I’ll admit, when I saw this face cream I was very skeptical because I do want to try another BB cream, but after my last experience with a BB cream that had an interesting shade and that also felt a little oily on the skin, I wasn’t in a hurry to get a new one.

However, the promises on the packaging were alluring: skin tone adapting, sheer coverage, blurring effect, perfect tint and hydration. What else could you ask for? It does sound like a magic cream.

Packaging:

The cream comes in a plastic tube that contains 30 ml. The packaging is not much, but for an affordable drugstore brand, I don’t think there should be any high expectations.

Texture:

I know the swatch looks like a hot mess. See, there are no other shades available, this is a face cream that is supposed to adapt to all skin tones, so it has just those specks of color in it and it does look muddy. Also, it has the consistency of a lotion instead of a cream, so I don’t need much for an application. For example, what you see on my hand was enough for the entire face and also there was some left.

Ingredients:

AQUA (WATER), MACADAMIA INTEGRIFOLIA SEED OIL, ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE, GLYCERIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, SUCROSE STEARATE, SILICA, BIS-ETHYLHEXYLOXYPHENOL METHOXYPHENYL TRIAZINE, TOCOPHEROL, SODIUM HYALURONATE, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, SUCROSE LAURATE, HYDROGENATED STARCH HYDROLYSATE, CELLULOSE GUM, TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SUCROSE DILAURATE, SUCROSE TRILAURATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, PARFUM (FRAGRANCE), CI 77491 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77492 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE).

There are some ingredients that offer sunscreen protection, but the cream has an SPF of only 10, so I really don’t know why they even bothered. There’s also macadamia oil, hyaluronic acid, glycerin and tocopherol (vitamin E).

The formula is vegan and paraben free.

Price and accessibility:

essence products are available in several beauty stores and online shops. I got mine from the Notino online shop for around 4 euros, which I think is a great price for such a BB cream. I know it’s not called a BB cream, but that’s what it’s basically is.

My overall opinion:

I was skeptical, but I do like this “magic” cream very much. I don’t use it on its own, I apply it on top of my normal moisturizer with SPF and I do notice a hint of color, like a sunkissed look. The coverage is sheer, but it manages to blend nicely into the skin and to create a uniform color. I think it can help with slight redness and small imperfections.

It does have a glowy finish, so if you use too much it can look oily, but it small amounts it’s just like a light BB cream and I think it looks great on those days for that no makeup look. Or is it the clean girl look? To be honest, they lost me when it comes to makeup trends, but you know what I mean.

Do I think that this face cream is magic? No, it looks just like a BB cream, but I’ll give it that: it’s better than some BB creams that I have tried from other brands and I would totally recommend it.