I decided to go out on a whim (well because I got a $2 off coupon for Almay products at Target) and splurge on two new Almay face products from their smart shade line called the Almay Smart Shade CC Cream and the Almay Smart Shade Mousse Makeup. And let me just tell you, Almay isn't a cheap drugstore product. The CC Cream retails for $8.49 at Target and the Mousse Makeup is priced at $11.99. So let's get on to some swatches.
Let's first review the Almay Smart Shade CC Cream and above on the top of my sister's hand (thanks Jess!) is the product straight out of the bottle and below it is the CC cream slightly blended in. I am in the color 300 medium. This only comes in three colors, 100 Light, 200 light/medium, and 300 medium. The color range is a complete disappointment since there are people darker than the medium color and I understand that it is supposed to blend into your exact skintone but it is improbable for anyone darker than a medium. The CC part of this CC Cream means that it is a color correcting cream. Not necessarily a foundation and not necessarily a tinted moisturizer rather a sort of in between.
Moving on to the packaging, I like how the CC cream is in a squeezeable tube. It is not only hygienic but it is also easier to control how much product you want to use. It's quite small and fits in the palm of your hand and easy to store away. That's always a plus for me because I have limited space in my makeup drawers. I'd also like to add is that I love the Almay scheme colors which is mostly gray. Although I love my glittery and sparkly packaging, I just like how nice and simple it looks.
Now with this CC Cream Almay claims that it will "instantly diminish the appearance of of imperfections, pores, dull skin tone, fine lines, wrinkle, and discoloration" and "upon application the multi-benefit formula covers dark spots and immediately brightens the skin". It is also supposed to be oil and fragrance free. The CC Cream does actually have a scent to it which is the scent of sunscreen. It does have a good amount of SPF in it which is number 35. The scent does not linger upon application and it isn't too strong either. So I begin to apply the product on my skin with the E.L.F. studio powder brush and I find that it applies smoothly and is easy to blend. The finish is slightly dewey but can be matte when applied with powder. The consistency was not too runny and not too thick. It was a perfect even texture. I do find that it does color correct my skin and it looks natural. I can definitely say it is a solid medium coverage and can be built up. My acne spots and discoloration was slightly concealed but there was no major coverage. I did find however it did highlight any dry patches on my skin and I did moisturize with a moisturizer before application. This is supposed to be a moisturizing product and it is true to certain areas of the face but I did find it cake a little on any dry patches that I had. With the sunscreen I can also see a little bit of white in the light so I would not photograph with this CC Cream. It did brighten my skin which I liked. I looked actually alive and not a zombie.
As the day went on, I kept checking up on my skin. I didn't feel oily or greasy in my usual areas which is the T-Zone. I have combination skin so I do have some dry areas. It has pretty good lasting power. At the end of the day it did look like I still had CC cream on except for my nose and cheeks. But that's okay because once again that is oily area and Almay did not promise that this is a long lasting product.
I was super shocked when I first opened the jar to find that it is the color of a white gray. I assume this is where the color matching properties come in but it looks super cool. Almay claims that you can "get perfectly poreless skin in a shade that is magically fit for you" and is a "soft, velvety mousse that provides flawless coverage for an airbrushed look". The texture of it is quite thick and a little bit drying feeling. It does not have a mousse consistency at all. When applied to the skin it did take some time to blend it out but it really did blend to my actual skin tone color and it looked really good. It felt super lightweight and has a satin matte finish. The smell of the mousse foundation actually has quite an odd scent. I really can't put my nose to it but it does linger on the skin for a couple of minutes after application. It will fade away as the day goes on. Unlike the CC Cream, it does not have any SPF so it is photograph friendly. The coverage is light to medium and I felt I could not go out without using a concealer on any blemishes.
The wear of this product is excellent. As the day bore on, it really stuck onto my skin and I felt flawless with my makeup on. I even wore it late into the night at a total of 12 hours (I sleep pretty late) and I didn't feel the need to touch up or anything. It wasn't oily in my T-Zone and I didn't feel greasy at all. The dry patches on my skin weren't highlighted therefore I didn't feel insecure about them. I know that if I use a powder on this product, it will really seal it in for a longer wear.
Leave a comment below and let us what you think about this product!
Let's first review the Almay Smart Shade CC Cream and above on the top of my sister's hand (thanks Jess!) is the product straight out of the bottle and below it is the CC cream slightly blended in. I am in the color 300 medium. This only comes in three colors, 100 Light, 200 light/medium, and 300 medium. The color range is a complete disappointment since there are people darker than the medium color and I understand that it is supposed to blend into your exact skintone but it is improbable for anyone darker than a medium. The CC part of this CC Cream means that it is a color correcting cream. Not necessarily a foundation and not necessarily a tinted moisturizer rather a sort of in between.
Moving on to the packaging, I like how the CC cream is in a squeezeable tube. It is not only hygienic but it is also easier to control how much product you want to use. It's quite small and fits in the palm of your hand and easy to store away. That's always a plus for me because I have limited space in my makeup drawers. I'd also like to add is that I love the Almay scheme colors which is mostly gray. Although I love my glittery and sparkly packaging, I just like how nice and simple it looks.
