Beauty Spotlight - ft. Studio Gear Cosmetics Hydrating CC Cream

STUDIO GEAR

HYDRATING CC CREAM

"Hydrating CC Cream transforms and enhances your complexion in an incredibly light, smooth formula. This foundation simultaneously fights aging, retains moisture, and covers and treats blemishes with a non-oily, perfectly radiant finish." - studiogearcosmetics.com

I don't know what it is about this year but I have been on this huge kick to find new and awesome foundations/BB and CC creams! I guess my skin has decided that 2014 is a very adventurous year, haha. So, I was superdupes excited to have to opportunity to try out a fab looking CC cream! I've tried quite a few BB cremes, but this is only my second CC cream I've had. 

If you haven't heard of CC creams, they are supposed to be the next step up from BB creams. BB creams are listed as being a "beauty balm", providing coverage (light to medium depending on the brand, but typically averaging at least medium) but usually lighter than a standard foundation. They also have a mix of added benefits, such as sunblock, moisturizing properties, anti-oxidants, etc. depending on the brand. They're marketed to be an all-encompassing facial beauty product replacing serum, , primer, foundation, moisturizer, and more. Now, CC CREAMS, are listed as being "color correctors" and are marketed as correcting any color facial skincare problems such as redness, sallowness, dark spots, etc. They're seem to have not quite as much coverage (on average) as a BB cream, but they are usually more moisturizing. Of course, it varies from brand to brand, as is the same with BB creams.
    

STUDIO GEAR

HYDRATING CC CREAM 

SPF 20

in Linen

So here we have Studio Gear's CC Cream! They are not currently selling a BB Cream, only a Flawless Foundation, Studio Matte Foundation, Dual Identity Wet/Dry Mineral Foundation, Dual Identity Wet/Dry Pressed Foundation, and this CC Cream. The Cream is only available in three shades Linen (light), Natural (medium) and Wheat (dark). I'll, of course, be reviewing the lightest shade! 

The packaging is fairly standard for a BB/CC Cream, a squeeze tube with a twist-off cap. I've never had a problem with this type of design, I usually squeeze some of the product onto the back of my hand and use whatever method of application I'd prefer from there. I do love the simple, clean design of the tube, I think it's modern and chic, and I love that it doesn't go overboard listing benefits all over the front. Sometimes I feel that brands go a little over the top with that sort of thing. Speaking of benefits, here's what Studio Gear lists for this CC Cream:

• Protects:  SPF 20 protects the skin, while Hydra-Extend technology provides moisture for up to 72 hours.

• Perfects:  Enjoy natural looking coverage while micro-encapsulated pigments perfects and fade dark spots and acne scarring.

• Corrects:  Anti-aging and collagen building ingredients help minimize fine lines and wrinkles.

• Hydrates:  Hydra-Extend technology provides up to 72 hours of continuous hydration.

• Conceals:  Micro encapsulated pigments deliver a fresh dose of color that adapts to your own skin tone, creating the most natural looking coverage.

• Smoothes:  Skin nourishing ingredients help to correct and maintain youthful complexion.

      

 Sounds great to me! I don't have any problems with dark spots or acne scarring but I do have rosacea/redness and I do have current acne as well as combination skin, so I need something that color corrects, conceals to a light extent, provides moisturization without making my face look overly oily and give me long-lasting effects. 

The main active ingredients in this formula, are the sunscreen agents - Octinoxate, Titanium Dioxide, and Zinc Oxide. This could be coined as a hybrid sunscreen mix, as Octinoxate is UV filter found in chemical sunscreens, which absorb the sun's rays, however Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide are found in physical sunscreens which deflect rays. Just to note for those of you who may have problems with their skin breaking out after use of mineral makeup, you may not want to try this product out, as Titanium Dioxide is usually the reason for that reaction. 

As for it's moisturizing properties, it has a ton of great ingredients! Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Tocopherol, Squaline, Phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/Stearyl/Behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Hyaluronate, and Methicone are all used in skincare to provide deep hydration and moisturize. 

SWATCHES AND APPLICATION

The formula is not quite as thick as the BB creams I've used before, it's a bit more runny, but not too watery. As you can see from above, it begins as a grey-ish tone liquid, but you can see small black specks scattered throughout. 

As you begin blending, the grey tone disappears and micro-encapsulated pigments open to reveal the fresh skin tone color. 

Once you've worked over all the grey, all of the pigments will finally be released, revealing all of the new color. As you can see, this color looks EXTREMELY yellow-based on me, and for a while, I was very worried this wouldn't look at all good....

Then I finished blending, and I seriously had to do a double-take. WHAT! Haha, it completely blended into my skin! I thought there'd be some sort of huge yellow cast on hand, but honestly, it looked great! It almost completely evened out the redness, and even partially hid most of the blue lines of my veins! Overall, I noticed the skin looked smooth, well moisturized, soft and my coloring looked more even.

      

Here is a comparison for you. Just to note, I did not blend it quite as well as I did over my entire hand, because I wanted you to see the difference a bit better, as it's very minimal. As you can see on my bare skin side, I'm very pale with quite a bit of pink undertones, well if you compare it to the CC Cream side, you can see there is more of a yellow-ish cast. However, look how nice and moisturized that looks. It has a soft, fresh, slightly dewy finish that it's at all oily looking. 

