Juju Aquamoist Whitening, Forme Acne Care Concealer, and Hurry Harry Collagen Serum Bar Review

As you may know, Beautydirect has been recently bringing in some cult Japanese brand products into Singapore, including some very niche, can't-find-anywhere-else type products. If you visit their website, they carry a lot of brands, but here are some of my personal picks from the range they carry!

My four product picks from Beautydirect's stable: Juju Aquamoist Whitening C Cream H, Juju Aquamoist Whitening C Essence H, Forme Acne Care Concealer for Strawberry Nose, and Hurry Harry Collagen Serum Bar.

I wanted to sample a range of products they carried, so for this review, I picked two products from the Juju Aquamoist Whitening C range, which as the name suggests, is a range meant to help with skin whitening (always a popular concern in Asia). The two products are the Juju Aquamoist Whitening C Cream H and the Juju Aquamoist Whitening C Essence H. I also picked a Forme Acne Care Concealer for Strawberry Nose - which means that it's a concealer for noses with huge, enlarged pores and uneven surface, like a strawberry. And lastly, I picked Hurry Harry Collagen Serum Bar, which is actually an eye product. I thought this was a good distribution between brands, as well as between "spot" products (e.g. for nose or eye only) and entire-face products.

And as you might expect, my review process is a little more involved, because I go through the ingredients lists of the product in question, as well as evaluate the product based on my own experience with it. Since there are not one, or two, but four products here, you can imagine the post will be quite long. So if you're all ready, let's get started!

FOTD/Review: CUSkin BB Cream and Pure Whitening Cream

CUSkin is a brand hailing from Korea, and two of its most heavily advertised items are the requisite staples of Korean skincare - a BB Cream, and a whitening cream. The Whitening and Wrinkle Repair BB Cream, as well as the Pure Whitening Cream have both been getting a lot of press in the past couple of months, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce my thoughts on these products to you.

Now, before I start on this review, I'd like to state upfront that I was only provided with sample sachets of the product, so my review will be limited in a couple of ways. I won't be able to tell you how these products work in the long run (e.g. I can't tell you whether it will break you out after 6 weeks), but I can do some swatches, as well as an FOTD. I'd also be able to give an overview of the texture, colour, and other cosmetic properties of the products. So now that all the disclaimers are out of the way, let's get on to the review, shall we?



Anyway, let's start first with the Pure Whitening Cream. It's a cream, but it doesn't quite feel like one, having a very light texture that's a cross between a gel and a cream. It's white in the packaging, but it quickly spreads out and becomes clear upon application. It's also easily absorbed, so it's easy to wear in a hot or humid climate, or during summer. You won't get a sticky-face feeling with this one.



The Whitening and Wrinkle Repair BB Cream has some of the most grandiose of claims - whitening and wrinkle repair, both of them. While I can't exactly tell you whether it really fulfills its skincare claims, because I haven't tried it out for long enough, I am quite happy to say that as a BB cream, it's actually pretty good.



Like most BB creams, this one has a very, well, creamy texture, that is actually quite similar to the primers found in Western brands. I half suspect this is due to the fact that BB Creams typically tend to be laden with silicones, in a manner that's similar to Western-brand primers. So if you've tried other BB creams and have liked them, and if you like the feel of silicon-bearing products, then this will be a good one for you to try.

Also, like most BB creams, the colour is actually on the pink side. I'm NC20, and I actually found it a bit too pink for me. Still, because it blends out well, as you can see from the photo above, the pink-ness isn't as bad as some other BB creams. I think even if the shade doesn't match perfectly, it's possible to pull it off, as long as there is plenty of blending. I've tried BB creams where the pink is so obvious that the colour looks all weird and pink and ashy when applied, but this one fortunately blends in much better, although it's not exactly a match.

And since I know we all love before-and-after photos, here's a before-and-after FOTD I've done just for you guys!

Here's a picture of my bare skin, with nothing but the Pure Whitening Cream. OMG I HAVE NO MAKEUP ON ! THE HORROR! :P



And here's a photo of me with just the BB cream on. As you can see, it provides pretty decent coverage for a BB cream, although it's still quite sheer. It covers up some smaller areas of blemishes, although for larger skin issues, such as acne spots or scars, it would be best paired with another conceaer underneath, or a powder on top to provide extra coverage.



And although I thought it would be too pink for my skin, it actually blended in pretty well. If you squint and look closely, you'd be able to see that my face is perhaps a hair pinker than my neck, but I don't think most people would notice the colour difference, unless they were searching for it.

Lastly, as the photos show, the CUSkin BB cream has a very luminous finish - and I mean, very luminous. You can positively see the light bouncing off my face in the photo, LOL!

And here's the finished FOTD. I decided to go for a clear skin, red lips kind of look. Can you see the light reflecting off my face?



Here's the breakdown of the look for anyone interested:
Face:
CUSkin Whitening and Wrinkle Repair BB Cream
Stila Peony Convertible Color

Eyes:
NARS Abyssinia
Urban Decay Underground 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil
Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara

Lips:
GOSH Velvet Touch Lipstick Hot n' Sweet 139

So, do you need this? Well, if you're into whitening products, and have been looking for a lightweight BB cream and whitening cream, this one is worth a go. It's best suited for girls who have a slightly pinker tinge to their skin, who like reflective foundations, and do not require much coverage. If you're NW20 or so, this is going to be your perfect shade. However, if you are sensitive to silicones, and are very warm-toned or have a very yellow cast to your skin, then this might not be the best product for you. But as far as Asian skincare products go, this is definitely more than adequate, and worth looking at.

(Product samples provided for review. I'm not affiliated with the company, or compensated for my review in anyway. Thus, this review is my honest and complete opinion on the product.)