Project BB Cream | SkinFood Good Afternoon Honey Black Tea BB.

Last year, I made a resolve to try as many BB creams as possible and share the experience here in my blog. I managed to go through and write about a few brands, though I wish I could have done more in terms of product review quantity. If it's any consolation, at least my top three favorite BB creams and their corresponding reviews continue to be the most popular posts in The Rebel Sweetheart. (See 'Top Stories' on my right sidebar.)

I promise to do more BB cream features and reviews this year. More so now that I have blog followers who actually ask for my opinion when it comes to BB creams and Korean cosmetics. (Thank you, my dear readers! I am truly honored!) I even placed this stash of BB cream testers on top of my dresser as a constant reminder of my BB cream project.

The goal: Review all these within the next six weeks (at least).

Today I gave the SkinFood Honey Black Tea BB Cream a try. This is the second variant I'm trying from SkinFood's Good Afternoon product line, the first being the Rose Lemon BB Cream.

Honey Black!

As per the SkinFood website, the Honey Black Tea moisturizes and brightens the skin and makes it look soft and supple. This is exactly what this BB Cream did for me. Its slightly dewy finish gave my face a nice, subtle, and healthy-looking glow. I especially like the scent, too. It smells just like the SkinFood Royal Honey Eye Cream, which I'm still using by the way.

01 Light Beige.

The formulation is lightweight and very easy to blend, though I find it a tad runny. Watery even, as compared to the Rose Lemon Tea's formulation. Also, when you swatch the BB creams side by side (both are in 01 Light Beige), the Honey Black Tea looks much lighter. So light that the shade doesn't seem to match my skin at all.

Left: Rose Lemon Tea / Right: Honey Black Tea.

But once it settles on the skin, the Honey Black Tea adjusts to your natural skintone. You won't even be able to tell that the shade match initially missed the mark.

Left: Rose Lemon Tea / Right: Honey Black Tea.

However, the coverage is light - much like the Rose Lemon's. It's great for days when I'm too lazy to do my makeup and all I need is an even skintone. But for days when my skin is blotchy or when my eyebags are horrendous, this BB Cream wouldn't be able to give the coverage that I need. 

Coverage? What coverage? :))

Staying power is so-so. It stayed nicely on my face for at least six hours. But that's on a blustery day, with a primer on. I reckon it'd fade away in half the time during the summer months.

Left: Rose Lemon Tea / Right: Honey Black Tea.

So I guess I won't go for full size anytime soon. The full size, by the way, comes in 30g tubes for all BB Creams from the Good Afternoon line. They're priced at 8000 won in Korea (Php 300+ when converted), while in the Philippines, they're sold within the Php 400 - Php 450 price range. Not bad considering how ridiculously expensive SkinFood products are in this country.

What I love: 

The scent 

Lightweight, easy to blend

Shade adjusts to your skintone

Slightly dewy finish

Moisturizes and brightens

Safe for sensitive skin

Affordable, as compared to other SkinFood products

What you might not like:

Light coverage

Watery consistency

SPF20/PA++ only

And as always, here's the FOTD. The first for 2013. Pardon the eyebags. :) 

Products used:
FACE: The Face Shop Face It Velvet Skin Primer, Benefit Erase Paste in Medium,
SkinFood Good Afternoon Honey Black Tea BB.
EYES: Urban Decay Ammo Eyeshadow Palette, elf Liquid Eyeliner in Black,
Avon Ultra Luxury Brow Liner in Dark Brown, Missha Viewer 270 HD Curl Mascara in Black.
CHEEKS: Tony Moly Cheek Tint in Cherry Pink.
LIPS: Etude House Shini Star (Taemin) Lip Balm, Miners Matte Factor Lip Paint in Warm Red.

At a Glance | SkinFood Royal Honey Toner + Emulsion.

