Val‘s been raving about NARUKO products for a while now, and I must admit I was intrigued. This is, after all, possibly Taiwan’s most popular beauty brand, and of course I must give it a go. A couple of months ago, I did a haul from Sasa.com and got myself a few NARUKO products. Today I shall be reviewing the Narcissus Total Defence BB Cream Essence.

Now I’m not going to bore you with what BB creams are, as I’m sure you already know 🙂 In short, a BB cream is known as an all-in-one – a foundation, sunscreen, concealer with skincare properties that suits all skin shades. Personally, I think that description that BB creams employ is bunkum, because I see it more as makeup than a skincare product, and really, how can a product that barely comes in multiple shades suit all skin colours? Still, I don’t deny that there are good ones out there that work as a good, light tinted moisturiser or foundation (which is how I see BB creams), and the NARUKO Narcissus Total Defence BB Cream Essence is one of them.

First of all, the scent. Honestly, I don’t really know how to describe the scent. Have you ever been to a Chinese medicine shop, where they sell Chinese herbs? Well, the scent reminds me of a Chinese medicine shop 😛 It’s not a bad thing, because even though it has a hint of Chinese herbs scent, it actually smells quite pleasant. In fact, I like it because it’s unlike any fragrances of beauty products I’ve ever had! I’m funny that way, I know.

Next, let’s talk about texture. This is probably the lightest BB cream I’ve come across. I’ve used BB creams by The Face Shop, Skinfood, Vichy and Missha, and this baby is light and oh-so-creamy. It works very well with the warmth of your skin, as in it sinks in beautifully, making it look like your skin but better. That’s why I like to squeeze the product onto the back of my hand, warm it with my third finger, and then apply onto the face. This baby applies like a dream.

Coverage. Ahh, we’re getting to the good stuff here. If you’re looking for full coverage, or even medium coverage, then look elsewhere ‘cos this isn’t for you. This is what I’d call a your-skin-but-better product. A thin layer is enough to even out the skin tone, but still light enough to show my freckles. I would still need concealer on the red bits around my nose. I used this following Lisa Eldridge’s ‘No Makeup’ Makeup Look (I adore this video), and I loved it. This also works as a good base for foundation.

I can’t read Chinese, so I don’t know if there’s any sunscreen in this BB cream. Still, I always apply sunscreen separately, so I don’t rely on this alone. It’s oil-free too, which is another huge plus point for me.

I purchased this at Sasa.com for about AU$13 for 30ml, making this the cheapest BB cream I own, and by far, my favourite. I’m more than halfway through the product, so I reckon it’s time to do another NARUKO haul soon.

You can get them at the official NARUKO website, or if you’re completely Chinese-illiterate like me, you can get them from Sasa.com like I did. The NARUKO website is the cheaper option. An alternative is to use Google Translate on the NARUKO website (as suggested by Akisa). Even if you don’t buy anything, I highly suggest you try out Google Translate on the NARUKO website. The results are incredibly funny 😛

So, would I recommend you to try this out? What are you waiting for, get on that NARUKO (or Sasa if you’re like me and can’t read Chinese) website now!

What I like about it: Light, oil-free, it’s my-skin-but-better. What’s that now? Right. Score, score, SCORE!

What I do not like about it: It’s not available in Australia