Rachel K Mineral Color Correction CC Balm

I got a sample of the Rachel K Mineral Color Correction CC Balm in my Watsons x Vanity Trove collaboration. I was pretty pleased because I've heard about her launch of cosmetics wayyyy back, and at that time, it was only being sold in Singapore. Now, she's launching it in Malaysia too, so if you're interested, you could check it out. In Singaporean beauty forums, most people said that it was really expensive. I am really interested in mineral make-up, hence seeing her incorporate that into her cosmetics line was really cool. There's not many people who like using mineral foundation (cos it's messy), but to me it really helps my skin, is breathable and has nice coverage without clogging my pores. Plus, Rachel Kum is so pretty, it makes you think, "Maybe if I use what she does..."

In case you don't know who Rachel Kum is, she is Miss Singapore Universe 2009, and she looks like this :

Okay, don't let her boobs distract you. Her skin is damn flawless right? By the way, I also remember reading that her PRO skincare tip is .... try not to touch your fingers to your face as much as possible (unless you are washing your face...). Meaning, don't rest your palms on your face, don't randomly rub your eyes or nose or cheek or whatever, don't touch it! Your fingers are teeming with germs and you do not want them to get in touch with your face.

So what is a "CC Balm" and is it like a BB cream at all? Apparently it's an IMPROVED version of all the BB creams that you hear about on the market. From the sachet, it states that it can safely protect your skin from UV rays and contains natural mineral ingredients that do not damage or irritate the skin, because of its moisturising base that is made from white tea extracts, aloe leaf, macadamia ternifolia seed oil, lecithin, hyaluronic acid and vitamin E and C. All of which are nutritional for your skin.

There is no "shade" for a CC Balm. The Rachel K collection comes in only two - Original (Black tube) and Neutral (pink/red tube).  The black one is for cool tones or pinkish undertone. The neutral one is for warm tones such as yellow, peach and red undertones. Perhaps, neutral is more suitable for me! But what to do, I only got the sample for "Original".

I decided to use my precious sachet of Rachel K Mineral Color Correction CC Balm when I was in Bangkok last month. Everyone in Bangkok always makes-up so nicely, and I was really motivated! Plus, I had the beginnings of a pimple and I really wanted to conceal it. Cos when you're on holiday you want to camwhore more, am I right?

Start with a dry, clean face. And you can use either your fingers to apply (but Ms Rachel K would probably frown on that, lol) or a sponge. The texture of the cream is really thick and heavy, so I didn't need to put a lot.

 

And this is the after effect : Generally, I feel that it was quite easy to blend, and it gives decent coverage (not fantastic, just decent). However, the whole thing felt very heavy on my face. Maybe my skin just doesn't like cream-based coverage generally. I had a similar experience with the Benefit's "You Rebel Lite"

 

 

There are some people who claim that this is good on its own, and I love hearing that. I love hearing about products that just need one-bloody-step and not, oh, you apply this, then you need to apply foundation, and then you need to put loose powder, bla-bla-bla. Cut the crap, I'm lazy - so sue me! I need to get out of the house quick each morning, I don't need extra time to do meddle with 10 products when I only need 1.

On the other hand, I've also read about people who can't stress enough that the CC balm is NOT meant to be used on its own. It's supposed to be a primer, to do COLOR CORRECTION, and that's it. The coverage is too minimal, they cry. I suppose it is up to you - if you've got great skin and all you need is color correction, go ahead and just use CC Balm on it's own. If you've got ways lots more to correct than just your tone, feel free to proceed with concealer and face powder after that.

As I was quite pleased AT FIRST, I camwhored a bit. I definitely looked fairer than normal... in fact, the "color correction" seemed to me to be correcting my yellow skin to be that of a geisha's...

If you think that that is really, really good... let me tell you something. Girls taking photos of themselves without flash makes anything look good, including a CC Balm that actually looks like this under bright lights:

 

Don't you think that it actually looks SUPER UN-NATURAL!!!?!?! I really feel more and more geisha like looking at this picture! Just compare the difference between my face and my neck, Goddamnit! On the other hand, you have to admit that it really evened out the skintone and lessened the redness, especially around my budding pimple. Sigh... I also don't get reviews saying that it's a matte finish. I can seriously feel the oiliness pouring out after 15 minutes of wearing this. And yes, I did NOT go overboard with the CC Balm. I had a quite a bit left over, probably enough for another 1-2 days usage (and yes, just from that small sachet!), but I threw it away. 

After that night out in Bangkok, I came back and saw my pimples had grown bigger. Sigh, was hoping all that natural nourishment things would have helped healed it. Maybe the pimple has powers beyond CC balm's help. 

In conclusion :  not a repurchase. Suspect it's not suitable for me due to heavy feeling on face, oily finish (compared to "matte" finish described by many others), seems to clog pores (making my pimple worse), unnatural skin color.

Only good parts is : easy to blend, only need a little bit for each use and really does the color correction, lol (correct you til you look like you're white!). I really suggest you get a sample (check out RachelKMalaysia on Facebook) before you spring the RM45.90 for 30g of product.