Lioele | Chasing Elixir

Lioele is a Korean cosmetic brand launched in 2007, made its mark online and it’s now widely available in stores all over Asia. It’s owned by LIOELE COSMETIC CO. LTD which has 18 brands in their portfolio. What’s great to know is that they are ISO certified and have a number of patents for their skincare/cosmetic ingredients.

I requested this as a part of my Kris Kringle (majority made up of circle lenses) – a little mini 5ml tube of Lioele Waterdrop BB Cream SPF 27 PA++. I know not every brand can afford to do minis but it’s such a great idea – even though it’s so much more expensive per ml for the mini, I much rather pay the 1/4 price for a trial, and not end up with yet another product in my closet (yes that’s where I keep my yet-to-be-used & not-really-used-but-maybe-sometime stash).

I’ll be reviewing all BB Creams on the following criteria:

Packaging
Coverage
Dry to touch finish
Natural skin feel
Fragrance
Longevity

Packaging: 5/5

The Lioele Waterdrop BB Cream mini is in a pearlised tube with a thin nozzle, whilst the full size is in a flat pearlised tube but also with a thin nozzle. To me, this is perfect – it’s easy to carry, offers great control in dispensing product, and hygienic. I really like the logo and entire look of the brand too – it’s really cute and looks so enticing!

Coverage: 3/5

The formula is like a tinted moisturiser – medium viscosity and colour. What you would be WOW’d by is the technology – when you start to rub it, it actually forms little water droplets which assists in hydration!!! It’s seriously like magic happening in front of my eyes, as its creamy texture liquifies – LOOK!!!

As you can see, the coverage is quite sheer, but is pretty good at evening out skintone. It is buildable but be aware that you will end up going through a fair bit of product.

Dry-to-touch finish: 5/5

The finish of this BB Cream is gorgeous. As Lioele says: “Its bisabolol, licorice acid derivatives, and allantoin component soothe your skin and jojoba oil, macadamia nut oil, hyauronic acid derivatives, and marin collagen make your skin moisturize and smooth.” I find the skin feels velvety soft and not at all sticky – another amazeball!

Natural skin feel: 4/5

The combination of sheer coverage and velvety finish means that the skin actually feels even better than normal, which is great. The colour is grey when first comes out of the tube, then goes a bit pink after rubbing it in, and then adapts to the normal skintone.

But like the Biotherm BB Cream, unless you have good skin already, this may look too natural.

Fragrance: 2/5

Unfortunately the Lioele Waterdrop BB Cream has the sunscreen smell that I dislike. Not as strong as an actual sunscreen, but that’s because of its light texture so it’s likely to intensity if you do apply a couple of layers for more coverage. And the smell doesn’t go away either

Longevity: 3/5

To be fair, this type of BB Cream (ie. a hydrating one) is probably not to be purchased by people with oily skin, especially in summer. It lasts about 3 hours on my face before melting off, which isn’t bad considering my skin is as oily as it comes, and we’ve suffered some humid weather in Melbourne lately.

TOTAL SCORE: 22 OUT OF 30

I have to be honest and say that because I’m totally awed by the water technology – I may end up purchasing a full size of the Lioele Waterdrop BB Cream, but only for use during winter. I am also really impressed by the finish, so will probably try Lioele’s other BB Cream: Beyond the Solution which is suited to oilier skins.

Lioele Waterdrop BB Cream SPF 27 PA++ is available in only 1 shade and retails AUD$5.95 for 5ml and $24.95 for 50ml. Available on circlelens.com.au.