Sometime during Habagat week, I unexpectedly ran out of my favorite Human Heart Nature Balancing Toner without having a spare bottle in stock. Not wanting to leave the house and brave the heavy rains, I decided to use another brand for the time being. Rummaging through my stock of Korean cosmetics, I found this.

Skin Food Royal Honey Gift Set.

Inside the Skin Food Royal Honey Gift Set are two 5 mL bottles - the Royal Honey Toner, and the Royal Honey Emulsion. The gift set came as a freebie with the Royal Honey Eye Cream that my husband bought in Myeongdong a few months ago. Who would've thought that I'd have an emergency situation that would call for this? Haha!

Royal Honey Toner in full size (150 mL) costs somewhere along the Php 800 mark here in the PH.

The Royal Honey Toner's main ingredients are royal black honey and royal jelly extracts. Both are derived from natural raw black honey that can only be found in the South Asian forest - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enriched with a myriad of nutrients, this 'treatment toner' hydrates and transforms the skin, giving it a nice honey-glazed complexion. 

Quite surprising about this toner is its consistency. Unlike most toners, this one has a thick, syrupy consistency reminiscent of the real, edible honey that we know. Like the Eye Cream, this one also has a nice, sweet smell. It's very gentle on the skin, and doesn't sting at all. That's a plus for me since I have very sensitive skin.

Royal Honey Emulsion in the 150 mL bottle costs $25.50 at Gmarket.

As for the Royal Honey Emulsion, it has the same active ingredients as the Royal Honey Toner. They smell pretty much the same, too. After all, they come from the same Royal Honey line. It looks yellowish from the bottle, but when you squeeze it out, it's actually white. 

Notice how its consistency is light and runny? That's the difference between emulsions and creams. 

The former has a lighter consistency, recommended for day wear, and most suitable for those with oily skin. The latter, on the other hand, is thick and rich, and best for dry skin. Both are meant to hydrate and moisturize the skin, and you can go for either, or even both. (Just take into consideration the weather. It can be icky to wear one on top of the other in this hot and humid Philippine weather.)

Although my use of these two products are pretty short-term (three or four days, I reckon, then I went back to my usual Human Heart Nature regimen), I can still say that this is hydration at its finest, without my skin breaking out or getting allergies.

Would I go full-size in the future? Maybe.
But I won't be buying here in the Philippines, since it's a known fact that SkinFood products are astronomically priced here. Good thing I can always count on my husband to do the shopping in Myeongdong. :)

At a Glance | Skin Food Royal Honey Eye Cream.

It's been three months since I got this loot of Korean cosmetics, and would you believe that I still haven't used most of them?! Save for the Tony Moly Daily Sun Cream, the Missha Under Eye Brightener, and the Skin Food Royal Honey Eye Cream, everything else is still unopened, sealed, and intact.

From Seoul with love. :)

The Skin Food Royal Honey Eye Cream, was the very first product that I opened from this bunch.
I specifically asked for this from my husband because I'm still (and I guess I always will be) obsessing over puffiness, crow's feet, and dark undereyes.

Really cute tube, IMHO.

Royal Honey, as described in the Skin Food website, is a natural, raw black honey enriched with a myriad of nutrients that are good for the skin. It can usually be found in South Asian forests, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Gift set contains Royal Honey Toner and Royal Honey Emulsion.

This eye cream also contains royal jelly extracts which soothes and transforms dry skin, leaving it with a nice, moisturized glow.

It's cream, all right!

Unlike the Platinum Grape Cell Eye Cream, which is rather greasy and a bit runny, this one is what a cream should be. Its consistency is thick, but spreads quite easily on the skin. Just a little goes a long way, so I reckon this Royal Honey will last me for two or three months. Maybe even beyond that!

And since it comes in a tube, it's very hygienic to use, unlike the full-sized Grape Cell Eye Cream and the Black Rasperry Eye Cream which come in jars. I love how good it smells (it's made of honey, after all), plus the fact that there's English text written at the back of the tube.

Dangsin-eun Hangul ilgeulso? (Can you read Korean?)

