Espoir be glow bb cream review

Today I’ve got several events to attend, and I’m trying to muster up enough energy to pop over. I’ll see how… In fact, I’ll CC how. (lame lame yessssss lol). So here’s a CC cream review for today 😀

Espoir Bare Skin Complexion Cream – KRW28,000

Once again, so proud of my little black hardworking Canon S95 – look at the photo on the left. You can see the micro granules 😀

Blending in the CC cream…

… and voila! you can barelyyyy see it.

As usual, my red splotchy weekend sans-makeup face 😀 I guess I must have worked up a good sweat and huffed and puffed while taking multiple photos for my blog 😀

And this ees how I look! Not much glow as per my usual foundation, but a pretty decent finish. I did not set with any loose powder.

It doesn’t help much in covering the dark eye circles though – buttttt a disclaimer here: I’m really fair and my dark eye circles are realllly dark.

I say…

This was the very first CC cream I bought in Korea. I was kinda deprived after 3 non-shopping days in Jeju, so the moment I reached Myeongdong at 10+pm, I knew I had to buy something. Espoir was the only shop open at that time, so there went my moneyyyy.

• Its texture is decent – not too creamy and not too watery.
• It comes with micro granules that I assume to be colour-changing grains.
• It takes a while to blend the white into nude/beige, so I’d suggest you dab many tiny dots all around your face before commencing blending.
• The finish is more matte than glowy.
• The coverage is pretty decent too – you can barely see the scars/blemishes on my chin (as a result of my Laneige Original Essence-induced outbreak). And trust me, I am not kidding when I say I’ve got about 10 or more spotty spots on my chin now.
• However, the coverage is not strong enough to hide my dark eye circles (but note my disclaimer that I’ve got terrible eye circles. In fact, if not for my dark eye circles, I prolly wouldn’t have to apply foundation to step out of the house).
• It also lasts relatively long – after about 4-5 hours, it still looks pretty intact.

The overall finish is a decent one – slightly radiant and slightly brightened up. I’d give its coverage factor a 7 /10. at KRW28,000 (SGD31.25), it’s not that cheap but neither is it pricey. If you ask me, I’d say this is a decent product to try out. I’d rate this better than the Etude House CC cream, but not as good as Holika Holika’s CC cream.

I'm not saying I traveled about 6,900 miles to Seoul just to buy foundation, but I'm not not saying I did. For Allure Korea's 2018 Best of Beauty Awards, the Espoir Pro Tailor Foundation Be Glow was named editors' pick for best hydrating liquid foundation. After hearing that it makes you look like you're glowing at every angle, I immediately knew I needed it.

After a quick Google search, I noticed the foundation isn't readily available in America. With that in mind, I vowed to go to Korea to obtain it. Sure, I could have asked one of my Seoul-based friends to pick it up for me, but something about purchasing the foundation in Myeong-dong after spending the morning sweating and being scrubbed down by a mostly naked lady in a jjimjilbang (aka a 24-hour public bathhouse) made the pursuit that much sweeter. Plus, I trust my friends, but not enough to correctly shade-match me from memory. I love you, CJ and Minnie, but I don't even trust myself to do that.

Myeong-dong, for those unfamiliar, is basically the equivalent of New York City's Times Square for beauty. Streets are lined with street food vendors, tourists, and stand-alone stores for all the K-beauty brands that I usually shop online. Among the Etude Houses, Innisfrees, and Nature Republics (yes, there are several of each in the same area), you'll find Espoir, a cosmetics brand that's yet to make its way to the U.S. Its star product is the aforementioned Pro Tailor Foundation Be Glow. Not only do Allure Korea editors swear by it, but CJ and Minnie do, too. The standards are high all around and after I tried it , I realized what the hype is about.

The Shade Range

The Espoir foundation comes in 10 shades with the darkest shade, Deep, falling on the darker side of the medium range. It's not the most accessible choice for the American market, but as my friends will tell you, it has one of the largest shade ranges available in Seoul. Most brands offer about four hues.

I swatched five different shades of the foundation before settling on Petal (or Medium 2). For reference, my Fenty Beauty shade is 170.

Courtesy of brand

The Coverage

If you're looking for a foundation that offers more coverage than a BB cream but still looks sheer and natural, the Be Glow's got you. (It's even formulated with SPF 25.) I buffed it into my skin with the Real Techniques RT 402 Setting Brush, which is my new favorite tip. To build up the coverage, I recommend using a sponge.

The Finish

Devon Abelman/Allure

Allure Korea editors were not kidding when they said the foundation will have your skin "glowing at any angle." Taking selfies was easy because my face looked like natural light was hitting it no matter where I was. A couple of dermatologists I met in Seoul even told me I have beautiful skin, and I had to hold my tongue from admitting that the foundation was doing me some favors. In fact, the 14-hour flight from New York City seriously dried out my skin. You wouldn't have known because the foundation ensured that my skin looked radiant. A facialist even commented on how parched my complexion was and added that my makeup "made my skin look oily." (I'm going to take that to mean it looked dewy.) Basically, the foundation will get you glowing no matter what state your skin is in.

For those who don't have any trips to Korea planned, you can shop the Espoir Pro Tailor Foundation Be Glow on espoir.com for $41. Shipping will cost you an extra $13, though. Dropping some extra cash just might be worth it for the dewy, hydrated complexion of your dreams.