This is my much anticipated (by me anyway!) review of one of my favorite new products,
Belleme Multiplay Blemish Balm from
Abbamart.comIn case you didn't know, Abbamart is an online store specializing in beauty products of all kinds; they have jewelry, beauty tools, makeup brushes, and their own line of makeup called Belleme Cosmetics.
I've recently been investigating BB Creams and thought they sounded like a product I should try out. I've always been a tinted moisturizer girl; one of my favorite combinations was a TM with a powder foundation over top. I liked this combo because it was easy and evened out my skin without looking or feeling heavy from a ton of makeup. However this BB Cream is far superior to any tinted moisturizer I've ever tried; in fact, this product has dramtically improved my life, which sounds hokey but if you read my summary at the end of this post, you'll find out why.
The product:
Belleme BB Cream comes in two shades, Ivory and Nude Beige, which are standard shade names for BB Creams. Since my skin is pretty fair and I'm usually always the first or second lightest shade in most foundations, I chose the shade Ivory:
Product Description
* Belleme blemish balm encompasses the qualities of primer, light coverage foundation, concealer and skin protection all in one must-have creamYes, I have found I can use this as all of the above products in one application with good results.
* Long-lasting, natural looking coverage brightens and perfects your complexionIt does last longer than the tinted moisturizers I've tried, even on my oily skin. I don't know if I'd call it brightening, though my complexion certainly isn't dulled by this product.
* Soft, smooth texture makes application exceptionally easy to controlSure, since it's thick it's pretty easy to apply the amount you need on the various areas of your face.
* Light feel on your skinIt does feel light, not at all heavy or uncomfortable.
* Helps improve the appearance of fine lines and blemishesI guess they mean long-term but I'm not sure if it actually improves the condition of my skin or not.
* Slender tube packaging ensures you can get every last drop out with no wasteYes, the packaging is great!
* So natural-looking, even men can use it!I haven't thought about men using it but I don't see why they couldn't, especially since it doesn't have a girly smell ;)
50 g / 1.7 FL OZAfter checking the ingredients nothing alarming jumped out at me which is always a plus. I don't pretend to know what every single ingredient is or what it does, but I'm trying to at least avoid things like parabens etc. This product is made in Korea which was important to me as well since I wanted to try a true, authentic BB Cream. (If you're not familiar with what BB Creams are or how they came to be so popular, check out
Phyrra's awesomely informative post!)
Swatches; ignore the pink for now, that will be a later post ;)
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With flash.
Bottom row: Belleme BB Cream unblended (left), lightly blended (middle), heavily blended (right). |
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| With flash. |
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| Natural light. |
Pros:
-$12 from Abbamart's website, same price or slightly cheaper than most basic American or Asian BB Creams.
-No fragrance, great for those sensitive to fragrances.
-No parabens that I could see.
-Made in Korea but ships from US, so it's authentic but won't take weeks to ship if you're in the US. They also have a
Korean website.
-Two shades to choose from, some BB's only offer one shade choice.
-Coverage is light to medium and buildable.
-Multitasking product can function as base, foundation, concealer, sunscreen.
-Large tube should last one person for months, even if used every day.
-Nice packaging, doesn't look or feel cheap. Convenient for travel and easy to use.
-Dries matte and doesn't make my oily skin super oily.
-Has SPF 36. (This is actually a con for me as I don't like sunscreen in my products or find them necessary to use every day, however I know I'm in the minority on this so the SPF will be a Pro for most people.)
-Makes my skin feel very soft and smooth, doesn't feel like I'm wearing makeup.
-Does not transfer! I can blow my nose with a tissue and not get a single smudge of makeup on it.
-Does not oxidize! Remains the same color/shade even after 12+ hours of wear.
Cons:
-Coverage; might not be enough if you have serious skin issues.
-Texture; might be a little thick for some people to spread easily.
-Skintype; may accentuate very dry or flaky skin.
-Ingredients not listed on the site.
