Just in case you haven’t heard, we’re doing CC creams now. The last couple of years have been the golden age of BB creams, which inspired a new trend of naming every face product after a letter of the alphabet. It’s cool, though. I’m into it. I’m looking forward to 20 years from now, when on whatever social platform replaces Facebook, there’s a meme that starts off, “You know you loved the 2010’s when…” and at the top of the list is, “You wore a BB Cream, a CC Cream, and a PP Cream!” Don’t worry, you guys, there’s no such thing as a PP Cream…yet.

The “CC” in CC cream usually stands for color control or color correction. I’ve read a handful of blogs speculating CC creams will replace BB creams, but I strongly disagree with that sentiment. These products, in my view, are not interchangeable – they perform two different functions. BB creams are made for providing coverage with skincare benefits, while CC creams are designed to provide subtle skin tone corrections and act as a makeup base.

Claims

Banila Co.It Radiant CC Cream is a whitening color control base. In terms of skincare, this CC cream offers moisturizing benefits. It also offers whitening/brightening benefits, though I couldn’t find any descriptions in English that specified whether the whitening/brightening effect it promises is long or short term.

Banila Co. It Radiant CC Cream also promises to smooth skin, even skin tone, and it offers SPF 30 PA ++ broad spectrum sun protection.

Ingredients

Ugh, you guys, I could not find an ingredient list in English for this product. I looked everywhere. I tried translating the Banila Co. website, and I even tried Korean Google. The best I could do was this graphic of the ingredients list in Korean, which sadly, cannot be copy-pasted into a translator:

The only information about the ingredients I could find in English said that this product contains “Herb Water Complex” to moisturize the skin. I’m working on obtaining an English ingredient list, and promise to update this review as soon as I have. If you are reading this, and have the ability to translate this list, please contact me. I will send you products for your services!

EDIT (6/30/2013): Someone has responded to my plea for help with the translation of the ingredient list. Thank you, Lindsey!

Ingredients:

Water, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Titanium Dioxide (ci-77891), Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Penta-Siloxane Cycle, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Hexa Siloxane Cycles, Niacinamide, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Octyldodecanol, Lavender Water, Rosemary Water, Pure Chamomile Water, Root Extract, Horse Chestnut Extract, Round Leaf Morning Glory Extract, Pure Madonna Lily Water, Lily of the Valley Bulb/Root Extract, Lily Magnolia Flower Extract, Peony Flower Extract, Lactobacillus Ferment, Lactococcus Ferment, Milk Protein, Yeast Ferment Filtrate, Candle Bush Extract, Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Exyl Benzoate, Diphenylsioxy Phenyl Trimethicone, Glycol Stearate, Triceteareth-4 Phosphate, Glyceryl Stearate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, PEG-2 Stearate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Triethanolamine, Silica, Aluminum Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Polysorbate 80, PEG-8, Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Ethanol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Spices, Micah (ci77019), Yellow Iron Oxide (ci 77492), Red Iron Oxide (ci 77491) Ultramarine (ci 77007).

This CC cream has a decent ingredient list, with no significant acne triggers. However, running the list through COSDNA does reveal a few potential irritants, namely Octyldodecanol, Triethanol Amine,and Ethanol.

The sun protection ingredients in this formula are a great combination! The chemical sunscreen ingredient is Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, which is one the gentlest chemical sunscreens available. The other sunscreen component is Titanium Dioxide, which is a physical sunscreen, and gentler than Zinc Oxide. That said, it’s still important to use a standalone sunscreen when using this product (or any other makeup product with sun protection), as you would have to wear an obscene amount of CC cream to obtain the full SPF/PA protection listed on the front of the package.

Performance

Banila Co. It Radiance CC Cream only comes in one color. The first thing I noticed once I pumped it out of the tube (the pump is really nice, by the way) is that the color is extremely light. This did not concern me, since I knew going into this that the color is supposed to be translucent.

I knew this product was not designed to provide coverage, but I was still surprised at first by how sheer it is. Once applied, my skin did look slightly brighter. The effect reminded me a little of the white cast I get from some physical sunscreens, and I suddenly wondered if CC creams weren’t just a clever way to make the white cast trait in sunscreens a positive instead of a negative. Because it’s a color control product, I expected it to even out some of my red areas, but it only brightened areas that weren’t red.

Even though the product is sheer, the brightening effect is one that I think would look strange on darker skin tones. Therefore, I would not recommend this for anyone who is deeper than NC25 in MAC shades.

The finish is slightly dewy, which is to be expected from a product with the word “radiant” in the name. I happen to like the dewy look, so this was a plus for me.

The Banila Co. It Radiance CC Cream has a lovely texture – it feels almost like a moisturizing cream. It spreads easily, it’s readily absorbed by my skin, and doesn’t leave behind any stickiness.

I’ve been using this product for about a month, but waited until today to take my before and after photos. My skin condition is pretty bad at the moment. I’ve had yet another product testing incident that involves a somewhat widespread breakout. I am happy to say that this product did not further aggravate the situation, and in fact, it felt rather soothing going on.

Over the course of the month, I have used this product underneath a variety of BB creams and foundations. I haven’t noticed any long term skincare benefits, but as a makeup base, it performed well. It helped prevent the dry flakes I often experience midday, and I appreciated the extra SPF. However, it didn’t really make my makeup look any different, and I did not notice any difference in the staying power of my makeup with this cream.

I enjoy using this product, and will definitely finish the tube, but it’s not an essential makeup item for me. Although the extra moisture and SPF protection are nice, I have other products that perform these functions, and the brightening effect of the CC cream isn’t impressive enough to sway me into switching long term.

Pros:

+ Moisturizing

+ Non-irritating

+ Broad spectrum SPF 30 PA ++

+ Easy to spread

+ Absorbs quickly

+ Not oily

+ Somewhat brightening

+ Dewy Finish

Cons:

– No long term skin benefits

– Does not even out red tones

– Brightening effect is somewhat ghostly

Skin & Tonics Rating:

Performance: 3/5 Moisturizes and subtly brightens, but doesn’t even out red tones

Quality: 3/5 The formula seemed non-irritating and gentle, but without knowledge of the actual ingredients, I cannot score this higher than a 3.

Value: 3/5 Priced at $24-$30, which is mid-range for a decent makeup base

Overall: 3/5

Where to Buy

If you’d like to try Banila Co. It Radiant CC Cream for yourself, it’s available from these Skin & Tonics approved vendors:

W2Beauty ($31)

A-Poly on Amazon.com ($25 + $5 shipping)

Two Face Mall ($31)

Korea Depart ($27 + $8 shipping)

This product was sent to me for my unbiased review. I do not do paid reviews. For more information about my review policies, see my full disclosure.

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