Review - Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly BB Cream

Hey guys!

With all the BB-hype going around I wanted to try a few BB-Creams from the Asian market. One of the BB-cream I picked up was the Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly BB Cream in shade #1. I got it off eBay which is the easiest for me. It came in a box with the foundation and a sponge that Holika Holika has decided they want to supply their buyers with.

First thing's first: the packaging.

It comes in this rather bulky, matte glass jar. You can see there's a lot of access glass at the bottom there, and this little thing is also quite heavy. This thing does contain 40ml, though, so 1/3 more than the standard 30ml foundation-packaging.

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The lid states the name of the BB cream. This cream is also supposed to have SPF20 in it, but it doesn't say anywhere on the bottle, just online.

Inside the lid it this little spatula which you use to scoop out the product. It is fairly simple, but can be a little messy since you have to apply it to the back of your hand, and it has a tendency to get all over your hand.

Here's a little swatch. On the left is the product right after it got off the spatula, and on the right it is slightly blended and had sit for a few minutes, allowing it to oxidize. You can tell the foundation gets a little darker, and also that it dies matte. 

The matte finish was something I didn't expect for a BB-cream with the words "aqua" and "jelly" in it. But that's okay, I like my face to be matte, but accoarding to Holika Holika, this BB-Cream has "jelly texture that helps spread evenly and creates fully hydrated and shiny skin" which makes me think I might have gotten a fake one. The seller I got it from was toprated with 99.7% positive feedback, and the price seemed about right at $12.33, but I don't know. I just wanted to mention it.

When applying this BB-cream I've used three different techiniques. I've used my fingers, a beauty blender (yes, the real deal), and a flat top kabuki-like brush.

Here is my skin without anything on my face.

And here is my very freckled nose, haha.

BTW, I didn't set this with a powder in either of the pictures below. Also, all the pictures were taken with the flash on my Nikon D5100-camera.

On this picture I have applied the BB Cream with my beauty blender. I used stippeling motions and from afar it looks pretty good, right?

Same here, when applied with my ELF Studio Powder Brush. Still looks alright. 

But here's the problem - when you get up close, it doesn't look right. It has streaks, it gathers in my not-so-visible lines, I mean, I'm only 19 years old, I don't have wrinkles or a lot of fine lines yet! But still, in manages to sink into pores and anywhere else it seems fit.

Here you can see the streaks on my nose.

And here too, as well as the gathering on my nose-bridge.

The first time I tried this BB Cream I applied it with the brush, and I set it with powder, because that is what I always do. It looked soooo cakey! It was horrible, but I didn't have time to take it off, so I had to do my exam in front of a sensor with a cakey face. Not cool!

I am hoping that a primer will solve my problems with this BB Cream, because that would be such an easy fix, but we'll see. So far I'm kindof torn. The colour is great on me, and I like to mix it in to other foundations that are to dark on my skintone, but on the other hand, I would like to be able to wear it on it's own.

I also like that I don't have to set it with a powder for it to be matte enough for me, but it shouldn't sink into my pores the way it does. My pores aren't even that big!

Anyway, if this works with a primer I'll be sold, but I think it's so strange because I've seen other bloggers and youtubers raving about this BB Cream, but maybe they have oily skin? Mine is definetly not oily, more normal, but can be a little shiny in the T-zone sometimes.

Anyways, I will give you an update once my primer arrives and I will be able to try that!

UPDATE: Lately I've been using this with the ELF Mineral Infused Face Primer in Tone Adjusting Green and I LOVE(!) this BB Cream now! It's become my staple in my makeup bag, and I use it pretty much every day! Very much reccomended!

Have you tried it? If you love it let me know, because I'm curious!