TONYMOLY recently (September 2014) released a new foundation. Well, it's not exactly new per se; it's an updated and 'improved' version of BCDation now called BCDation All Master. I purchased this on a whim not knowing much about the original BCDation. The salesperson telling me that this is TONYMOLY's newest best product that's endorsed by 4MINUTE's Hyuna caught my interest.
This product offers anti-wrinkle, whitening, and UV protection (SPF30++); standard benefits of many BB creams. In addition, TONYMOLY BCDation All Master promises to “tone-up” your skin (as in brighten), and even-out your skin tone with lightweight coverage that’s long-lasting (up to 24 hours). It also claims to lift and volumize the skin as well as provide lasting moisturising effect (up to 48 hours). All this with no harmful ingredients that’s safe and effective for all skin types and tones! It 'sounds' pretty amazing...
I’m not a big believer of ‘one-for-all’ type of products: I like variations of products that I can choose from. Besides the irrational simplemindedness of "one color for all skin tones" concept, I haven’t come across many base products that works well on both ends of skin type spectrum (oily/dry). So as much as I was intrigued the "BB + CC + Foundation = BCDation" concept, I had my doubts, but still, I had my hopes up.
This is a lightweight formula compared to typical BB creams, but not as light in texture as most CC creams, and the coverage is similar to that of medium coverage foundations. It comes in only one color (the old BCDation came in two shades). This one color does NOT suit all skin tones. But it does work on ‘many’ skin tones: fair-light-beige-medium-slightly tan and everyone in between. It won't look natural for porcelain-fair, olive-tanned or darker skin tones.
At first, I thought this would be too light for my current skin tone (MAC NC25-30ish, light/med), but it actually gave me a natural yet brightened “tone-up” color that complemented my skin tone well (given few minutes after the application for the product color to ‘adjust'). But, if I try to go past medium for full coverage, it does make me look a little ghastly.
I did find that it ‘somewhat’ plumps up the skin, but it wasn’t significantly noticeable or lasting. Also, it wasn’t moisturising for my skin. My skin type is currently normal to bit on the dry side. It felt pretty matte and drying on skin at first; so much so that I felt setting powder may be unnecessary. And it accentuated every type of dryness I had on my skin; even in areas I didn't know about! It also seemed to make pores more visible. After an hour or so, the dryness did go away somewhat, and my t-zone appeared slightly oily. My first few uses of this product were definitely not positive.
I did find a way to make this product work better for me: I exfoliated my skin with a gentle powder enzyme product (Amore Pacific Treatment Enzyme Peel) followed by a hydrating face mask (TONLYMOLY Pureness100 Hyaluronic Acid Mask Sheet) the night before, and also throughly moisturised my skin prior to application in the morning by using a face oil (Sisley Black Rose Precious Face Oil), and a heavy duty moisturiser (Creme De La Mer).
Here's the best result I got with this product:
1. Before application: just face oil and moisturizer on face.
2. During application: one light layer of TONYMOLY BCDation.
3. After application: extra applications in areas where more coverage was needed, and finished with light translucent finishing powder and some bronzer on sides of face.
I doubt 4MINUTE's Hyuna actually uses TONYMOLY BCDation in her daily life, and if she does, she must already have perfect skin! My skin is far from perfect, and to make this product work for me, I had to try to make my skin to be close to perfect as possible. I found it to be too much of a hassle. Given that my skin type is more on the dry side, I do expect many base products to feel drying on my skin. But this product actually claims to moisturise the skin for 48 hours: so not true! It was drying from the first application. And after 1-2 hours, my skin appeared oily on the surface but I can still feel the dryness underneath.
TONYMOLY BCDation All Master's claim of long lasting finish of up to 24 hours also fell short: after about 3 hours (4-5 hours when I use finishing powder on top), the once evenly applied BCDation All Master looked like a mess! Some of it had shifted around on top of my skin; some spots looked oily with barely any product left on the skin; while some parts appeared dry. This tend to happen when I use products that are not suitable for my skin type: so when I use products that aren't moisturising enough, my skin starts to produce more oil in certain areas to account for lack of moisture. This product has absolutely has no ability to balance different skin types. So much for one-for-all skin type product...
I'm not completely hating on this product. I think it would be a great product for someone with evenly balanced normal skin type (I don't know how many of you guys are out there but I'm super jealous!) It does give a decent coverage with lightweight finish, and it's best applied with a brush or sponge applicator for medium coverage.
In my opinion, TONYMOLY BCDation would be a bad choice for dry or combination skin types, or anyone with uneven skin texture. It would be an OK product for oily skin types if you're prepare to touch up with setting powder every couple of hours. It's best suited for normal skin types, but don't expect the finish to last 24 hours as advertised by TONYMOLY.
It was disappointing how many of the product's claims fell short, especially since I've read positive reviews about the original BCDation. I'll still use this from time to time; only on days after a facial or on those rare occasions when I'm having 'a good skin day.'
♡
Lisa
