Review: Hada Labo Air BB Cream

By Beautifulbuns

I can’t remember how life used to be without BB creams – well, okay I do. I used to pile on the 2-way cake (and I remember my go-to brand was i Nuovi omg #majoroldschool) on both the face and the under eye area, apply a generous heaping of pink horizontally across the left cheek, nose and right cheek and head out. Unglamourous days indeed. Hah.

Back then, I guess my younger (and fresher) skin was better at adapting to the climate, be it indoors or out, so the oily combi skin wasn’t much of an issue – the makeup never caked nor oxidised as much.

These days (omg I have to stop sounding like a geriatric old fogey), I’m mostly reliant on BB creams, BB cushions and foundations – basically the liquid-based types cos of my dry cheeks, which can get relatively Sahara-desert on bad days. And hey, since everyone prolly remembers Hada Labo’s advertisement jingle (1 drop holds an entire ocean -orsomethingsomething-), I’m pretty sure their BB cream will have similar properties hohoho.

Hada Labo Air BB Cream with 10-in-1 Function

Using Ivory Beige shade (this was the shade I received, so just disregard the color mismatch but focus on the texture/finishing instead)

Face / undereyes : Hada Labo Air BB Cream, Lips: IOPE Color Fit in shade 21 Fuschia Tint

I say…

  • It comes in a white squeezy tube that feels relatively weight compared to its size (this is due to the consistency of the BB cream).
  • The cap twists open to reveal a tiny pinhole opening for controlled dispensing of the BB cream, which is great, since I have a tendency to over-dispense (and therefore lead to waste).
  • There’s not much scent to the BB Cream.
  • What I love is its texture – it’s creamy enough to glide over the skin, and yet doesn’t feel too heavy.
  • It sets into a semi-matte finish with some glow – about 80% matte: 20% glow, so you don’t have that overall “shiny” effect, but enough to emphasize areas such as your nose bridge and cheek bones.
  • Over time, it settles into a mostly matte finish, so you can still do the highlighting.
  • The coverage is pretty decent – good enough to cover most skin blemishes , but not enough to combat the raccoon eyes. I’d give it 7/10.
  • As an added bonus, it does not oxidise. These days, I’m really up in guns about products that oxidise – having patchy sebum-makeup splotches on the face is soooo unsexy.
  • The wear time is pretty decent too – about 5-6 hours before it disappears.
  • In terms of oil control – I’d say it’s a medium. Don’t leave home without your oil blotters/tissue sheets, cos you’ll be needing them in about 6 hours after application.
  • Despite its creamy texture, you can apply several layers and it doesn’t cake much.
  • It comes in only two shade – Ivory Beige and Natural Beige. I’m using Ivory Beige (the lighter one) but it’s still a tad dark with a touch of yellow tinge. I’d liken this to Laneige shade 21.
  • Even though I didn’t apply any moisturising primer, the dry patches around the cheeks still looked relatively okay after 6 hours.
  • Note how even when I’m wearing a shade that’s not suited for my skin, it still looks somewhat healthy and decent – it’s cos of the finishing.

Overall, I’d say this is a pretty decent drugstore brand BB cream that you can try out. Ideally, if it came in my shade, I’d use it  short-term usage (a jaunt to my neighbourhood mall). For a full list of this BB cream’s benefits, check out their website here.

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