Otherworldly

In 2011, my Sephora visit didn’t have any definite purchase plans but to accompany my mom with her cosmetic restocking. I figured I could get myself a new nail polish or a new lipstick. Instead, I ended up with a new BB cream, a couple of OPI nail polishes, and some new accessories like a mirror, hairbrush etc.

I opted to purchase the Kameria Baby Face Anti-Acne & Pore Tightening BB cream SPF 20 (related post here because it cost the least among the others on display (at $29 as opposed to the other brands with $35-$50 range) and I was looking to buy one with the purpose of being curious to try it out. I also thought it fit most with my skin type because I grew up with a lot of acne.

As a follower of the Korean entertainment culture, BB creams are mentioned a lot so I used to think it was overrated, to say the least. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. Like I said in my previous post, I thought BB creams were just product hype. Aside from burgeoning curiosity, I finally decided to get one because I don’t moisturize in the morning as my face tends to get really oily if I put ANY sort of cream, so any skincare regime is always done at night before I go to bed.

About a year later I also bought the pink one which is the Water Drop Super Moisture version (meaning when you apply it the texture will create “water drop” and will be absorbed to the skin quickly to keep it moist) but it sort of made my face more oily than usual. So it’s just sitting prettily and I only use it when my face feels dry.

Since then my life has pretty much changed. Sounds exaggerating I know, but this Kameria BB cream has made my life so much easier by minimizing so many skincare routines! I can even safely say it definitely minimized my breakouts and marks on my skin by a lot. It kept my face hydrated but not oily, it covered my facial imperfections and it basically replaced my routine by a mile that I even stopped using my MAC Sheer Pressed for a while because this BB cream sufficed (I’m back to using it regularly now, especially to set).

To quote a review I read on reviewstream:

The texture is a little bit creamy and kinda hard to blend on my face, but after you have blended it, it creates a smooth natural matte finish. I also noticed that it actually covers my blemishes and pores, the finish is not too thin nor too thick, for me it is just right. It also has SPF 20 which a strong plus in a BB cream. The coverage is pretty good and i noticed that my face stays oil free for how many hours. It has an excellent pore tightening effect that i cannot almost see my pores after applying it on my face. After continually using it for 1 week, I noticed a difference on my skin tone. My face feels little less oily and my blemishes started to lessen. Moreover, there are 19 kinds of flowers extract named Rainbow Complex included in this BB cream.

Basically sums up my review about the product that I wish I wrote it. Should I talk about the CC cream? I’ve been using it for a while too.. but I have a few reservations. I guess I’ll find out once I decide to write part 3.

I would say that 2013 is the year where I’m fully getting into cosmetics full time so I decided to try and make a series of blog posts about my journey so far. Aside from having a constant income that now allows me to purchase them and engage in cosmetic trial and error, this is the year I started to really “enhance” the outer me.

I’ve been into makeup for as long as I can remember but being that kid with the worst acne (separate post for my skincare regime I guess), I was told to avoid them as much as possible. No products would fit my face and it seemed like anything I applied would result into breakouts. I guess I used the wrong products so they had very little influence on me. My mom, on the other hand, is a switcher. Anything works well with her face! She’d use high end products and can switch into drugstore products with no problem so I was always confused what kind or what brands to wear.

In 2010 during my paid internship, a cosmetic sales rep stopped by our office to sell leftover MAC goodie bags from a makeup convention that happened in the building that day. I remembered almost going crazy because a) they were not sample sizes 2) I could finally afford the stuff! I sort of forgot all the contents inside the goodie bag but I remember it had eyeshadow (blah, gave it away) and a Select Sheer MAC Pressed Powder in NC20 (that would then become Holy Grail #2).

I used NOTHING before that. I’d buy drugstore brands with my college allowance back then, tried Maybelline, Clean & Clear, etc but I always either felt like I had cement wiped on my face or it would melt like a chocolate ice cream because I have the most bipolar skin type. Combination doesn’t seem to describe it. Generally it’s oily, but there are some areas where it’s just completely dry. Major combination.

I’m on my 3rd MAC Select Sheer Pressed powder in NC20 and can’t ever imagine wearing something else that suits my face better. I like it because the texture is not too thick to apply and it doesn’t leave my face looking like a frying pan with oil after a while. I’ve tried high end brands like my mom’s Chanel, the really well-reviewed Body Shop compacts but even they don’t cut it. Though there was a point where I took a break from using it because I heavily relied on BB Cream, which is Holy Grail #1.

I never believed in BB Cream. I thought it was just a “myth”. Oh how little I knew. I guess I’m gonna have to dedicate the next blog post about it.