Holika Holika Face 2 change photo ready BB cushion Review + Demo

By this time, I think it is safe to say I’m the a BB cushion head (like sneaker head but BB cushion… get it? LOL no? okay).  I still remember when I saw the promo picture of Holika Holika x Gudetama collection, I seriously thought it was fake.  I was still in Hong Kong, with no laptop and was kind of freaking out because I was scared it would be sold out before I could even get anything.  Luckily, I had my trustee Boyahshop to help me out and I got my hands on the items I wanted no problem. Since I got my BB cushion, let’s get on with the full review!! Whoo~~ another BB cushion review (/ ‘з’)/.

Full name of product:
Holika Holika Face 2 change Photo ready BB cushion

Limited edition/ Permanent?:
The BB cushion itself is a permanent product but the cushion compact itself is limited edition.

Description of product:
Holika Holika’s face 2 change photo ready Bb cushion is formulated to have a layer of polymer to increase the lasting power and to keep your base make up looking like how you first applied it.  It also reflects (whoo the translation is weird) light to cover any blemishes for a clear and smooth looking complexion.  Ingredients wise, it contains argan tree kernel oil for intense moisture and a natural radiance to the skin, along with niacin, adenosine, portulacaa extract, water chestnut extract, coral powder and pearl powder.

Sunscreen:
SPF 50 PA+++

Price:
22,900 won

Amount of product:
15 g per refill

Refill included?:
Yes this cushion comes with a refill.
There is also three cushion compact designs you can pick from!

Duration before expiration:
24 months (2 years)

Country of Manufacture:
Made in Korea
Manufactured by Enprani Ltd

Where to buy:
Amazon

Shades available:

Ingredients:
Water, Titanium Dioxide, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Lauryl PEG-8 Dimethicone, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Dipropylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Mineral Water, Sodium Chloride, Aluminum Hydroxide, Mica, Barium Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Stearic Acid, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer, Bismuth Oxychloride, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, Glyceryl Behenate, Polyglyceryl-6 Octastearate, Triethoxysilylethyl Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Hexyl Dimethicone, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Fragrance, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Caprylyl Glycol, Lecithin, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Isostearic Acid, Isopropyl Myristate, Adenosine, Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate Diphenyl Dimethicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Glycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Dimethicone, Sodium Hyaluronate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Silica, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Trapa Japonica Fruit Extract, Coral Powder, Pearl Powder, Methicone, Sodium Polyglutamate Crosspolymer, Polysorbate 80, Platinum Powder, (+/-)Iron Oxides (CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499)

How to use:
Apply after the last step of skincare. Lightly press the puff onto the sponge to dispense a moderate amount of the BB. Pat all over skin until desired coverage is achieved.

Product packaging:
Of course, we all bought this cushion for the packaging.  99% of the time, since I’m buying from Korea and there is no physical store I can walk into and test these products out, I’m always buying them completely blind.  The only thing I can rely on to make my decision on purchasing an item is the promo pictures the include along with some light researching on Korean blogs to see how the shades are.  I was honestly really tempted to buy all three of the cushion designs but I was scared I might not like the formulation and be stuck with six refills.  I ended up with the design that is the most true to Gudetama’s spirit, the sassy “get that bow away from me” design.  The frinkin’ refill is adorable as well!  What the heck!!

The compact itself is a little thinner then the regular BB cushion and also slightly wider.  Other then that, everything else is pretty much the same.Haha just to remind us, we can be lazy while doing our make up.

Inside houses the most adorable air puff ever!  Unfortunately, this also holds the title of the most painful thing to wash.  I was washing all my air puffs the other day and the ones from A’pieu, Etude House, Verite, all those ones I had no problem rinsing out the dirt and make up but for some reason, this one from Holika Holika is painful to wash.  Even after many rinses, the residue is still there and is pretty much stained.  Unlike most air puffs, the texture of this puff is a lot more plastic then the blue ones you’d usually get.  It is also beige on the applicator side, which doesn’t help the cause when you can see the stained make up on there.  Ugh… guess I’m not going to use this one anymore nor am I going to be opening the four air puffs I bought from this collection.

Inside, there is even an adorable seal to keep everything sanitary.  Unfortunately, you’ll have to peel this off to get to the cushion.

Colour/ pigmentation:
Off the bat, I can already tell this BB cream has a high grey undertone. That is a total turn off for me since BB creams and cushions have came a long way in terms of it’s origin, with the super grey undertone to neutralize everything to the point of your face looking like a zombie.  I get it, the “white and bright” look is super in trend in Asia but isn’t it getting a bit too much?  I kid you not, when I was in Hong Kong and just strolling the streets, I saw this girl’s face was white. Her base make up wasn’t too light for her face, she literally took a WHITE make up base and smeared it all over her face.  Gurl… what.

