BENTON Cacao Moist and Mild Cream Review

When we think of cacao, we think of chocolate, right? However, did you know that cacao extract has moisturizing properties? 

I was sent this Cacao Moist and Mild Cream from BENTON for review purposes, but I'm excited to try a cacao product that's not greasy and heavy like typical cocoa butters.

Cacao, otherwise known as cocoa, is high in antioxidants and blocks harmful free radicals in the body. The exotic bean also contains omega 6 fatty acids which helps in cellular healing (hello, beautiful skin)!

Benton's Story

“Benton is inspired by and named after the movie 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' in which Benjamin Button grows younger with time...It may just be a fictional movie, but wouldn't most people have the same desire to be young again? Benton desires to restore your skin back to its original, healthy recipes, rather than to give temporary effects with harmful ingredients. Benton presents freshly made products by sticking to small batch production." 

Price: $16

Size: 50g

Shelf life: 6 months

Scent: None

Claims:

• Lightweight texture
• Suitable for summer
• Moist finish
• Water-oil balance
• Mild formula

Ingredients:

Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Water,   Sorbitan Olivate, 

1,2-Hexanediol,  Pentylene Glycol, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract,  Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract,   Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate,   Polyglutamic Acid, Madecassoside, Beta-Glucan,  Carbomer, Arginine, Xanthan Gum

I noticed that the cream was very lightweight. It seemed to literally melt from my body heat into a watery essence which would be appropriate for summetime (not so much for colder seasons when skin gets drier).

As you can see, the cream gave my skin a dewy complexion (which is totally different from a greasy feeling and appearance).

Overall, this cream is extremely lightweight and appropriate for all skin types. As an eczema sufferer, I found that the cream did little for my flaky patches but did wonders on my face. Plus, the fact that the cream is made from natural ingredients and unscented is a huge plus for those with sensitive skin like me.

SECRET KEY Self Brow Tattoo Tint Pack in #04 Ash Brown Review

I'm pleased to announce that I've been selected as a 1st Generation Beautiful Pioneer!

What is a Beautiful Pioneer?

“A Beautiful Pioneer is curious.
A Beautiful Pioneer is thorough.
A Beautiful Pioneer embraces and promotes beauty & individuality.”

I'll be working with Cupidrop to test out the latest K-beauty products and review them with 100% honesty.

Since Cupidrop is based in NYC, shipping is super fast for US residents! The prices are also super affordable as the company started with the simple idea of offering great skincare products at great prices to the US.

For my first product, I received the SECRET KEY Self Brow Tattoo Tint Pack. I chose #04 Ash Brown because its the only shade with grey undertones, which look the most natural on girls with black hair.

The peel-off makeup trend has piqued my interest for some time now so I was super excited to try this out! I always seemed to gravitate to my good old brow pencil but by stepping out of my comfort zone, hopefully I'll discover a new holy grail for my brows!

Price: $6

Size: 8g

Scent: Glue. But that's only because I intentionally took a giant whiff an inch away from the bottle. The scent is undetectable upon opening and application.

Ingredients (rough run through Google Translate...obviously some gibberish in there):

Purified water, ethanol polyvinyl alcohol, dihydroxyacetone, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 00. panthenol, aloe vera leaf extract, soybean extract, xanthan gum, camellia seeds, tocopheryl acetate, sodium chloride, hydroxyzine . 1.2-hexan di caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, W quality hexyl glycerin, Red No. 227 methane, pansaek No. 4, Blue No. 1

The brush is fairly thick so that large amounts of product can be applied easily. You're supposed to apply a thick, even layer as opposed to a thin one for optimal pigmentation. On the downside, this makes precise edges difficult to achieve.

Once dry, the tint became a thin, stretchy film. While I did lose around 2 hairs per brow upon removal, it was quick and painless. I found that the tint didn't come off in one piece and had to be rubbed off in small parts because it was clinging onto my hairs. When I applied the tint to my arm for a swatch/longevity test, the dried tint actually came off by itself-- indicating how easy it is to remove on smooth skin.