Now with this CC Cream Almay claims that it will "instantly diminish the appearance of of imperfections, pores, dull skin tone, fine lines, wrinkle, and discoloration" and "upon application the multi-benefit formula covers dark spots and immediately brightens the skin". It is also supposed to be oil and fragrance free. The CC Cream does actually have a scent to it which is the scent of sunscreen. It does have a good amount of SPF in it which is number 35. The scent does not linger upon application and it isn't too strong either. So I begin to apply the product on my skin with the E.L.F. studio powder brush and I find that it applies smoothly and is easy to blend. The finish is slightly dewey but can be matte when applied with powder. The consistency was not too runny and not too thick. It was a perfect even texture. I do find that it does color correct my skin and it looks natural. I can definitely say it is a solid medium coverage and can be built up. My acne spots and discoloration was slightly concealed but there was no major coverage. I did find however it did highlight any dry patches on my skin and I did moisturize with a moisturizer before application. This is supposed to be a moisturizing product and it is true to certain areas of the face but I did find it cake a little on any dry patches that I had. With the sunscreen I can also see a little bit of white in the light so I would not photograph with this CC Cream. It did brighten my skin which I liked. I looked actually alive and not a zombie.
As the day went on, I kept checking up on my skin. I didn't feel oily or greasy in my usual areas which is the T-Zone. I have combination skin so I do have some dry areas. It has pretty good lasting power. At the end of the day it did look like I still had CC cream on except for my nose and cheeks. But that's okay because once again that is oily area and Almay did not promise that this is a long lasting product.
Pros:
- Hygienic packaging
- Texture is not too liquidy and not too thick
- Applies evenly and smoothly
- High SPF
- Does color correct the skin
- Looks natural
- Medium coverage
- Brightens Skin
- Pretty good lasting power
Cons:
- Smells like sunscreen
- Small color range
- Does not heavily conceal
- Highlights dry patches on skin
- White patches because of high SPF
- Not photographable
- Not super moisturizing as it claims
- Tends to get oily around my T-Zone
Final Thoughts:
I would first like to say that this is my first CC Cream product that I have ever tried out. I've always known BB Creams and what they do and I found the CC Cream concept to be quite interesting. I do like this CC Cream and I can't really base this off of other CC Creams in the market but I found it did surprisingly do the things that I'm looking for in any foundation or tinted moisturizer which is to make me look alive. It feels really good on my skin and it was easy to apply. I don't suggest this to oily skin people because it does get oily on my T-Zone and because of the SPF it will get greasy for oily skin people. For now I will say I really like this CC Cream and I can't wait to try out other CC Creams.
Grade:
A-
Links To Buy:
Target ($8.49)
Ulta ($9.99)
Onto the next smart shade product that I purchased which is the Almay Smart Shade Mousse Makeup. I am in the color 200 Light/Medium and I find it matches perfectly to my skin tone. The colors that this mousse foundation comes in is in Light, Light/Medium, Medium, and Medium Deep. I love the packaging of this product. The jar is super light and sturdy. It is not the most hygienic product out there so I have to use clean hands to pick up the foundation up. Below is what the product looks like:
I was super shocked when I first opened the jar to find that it is the color of a white gray. I assume this is where the color matching properties come in but it looks super cool. Almay claims that you can "get perfectly poreless skin in a shade that is magically fit for you" and is a "soft, velvety mousse that provides flawless coverage for an airbrushed look". The texture of it is quite thick and a little bit drying feeling. It does not have a mousse consistency at all. When applied to the skin it did take some time to blend it out but it really did blend to my actual skin tone color and it looked really good. It felt super lightweight and has a satin matte finish. The smell of the mousse foundation actually has quite an odd scent. I really can't put my nose to it but it does linger on the skin for a couple of minutes after application. It will fade away as the day goes on. Unlike the CC Cream, it does not have any SPF so it is photograph friendly. The coverage is light to medium and I felt I could not go out without using a concealer on any blemishes.
(Here in this swatch, you can see how the smart shade particles work)
The wear of this product is excellent. As the day bore on, it really stuck onto my skin and I felt flawless with my makeup on. I even wore it late into the night at a total of 12 hours (I sleep pretty late) and I didn't feel the need to touch up or anything. It wasn't oily in my T-Zone and I didn't feel greasy at all. The dry patches on my skin weren't highlighted therefore I didn't feel insecure about them. I know that if I use a powder on this product, it will really seal it in for a longer wear.
Pros:
- Light packaging
- Feels lightweight on the skin
- Becomes your perfect skintone color
- Photograph frindly
- Longwearing
- Not oily/greasy
- Does not highlight dry patches
Cons:
- Not hygienic packaging
- Does not have a decent color range
- Weird scent
- Not enough coverage, good for people who do not need to conceal too much
Final Thoughts:
Overall I really really love this foundation! I love the finish I got out of it and that it is photograph friendly. I love that it is longlasting and super lightweight. I don't feel like I have any foundation on my skin. I wish it would give me more coverage like it claims to do but it doesn't. But I seriously like this product a lot. I would recommend this for anyone to try out and I love the concept.
Grade:
A+
Leave a comment below and let us what you think about this product!
Links To Buy:
Target ($11.99)
Walmart ($11.98)
Ulta ($13.99)
Written By:
Daisy
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