I've been using this product for more than a month now, and I'm liking it so far. Although I can't quite gauge its anti-wrinkle effect on me, I did notice that my undereyes have become less puffy and aren't as dark as it used to be.

Locally this eye cream sells for around Php1000, and can be bought at Skin Food outlets nationwide. (And practically at every corner in Myeongdong, lol!)

Will I repurchase? Well, I wouldn't mind if the husband buys me another tube.
But I'm thinking of switching to Missha's Golden Snowflake and/or (lol) Super Aqua Eye Cream, just because. :)

From Korea with Love.

Cousin-in-law and his Korean wife were in town for a short vacation - so short that they're actually flying back to Seoul this afternoon. They came bearing gifts from none other than my dear husband.

From Daddy with love! :)

Pororo is for Yue, of course. Everything else is mine.

Ya, Pororo da! (Korean for 'Hey, it's Pororo!'

The blue box is actually a surprise for me. It's also the most precious item in this loot.

Nan choegoui nampyeon-eul gajigo. (Korean for 'I have the best husband in the world.'

I'll post about this in separate entry. In the meantime, you can take a stab at guessing what's inside. :)

Sharing with This or That Thursday, Mommy Moments, and lots and lots of Wordless Wednesdays. 

Join | Go Halainn BB Cream Giveaway!

Go Halainn is doing her first ever blog giveaway! And I'm totally psyched with this particular giveaway. Why so?

Because up for grabs is a Skinfood Best BB Collection Gift Set! And you know I'm a sucker for BB creams, Korean cosmetics, and anything from Skinfood.

So if you're in the same boat as I am, mouse over to Go Halainn's blog and join her giveaway, too! Event runs until April 2 only! :)

At a Glance | Skin Food Platinum Grape Cell Eye Cream.

After days and days of battling with stress, wallowing in misery, and crying until the tears run dry, I was not surprised with what this whole ordeal has done to my eyes. Not only are they puffy, they've become ghastly sunken as well. Not to mention the dark circles made even darker, and the fine lines looking more prominent than before. Aigoo! Peering closely at the mirror, I feel like I've aged a decade over the past few days.

Skin Food, help!

Which is why I thought of giving Skin Food's Platinum Grape Cell Eye Cream a try. Both platinum and grape cell are known for their antioxidant properties, with the latter also popular for its anti-ageing and skin-firming functions.

The cream, up close.

I've been using this since Monday, in lieu of Human Nature's Sunflower Oil. The cream may look runny and greasy in this photo, but it's actually creamy and non-sticky. It feels light, and is easily absorbed by the skin. Moreover, it has a very light, mildly sweet, almost unnoticeable scent.

Of course I can't determine its effectiveness yet. After all, only four days have passed since I first used it. Perhaps with continued use, I'll be able to see the results in two weeks' time. Good thing this small tester sachet can go a long way - four to five days at least. Its full size pot (30 grams) is a bit too pricey at Php 2,000, so for now, these tester sachets will do. And I do hope this Skin Food eye cream can really do wonders for my not-so-wonderful undereyes.

Sharing with 366. :)

Today's Look | Crazy Over Carmen.

After professing my new-found love for Carmen Rose, it is only proper for me to do an FOTD entry for it. Hence, this post.

Because this lipstick is a bold shade of red (maybe a bit too bold for some), I had to tone it down with my eyeshadow. That's the rule of thumb - dark / bold lipstick go with light eyeshadows, and vice versa.

Pale pink and light green eyes + fiery red lips.

I jazzed up my eyes a bit by doing that little upward 'swoosh' towards the end of my lash line. You might not notice it, but I'm using a different shade of liquid eyeliner here. It's Avon's Extralasting Liquid Eyeliner in Shimmering Dune (aka brown). I'll do a swatchfest-slash-product review next time.