My initial reaction to the tint was how "sharpie" it looked. There's no possible way to thin the product out near the inner corners of your brows or create a softer outline. I actually tried with my right brow and ended up with patchiness in that area. Keep in mind that your brows will look exactly like how you draw them with the tint except several shades lighter. The edges will be super sharp!

While the majority of my brows were a nice "khaki grey" color, the edges were faintly outlined with some gold color. Honestly speaking, I was a bit horrified with how unnatural things looked immediately after removal. For review's sake, I decided to leave the brows be to see how they faded.

The next morning, I was pleasantly surprised at how natural things were looking! The edges had softened up and were looking very similar to how I normally fill in my brows. The areas with little to no hair (my inner corners) lightened up significantly while the areas dense with hair stayed dark.

My favorite days were 2-3, and I noticed that the darkness was virtually gone by day 5.

For my second test on my brows, I left the tint on for only 30 minutes and the end product was very similar. However, the color was extremely prone to smearing. The product also peeled off easily and pulled off no hairs. Definitely leave your brows alone for 24 hours if choosing to apply for only 30 minutes!

As for the longevity test, I decided to do two patches on my wrist. (Keep in mind that the results on my wrist are much different than the results on my brows because my face is oilier, and more prone to sweat.) The instructions recommend leaving the product on overnight for a more "intense" color so I applied one patch for 2 hours and the other for 8 hrs.

The morning after applying the overnight patch test, I found that the product had peeled off by itself during the night. As a result, I'm not completely sure if I had the product on for 8 hours, but I definitely know that it was longer than 2.

Applying the product for only 2 hours gives a more brown color, while applying overnight gives a darker, grey color. The darkness of both patches was consistent for 5 days until I decided to run water over it (I had avoided running water over it in the shower.)

Once in the shower, the color significantly lightened. The color then continued to fade gracefully when I resumed running water over my wrist in the shower.

On day 11, I cleansed my wrist with a cleansing foam and the color came right off. There is a SLIGHT trace of the product, but for the most part it was gone.

Overall, I would recommend this product to those who want to have brow makeup on while at the pool or water park. The color fades much quicker than expected and stays for 1-2 days if you cleanse per usual.

The peel off trend is fun, I admit, but definitely a gimmick!

Club Clio VF21 Hydra Cotton Pact in 02 Natural Beige Review

Dear u/lpark000, thank you so much for posting that PSA on the Club Clio sample sale in NYC! My boyfriend and I live around 2 hours from Manhattan and we decided to plan a trek with my family to eat at our favorite food stops. If you hadn't posted that PSA, my mom and I never would have known to stop by and grab a haul :)

Price: $40 on official US website

Claims: 

• Non-drying & moisture locking powder compact
• Provides full & natural coverage
• All-in-1 total powder compact for quick and easy makeup
• SPF 35 PA+++ (but we all know that ain't enough)

Ingredients:

Talc, mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77819), Silica, the chilhek silme methoxy cinnamate, nylon-12, zinc oxide (CI 77947), hit a tree on the HEX elderly, dimethicone, H. DI / year methyl tree hexyl lactone cross polymer, cotton (7.4PPM), rosehip fruit oil, African walnut oil, add kiwi chumul tomato fruit / leaf / stem Chu chumul, Western rapeseed sprouts extract, jailri tubs, dim wood gum extract, gamguk flower extract, green tea extract, lemon extract bamip, rooibos extract, thyme extract line, jasmine extract, rosemary extract, dusong bud extract, Goji extract

This product comes in two colors, 01 Pink Beige and 02 Natural Beige. I suspect pink beige is for those who have cool undertones while natural is for those with warm undertones. Natural is considered to be for medium ranged tones and is the one with the most natural color & finish between the two. 

There is no fragrance to this product unless you really put your nose up to the compact and sniff the shit out of it. The smell is a generic faint powder scent that smells nonexistent on skin.

The packaging feels light and good quality. Despite it being plastic, I'd compare it to the packaging of high-end US makeup products such as Estee Lauder or Lancome. The pact comes with a little puff which is nothing special or luxurious. It feels quite similar to a flat, dry beautyblender.

The formula is very buildable, has a super soft silky finish, and feels weightless. I used black eyeliner to simulate dark spots, brown and blue/grey to simulate under eye bags, and pink to simulate blemishes or redness. On the left of the above photo is no makeup while the right has several layers of the pact. The coverage is light to medium, depending on how much you apply. 

