It's December, which means that it is completely acceptable to start counting down to Christmas! In fact, when I was in England, we had advent calendars for precisely that - counting down to Christmas! It is all sorts of glorious and I hope the trend comes over for both beauty products (I think some brands do it now) and chocolates!
The Belif team had kindly picked out products for my normal-combination skin to try out and this is indeed the season of gifting and if you are looking to give the gift of good skin to a loved one, Belif are doing gift sets which make it even more reasonable than usual!
If you are actually not sure of Belif as a brand, let me do a quick and brief introduction (you can read more about the brand HERE or on their facebook).
Belif is actually a Korean skincare brand which combines knowledge and traditional herbal processing method passed down from a British herbalist (Duncan Napier who has his skincare range too) combined with modern Korean skin science to provide the utmost care and efficacy for skin.
Personally, I like that as it means there is the traditional research, combined with the modern science, which in my mind means that this is tried and tested, plus it will probably be extra suitable for Asian skin texture.
Starting off in order of how I would use my skincare - the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh. There are actually 10 different cleansers in the range so if you are actually able to pop in store for the consultants to recommend the products best suited to you, that is ideal! I have listed the 6 shopping malls where Belif has a store, but if you want to get it online, I have seen it on Zalora! (for those of us not in Penang, Kuching, Selangor or KL!)
| Store | Address | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunway Pyramid | Lot G1.82, Sunway Pyramid | 03-56136226 | viewmap |
| Queensbay Mall | GF 20, GROUND FLOOR QUEENSBAY MALL 100 PERSIARAN BAYAN INDAH 11900 BAYAN LEPAS PULAU PINANG | 04-6447966 | viewmap |
| IOI City Mall | G-73B. IOI City Mall, Lebuh IRC, IOI Resort City, 62502, Putrajaya. Sepang. Selangor. | 03-89407388 | viewmap |
| Viva City Mall | G56, Vivacity MegaMall, Jalan Wan Alwi, 93350 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia | 08-2263692 | viewmap |
| Midvalley Megamall | G001A, Ground Floor, Midvalley Megamall, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, 59200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 03-22010645 / 03-22010915 | viewmap |
| KLCC | C11-A, Concourse Floor, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088, Kuala Lumpur | 03-21632163 |
The Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh is targeted at combination-oily skin. It comes with a proper cap and a separate pump so that you know it will not leak on your way home. All the products are free from mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, synthetic dyes, synthetic preservatives, and animal-origin ingredients!
The cleansing oil is really lightweight and "suitable for oily to combination skin types, removes make-up and eliminates blackheads, leaving you with a light finished feeling. Soapberry and Sweet Flag ingredients in the cleansing oil prevents future breakouts." I personally like how simple the packaging is as I tend to go for a more pared back look and aesthetic for my skincare in comparison to makeup items.
The pump does come with a stopper and whatever you do, do not throw that part away! It stops the pump from functioning so that you can actually travel with it! I personally use about two pumps to remove my face makeup. You can use another half pump (or a full pump) to take off waterproof eye makeup.
I prefer using a separate eye makeup remover because I find it gets messy really quickly (hello scary panda eyes) and although this cuts through face makeup like it is tofu and demolishes waterproof eye makeup, I do find that I need to put in a bit more effort with the japanese super waterproof mascaras (heroine make, I am looking at you). I have always favoured a separate eye makeup remover regardless, and only use cleansing oils around the eyes when I am in a pinch or travelling.
However, in the interest of testing and reviewing, I took this to my eyes, which is how I know about it taking slightly more effort with super waterproof formulas. I do find that it can make the eye feel a tad funny if you work at the formula for too long around the eyes (presumably it is starting to go into the eye eeek!) but it does not sting or hurt, just that you can feel it.
Here I have swatched on all sorts of eye makeup, waterproof mascara and the works, just to show you how quickly the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh blitzes through makeup.
Everything is dissolve within a few seconds of circular contact with the liquidy oil and then all you have to do is rinse this off. You do not even need to use a wet towel to remove this because it is so liquidy and easy to rinse off. However, see the mess if you take it around the eyes? I don't like this or smooshing waterproof eye makeup around my skin so I use a separate eye makeup remover most days.
The results? Fresh skin that feels soft and clean. Do not worry as the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh will not leave your skin dry or tight, just clean and fresh!
Have I mentioned that this smells really nice? Not overpoweringly perfumed, but more like a natural subtle fresh sweetness from the ingredients! This Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh retails for RM140 for 150ml which is cheaper than my holy grail Shu Uemura Anti Oxi Cleansing Oil which retails for RM145 for 150ml. Guess who is probably making a switch from Japanese to Korean.
Next we have the Belif Oil Control Moisturiser Fresh. There are 4 different moisturisers and this is most suited to oilier skin types. It is actually pretty amazing how light this is and after application, even though your skin feels protected, it does not feel heavy or claggy. The skin is completely matte after application!
Like the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh, this is completely free from mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, synthetic dyes, synthetic preservatives, and animal-origin ingredients. The packaging retains the sleek look and has a little cap to prevent unwanted or accidental pumping of the product.
I find 1.5 pumps to be sufficient for my entire face and if you like to take your moisturiser down your neck, another half pump would suffice! The half translucent moisturiser packs a punch even though it is very lightweight because my skin did not had to overcompensate by producing even more oil (this sometimes happen if there is insufficient hydration).
