Review: Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream Bright Fit

 Today I will be reviewing Etude House's Precious Mineral Bright Fight BB cream. I know this BB cream is pretty popular, and there seems to be a lot of mixed reviews; I know some people who call it their HG (holy grail product), and others, who didn't like it. I'll be sharing my honest opinion and my experience with it! It comes in 4 shades: N02 Light Beige, W13 Natural Beige, W24 Honey Beige, & W15 Sand. Mine is in shade N02 Light Beige.

The first BB cream I tried was by Missha, and it belonged to my sister haha. She later got this BB cream, and I tried it as well. I finally decided to buy my own, about a year ago, and I believe I got it on ebay for somewhere around $12. I have been using this one for a while now.

The packaging is pretty nice. It's simple and straightforward. It has a pump and comes in a tube, and also has a cap. The pump is a little sensitive for my taste, though. You have to be super gentle and careful when pushing down. If you do a full pump, well, that'd probably be too much product. You have to do this gentle, half pumping motion in order to get a good amount. It takes some practice ^^;

Here is Etude's House's description of the product:

Etude House Precious Mineral BB Cream Bright Fit (SPF30/PA++, Whitening & Anti-Wrinkle, Anti-Darkening) 

Size: 60g

Color: N02 Light Beige

BB Cream formulated with Pearl Powder with an improved adhesive texture to promote moist, radiant looking skin while protecting against UV damage and wrinkles.

[Directions] Apply cream to all areas of the face. Pat to finish.

From what I've seen Etude House also states that their BB Cream: "promotes silky complexion with pearl infused sheer coverage. It also contains adenosine & arbutin for anti-wrinkle & whitening efficacious. SPF for UV protection and Brightening Care Sea Algae is for Antioxidant Moisture Care"

They say "zero oil" and "longer lasting" and "dazzling skin" on their International website. Shall I put this to the test?

Oil Test

Oil test on blotting paper

Does their product really have "zero oil" ? Definitely not. This particular BB cream contains quite a significant amount of oil. The amount of oil that accumulates after 3 hours is surprising! I guess it has to do with the fact that this BB cream has more of a "dewy" finish, versus others that give you a more matte appearance.

Swatch

So naturally, the color looks pretty dark on my hand. It needs to be blended out quite a bit before it begins to look natural. This is the lightest shade, N02 Light Beige.

Coverage Test

1st picture (top to bottom): Eyeliner, Eye shadow, Lipstick

So I started out by applying eyeliner, eye shadow, and lipstick to my hand. I applied one layer of BB cream on top of it with a foundation brush, then applied a second layer with the foundation brush. As you can see, the coverage isn't bad. I would say it has light to medium coverage.

I happened to have a really huge and red pimple on this day *sigh*

So as you can see on my ugly no make up face, I had a really big red pimple that day. My skin was also looking slightly flushed. I guess having a red pimple is good for showing the BB cream's coverage ability? The second photo shows the BB cream applied to my face in natural light, and the last is a photo taken with indoor lighting. I think the BB cream did a nice job getting rid of the redness in my face-- it gave me a nice even skin tone, and even covered the redness of my ugly big pimple.

Taken with indoor lighting, it was nighttime...

So after ten hours, the BB cream was still looking good. When I tested this BB cream for this review, I ONLY WORE BB CREAM, I didn't put anything under/on top, and didn't do any touch ups during the day. It is still looking nice, and surprisingly, I didn't get oily in my usual problem spots...my T-zone.

How I use this Product

I pump a small amount of the BB cream onto the back of my hand. I use a foundation brush to dab the BB cream onto my face, then use the brush to blend it. I hear a lot of people say that you should use your fingers, because the warmth helps the BB cream blend more naturally/makes the color blend in better. I think this belief has some truth to it, so I'll usually finish blending the BB cream in with my fingers (but make sure they're clean!)

If I need more coverage I'll pump some more onto my hand and repeat, and if there is a problem spot, I'll dab the BB cream directly onto that spot with my finger and pat it gently to blend it in.

My Thoughts on the Product?

I've been using Etude House's Bright Fit BB Cream for more than a year now. I like it, because it gives my skin a slightly dewy, yet natural finish. When I am looking for a light-type "foundation" I always turn to this BB cream. I don't find it to be heavy, and it is long lasting. It gives me an even skin tone, and especially works well when my cheeks tend to get flushed in the winter.

Although this product seems to contain a lot of oil, I don't find it to be an issue, even with my own oily combination skin. I like to apply a powder on top of this to set the BB cream, or I will apply a sheer powder that controls oil. This ensures that I don't get oily in the T-zone, and I usually don't have to do touch ups later in the day, unless I am exercising a lot or it is really hot out. It doesn't break me out, and it feels really light compared to my other heavier foundations.

So all in all, I really like this BB cream. It works well for me, and leaves a nice even skin tone with a slightly dewy finish. Etude House also says that this product "whitens," is "anti-wrinkling," and "anti-darkening" but I don't really find this to be true. My face is naturally a tad lighter than the rest of my body (like my hand), but this product doesn't make my face paler. I don't have a wrinkle problem, so I can't attest for whether it is "anti-wrinkle," and in terms of "anti-darkening," I can only think that they are referring to dark circles or dark acne spots, or something like that? I have some dark circles and this hasn't done anything for them. 

I guess I don't care about the whitening properties so much (who wants a pale as white face when their body is darker?) The SPF30 is also a nice feature, it is a pretty high SPF. I like products with SPF in it because it protects my sensitive acne prone skin from the harsh UV rays of the sun.

Who do I Recommend this Product to?

People with slightly dry or combination skin. Because this BB cream naturally has a lot of oil in it, I think that people with drier skin might have a good experience with using this BB cream? I also think that people with combination skin or somewhat oily skin (like mine), might like this product as well. If you're very oily, I don't suggest this product, because it has a more "dewy finish." It isn't super dewy, but it isn't matte either. Somewhere in between.

I heard from other people that Etude House's Cotton Fit version is better suited for people with more oily skin, so if you are afraid of the oil contained in this product, go check it out! I haven't tried it, but I really don't like foundations that are completely matte. I like more natural finishes. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Pros:

- Affordable

- Light-Medium Coverage (it is buildable)

- Long lasting

- Has a natural, dewy-ish finish

- Evens out skin tone

- Doesn't break me out

- High SPF

Cons:

- The pump is too sensitive

- Contains a lot of oil

- If you're looking for full coverage, this product isn't it

- Etude House doesn't seem to deliver on some of their claims: "zero oil," "whitening," "anti-darkening"

Thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Have your own experience with the product, or want to try it? Feel free to leave me a comment! See you next post :)