I really like what this pact did on my slight redness! My right cheek without makeup is relatively smooth with visible pores and a little redness. Applying a bit of powder on top makes smooth skin look even and matte. My cheek also feels SUPER soft...I couldn't stop touching my skin after I applied this.

However, this product doesn't do so great on uneven areas. My nose is relatively smooth and bb cream applies fine on it, but this powder literally clung onto every single bump on my skin. It looks super cakey the moment it touches your skin on little peach fuzz, rough areas, and dry patches. 

I was so shocked at how horrible this powder looked that I instantly went to the computer to document an angry, disappointed review. 15 minutes later, I glanced at the mirror ready to describe how cakey it looked when I thought, "Wait. This isn't too bad." 

I thought I was imagining things so I applied the powder to another area (which of course came out rough and cakey at first) and waited patiently for 15 minutes to elapse. I was skeptical and thought that I had unconsciously rubbed the product off while writing so I made sure to keep my face untouched.  

After 15 minutes, I checked my face again and voila! The rough texture had subsided. While it isn't as smooth as I would've liked, it's a WHOLE LOT better than what it used to look like. Keep in mind that I took these photos under white fluorescent lighting so this is as exposed as my skin is gonna get. 

The powder actually looks more natural and less cakey as the day goes on. It seems like the coverage decreased and the cakiness subsided so it pretty much just faded away. On the bright side, I was not oily for the entire day so that's good.

Overall, this product is okay for those with completely smooth skin and would like light coverage, oil control, and a matte finish. Despite it being medium to full coverage in the beginning, this powder is not long lasting and fades into light coverage over time. As for me, I am not repurchasing this any time soon. It emphasized all my textural flaws and irritated my dry flakes rather than locking in moisture. If you're going to be mainly under indoor or dim lighting, then don't worry. Your skin will look super velvety and flawless. That's great and all but...I'd prefer to look flawless everywhere, in any lighting thanks.

Comparisons of Innisfree Sunscreens: Perfect UV Protection Essence Water Base, Oat Mild Moisture Sun Cream, Perfect UV Protection Cream Triple Care

I recently posted on Reddit asking what people wanted to see reviewed and the new Innisfree sunscreens came up at the top of the list!

Commonalities:

• SPF 50+
• PA+++

What an anticlimactic list.

Perfect UV Protection Essence Water Base SPF 50+ PA+++

Ingredients:
WATER, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, HOMOSALATE, GLYCERIN, ETHYLHEXYL SALICYLATE, DIETHYLAMINO HYDROXYBENZOYL HEXYL BENZOATE, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, OCTOCRYLENE, CETYL ETHYLHEXANOATE, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CURCUMA LONGA (TURMERIC) ROOT EXTRACT, SALVIA HISPANICA SEED EXTRACT, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, BEHENYL ALCOHOL, HYDROXYACETOPHENONE, POLYGLYCERYL-3 METHYLGLUCOSE DISTEARATE, FRAGRANCE, SACCHARIDE HYDROLYSATE, PROPANEDIOL., TROMETHAMINE, CARBOMER, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SODIUM HYALURONATE, POLYACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER-6, HYDROGENATED LECITHIN, PHENOXYETHANOL, CERAMIDE NP, CENTELLA ASIATICA EXTRACT, PORTULACA OLERACEA EXTRACT, PEG-10 RAPESEED STEROL, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, GLYCERYL STEARATE, GLYCERETH-20, T-BUTYL ALCOHOL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, HAMAMELIS VIRGINIANA (WITCH HAZEL) LEAF EXTRACT, OCTYLDODECANOL, CITRUS UNSHIU PEEL EXTRACT, CAMELLIA JAPONICA LEAF EXTRACT, ORCHID EXTRACT, OPUNTIA COCCINELLIFERA FRUIT EXTRACT, ECHIUM PLANTAGINEUM SEED OIL, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL UNSAPONIFIABLES, CARDIOSPERMUM HALICACABUM FLOWER/LEAF/VINE EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE
Sunflower oil + Jeju green tea extract= protection against UV rays
Hyaluronic acid + ceramides= hydration
Portulaca oleracea extract + centella asiatica extract= astringents

