I had these photos and this post drafted for so long that I was beginning to forget that I hadn’t written the review yet! These are two products that I recently received from BB Cosmetic to review and I have been using them almost daily. Some people may know that I’ve tried out a few Son & Park products in the past and they have generally always left a good impression on me, so I had pretty high hopes for these products.
The first product that I chose was the Flawless Pore Pact, which is a pressed translucent powder, as I’ve been wanting to try a few more of these products. I’ve also been looking for something that would be easy to carry around for touch ups. The second product that I checked out is the Shading Presso, which is a three toned pressed contour palette – and I was pretty keen to try this out as I recently started to hit pan on my favourite Artclass by Rodin Shading and I wanted to try some new ones before I repurchased anything.
I’ve been testing out these products for quite a while so read on for my full review and, if you’d like to get your hands on them yourself, you can go to BB Cosmetic – and don’t forget to use my code for 8% off. I don’t make any money from it, but you do save a bit, which is always nice: QAL3F6ZA8YZ
FLAWLESS PORE PACT
Similar to the other Son & Park products that I’ve tried, these two also come in a black box with a bold design of the logo. I was pretty surprised with the case though – which I think is really pretty! It’s made from a black matte plastic and has the logo on the top of it in a black gloss, which gives it a very subtle and elegant look. Overall, the packaging feels fairly sturdy with a magnetic close. I haven’t had any trouble carrying it around.
This pact contains 11g on product (as in noted on the back) and also comes with a mirror and a travel applicator. There is a sheet of plastic to protect the product and it’s up to you whether you want to keep it – I always do. I think that the mirror is a great size – it’s big and maximises the space – so it’s really good for touch ups. However, I am not a fan of that sponge applicator and I do prefer to use a brush instead.
The powder looks white in the pact and is meant to be translucent – which it is, mostly. I find that it still leaves a very faint white cast, which isn’t much of an issue for lighter skin tones but will likely not be suitable for darker tones – darker skin tones are better off looking for a yellow toned translucent powder.
When applied with a powder brush to mattify the skin, this product does a good job – it applies easily so I find myself using it most mornings, although I find that it isn’t as weightless as some other powders I have used. In addition, this isn’t the most suitable for touch ups as I found that application with a sponge makes it look very caked and thick on the skin. I’ve been keeping it to use as home, mostly, and just using blotting paper during the day.
The powder keeps the skin matte for a few hours but, as I have a T-zone that tends to grease up a lot, it doesn’t wear throughout the day for me. Overall, this product worked, but it isn’t my favourite. It helps to control shine, but I honestly don’t think that this conceals pores or ‘perfects’ my skin – it actually exaggerates texture a bit so I need to use a fixing spray after to ‘melt’ the powder down.
THE GOOD
- Classy packaging
- Comes with an applicator
- Large mirror
- Sturdy compact with a magnetic close
- Translucent (suitable for light skin tones)
THE BAD
- Average longevity
- Touch up with the sponge can be cakey
- Faint white cast (not suitable for darker skin tones)
- Exaggerates skin texture a bit
RATINGS
- PACKAGING | 5/5
- PRICE POINT | 3/5
- COLOUR | 4/5
- FINISH | 2/5
- LONG WEARING | 2/5
OVERALL RATING? 6.4/10
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
To be honest, this product was quite underwhelming for me and – although I don’t hate it – I don’t have much of a reason to recommend it either. It does the job and it’s handy, but didn’t suit the travel purpose that I was looking for. I think that the no sebum powder and my Banila Co hydrating powder also has a lighter finish in comparison to this. Unfortunately, I won’t be recommending it.
SHADING PRESSO
On the contrary, this one is a product that I really love and I’ve been using it almost very day. The packaging of this product is really similar to the previous compact, so I won’t go too much into it. The main difference is that it’s smaller without an applicator, and that it clicks shut instead of using a magnet. I really liked the design of the magnetic close and sometimes I have trouble opening this so, while this might be safer when carrying it around, I still prefer the other.
There is a large mirror on here which is great, but my only complaint with the packaging is that I’m not 100% about the construction. The pan of my product seems not to be glued on properly – it is stuck on, but the glue underneath it seems to be a bit thick so the pan moves and rises when you press down on it. Not that impressed.
The compact comes in three colours (as you can see below) and the names from lightest to darkest – Latte, Lungo and Doppio. All coffee related! It’s cute but for the sake of understanding, I’ll just refer to them as the lighter shade, medium and dark.
The brown tones here are quite neutral, especially in comparison to the Too Cool For School that I usually use which is a little bit more warm. I find that the colours here match my skin tone a lot better and I also like that the colours are a nice blend – it is easy to create the shadows that you want, while using the lighter colour to seamlessly blend it into your skin. It comes with a plastic with the logo printed on it, which is really cute.
As I usually do with my other contour palettes, I use the medium tone to build up the majority of the shadow and the darker one to add depth in smaller areas. The lighter tone, which is actually not far off of my natural skin tone, is usually used to blend it out.
The formula is really easy to use with no fall out, and the colours also blend well together. I usually do my make up in the morning and, by the time that I’m home twelve hours later, the contour is still completely intact! Overall, I’m super happy with this compact and I actually like it more than the Too Cool For School (if only because this neutral tone suits my skin colour better) – so I’m glad that I tried it out.
I also use a mix of the two darker colours to contour the side of my face and also as eyeshadow on days when I’m going for a very natural and minimal look. As the colours suit my skintone so well, I find that using it as eyeshadow gives a very subtle and barely there look, but helps to add dimension to my eyes when my foundation might have washed it out.
Unfortunately, I have to note that this product only comes in one colour combination. If Son & Park wants to expand internationally, I do hope that they bring in more colours. Until then, I guess it is understandable that their colour range is targeted towards a narrow audience, because Korea is still so largely homogeneous. For that reason, I won’t be deducting points for this.
THE GOOD
- Cute and sturdy packaging
- Decent price (a bit more than the Too Cool For School)
- Great colour combination
- Easy to blend with no fall out
- Neutral colour tone (doesn’t look orange)
- Large mirror
THE BAD
- Questionable construction with the unstable pan
- Click shut instead of magnetic
RATINGS
- PACKAGING | 3/5
- PRICE POINT | 4/5
- COLOUR | 5/5
- FINISH | 5/5
- LONG WEARING | 5/5
OVERALL RATING? 8.8/10
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
Absolutely! This is currently on par, if not slightly winning over my love for the Too Cool For School contour palette. While the pore pact disappointed me this time, their Shading Presso has won me over again and I am definitely a fan of Son & Park products. I would recommend this for people with lighter skin tones (suiting the Korean foundation spectrum of 21 and 23), as it doesn’t come in multiple shades unfortunately, and a neutral or cool undertone.
WHERE TO GET IT FROM
If you’re interested in getting these Son & Park products, head over to BB Cosmetic who were so generous in sending me over a bunch of products to review. They have free shipping, 10% credit back for SNS reviews and, of course, you can use my code for 8% off! I don’t make any money from it, but you do save a bit, which is always nice: QAL3F6ZA8YZ
The Flawless Pore Pact sells for USD$18.77 and the Shading Presso for USD$18.99 (on sale from USD$21.99).