The Cream is very easy to apply, and can be done well in a variety of methods...

1) Fingertips - This is the standard way that most people prefer to apply BB/CC creams. Usually just dotting some of their face or working it into the fingers then blending it on. It does go on a bit thicker with this method, however if you're looking for more coverage, you may prefer this method. You just have to make sure you blend it well, and work it into the skin, as it can go on much heavier this way. This CC Cream, though, didn't appear at all to be thick, oily or heavy looking, even after hours of wear! 

2) Makeup Brush - I tried a few different types of brushes, to see which one I liked better, including a buffing brush, stippling brush, flat-top, foundation and a few others. The BEST brush that I loved was Real Technique's Expert Face Brush, which really is no surprise, I use it ALL the time. I felt like I good control of how much I wanted to apply, and if I wanted to work more on, I could, without wiping away what I already had. I just squeezed the product onto the back of my hand, swirled the brush in it lightly, then working from the center of my face and outward, blending on the Cream until I was happy with the coverage. After it set a bit, if I wanted a bit more coverage, I just repeated the steps and gently buffed the Cream right over the areas I wanted to cover more. This just gave my face a nice, flawless finish, and in my opinion, the best method out of the three I tried. 

3) Beautyblender - This product was a LITTLE thin to use with my blender, but I decided to try it just to see how well it would work and hold up during the day. It CAN be done, but you have to make sure you squeeze out a good bit of the water from your blender before you apply. You want it just lightly damp, so it's not thinning out the Cream too much, as it's already just a light to medium coverage to begin with. The thing I loved with the blender, though, is that it really made that soft, dewy finish the Cream was providing, stand out even more. Like I said, it wasn't at all oily, just completely fresh! It was very easy to work in with the blender, and super easy to apply multiple coats after each one sets. 

LONGEVITY AND WEAR

The Cream was a bit thinner than I usually wear, so it didn't hold up quite as long as I would have preferred. Used with a primer, setting powder and setting spray, I had good coverage for about 4 hours, then the Cream begin to thin a bit, however, I continued to have that beautiful dewy finish for the entirety of it's wear time. One thing that I did note about the Cream is that although it provided me with fantastic evening out of my skin tone, it actually made my dark circles (which are always absolutely horrendous!) look worse! It made the dark, sunken-in look appear even more, and the dewiness also didn't help in that regard as well. After a couple of tries to fix it, including using concealers, brighteners, etc., I just learned not to apply the Cream anywhere near the dark circles and instead just use it on the face, avoiding the eye area. Once I started doing that, I just loved the Cream! It really did even out my redness, and made my face look fresh, smooth and soft for the entire day! 

PURCHASE

This CC Cream is available for purchase on Studio Gear's website -

http://studiogearcosmetics.com/shop/best-sellers/hydrating-cc-cream/

It retails at $34 for a 1.1 fl oz tube (full-size), and as I said, is available in three different shades - Linen (light), Natural (medium) and Wheat (dark). I also have a fantastic deal to share with you...

Use the code BLOGGERCC to receive 10% off your order at Studio Gear's website!

You can also check out the rest of their beauty and skincare line at:

www.studiogearcosmetics.com

FINALE

I hear you wondering, Cookie, but I want to SEE it on you...well of course...

I hate that the dewy finish was so hard to pick up on my camera, but it really is gorgeous! Haha, so see, the yellow tone isn't at all hugely apparent! Although, if they were to come out with a pink undertone CC Cream, I'd snatch it up in an instant! I love how fresh and bright it makes my face look, though. I'm wearing cream blush in this photo and you can see how nicely it blended right on over it. I only lightly brushed on some setting powder right on my t-zone to set, but other than that, the rest is just the CC Cream with light concealer here and there for acne and under eye circles. 

So let's look back at what this CC Cream lists as it's benefits:

Protects - It has a hybrid mix of sunscreen, and although I always try to avoid the sun, and I don't tan, I love the fact that I have some protection!

Perfects - It does give me fantastic natural looking coverage!

Corrects - It's moisturizing properties soften fine lines, and gives my skin a smooth, fresh appearance.

Hydrates - It DEFINITELY is continuous hydration! Up until I took it off at the end of the day, I never felt my skin dry out, or feel flaky and it continued to look dewy instead of oily.

Conceals - It doesn't completely conceal my acne, but it does even out my skin tone, which certainly assists in later pinpoint concealing (with an actual concealer) AND it evens out my redness.

Smoothes - my skin looked smoother, softer and had a nice plump, youthful brightness. 

All in all, I loved this CC Cream! It's fresh, it's lightweight, it blends amazingly, so I think it'd work well on so many light skin tones, regardless of your undertone (which I was absolutely shocked about, because I'm VERY pink). It's not full coverage, so your acne and larger blemishes WILL show through, but if you're looking for a moisturizing, lightweight finish to keep your skin looking youthful, vibrant and smooth, then you may absolutely love this product! Hope you enjoyed the review! Enjoy using your 10% off ::winkwink::

Happy Makeuping!

*Disclaimer: I received this complimentary product in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and experiences are my own. This entire review was written only by me and was in no way influenced by the brand provider. Sponsored post, powered by Brandbacker.