Hello everyone!

My badly chapped lips have been protesting against my reluctance to drink adequate amounts of water every day so this week’s beauty review shall be pertaining to the face instead. How timely, because I have been meaning to talk about the Erborian products I had received to try out. Plus, my used-to-be trusty Benefit Big Easy BB Cream – which I had bought THREE tubes of (mind you!) from the U.S. site in anticipation of its complete demise – has started to fail me by oxidising on my skin (and this has never happened to me before so how is that possible? Someone enlighten me!) 😭 My desperation for a good replacement was real!

Founded by scientist Hojung Lee and beauty expert Katalin Berenyi in 2007 and then acquired by L’Occitane International in 2012, Erborian – which name derived from “Herbs of the Orient” (how creative!) – is a premium skincare brand that combines Korean skincare expertise and French luxury to take you one step closer to achieving “baby skin”. Their unique formula contains natural ingredients and cutting edge technologies from Seoul, as well as fragrances from France.

I was sent the 15 ml version of the Pink Perfect Crème, BB Crème and CC Crème which are about three-quarter of my palm and hence small enough to fit into a typical travel toiletry bag. This trial size is also created with first-time users like myself in mind, so you can sample them before committing to the full 45 ml size that is available on their website. Very thoughtful of them 😌

Pink Perfect Crème

Enriched with Diospyros Kaki Leaves (the dry leaves of persimmon) for its anti-inflammatory and anti-wrinkle properties, this lightweight pinkish cream (don’t worry, the pink dissipates when it is spread out) hydrates and refines the skin texture, forming a dewy second skin-like finish that blurs out pores and minimise the appearance of other imperfections once it melts into the surface. At the same time, the skin is rejuvenated with the Vitamin E and fatty acids from the Pumpkin Seed Oil in the creme to help skin fight the first signs of aging.

The cream has a muted Ginseng scent and may feel somewhat thick and greasy at first (in fact, that shouldn’t be the case if you just apply one dot of the cream to the main areas – a little goes a long way!) but it loses viscosity after a few swirls on the face, leaving only the right amount of shine to impart a radiant complexion and to prime the face for a smooth makeup application.

BB Crème

Available in two shades – Clair and Nude for fair and medium skin tones respectively (but somehow Sephora online only stocks Clair) – the number one bestselling BB (Blemish Balm) cream in Europe is a lightweight, multi-purpose foundation infused with SPF 20 (which quite honestly, isn’t something to write home about as it falls below the minimum SPF of 30 as recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology for protection against skin cancer and sunburn, so don’t depend on it to save your skin from the sun!) and Ginseng Root to improve skin elasticity and reduce wrinkles. On top of that, Ginseng Root also has antioxidants to boost skin immunity to fight against harsh environmental factors that contribute to skin aging.

Upon squeezing out the content from the tube, my nose caught the distinctive earthy smell of Ginseng which, fortunately, is still pretty pleasant. When worn on its own, it gives a moisturising and velvety (almost learning towards matte) finish that provides ample coverage without caking on, and conceals what the Pink Perfect Crème could not to a certain extent. But if applied on top of the Pink Perfect Crème, it leaves the skin glowing with luminosity that lasts for hours (to be precise, more than 8 hours on me). Usually, I would need to set my foundation with translucent powder to reduce the tackiness but with this BB cream, this step is no longer necessary. The consistency of the cream is slightly on the runny side which delivers an even coat when blended in with fingers (I’ve not applied it with a brush or beauty blender because the tube is so adorably tiny, I don’t want to risk wasting any of it 😂), and eight small dots are plenty for the whole face! Most importantly, this does not oxidise over time! 👏🏻

But much as I adore the BB Crème, I found the shade Clair to be a little too light for my skin tone, so much so that I have to always finish with some bronzer to avoid looking washed out. Hence, the claim that the two shades are complementary to all skin tones seems a bit far-fetched…

CC Crème

Formulated with SPF 25 and Centella Asiatica for its powerful multifunctional properties (including anti-ageing, skin-rejuvenation and wound-healing), the CC (Colour Correcting) Crème has encapsulated pigments that instantly brighten the skin with Vitamin B3 to strengthen the skin barrier and Adenosine to improve skin elasticity. It has semi-sheer coverage (depending on the amount used) which helps conceal fine lines reasonably well while providing a healthy-looking complexion.

Similarly, the CC Crème has a slight Ginseng smell with a hint of floral notes. Also available in two shades Clair and Dorè for fair and medium (or universal on Sephora) skin tones respectively, it has been receiving rave reviews from the critics, as well as flying off Sephora’s virtual shelves in the U.S. Despite the limited shade selection, Erborian claims that they are enough to provide an even complexion for a diverse range of skin tones through its colour-matching capability. And as far as I’m concerned, this hews pretty close to the truth.

The cream, which emerges to be entirely white when it comes out of the tube (and, to be honest, it did freak me out a bit the first time I tried this), magically transforms into a shade that matches my skin tone (albeit not perfectly as it appears a bit darker) when I blended it out with my fingers. Naturally, my initial reaction to this was, “What kind of sorcery is this?!” but after combing through Google results, I found out that this could have been possible by reacting with the pH level of my skin, so the discrepancy in the colour of the CC cream could have been resulted from it adapting to the pH of my fingers 🧐 Hmmm.. perhaps using a silicone makeup sponge (as opposed to the traditional beauty blender which will soak up most of the product) would yield a much closer match to my skin tone? I will update this space if I ever get the chance to try this!

Best used on its own or before BB cream (or concealer) to even out the skin tone or neutralise redness, this CC cream has a luminous finish and feels comfortably lightweight, making it an ideal choice for a natural look. Although the shade is not stated anywhere on the packaging, I am quite sure what I’ve gotten is in shade Clair which, according to Erborian UK, is more suited for pink or beige skin tones. The other shade, Dorè, would probably complement those with slightly golden skin (i.e. orange undertones).

As this is my first-ever CC cream, I do not have any basis for comparison. If you’ve tried CC creams from other brands, feel free to share your experiences with me in the comments below 😊

With mostly positive experience gained from using these Erborian products, I guess it’s safe to say that they have met, if not surpassed, my expectations. They are my go-to on days when I want a more natural look, or when I feel absolutely lazy to work with my brushes since these blend as perfectly with the fingers! However, I must emphasise that these generally do not provide full coverage and hence would not do wonders on textured or severely blemished skin.

Now, I’m hoping to maximise the usage because this bride-to-be has invested most of her money in her future home and thus cannot afford to buy a $50/$60+ makeup right now 😂 But if the day ever comes when I have to repurchase these products (especially the BB cream), I would be sure to set aside some funds for them!

What are your thoughts about Erborian and their products? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or simply take a quick poll!

Thanks for reading!

Erborian is now available on Erborian.com.sg and on Sephora.sg.

Products were supplied by Erborian Singapore for my consideration but all opinions expressed are my own.

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