + Concealer

You can see that the coverage is actually pretty decent! It didn't cover up all of my redness in the first layer, but the second layer and the help of my favorite concealer (NYX HD Photogenic Concealer Wand) cleared all of the redness and just looks flawless.

Pros:
- Although it is thick, it isn't hard to apply and doesn't feel too heavy on the skin.
- Lots of skincare benefits, since it's a multipurpose skincare product with sun protection, skincare benefits and is a foundation!
- Color runs darker than most BB creams. Definitely can get away with wearing this if you are NC/NW 30-35.
- Buildable coverage for those who need it.
- No added fragrance and alcohol free!
- Helps to control oil.

Cons:
- A bit thick, since it starts out as a gel and is supposed to leave a powder finish.
- Leans a bit more on the yellow side, since I have warmer skin it isn't a 100% match unless I set it with a darker powder.
- Although it has buildable coverage, I found it still couldn't cover all of my redness alone.
- Won't be able to find a shade if you're over NC/NW 35.

Overall:
An excellent BB cream for those that want to have buildable coverage! It's fairly affordable for how good of a product it is, and considering it's a new product it has a more wide availability. It is additionally very helpful for those who have combination skin, since it can help control oil. I can't say if it works well on oily skin, but since I have combo skin I can say it definitely did make a difference!

Where to buy?
Ichibankao
ebay

Here's my finished look with both of these products:
Together both of these products worked amazingly well. I finished off my base with Diamond Puff in Dolly Matte, and my base looked flawless for 9+ hours! No touch ups at all, and I didn't even get oily throughout the day! The only thing I wished I did was set it with a darker powder, like my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Dark. The base looks just a tad light on my face, but other than that it looks AMAZING and stays like that!

I definitely recommend both of these products, but if I had to choose which one I would recommend more... it would be the KATE BB Gel Cream!

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for the reviews! I was keen to hear what you thought of the Candy Doll :)

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    1. Not a problem as always, my dear! I was really interested in getting the Candy Doll base when they released this newer shade, since it definitely suits me better than the pink pearl one :D

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  2. Thanks for the reviews! The BB cream looks good :D

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    1. No problem! I really like it and agree that it looks good!

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  3. You look really gorgeous without makeup omg
    Also thanks for the reviews, I was thinking of purchasing bb cream for a while and i wasn't sure which to go with u__u
    Also out of curiosity, which lenses are you wearing? They look really nice ;o;

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I think I look okay without makeup since I've been taking better care of my skin, I still just have redness!
      I understand needing to see reviews of BB creams, since they can differ on everyone and sometimes some brands aren't easy to find reviews of :/

      The lenses I'm wearing are the Geo Plum lenses in Brown! I got them from PinkyParadise but I can't seem to find a link on their new site for it.

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  4. The BB xream candy doll looks better than the second, because the seconde make a yellow skin ahah! But toghether, they are super, a super skin :D

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    1. Yeah I agree the KATE BB Cream is just a bit too yellow, but together they are awesome!

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  5. I didn't even know the Candy Doll primer was supposed to be a BB Cream too... I don't think I'd use it on it's own, I have too many blemishes on my face and it's already shiny enough. But if it works good as a primer, I might give it a try someday :3 right now I'm waiting for the Candy Doll concealer to arrive!

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    Replies
    1. They don't outwardly say it's supposed to act like a BB cream, but they pretty much hint at it LOL

      I agree it probably would only be good for people who have pretty decent skin as it is, especially since it's a pearl as well and has a very shimmery finish. Hope you enjoy your Candy Doll concealer :D

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  6. Thank you! Funny thing is, it arrived today <3 so far it's amazing, wouldn't have thought that this kind of creamy concealer has such a nice coverage!

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  7. I just ordered this xD gonna be in my hands in 5 days <3

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