Pretty subtle colors, save for the lipstick that screams attention. :)

What I used:


Skin Food Good Afternoon BB Cream in Rose Lemon Tea
Avon Ideal Shade Concealer Stick in Almond
Ever Bilena Advance Perfect Eye Concealer in Light
Avon Ideal Luminous Dual Powder Foundation in Shell
Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quad in Candy Sweets
Ever Bilena Eyebrow Liner in Brown
Avon Extralasting Liquid Eyeliner in Shimmering Dune
Kohl Royal Selections Eyeliner in Arctic Frost
Avon Super Curlacious Waterproof Mascara in Black
Tony Moly Cheek Tint #1 Cherry Pink
Jordana Double Length Lip Liner in Rose
Avon Ultra Moisture Rich Rose Lipstick in Carmen Rose

I love the effect I'm getting from Skin Food's Good Afternoon BB Cream whenever I go for the 'barely there' makeup look. I'm now set to buy a full-sized tube of it as soon as it becomes available again with my favorite eBay seller. :)

Sharing with 366 and Blue Monday!

Project BB Cream | Skin Food Good Afternoon Rose Lemon Tea

When I went cosmetics crazy a few weeks ago, I was actually taking a shot in the dark with some of my purchased items - particularly the Skin Food ones. Save for the fact that its endorser is Lee Min Jung, and its one of Des' favorite brands, I practically have zero experience / knowledge when it comes to Skin Food. It's a good thing bhappywithme sells testers. I can try as many items as I want without worrying too much about the price and the effectiveness of the product.

Rice Mask + Rose Lemon BB cream.

First up, the Rice Mask Wash off, described as such in the Skin Food website:

A wash-off mask containing rice extract that moisturizes skin and brightens tone. With its texture of ground rice, it leaves skin bright, soft and lustrous.

I had to check online because the text at the back of the pack is written in Hangul. My reading comprehension in Hangul is limited to words such as Lee Jun Ki and Super Junior, lol.

A tiny glob of the Rice Mask.

Anyway, back to the Rice Mask. As pictured, it's white and creamy and embedded in it are exfoliating bits of grain. It has a paste-like consistency comparable to glutinous rice - this is a rice mask after all. It has a mild scent to it, which reminded me of Johnson's Baby Soap.

Since the consistency isn't as thick as mud packs, you can spread it heavily or lightly on your face. I chose the latter because I don't want to consume the whole packet in one sitting. I've used this twice this week, and my face did feel softer after. There's also a noticeable brightness to my skin, though the product is really meant to whiten. Perhaps if used long term, it might.  Also, I didn't experience dryness or any allergies after each use. 

I'm happy with the results, but not too thrilled to buy a full-sized one. A 100g tub of this Rice Mask retails around Php 455. It's pricey by my standards since this worked more like a facial scrub rather than a facial mask to me.

I feel otherwise for the BB cream, which I used in this look. The Rose Lemon is just one of the five variants in the Good Afternoon Tea BB cream line. The entire range is listed below.

Rose Lemon Tea BB - Hydrating & Fitting

Honey Black Tea BB - Moisturizing & Glowing

Peach Green Tea BB - Oil-Controlling & Mattifying

Apple Cinnamon Tea - Whitening

Berry Berry Tea BB - Anti-Wrinkle

The Rose Lemon was the only one available when I went eBay shopping, which is why I ended up with it. Little did I know that this was one of those water drop BB creams - the type that releases water drops once it comes contact with your skin.

Squeezed a small amount out of the packet.

My first reaction when I opened the packet was, "Weh?! Ano, to? Bakit parang powder?" ("Huh? What is this? It feels like powder?) Now watch what happens when you spread it out.

Start spreading the news. Err, BB cream.

It doesn't look like crushed chalk anymore! I may have spread it out a bit too much in this photo; there's only one tiny 'droplet' left in the middle of the BB cream-covered area.

A little more spreading does the trick. 'scuse me for my parched skin.

There are two color options for this BB cream, by the way. I got mine in 01 Light Beige. The other is 02 Natural Beige.