You have to see it to believe it, try it to love it because this applies easily and then it is completely matte. I have never had a moisturiser that leaves the skin matte! Foundation yes, but never a moisturiser. If you have oilier skin type, you will love this. If you have drier skin types, there are other moisturisers from the range - fret not! It retails for RM160 for 125ml so please do not try to take this on the plane with you as the security will definitely make you bin it (NOOOOOOOOOO)
Now, the packaging for the Belif Aqua Gel Oil looks really different because this is actually under the "special" category. This is one of my favourite products from the range, partly because I was not expecting it to work for me but it really does!
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is also completely free from mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, synthetic dyes, synthetic preservatives, and animal-origin ingredients. Now you hear Aqua gel oil, and you are probably already thinking this will be greasy, it will be oily and it will be too heavy. Well, you are wrong, just like I was.
This super lightweight blue gel actually sinks into the skin really easily and quickly. While it is not as liquidy as the Belif Oil Control Moisturiser Fresh, this is more of a gel texture as advertised. It does smell like alcohol so I had a look at the ingredient list and alcohol is actually listed quite high in the ingredient list, after glycerin. Now, I remember the mother of skincare (aka Caroline Hirons) saying that if glycerin is featured really high up, it counters the presence of alcohol. So you might be interested that alcohol denat (denatured alcohol) is the 4th on the ingredient list, right after glycerin (3rd) and also that Caroline has on her blog, said that she flags things up if alcohol is on the top 3, this just misses it!
However, I still wanted to try this properly so I actually tried this on really sore skin around my nose when I was ill and hey presto! No burning sensations whatsoever. This, to me, is immediate proof that while alcohol was quite high up in the ingredient list, it does not irritate the skin, even sensitive skin.
You do get more moisture with this product and I favour it in the evenings. I have tried it under makeup and it does not cause the makeup to break down or get oily but I prefer the matte look the Belif Oil Control Moisturiser Fresh offers. Yet, this is fast becoming my favourite product. I actually cannot choose my favourite between this and the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh, they just make my skin feel amazing. This Belif Aqua Gel Oil retails for RM 205 for 50ml.
Now the final product in the box is a bit of a hybrid product. Some people classify Tinted Moisturisers and BB creams under skincare and some classify them as makeup. I do not really know but I think it's a bit of both since they offer skincare benefits but coverage at the same time.
Belif offers 3 different variations of the Tinted Moisturiser B.B. and the one I have here is the Belif Tinted Moisturiser Powdery B.B. which is obviously (by the name) targeted at oilier skin types. This is still completely free from mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, synthetic dyes, synthetic preservatives, and animal-origin ingredients.
The packaging is sleek and I like the ease of a squeezy tube for foundations and bases. The Belief Tinted Moisturiser Powdery B.B (and the other variations) all come in one shade -natural.
This is where the Korean part of the brand suddenly seems blindingly obvious. The Belif Tinted Moisturiser Powdery B.B. is quite fair and has a grey tinge to it.
The coverage is actually pretty insane and I have medium coverage foundations that have less coverage than this. This is only supposed to be a tinted moisturiser!
Because I am way too dark to be wearing this Belif Tinted Moisturiser Powdery B.B., I have to blend it like crazy on the back of my hand to try and show you the texture and finish of it. It is definitely a matte finish with good coverage and a distinctively whitening effect on me. If you are fairer it may suit you better. If you are darker than me (Mac NC 25), unless you are going for a fairer look, this is not for you unfortunately. I do have a hack down below if you want to try this product.
This picture is to show you the grey cast and whitening effect it has on my hand.
I then thought it might be easier to show you on my arm and you can definitely see that the finish is matte and the coverage is high.
If you blend it really well (down your neck and on your ears) you would have a pretty flawless base by the end because the coverage of this is so good and the finish is so natural.
Personally because I like how the finish of this Belif Tinted Moisturiser Powder B.B. I have actually taken to mixing it with a foundation that is too dark for me to wear. The combination means that I get a really beautiful finish with the correct shade on my way too tanned for Korean makeup face. WIN (even if I say so myself).
I am besotted with the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh and the Belif Aqua Gel Oil partly because they allow me to be really lazy with my routine. I do still double cleanse but I know I can get away without because when I have taken a toner straight after the Belif Cleansing Oil Fresh, the cotton pad came away clean! The Belif Aqua Gel Oil is straight up an all-in-one so yes-LAZY.
I enjoy the Belif Oil Control Moisturiser Fresh in the morning before makeup but would not use it in the evenings (whereas I would use the Belif Aqua Gel Oil whenever!) and the Belif Tinted Moisturiser Powder B.B. though a beautiful finish and oil control properties, requires me to mix to get my shade so for that reason (and that it would be silly to have 4 favourite products out of 4 products you feature), I like it but I don't love it.
Now, Belif is doing all sorts of Christmas packaging and boxes and promotions so this really is the best time to go in person to get the skincare most suited to you. I believe in investing in skincare because a good base means you can use less makeup and your skin will just naturally shine (ok perhaps not the best choice of word here) through. So don't forget to check them out HERE or on their facebook.
PS. leave me a comment if you made it all the way through, I may have a surprise for you ;)
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