Price: $16 USD
Size: 50 mL
Shelf life: 1 yr
Fragrances: Herbal. Only detectable if sniffed up close. Gone within 10 minutes.
Claims:

• 5-free system: animal ingredients, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances, tar dye, talc 

Initial thoughts:

• Super light! It feels pretty much like some of the Biore sunscreens (Aqua Rich Watery Essence, Perfect Milks)
• The color is actually a super pale "yellow". Definitely not noticeable when spread onto skin and not even that noticeable when squeezing out of the tube.

Oat Mild Moisture Suncream SPF 50+ PA+++

Ingredients (Couldn't find an ingredients list ANYWHERE. Jolse even listed ingredients as "none". To make matters even worse, Google translate wasn't picking up on the tiny squished letters in any photo I took so I had to translate all this sob sob. Also, pretty sure some of these aren't real ingredients. I tried to fix as many faulty ones as I could but idk how good of a job I did here lol):
Cyclomethicone, purified water, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, propanediol, dicaprylyl carbonate, cetyl diglyceryl tris(trimethyl-siloxy)silylethyl dimethicone, cetyl ethylhexanoate, aluminum hydroxide, 1,2-hexane diol, distearyl dimonium hectorite, oat kernel extract, chia seed extract, Centella asiatica extract, Houttuynia cordata extract, hemp seed oil, sunflower seed oil, Cardiospermum grandiflorum flower/leaf/vine extract, orange peel oil, scented geranium flower oil, hydrogen dimethicone, magnesium sulfate, stearic acid, polyglyceryl 2-dipolyhydroxystearate, dimethicone crosspolymer, butylene glycol, phenyl trimethicone, fructooligosaccharides, saccharide hydrolysate, pullulan, ethyhexylglycerin, octyldodecanol, sorbitan sesquioleate, polyglyceryl 3-polydimethylsiloxyethyl dimethicone, tocopherol
Oat kernel extract= intensive moisture

Price: Official price unknown but bought for $13 USD
Size: 40 mL
Shelf life: 1 yr
Fragrances: Citrus. FUCKING strong...I applied it to my arm for photos and the scent wafted to my nose almost immediately. Never goes away...it's kind of headache inducing after a while not gonna lie.
Claims:

• Hypoallergenic: gentle enough for babies
• Moisturizing

Perfect UV Protection Cream Triple Care SPF 50+ PA+++

Ingredients:
WATER, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, ZINC OXIDE (CI 77947), DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), ISODECYL NEOPENTANOATE, NIACINAMIDE, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, CAMELLIA SINENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, MICA (CI 77019), DIMETHICONE, MAGNESIUM SULFATE, METHYL METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, METHICONE, PHENOXYETHANOL, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, FRAGRANCE, DIMETHICONE/VINYL DIMETHICONE CROSSPOLYMER, STEARIC ACID, POLYGLYCERYL-6 POLYRICINOLEATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, ADENOSINE, IRON OXIDES (CI 77492), TRIETHOXYCAPRYLYLSILANE, BIOSACCHARIDE GUM-1, IRON OXIDES (CI 77491), IRON OXIDES (CI 77499), HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, CAMELLIA JAPONICA LEAF EXTRACT, ORCHID EXTRACT, CITRUS UNSHIU PEEL EXTRACT, OPUNTIA COCCINELLIFERA FRUIT EXTRACT, SACCHAROMYCES FERMENT LYSATE FILTRATE
Sunflower oil + Jeju green tea extract= protection against UV rays

Price: $16 USD
Size: 50 mL
Shelf life: 1 yr
Fragrances: Herbal. Only detectable if sniffed up close. Gone within 10 minutes.
Claims:

• 5-free system: animal ingredients, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances, tar dye, talc 
• Water resistant
• Triple care: UV protection, anti-aging, whitening
• Long lasting

Initial thoughts:

• This sunscreen is tinted! It's not obvious, but triple care is beige.

For reference, I bolded sunscreen filters, made moisturizing ingredients green, and questionable ingredients red. It seems like the oat and triple care are both physical sunscreens while the essence is chemical.