One remarkable trait of this product is its scent of lemon and rose extracts - aromatic, and very pleasant. Thumbs up to this BB cream for invigorating my senses. 

Coverage is light, (compared to Missha's medium to heavy) but a tad too light for me. Even skin tone, achieved. Skin imperfections, still noticeable. I'd recommend this to those who don't have much too hide on their faces (read: my abominable dark undereyes), as this BB cream does improve skin texture and gives the face a natural glow.

Because of its hydrating feature, the Rose Lemon BB cream didn't sink, crack, flake, or break out on my face. This one has relatively low SPF. If Missha's was low with SPF 25+, this one is even lower with just SPF 20+. It's not something you can use if you're spending an entire day under the sun.

Photo credit: Theskinfood.com

The Good Afternoon BB creams come in 30g tubes only, and retails around Php 400-450. For an imported brand, it's really affordable - as compared with Avon's 18g  SPF 20+ BB creams which cost Php 399 already. Had the Rose Lemon BB cream gave me better coverage, I could have bought a full-sized tube in no time. 

I'll try to get hold of the other Good Afternoon variants; perhaps the other tea 'flavors' might work for me. Also, I have yet to try my Skin 79 Hot Pink Super Plus Triple Function Beblesh Balm - the BB cream with the longest name known to man. And no, that's not a typo. It's really Beblesh.

Repeat after me, "Beblesh!" One more time, "Beblesh!" Again, "Beblesh!" 

Ahhh, chincha! Naega micyeosseo! (That's Korean for 'Really, I'm going crazy!')

Today's Look | Pseudo Smoky.

I've mentioned before that I have several smoky eye palettes, two of which I have blogged about previously. Now here's another palette, the Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quad in Smokey Eyes.

Clockwise from L-R: White Pearl, Privately Pink, Steel, Moonlight.

This was actually my very first smoky eye palette. If you've never worn smokys before but would love to try, this is a good palette to begin with. The colors are light (too light, actually), and because it comes with a double-ended applicator, you may do without those special eye brushes. There's also an illustration at the back of the box which serves as guide in blending these four colors.

Now here's the thing. After I've tried Almay's version of Smoky Eyes, I realized how blah this Avon version is. It pales in comparison to Almay's - literally. Compare the swatches below:

Avon's Moonlight and Steel on the left, Almay's Dark Grey and Light Grey on the right.

See the difference in the pigmentation? Avon's is light, matte, and flat compared to Almay's darker, dewy, and iridescent finish. I had to dab the Avon eyeshadows several times just to make the color stand out on my skin. I needed only two or three strokes with Almay.

Smoked, again!

And that is why I titled this entry 'Pseudo Smoky'. Smoky because of the colors, but the look and the effect on your face, well, not much.

Pseudo-smoky.

Not as smouldering as my previous smoky eye look. Good enough for daytime wear, though.

And now for the rundown:

Skin Food Good Afternoon BB Cream in Rose Lemon Tea

Avon Ideal Shade Concealer Stick in Almond

Ever Bilena Advance Perfect Eye Concealer in Light

Avon Ideal Luminous Dual Powder Foundation in Shell

Avon True Color Eyeshadow Quad in Smokey Eyes

Ever Bilena Eyebrow Liner in Brown

Avon Extralasting Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Kohl Royal Selections Eyeliner in Charcoal Gray

Avon Super Curlacious Waterproof Mascara in Black

Human Nature Love Minerals Blush in Pink Quartz

Avon Ultra Moisture Rich Lipstick in Barely There

Notice the new BB cream I used? I'll devote a separate post for that, and the Skin Food Rice Mask which I tried over the weekend. Honestly, I have tons of beauty blogging and mommy blogging to do. Hopefully I can post all of them before the week is over. Migraine, stay away from me!

Sharing this on the 366.

Project BB Cream, Beauty Haul, and No Makeup Look.

My fascination for anything Korean has gone beyond watching dramas and listening to Super Junior. It has now invaded even my vanity kit and train case.

