I know there are beauty enthusiasts out there who are obsessed with Korean beauty products and practices. I even have friends who use K-beauty products exclusively! I usually don’t care about the origins of the product. But, two Korean beauty brands have made me understand the appeal. One of them is Erborian. I’m beyond impressed by their multi-tasking, beauty-enhancing products; among those, the CC Water Fresh Complexion Gel is my favorite! Here’s the lowdown on this glossy skin must-have.
Erborian CC Water Fresh Complexion Gel Review
What It Is
The CC Water Gel is a color corrector that comes in 4 shades. Mine is the lightest, which is Clair. The name of the product doesn’t immediately bring color correction in mind and I think that’s deliberate.
Because, unlike a typical color corrector, it’s not in cream form, and it only gives you sheer coverage. It lightly corrects skin tone such as minor redness and discolorations. So if you think color correction in the traditional sense, you won’t get that from this product.
Ingredients
As I said, the CC Water Fresh Complexion Gel contains Centella Asiatica, which is also known as cica. It has antioxidant benefits but it’s majorly helpful in soothing redness and calming irritation.
It also has hyaluronic acid and glycerin to hydrate the skin. In terms of ingredients, this almost feels like a gel-based face serum!
Texture
The CC Water comes out as a lightweight, transparent, non-sticky gel that’s formulated with tiny pigment particles. They burst and give pigments to the skin as you blend them in. The whole thing is very similar to Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint in my opinion but without the coverage.
Blendability
You only need a tiny amount of product for each cheek. The pigment particles start melting into the skin with the heat of your fingers and you can see the shade of the color corrector in action, giving you a tiny bit of warmth and sheer coverage.
Finish
The finish of the product is actually why I love it! It’s glossy, glowy, luminous, and radiant. It doesn’t look like a highlighter, it doesn’t look like a dewy finish skin tint or an illuminating primer! It simply works like a face gloss, or a skin luminizer, leaving the skin fresh, youthful, and healthy.
How It Looks
Below I’m wearing the Erborian CC Water Fresh Complexion Gel in Clair with my light-coverage foundation. All the luminosity you’re seeing is from the Gel because I’m not wearing anything with a dewy finish. If you have oily skin, this could be too much for summer weather. In any case, you can apply the Gel only where you want some radiance such as the tip of the nose. That way, you won’t get the glossy finish all over the face.
How To Use It
I use the CC Water in different ways. I use it alone as a mild color-corrector, a highlighter and I use it as an illuminating primer. Here’s how you can get the most out of it.
Color Correction
If you want to slightly even out your skin tone and are going for a no-makeup makeup look, finish your skincare routine first and give it a few minutes until your skin is dry.
Then squeeze out a pea-sized amount of the Water Gel for each cheek. Use your fingers to blend the product in. Make sure you spread it evenly all over the face and that there are no pigment particles left on the skin.
When I use this as a color corrector, I usually apply lip gloss and some mascara and leave it as it is. This is great for everyday, no-foundation makeup.
Primer
Erborian already has illuminating primers, but I think this works better than those. Once I’m done with skincare, I apply the CC Water Gel all over my face as an illuminating primer.
If my skin is not particularly oily that day or it’s winter, I apply the gel all over, including the under-eye area. I even get a small amount and apply it on the brow bone and a tiny bit on my eyelids to create a glossy look.
Once it settles, I apply my foundation, Clinique Even Better Makeup SPF 15, which is a light coverage foundation that allows the illuminating primer to shine through. Then I finish my makeup with some bronzer or blush.
The look I achieve with this is a medium-coverage, glowy, sleek makeup look. I can’t say that the Water Gel has a skin-blurring effect as a primer. For example, it won’t blur out pores. But I feel like it does extend foundation wear and helps keep it in place.
Highlighter
This can also work as a liquid highlighter. Once I’m done with my makeup, I get a little amount of the gel on the back of my hand. I blend the gel with my finger to melt the particles and get an even consistency. It becomes like a soft balm.
Then I dab my finger on the high points of my cheeks or where I want to highlight. Try to avoid blending it on your face because you might move your foundation. The finish is glossy and radiant and not shimmery or glittery, so it looks very natural as a highlighter.
What Others Are Saying
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Quick Look at Erborian CC Water Fresh Complexion Gel
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