Usually with shade #23, it is a lot more beige looking with a yellow undertone.  This one from Holika Holika is very dull looking, and it seems to lean more towards a pink undertone.  I pray to the BB cushion gods that this will work out for me.  I don’t want to be anymore pale, I’m already pale as is.

Flash photography:
This BB cushion is definitely not a product you’d want to use if you are planning to use any type of flash photography.  With the high SPF and a very grey undertone, this is a recipe for disaster.  Don’t even think about it!  Even without using my flash, you can tell that this BB cushion doesn’t seamlessly go with your face.  I still like this BB cushion but it would be for everyday use and I’d use a lot more bronzer LOL.

Texture/ Finish:
Going into this, I didn’t know what to expect.  I believe this is the first BB cushion I have tried from Holika Holika, well I do have the one from the holidays (Dodo cat collection one) but I still haven’t touched it for some odd reason.  This face 2 change has a very gorgeous dewy finish, not the greasy type of dewy but the glow that you get from exfoliating and maintaining your face with a good skincare regimen kind of glow.  The closest product that this BB cushion has is Tony Moly’s Luminous goddess aura angel CC cushion (WHY THE F*** IS THE NAME SO LONG). The same glowy tofu subtle looking skin look.

Coverage:
This cushion has a light to medium coverage that is buildable.  Don’t expect this to be a high coverage BB cushion since it is so hydrating, the highest it can go up to is definitely just medium.

Lasting power:
Again, I never really have any problems with lasting power with my dry skin in Canada.  I don’t like to set my base make up anymore since I enjoy the dewy look and feel.  Of course, if you touch your face or accidentally swipe off some make up with your shirt, it will definitely wipe off (duh).  On average, this lasts about 6 hours before it fades around the sides of my nose and a little bit around my cheeks.

Fragrance?:
This BB cushion has a light floral soapy scent, a fragrance that is commonly found in a lot of skincare and make up products.  It is not strong at all and the smell goes away after application.  Smell-o-scale= 4/10 in terms of how strong the scent is.

The main event, demo time!

Here is my completely bare face.  My main concerns are to cover my dark under eye circles from lack of sleep, redness around the cheeks and nose and something to combat the dryness of my skin.  I usually prefer dewy finish, sometimes satin finishes work if it is during the summer time and my skintone is Mac NC25 with yellow undertones.

Okay start time!  Pat pat and stamp away, it is that easy.

With just one layer, you can already tell the difference it gives to my complexion.  Before (right), you can still see the redness around the cheeks and reddish purple undereye circles while the after (left) is significantly less red, brightened around the eyes and also a slight natural glow.

Before…

After.  I’m loving the look!!

Closer look of before (right side) and after (left side).

Now lets finish it off.

My skin looks supple, soft and tofu like!

Look at that glow!

Now with my full face on.  Excuse the eyeliner, I was playing around with the Pony effect eyeliners and I swear the one I used for my bottom waterline didn’t look so red in person. 😛

Okay, you can see here where my chin and neck is, the color of the BB cushion is noticeable with the grey undertone issue I was talking about.  It isn’t that bad and I could live with it, but I definitely would not recommend anyone with a skin tone higher the MAC NC25 to get this BB cushion since you might run into the same trouble as me.

Everything else looks pretty good!  The finish of the BB cushion looks amazing and dare I saw, may even look better then my beloved A’pieu air fit cushion?

Pro:
-gorgeous finish + super hydrating
-colour able to cancel out light pigmention issues

Con:
-only two shades to choose from
-strong grey undertone
-on the slightly pricier side (22,000 won range)

Repurchase?:
Maybe

Stars given out of 5:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall thoughts:
This BB cushion from Holika Holika thoroughly impressed me since the first BB cream I tried from the brand was the petit jelly one and I did not like it at all.  Granted, back then I didn’t know anything about chemical peels, texture pads to get rid of my dead skin so it would cling onto anything and everything on my face.  Nowadays with my skincare game improved and a broader knowledge of what is out there, base make up looks a lot better and so does my nose!  This BB cushion has a gorgeous finish with a super moisturizing formulation.  The only thing I would want to tweak is the grey undertone which isn’t a really big issue, but it is definitely slightly noticeable in person.  Overall this is a great BB cushion that was very close to being a holy grail and I’d highly recommend you guys give it a shot. 

What do you think about this BB cushion?  Have you tried it for yourself?  What are your thoughts and experiences with it if you do have it?  Let me know in the comments down below if you got suckered into getting it too because of Gudetama keke.