The shopping bug bit me last week, and I went on a frenzy at eBay. These arrived on my doorstep the other day.

Skin Food!

If you can recall from my previous posts, I have developed an addiction to face masks and mud packs. And my makeup ritual is in need of a primer.

Masks and primers.

I've also been obsessing about my eyebags and dark undereyes, which look horrendous - thanks to my incurable insomnia and those addicting Kdramas.

Etude is Love!

I'm hooked to BB creams, too. I call them my wonder worker, because of the miracles they do for my skin and my abominable eyebags. I challenged myself to test as many BB creams as I can, until I find the one that would suit me best. And for the sake of beauty blogging, too. Really now, which makeup junkie won't go gaga over this breakthrough product?

An assortment of BB creams! I smile just looking at them.

And I finally got my hands on this.

By golly, Tony Moly!

I've been wanting to try this product for the longest time, mostly because of Kim Hyun Joong. Haha! He used to be a Tony Moly endorser; now he's the pretty boy of The Face Shop.

Excited to play with my new toys, I tried out some of them yesterday.

Fresh from the shower, absolutely no makeup.

See what I told you about the eyebags? Blame Lee Jun Ki, whose name appears on every other entry in my blog, haha. I chose the Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream first.

Photo credit: Missha.net

I actually bought two variants of this, the shade #21 and shade #23. I went for shade #21 in this photo.

BB cream on my face. Just BB cream. :)

I'm amazed at how a tiny drop of the Missha M could go a long away. I squeezed out just a few teeny drops from the sampler and voila - medium to full coverage! It has a nice, mild scent to it, too. (I'd be deterred to use it if it smelled funky.) I also love its dewy finish, and how it gave my skin a nice glow. It gets even better once it has set on your face. After a few hours of wearing, it didn't cake, nor did it break out. 

FYI, I have sensitive skin. My face is not usually dry and flaky though, unlike most people with sensitive skin. Mine is supple, but looks very flimsy - like an onion. (Trivia: I skipped regular CAT in high school and went on light duty instead because of my skin. My fellow LD cadets would call me 'Powder' - as in the movie character - because of that.) And that is why I love this BB cream all the more - it's hypoallergenic! Pure organic ingredients, paraben-free, non-chemical, mineral oil-free, GMO-free, triclosan-free, benzophenone free and alcohol-free - whoa, beat that!

Now using it with the Tony Tint and the Avon Lip Gloss that I purchased just recently, I got this effect.

Hardly any makeup look!

I'm so pleased with the Tony Tint! I got the #1 Cherry Pink, which is just the right shade of pink for me. With the right blending, a tiny dab of the doe foot applicator can give your cheek a really nice blush. This has got to be the best liquid blush I have ever used.

As for the lip gloss, well, you know I'm not a fan of lip gloss per se. The Avon lip gloss barely gave color when I spread it on my lips, considering how pink its container looked. But it works fine when you're aiming for the no makeup effect. 

Swatches from L-R: Missha M Signature Complete BB Cream # 21, Tony Moly Tint #1 Cherry Pink, Avon Lip Gloss in Tangerine Sparkles.

Would I consider getting the Missha M in its regular size? I might, since it worked great on my skin. And I don't mind if its just SPF 25, since I don't go out in the sun too often.

What would deter me from buying it? The price, perhaps. A 45g tube costs a whopping Php 1,400! That's almost double the price of my favorite Etude House Precious Minerals BB cream, and almost four times the price of my Avon Healthy Minerals BB cream. And if you're wary of the SPF properties, there are other cheaper brands that have higher SPF. (Laneige has SPF 40, while Skin79 has SPF 50 BB creams.)

I still have a few more BB Creams to try, so I'll make the final verdict once I've experienced them all. Of course, I'll be chronicling them all here. And in case you're wondering, I bought all of these from bhappywithme. :)

Sharing with BPC and Yellow Monday. :)