My thoughts:
I've been burned so many times by disappointing foundations/concealers/skin makeup in general, so I wasn't harboring high expectations for this BB Cream, however I thought it was a good place to start for a BB newbie. My youngest sister also wanted to test it since she too has been looking into trying BB Cream.
It arrived very quickly since it was shipped in the US, so right away we got to testing it.
That was back in the beginning of November, and we've been using it very regularly since. The shade Ivory suits both our complexions since we're both fairly light, although Abby has a bit of olive in her skin that I lack. Still, we can both use this cream without issue. As you can see it is quite yellow-toned which is perfect for neutralizing all the redness in my face. It's also a nice thick, almost mousse-like consistency, not runny and thin like many other BB Creams and tinted moisturizers on the market.
How I wear it:
While testing this product over time I've tried wearing it alone, over a primer, with powder foundation over top, etc. Lately I've been wearing it without primer, just directly on my skin with my mark. Powder Buff pressed powder foundation applied over top with a powder puff and a little Boots no.7 undereye concealer. (This is my preferred method but if I needed to I would be comfortable wearing only this BB Cream without anything extra.)
Weartime:
My skin generally gets very oily over time, but while wearing this combination I went from about 9am to 10pm yesterday with no blotting or touch-ups of any kind, and was only mildly oily at the end of the day. My sister said my skin looked good last night, even though I wasn't wearing any other makeup besides the BB Cream/Powder Buff/Boots concealer under my eyes. Yay!
What I like:
Some things I love about it are that it doesn't smell. It doesn't transfer; my sister is a dancer and sweats a lot, but has no problems with this makeup sweating off. I have allergies and can blow my nose in a tissue and not see a single smudge of makeup. It also does not oxidize, darken, or turn orange; when I take it off at the end of the day, it's still the same color it was when I put it on that morning.
Application tips:
-First make sure your skin is clean, exfoliated, and moisturized.
-Squeeze a tiny pea-sized amount on your finger and transfer between your fingertips. I use my index and middle fingertips :)
-Choose one area, like nose, chin, forehead etc, and dot the product on with your fingertips.
-Immediately begin to smooth out the product to cover the chosen area. Don't wait to blend or dot product on the rest of your face first because the cream is thick and sets quickly, becoming harder to blend.
-Blend and/or pat lightly, don't rub it in like sunscreen, lol.
-Once you have one area covered, move on to the next. This will ensure that each area gets the custom coverage it requires depending on your skin's needs.
-I usually do left cheek, right cheek, nose and upper lip, chin, then forehead. I need different amounts of cream for each area since each area has different problems.
-If it seems too pale the first time, try using less product and targeting areas of your face instead of rubbing it all over. Also, if at first it seems not to match your skintone, wait a while and check again; you might find it has adjusted and the spf has faded, making it look more natural on your skin. (All of this happened to us when we first tried the BB Cream.)
Summary:
Overall I highly recommend this product. I think it's perfect for someone just starting to dabble in BB Creams; it's a real Asian BB Cream from Korea, but ships from the US, so it's more easily attainable than ordering an Asian BB Cream on ebay and possibly waiting weeks for it to arrive. It's inexpensive, doesn't have a lot of offensive ingredients (even Missha and other BB's I looked at had parabens!), no headachey fragrances (apparently common in other BB's), and you get a lot of product for the price.
Honestly, this product got me back into makeup. I've been having skin issues this year and was feeling too self-concious to take pictures of myself, even for my blog. This cream brought casual makeup back into my life; I no longer avoid doing makeup every day because it'll take an hour to correct my skin first and even longer to wash off afterward.
It's a great basic product for daily use and can perform multiple functions in one application. I haven't used anything else since I got it. My sister Abby also loves it and uses it every time she does her makeup. Not only that but we've gotten our other sister Becky using it now. I think we need to buy another tube or two... ;)
If you're interested in checking out this product and more, you can use this affiliate link for 10% off your first order. They also often run sales so be sure to check for other discount codes :)
I know this was long but I hope it was helpful; please let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for reading!
*Product provided for consideration, link is an affiliate link. All opinions are my own.
