Review: White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream (KLAVUU)

This product was sent to me by StyleKorean for review purposes. I was not paid for this post but please note that affiliate links are used on my blog. These go towards supporting Oh My Stellar and future content.

I was really excited to try out the KLAVUU products that StyleKorean had sent over to me and, because I am still using up a bunch of other cleansers, I decided to start out with the White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream. This is a product that I originally mistook as a sunscreen, and then figured it was a tone-up cream and then realised that it is actually both. It is a product that can be used underneath make up or alone too.

Unfortunately, this is a product that didn’t suit my skin very well and made me break out – although this is likely to be different individual-to-individual. So, I’m going to be giving you some information on this product, as well as my personal experiences with using it.

This product is selling on the StyleKorean website for USD$34.24, which is relatively expensive – as many KLAVUU products are. There are definitely other tone up creams that are more affordable and have a more lightweight formula.

So, here’s the review!

Packaging

The KLAVUU Actress Cream comes in a fairly simple white packaging with silver foiling detail. The overall look is quite luxe and high end, without being overly extravagant, so I quite like the design.

The actual product comes in a matte finish white tube with 30mL of product, which is fairly decent considering that a standard foundation bottle is similar, and it has a pump dispenser – it dispenses smoothly and it’s easy to estimate how much you want to use. Personally, I would use a half to one pump for a full face or two for my neck. The packaging is made of a good quality and it is also lightweight, since the bottle is a soft plastic, making it okay for travel. It is also easy to decant.

Product Description

According to StyleKorean, this is: A five-in-one treatment combining of Pearl base, Sunscreen, Primer, Fixer, Makeup base with Korean pearl extract. It envelopes the skin in an ideal protective veil with lasting wear.

Essentially, this is a base product (I don’t buy the 5-in-1 claim as some things are repetitive: i.e. primer, fixer and make up base are essentially the same thing). It uses a pearl extract, similar to other KLAVUU products, to give skin a luminous and brightened glow. It also claims to be called an “actress’ cream” as make up artists often use it for actresses with dry skin to give an instant moisture and glow on the skin, which also allows make up to last longer.

The Actress Backstage Cream uses three key ingredients: Pearl extract, Agar extract, Seaweed extract and Spirulina extract. I found the full ingredients list (which I was interested in seeing since it was breaking me out) and also analysed it through CosDNA to find some interesting results:

• They have 6 ingredients at either 1-2 on the acne scale
• Two ingredients being a possible irritant
• Also a handful of ingredients that are higher up on the safety scale – meaning that it may not be good for long term use. That being said, the scaling system here takes into consideration a lot of different organisations (like the CIR, RTECS and FDA) so it is better to look into them yourself.

Unfortunately, looking into the ingredients list, I can see why this had irritated my skin and broken me out. This product definitely had a few things that concern me.

Formula & Application

The formula of this product reminds me a lot of the MAC strobe cream, although with a more white pearl reflect than pink. It has a thick, cream texture that spread easily over the skin – it definitely gives in instant glow and moisture to this skin. Part of this is because this is a deeply hydrating cream product, and another part is from the super fine pearl pigments in the formula.

After application, skin looks really dewy and hydration. If you don’t have many blemishes, you can leave it as that or you can also do your make up on top of it (which I did). The product description also claims that there is no need to use an additional sunscreen – this product already has SPF30 PA++

Personal Experiences

I found that this product was quick thick and so didn’t fully absorb into my skin – in a way, this is good if you want it for the sun protection benefit but I find that this can make make up too heavy. It just gives my skin too much dewiness, which isn’t fully appropriate for my combination skin type. I also have a sensitivity to some physical sunscreens, so I think that might be another reason why I had break outs.

I much prefer to use a lightweight moisturiser, which would absorb into my skin, or a thinner whitening cream underneath my foundation. Since my skin is combination, I do need some hydration in the morning but I much prefer something that will help rebalance my oil production.

When I went to use this product, I liked the dewiness and the glowing finish. However, it just felt too thick on my skin. I also had pimples break out the very next morning – even when I used it only on my neck, I got break outs on the side of my neck and jawline. I didn’t have other skin irritation aside from that (no redness or itching), so I feel like it is primarily the sunscreen ingredient that’s affecting me.

So, unfortunately, this is a product that didn’t suit me very well. I will probably use the rest of it on my shoulders and décolletage, especially since the warmer weather is approaching, but won’t run the risk of testing it on my face or neck again.

Here’s the verdict!

SO WHAT IS IT?

A pearl whitening cream with make up base, hydration and sunscreen benefits, as well as an instant pearlescent finish

THE GOOD

• Easy to use pump dispenser
• Luxe and modern packaging design
• Instant glow on the skin
• Hydrates skin well
• Pigmentation does not go patchy or settle into pores

THE BAD

• A few acne irritants on the ingredients list, as well as a few one the higher end of the safety scale (CosDNA)
• Can cause break outs
• Formula is thick, doesn’t fully absorb
• Can be too heavy for combination to oily skin
• Relatively expensive

RATINGS

• PACKAGING | 4/5
• PRICE POINT |2/5
• GLOW | 4/5
• HYDRATION | 4/5
• FORMULA | 1/5

OVERALL RATING? 6/10

WOULD I RECOMMEND?

If you have dry skin and don’t wear a lot of make up then, perhaps, this would be a product that would interest you. However, from my own experiences, this isn’t one that I would be recommending. I liked the glowiness that it gave me, but it was too heavy. It just didn’t work well for my skin type and I won’t be using it on my face or neck again.

WHERE TO GET IT FROM

If you want to get your hands on the White Pearlsation Ideal Actress Backstage Cream, it is selling on StyleKorean for USD$34.24

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