Hooray! It’s my birthday today. So, as a birthday treat, I decided to crack open my Gudetama BB Cushion I bought a few weeks ago. I’d been saving it for this and wanted to start my day in a special way. So this is both for me, and you guys!

Cushions are all the rage in Korea. Gone are the days where your foundation or BB cream was administered in a tube. Sure, some people still use them, but most women nowadays opt for the convenience of a cushion. They are usually made of soft, spongy material, held in a case, drenched in the blemish balm of your choice. You apply them with an applicator puff, dabbing it into the spongy material, and then dabbing it on your face. I really like using them, as they provide more all-over coverage, and I don’t have to touch my face at all. It seems more hygienic, and half the time, it comes in a much prettier package than regular BB cream!

Imagine my excitement, then, when I learned that Holika Holika were to release a Gudetama themed BB cushion. I love this little lazy egg guy. He sums up my morning feelings perfectly. Lazy and easy. That’s what I want. I love my make up routine, but I am usually much more focused on breakfast and coffee. You don’t want to see me hangry.

The Gudetama BB Cushion case comes in three styles at the moment. When I visited the store, I was pretty torn as to which one to choose as they are all very cute. At the time I went into the store, only one shade of cushion was available (NW21) – I’d tried the Face 2 Change BB cream before as a sample, so I luckily knew this shade was right for me. They now sell the cushion in two shades (21 + 23), but they’re still both relatively light, so darker complexions can’t indulge as of yet. As the range is currently exclusive to the shops in Korea, as far as I know, I can understand why they haven’t brought out many more shades to add to the cushion range. This said, most of the shades Holika Holika offer in this cushion and their normal Face 2 Change range are only suitable for those with rather fair skin.

The Face 2 Change BB Cream claims to be a skin whitener, wrinkle filler, sunscreen, moisturiser, and make-up all in one. At a price of 23,000W ($19/€17/£13.50) with a refill included, it’s pretty standard. Compared to my other cushion case (Banila Co. V Bouncing Cushion), it’s cheaper, but I do notice the differences – I’ll write a review of the other cushion at a later date, though.

The packaging is nice – the mirror inside is a good size for touching up on the go, and as is standard with most cushion cases, it comes with a BB-drenched sponge and a cushion puff. The sponge is separated from the puff to prevent it absorbing liquid whilst on the move. The puff provided in this case is also Gudetama themed – his big yellow face peeps out at you when you open the case. I also bought the set of four cushion puffs in the Gudetama range, because who can resist a ribbon designed to look like bacon? The puffs are not rubycell, as far as I can tell, but I am continuing research into this. With rubycell puffs, less product soaks into the cushion, making application easier, and they are also anti-bacterial. The product sits on top of the puff, giving you an even layer during application.

With these puffs, I noticed more of the product was absorbed, and it didn’t feel quite as soft as other puffs I’ve used (Missha Line Friends, Banila. Co V Bouncing). The puff is slightly scratchy on the sides when I apply the cream on my face, due to the connecting seam. When pressing the puff into the cream, I felt that quite a bit managed to stay in the puff rather than transferring to my face. I certainly noticed more product absorbed into it compared to my regular application with other puffs.

Some key ingredients in the cream are as follows:

Niacinamide, argan tree kernel oil, ethylhexyloxphenol, coral powder, pearl powder, mother of pearl extract, titanium dioxide, argania spinosa kernel oil.

Fortunately, there are no real shockers in the longer list of ingredients, regarding skin irritants, or ingredients that might be a trigger for problem skin. Ingredients such at ethylhexyloxphenol work as a sunscreen, protecting your skin from both UVA and UVB rays (long and short wave). Argan tree oil offers natural moisture along with argania kernel oil. Niacinamide is a common ingredient in many BB creams all over Korea, due to the fact it can improve skin elasticity, even out skin tone, and make your skin much smoother.

Above is some swatching I did with the cream.

Dabbing the cream over my face, it certainly is a pale colour, but it’s about right for my complexion, and I noticed my redness was covered relatively well. At the moment, I have some red spots under my eyes, which it did not completely cover, but it made a visible difference and dulled down the fiery patches. Patting the cream on, the final look was somewhat shiny, giving that oily glow that Koreans seem to be in search of. I prefer a more matte finish, so I clearly don’t fit in here. This is easily fixable with pressed powder, however. The cream gives an all over, even coverage. It’s a good start to my make-up routine for the day. Below you can see some before and after shots, and a half on/half off face shot.

However, how does it last? I hoped this coverage would last throughout the day. It mostly does – but there is one problem with this cushion compact cream that means I’d be reluctant to buy it again (were it not for obscenely cute cartoon characters). Over the day, the product seems to clump together in patches on the skin. It was difficult to get a photo of this, as none of them turned out very well, but below is a picture demonstrating a little of the clumping on my forehead. From far away, this can’t be noticed, but if you were to come a little closer, you’d surely see the uneven application, which is unfortunate. I also noticed that it slightly clings to the pores, making the skin look somewhat bumpy after a while.

This shot was taken after a day’s wear (plus bonus portrait my 5th grade girls drew of me):

Colour-wise and hydration-wise, the cream seems to work for me. My skin doesn’t dry out much, which it sometimes does with BBs and foundations. While I don’t think it lasts as long as I’d like, and I’d rather it just disappeared so I didn’t have to sort out clumps, I do like the glow that it gives me, the fact it dulls my redness, and the even coverage I get.

Overall, I’d give this a score of 3.5/5. Here’s why:

Pros:

Adorable packaging. Come on. You knew that would be number one on the list.

Highly moisturising

Even coverage

Covers up redness well

Cons:

Doesn’t last as long as I’d hoped

Clumps together on the skin

Clings to pores

I’ll certainly continue using the product for the time being, but I wouldn’t be tempted to buy again purely on the BB cream alone. I’ve used much better ones that work for my skin and last longer. Hopefully I can find a cushion that fits this case instead, and then I can keep on using this little box of cute! If not, I’ll have to stick to the cushion puffs alone, which is useless – nobody can see those inside the casing!

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