Celeteque Brightening Multi-benefit BB Cream

Being a woman with large pores, I read somewhere that BB creams are better to cover up my pores. I've tried Maybelline BB stick and I love its effects on my face, the coverage is great but it does clog my pores and quite difficult to remove. 

I decided to try Celeteque's Brightening Multi-benefit BB Cream. I figured that Celeteque is known for being gentle and caring for one's skin. Actually, I was quite surprised to know that the brand offered a BB cream.  Not only does it claim to cover up one's blemishes, with the help of the Biowhite technology, it has other benefits as well as whitening and moisturizing. You can apply it liberally on your face and neck before make up and it will act as your moisturizer, primer and make-up base. It will help the make-up last a bit longer. 

I bought a tube and immediately tried it. Here's my review.  I put a small amount on my hand. It felt smooth and light on the skin. Here are some swatches.

Smell was ok, it didn't smell like old make-up. =) Coverage was light to medium. It was really easy to apply. Too bad the Celeteque BB Cream is available in one shade only. Some might find this limiting as it might be too light for some skin tones. Luckily, it fit well with my skin tone. Having a combination skin though, I found that I had to put on some powder on top of it because the finish is a bit shiny and after a few hours, my T zone was already oily. It is best to have blotting paper ready and to touch up every few hours to maintain matte finish. It was easy to remove too. 

My Verdict:

Good: 

Affordable at less than P300.

Easily available, can be bought at Watson's and beauty counters at SM Department stores.

Easy to apply.

Gentle on the skin, doesn't clog pores

Has SPF 15 and acts as moisturizer and make-up base

Easy to remove 

Not So Good:

Has only one shade

Not a matte finish

Pores still visible after application

Combination/oily skin is oily again after a few hours. 

I like how it is gentle on my skin and that it has SPF but it doesn't really work that well for me as a BB cream. I think I'd just finish my tube but I won't repurchase anymore. I would definitely recommend it for people with dry or sensitive skin beause they won't need heavy coverage and won't be as oily after a while. 

I hear Garnier has a BB cream for Oily and Combination Skin. I'd have to try this once it is available here. 

 

Watson's Nose Pore Strips

Years ago, my mom brought me to the dermatologist for the very first time. I was still in my early twenties and she wanted to get me started on a good skin regimen. The dermatologist said that genetics granted me with big (huge) pores, and there’s nothing I can do about it, except to make sure that I keep them clean so that there will be no blockage that can cause pimples and breakouts. Then she gave me a facial. The facial itself was ok,  what I found really traumatic was the pricking. My huge pores gives me huge blackheads, especially on the nose area. Unlike others who get itsy bitsy white and blackheads, I get really numerous and big blackheads. So the doctor had a field day taking them off. My face was literally red and swollen by the time she finished. My eyes were swollen too by all the tears I shed. It was really PAINFUL! They were all involuntary tears, the kind you automatically get when you get really hurt. My doctor told me that it was painful because it was my first visit, I should make my visits monthly so that my pores will get used to the attack (my words) and it will not hurt as much. As I said, I found that visit really traumatic. My mom had the best intentions but my face hated her for it.

I didn’t return the next month.

It was until I found my blackheads too distracting whenever I look in the mirror that I gathered enough courage to go back to the dermatologist. Same scenario. Same trauma. I even tried to make it monthly just to test if my skin will get used to the pain. I went for four months straight. Still too painful.

Thankfully, I discovered nose pore strips. The first one I tried before was a Chinese brand.  It was initially liquid, but as you apply it on your face, it turns gooey solid. After a few minutes, you peel it off your nose, pulling the stuck blackheads with it. It’s not as thorough as a dermatologist, but it’s not as painful too.

Then I discovered Watson’s sold boxed nose pore strips of various kinds. The brand is Glam Works. There’s the classic, charcoal and green tea. They usually cost P99 for a box containing 12 strips, but when I bought my supply, they were having a sale 2 boxes for the price of one! I’ve already tried the charcoal variety so I decided to try the  classic and green tea variants. I really liked the charcoal nose strips. It really grabbed on the blackheads, but it left a black residue on my skin that I found yucky.  When I tried the classic pore strip, I didn’t leave any residue, but it wasn’t as effective at pulling out the blackheads. I found that it pulled only the big ones, leaving the little ones still on my skin. I’ve still yet to try the green tea one. I hope this is better. Will post my thoughts on this when I get the chance to test it.