The Erborian CC Crème is a high coverage CC cream that gives you the most natural finish. Read on to see if it’s right for you.
For people who don’t normally wear foundation or even a BB cream, the natural alternative is a CC cream. CC stands for color correcting, and CC creams are designed to match and even out your skin tone. The first and the only time I used a CC cream was the summer of 2012, when I impulse-purchased the Tony Moly Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream at the Incheon Airport. While I loved the idea of a CC cream, and it spread nicely, it never fully matched my skin tone. I ended up walking around with a white cast lingering on my face, and to make things worse, my face was noticeably lighter than my neck.
Naturally, when I got my hands on the Erborian CC Crème, I was curious whether it would transport me back to that unfortunate experience or open up a whole new world of CC creams for me. Unlike other CC creams I’ve seen where there’s only one shade to match all skin tones, the Erborian CC Crème comes in two different shades: ‘Clair’ and ‘Regular’. I have a light medium skin tone, so I went with the lighter shade ‘Clair’.
The Ingredients:
The key ingredient that immediately caught my eye was Centella. For any of my friends who come to me about acne scars or hyperpigmentation, Centella is one of the ingredients I always tell them to look out for. Ever since I heard from K-beauty YouTuber Joan Kim that this is her favorite ingredient, I’ve been using products with Centella morning and night and waking up with even skin.
Another ingredient I love in this CC cream is honey extract, which is a natural healing ingredient that hydrates the skin. It also combines several actives to offer SPF 25, so it’s a nice way to intensify your sun protection (on top of your regular sunscreen, of course).
How it looks:
When I squeeze it out of the tube, it looks white with teeny tiny black dots dispersed throughout. The texture is not heavy nor light—think somewhere between a cream and an emulsion. After gently swiping it on my hand, I was amazed to see that something so white could blend so quickly and seamlessly into my skin.
But as we all know, something could look great on the back of your hand but then look like a streaky, cakey, and bumpy mess on your face. I took half a pea-sized amount and dotted it all over my face, patting it in to blend. I was at first shocked by how white it was, but once again, it completely blended into my skin.
Here’s how it looks with the CC cream on one side of my face:
As I blended, I noticed that it took up a salmon-y undertone, which is what enabled the product to blend so seamlessly onto all parts of my face. The only area I had to pay extra attention to was my jawline, where the color was more visible. But that was easy to blend with a few pats, too.
In terms of the finish, my skin felt velvety right after, and it didn’t cling onto any dry patches. I have an oily T-zone and dry cheeks, but the CC cream accommodated both areas without throwing my skin’s moisture level off-balance. Throughout the day, my nose didn’t produce excess oil like it does with moisturizing foundations, and my cheeks didn’t dry up or flake.
In terms of the scent, I can say that it’s definitely there. But it’s subtle enough that once you apply it, you wouldn’t expect anyone to smell it on your face. To me, the scent says, ‘I’m a career woman with a closet full of silk blouses and perfumes on rotation, and I know what I’m doing with life.’ It’s sophisticated and elegant, but if you particularly hate fragrances, you might think it smells like generic cosmetics.
How it looks on other people:
Here’s how the same shade ‘Clair’ looks on our photographer Amanda Pham, who has a medium skin tone:
And here’s how the same shade looks on Chris Bustamante, the Social Media and Community Associate at Soko Glam and a professional makeup artist, who has a tan skin tone:
In case you thought it made his face look too pale, here’s another shot with the CC cream on the same side of his face in different lighting. This shot is the closest to how it looks in real life:
If you have oily skin like Chris, know that this CC cream will not make you matte. If you prefer more of a matte finish, you can spritz a mattifying mist like the Neogen Code 9 Sebum Clear Pore Mist on top, and you’ll be good to go. If you’re worried about enlarged pores, this CC cream definitely makes your pores less visible. It feels so light on the skin that you won’t feel like there’s gunk clogging your pores.
As you can see, because it blends in so easily, the same shade accommodates several different skin tones. As the three of us applied this CC cream on our faces, we were surprised that it perfectly matched everyone. That’s something a foundation or even a tinted moisturizer would never be able to do, and it makes choosing the right shade a lot easier. But if you have a deeper skin tone than tan, then you could go for the other shade, ‘Regular’.
Bottom Line:
I already knew that CC creams are meant to match my natural skin tone. But this CC cream stands out in terms of how fast it blends in and how natural it looks. This past summer, I’ve been using this tone up sunscreen every single day to even out my skin tone and brighten it. Even though I love that product, it comes out as pale pink, so it takes about 30 seconds to settle in and look natural. But the Erborian CC Crème requires no waiting period, which makes it great for busy mornings. I also love how velvety it makes my skin feel. Though I definitely don’t need any more beauty products, I’ll certainly be keeping this one.
