Review: Za Total Hydration BB Cream UV

I felt I was running low on foundation, and I couldn't find my favorite Maybelline foundation (Clear Smooth Aqua Gel in Natural), and those at the Maybelline shelf seemed a little dodgy, and I also thought 'hey, why not try something else'.


The salesgirls at all but the Za shelf ignored me, so I only gave her business, and the other shelf didn't really have foundations that appealed to me, some didn't have foundations at all.

Turns out it's a light coverage product anyway, but it's fairly buildable.

Anyway, I requested a medium coverage foundation (good for both day and night, and my skin is not that bad anyway). Another foundation from Za was a light coverage foundation, so she recommended me the Total Hydration BB Cream UV.


I purchased this BB Cream from Watsons, Mid Valley for RM22.90 for 20g of product (I think). I'm so sorry, I'm a bum at remembering prices, but this was the approximate price of the product. From what I can remember, it's slightly cheaper than the Maybelline Clear Smooth Aqua Gel foundation line.

Squeeze tube makes it easier to dispense and control the amount used, as well as keeping things hygienic.

Za says:

12 in 1! BB healthy glowing look! Special skin care formula moisturizes skin. Works as foundation to conceal skin problems, achieving a healthy skin tone. SPF43 PA+++ protects skin from harsh UV rays.

This product has two types of effects:

Foundation effects - 6 foundation elementsWork as base makeup, concealing pores and dark spots, correcting uneven color, lightening skin color, and creating healthy skin tone.

Moisturizing effects - 4 skin care ingredients

• Sebum Holding Powder: Relieves stickiness

• Vitamin B derivative: Keeps skin fresh

• Amino Mineral Complex: Moisturizes to minimize pores

• Prism Enhancer: Makes skin luminous clarity 

The product contains:

Water, dimethicone, titanium dioxide, ethyhexyl methoxycinnamate, glycerin, butylene glycol, pentaerythrityl tetraethylhexanoate, PEG-9 polydemethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone, alcohol, polymethyl methacrylate, disteardimonium hectorite, hydrogenated polydecene, aluminium hydroxide, sorbitol, silica, phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, PEG-6, PEG-32, trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG/PPG-14/7 dimethyl ether, hydroxypropyl cyclodextrin, sodium glutamate, betaine, panthenyl ethyl ether, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, glycine, stearic acid, isostearic acid, aminomethyl propanol, disodium EDTA, aluminium distearate, alumina, PEG-150, triethoxycaprylylsilane, polysilicone-2, BHT, limonene, linalool, citronellol, hydrogen dimethicone, tocopherol, tin oxide, phenoxyethanol, fragrance, iron oxides, mica

This would be a foundation I would not suggest for flash photography. It is known that the silica particles in any foundation will reflect light and will leave a white cast and show patches of uneven skin tone when taken with flash photography.

Creamy, emollient texture~

Pros:

• economical enough
• comes with squeeze tube packaging
• high SPF and PA+++ protects from both UVA and UVB rays
• acts as a double moisturizer
• great multifunction product (much like the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector)
• covers dark circles well
• lasts quite long (even with sweat)
• blends well with fingers (convenient)
• small blob enough to cover large area
• skin stays super matte if set with suitable amount of powder (I used Pigeon Baby Compact Powder in Beige)

Cons:

• comes in one shade only
• no use for flash photography
• leaves a slightly sticky finish
• bottle feels kinda empty

After about a week of using it quite regularly, I can safely conclude that this would be my go-to product if I needed just spot-coverage, which is quite impossible with my actual foundations, one which is a tad too light, and the other one too orange (which I sometimes use to conceal under eye circles, but doesn't do a good job anyway).


I've tested it on a few environments - normal (slight sweat), gym, and completely freezing air conditioning. In the first two environments, the product stays quite well without caking or whatnot, and lasts too: after gym I lightly wet a piece of tissue and went over the parts where I applied the BB cream, and there was residue.

Before and after. Left is my bare under eye, which there is fairly heavy dark circles. I have eyebags as it is, but the BB cream helps conceal most of the dark circles, which is an absolute plus!

In cold environments, however, I noticed that it tended to dry up a lot and create a slightly caked surface, but it keeps the surface of the skin smooth and relatively matte (after powdering lightly) for a long period of time. My mum questioned my recent skin regime when she saw me with BB cream on (the wonders of make-up~).


And it is quite lightweight - it won't give you the constant feeling of having heavy make-up on. Some more nice news - it doesn't clog the pores! Instead, I noticed that my pores have shrunk a little, and have less pimples already. Perhaps it's my recent habits, but unlike my usual make-up, my blackheads didn't get any bigger, even after an entire day out at university.