Makeup Review: Somehow I Actually Like CC Cream

So I didn’t do a lot of sightseeing or anything actually interesting over winter break. Most of my time was spent going to the doctor, dentist, and orthodontist. 

(Luckily, the only major health problem they found was a vitamin D deficiency. Other than that, I have the option of doing some surgery in the future to correct my jaw/profile. Same me, better face?)

Other than that I spent my time shopping and generally going, “Hmmm no one’s going to be pissed if I just goof off, so tell me again why I should do anything productive?”

I found some nice clothes at Macy’s, but I also spent some time looking at the makeup selections in America (Ulta is a great store for makeup) and ended up finding something really good, totally by accident.

The product I’m excited about right now is JuiceBeaty’s Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream. I wasn’t looking for CC cream at the time; I was browsing the moisturizers. I’ve never even used CC cream or BB cream before.

I only found out about CC and BB cream this year when I started researching moisturizers and serums. And my reaction was pretty much “Meh…” Essentially, these creams are supposed to do some moisturizing and also double as foundation and sunscreen (among other things). Which sounded good to me at first, but I just kept wondering, “Does one cream really do any of those things as well as the products especially designed for them? Is skipping a few steps really worth using a less effective version of sunscreen and moisturizer?”

Also, unlike foundations CC and BB creams usually come in too colors: Awful Doesn’t Match At All and Even Awfuller. Yeah. I already can’t find a foundation that matches when I’ve got 30 tints in each brand to choose from. The chances a One Shade Fits Most actually working seemed pretty nil.

There are CC creams that are sheer, but that’s just not worth the effort to me. Why slap on something that kinda moisturizes and kinda hides flaws but doesn’t actually give you a base, but might make your base look better? No thanks. I already have enough layers of gunk to put on my skin.

However…

As I was browsing through the various moisturizing products I noticed this sort of organic-y looking brand called JuiceBeauty, which I hadn’t seen before. They use a lot plant and citrus ingredients. I wasn’t too impressed with their ingredients for the moisturizers, since I was looking for stuff with hyalonic acid, collagen, and royal jelly. (Which I didn’t find. Boo.) But their CC cream interested me.

This is the bottle. I took the cap off so you could see what the dispenser looks like. Pretty easy to use. I apply it with my fingers because I'm lazy.

First off, anything with “repair” in the label seemed promising to me. Also, the lighter of their two tints (it’s always two) seemed like it might match my skin. So I tried the sample on the inside of my wrist. And lo and behold—it blended in and disappeared!!!! I couldn’t even really find the place where I had tested it. That never happens when I try foundation.

So I decided, “Eh, it’s expensive, but I like this enough to give it a go. Maybe it will be less cakey than a regular liquid foundation.” And now I’m really glad I tried it because it feels so much better than the foundation I was using. Foundation, even powder foundation, always gets in the lines in my face and makes them stand out more—as if the point of makeup isn’t to cover up signs of aging. But when I apply the CC cream—even with some sheer powder over it, my lines don’t stand out any more than when I’m not wearing a base at all. And yet it still improves my skin tone. I didn’t know that was possible.

Maybe someday I’ll find a foundation that gives really good coverage but don’t look like I’ve painted my face and won’t get stuck in my wrinkles. But for now there’s not many occasions where I can’t get by with the natural look, so I’m sticking to using the CC cream as my base, sometimes with powder foundation over it. My method right now is to spend a ton of time on skin care prep and then only do a little bit of actually makeup. Instead of trying to cover up and distract from tired skin, the idea is to improve the skin’s overall condition so there’s less to distract from.

So overall I give JuiceBeauty a thumbs-up because their product worked for me, and maybe I’ll try something else from them in the future. A quick rundown of pros and cons:

Cons

1.     You get what you pay for. $40.00 for 50 ml is pretty steep. It might be better not to use it every day and switch off with something cheaper. Recently I’ve been more willing to spend money on higher quality makeup. Life is too short to spend smearing crappy stuff on your face.

2.     When I first opened the tube my nostrils got a shock. DO NOT buy this if you hate citrus. The smell does wear off, but I always feel like my hands and face smell like lime for several minutes.

3.     Not a foundation. Not a concealer. If you need heavy-duty correction, like to cover acne or discoloration, or scars, this is not for you.  (At least, not by itself. I don’t know how it works with other products on top.) When it’s on, you’ll barely even notice it. Which can be disappointing when you’ve paid that much.

4.     It’s not cakey in general, but it does stick a little bit on my eyelids. Also, it is liquid so it does have a shine if you don't put powder on top.

 

Pros

1.     Really does conceal fine lines.

2.     I don’t know if it’s actually repairing any cells, but it certainly is gentle on my skin.

3.     I don’t look like a pancake! Or a…powdered donut?

4.     Easy to apply with my fingers.

5.     30 SPF isn’t bad.

6.     Actually freakin’ matches my skin. My face is the same color as the rest of me.

7.     Lasts all day. And if it does wear off a bit, you can’t really tell.

8.     Even though it’s not specifically for dry skin, it is moisturizing and seems to work well with the moisturizers I’m using.

9.     Did I mention that it gives me an even skin tone but I don’t look like there’s gunk on my face?

This is me trying to do a selfie like I'm advertizing a product. It took me like five tries.

So this is my try doing a makeup review. Maybe later I’ll write about some other products I use and would recommend.