Oil Control:

Essence, oat, and triple care after less than a minute (with flash). You can really see the color discrepancy. Oat got so excited, it wet itself as soon as it got to the paper. Not even kidding.

After around 10 minutes with the paper held in front of a bright light so that you could clearly see all the oil that oozed out. The speed at which the oil circles grew plateaued at this point but continued to slowly grow. Obviously oat is the oiliest, then triple care, and then essence.

NO ESSENCE I HAD HOPE IN YOU. This is after around 8 hours, simulated to be like a whole day of work indoors.

Moisture Test:
Essence and oat both claim to have hydrating properties so I put them to the test! I have mild eczema (the flaky kind, not the red easily irritable kind) on the insides of both my elbows so I put an equal amount on both.
Immediately: Essence mildly burned upon application but oat was fine. I didn't feel anything with oat.
10 minutes: The side with oat on it started to itch occasionally. Not that much, but I just felt the urge to scratch a few times. I felt nothing with essence.
1 hour: Both were completely absorbed into my skin. The skin with oat went back to its rough, flaky state while essence felt like normal skin.

Swatches:

Sunscreen alone-- essence, oat, and triple care. Oat and triple care have white casts while essence looks like my normal skin with a very slight yellow tinge. 

Essence, oat, and triple care under makeup. Natural lighting and flash above. The white casts aren't a problem under makeup.

Outdoor Test:

I went outside to tan my arm for 3 hours with the strips of sunscreen on it and applied the sunscreens onto different parts of my face as well. My face becomes oily all over when going outside so I didn't need to worry about which zones were oilier than others.

Oat and triple care have a similar consistency, like a normal sunscreen but not very oily. I might be imagining this, but oat might be slightly thicker. Essence feels like water upon application but quickly takes on a light sunscreen texture once it sets in.

I was really digging the texture of my skin with oat and triple care on it. It feels sort of tacky and rubbery? Not oily at all, it kind of feels like smooth dry rubber.

The area where essence was applied onto started to get oily after around 10 minutes! It wasn't as oily as western sunscreens but it was noticeably oilier than the other two sunscreens.

Admittedly, I don't tan very easily. I go outside every other day and I've only seen my body have tan lines around 5 times in my entire life. I still wanted to show you guys a picture just in case you were curious. This is with makeup washed off.

Waterproof + Longevity Test:

Only triple care claimed to be waterproof so I tested it by applying it to only half my hand and waiting 15 minutes for it to set. I then ran water over my hand for around 1 minute and gave the water 2 minutes to soak into my skin.

As you can see, the water droplets stayed on the side where triple care was applied onto.

After 5 hours, I ran my hand under some water again and it was still waterproof! However, I did stay indoors all day so that might be why it was so well preserved. 

Essence:

• Lightweight, appropriate for indoors and shit for outdoors
• Moisturizing! Did well on eczema and did not irritate it either
• Little to no fragrance
• No white cast whatsoever

Oat:

• Heaviest and oiliest of all the sunscreens
• Not moisturizing, if anything it was slightly irritating to my eczema
• High fragrance. It could double as a perfume to be honest
• Surprisingly matte "rubbery" texture. I like how it feels on my face
• White cast if worn without makeup, but under makeup it is fine

Triple Care:

• Normal sunscreen texture. Creamy
• Waterproof
• Little to no fragrance
• Matte "rubbery" texture that I enjoyed outdoors and indoors
• White cast if worn without makeup, but under makeup it is fine

Overall...

Triple care is suitable for outdoor use while essence is suitable for indoor use. Oat, to be frank, kind of sucks. I guess that's why it's not on the official Innisfree website...jkbutnotreally. If I had to pick only one, I'd pick triple care. I actually like essence and triple care equally, just for different uses.

I know I didn't test if triple care was whitening and anti-aging but if you want, I will update you guys in the future!

P.S. Any other beauty bloggers might wanna join the Maple Tree Blog's AB See link party! Increase traffic and network with other bloggers through this special bi-monthly event :) This week's theme is Back to Basics and I think my sunscreen is an imperative part to any skincare routine.