I’m not saying I dislike the 3CE Glossing Waterful Foundation… Oh heck! I do!

One of the perils about reading and depending on online product reviews is that quite often, most reviews are raves about favourite products; so when you come across a product review of something you’re looking for, 90% of the time, it’s a rave (or it could be sponsored :P ). I’m not assigning blame to anyone. Heck, I myself often only post raves on my blog because that’s what gets me excited to share. Not much fun whining and moaning about a product you hate right?

Ok, actually yes, it’s a lot of fun, especially when you really REALLY hate a product :D

But my point is that we really do need a more balanced selection of product reviews out there, because then I wouldn’t have been bloody suckered into trying this lemon.

For some reason, I’d been curious about this particular product. I love foundation and as much as I rave about the ones I like (and there are TONS!) my roving eye is always out there, looking for something else to like. And for some strange reason, 3CE Glossing Waterful Foundation came into my foundation-seeking radar. The plethora of positive press out there doesn’t help me, naturally.

The problem was that 3CE (3 Concept Eyes – I know, it’s a weird name that should have set off my spidey senses) isn’t a brand you can walk into a counter and buy. I don’t even know where it’s sold locally, and only knew that it was available online at a webstore I boycotted, so that meant I had no access to this.

However, as luck would have it, I spotted a selection of 3CE products at my hairdresser, and the price was far lower than what I’d get online, so I decided to finally assuage my curiousity once and for all. Well, let me just say that I’m glad I scratched that itch. In fact, I scratched it so hard, I bled (or my wallet did) :P

I don’t know much about 3CE except that it’s a cosmetics brand from Korea. That again, should have placed me on high alert because I’m not personally a fan of Korean makeup. They just rarely work for me. 3CE is owned by Stylenanda, which, from what I can tell, is a Korean fashion brand, and that is the extent of what I know.

At the outset, I have to say that I liked the packaging of the Glossing Waterful Foundation (even if the name makes no sense).

The product comes housed in a lovely, solid, frosted glass rectangular bottle, that is unique. It’s compact and solid and has a nice heft to it.

The name should give you an idea of the texture. This is a liquid foundation that has a lightly more liquid texture, hence the dropper style dispenser.

To be honest, I didn’t find the texture to be any more watery (or waterful, as 3CE will have it) than other liquid foundations I already own. Lunasol Skin Modeling Foundation (my HG! There’s a new upgrade coming soon!) for example, has a much lighter and more liquid consistency and comes in a lovely pump bottle that minimizes mess. It is also a far superior product, in case you’re wondering. Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation too has a very runny, liquid product that again, is superior in performance to this 3CE one, and that too, comes in a useful pump bottle.

By comparison, the 3CE Glossing Waterful Foundation actually feels a little more creamy than the 2 others I’ve mentioned. That’s fine. Texture is a personal thing.

But you might probably realise that I dislike this product, and that has primarily got to do with the way it performs. Or doesn’t perform, more likely.

I’d read about the Glossing Waterful Foundation being sheer. I’m fine with sheer foundation, but I do expect that a sheer product can usually be built upon and that’s where this one fails. The product is so sheer as to offer little, to no coverage. When I build it up, It feels heavy…. and still offers no coverage.

3CE Glossing Waterful Foundation Milk Ivory Swatch

I could wear a BB Cream or even a CC Cream and get better coverage than this one. When daubed on the hand, it seems to offer a hint of coverage (it’s without blending out) but on my face, nope. Nada. I’d forgive it, if it would maybe even out my skintone or neutralize redness, but nope. Nothing.

Coverage aside, the other thing I disliked is the texture. Although it gives the impression that it has a lightweight texture, this foundation has a tendency to just sit on your skin and look glossy. Not a healthy, dewy glow; more like a ‘I-just-got-in-from-the-hot-sun’ sweaty, greasy gloss. See that gloss in the swatch above? It never really goes away. Looks nice in photos maybe (Oh look at my lovely dewy skin!) but in real life, hello roti canai grease! :P

I tried setting it with powder (didn’t work) or even using the NARS Light Reflecting powder which has a lovely way of removing shine while adding a glow and even that didn’t work. After a couple of hours, I just looked like a sweaty mess, and this was just by sitting in an air-conditioned office. It’s even more interesting when you note that I have normal-dry skin, so I daren’t imagine it on those with oily skin.

For me, I actually feel it sitting on my skin and it reminded me of the many reasons I hated wearing liquid foundation in the first place. That strange, heavy feeling, coupled with zero coverage and a greasy glossy look overall just put me off this product so badly, I’ve only used it twice. That’s once more than I ever need. Ugh.

At this juncture, I should mention that I love light coverage, natural looking foundation. I don’t wear full coverage, heavy bases but I do expect some level of colour neutralizing and coverage in a liquid foundation. It should feel light on the skin, be sheer enough for skin to show through, yet cover bits that need coverage. So, for those who says that this gives you natural coverage, for me, it doesn’t. It just makes me look greasy and that is not natural. It just makes me look like I need a lot of blotting paper. This isn’t cheap, so spend your money on something far superior elsewhere.

I must note however, that if you are a sweet young 20-something with already perfect skin, with no blemishes, and no pigmentation and are riding the K-pop wave, you may like this. But if you are, why the heck are you wearing foundation?! Just wear a tinted moisturiser or BB Cream or heck, go bare-faced. I would, if I had that sort of perfect skin :)

IN A NUTSHELL

3CE Glossing Waterful Foundation hails from Korea and is a lightweight liquid foundation that comes in a dropper style dispenser. It does have a slightly heavy texture. While the packaging looks quite lovely, that’s where the loveliness ends for me. As a foundation, I find it sorely lacking in coverage, even when layered, and the texture ends up a heavy, greasy finish on my normal-dry skin. It never gets better, even when I try setting it with powder. There are 4 shades available, and I wear Milk Ivory, which is an ok colour match, but only because it is so sheer, I don’t think it really matters. For me, it was a waste of money that I could have put to a much much better foundation.

PROS: Nothing. Ok, that’s harsh – nice packaging

CONS: Pricey, Poor coverage, Greasy finish, Sits on skin

WHO WILL LIKE THIS: Anyone who has perfect, blemish-free skin

The box didn’t have a lot of information, but here’s the ingredient list that I found online:-

Water, titanium dioxide, Cyclopentasiloxane, phenyl Trimethicone, butylene glycol, hydrogenated Polydecene, glycerin, dimethicone, hexyl laurate, ethylhexyl olivate, niacinamide, Disteardimonium Hectorite, magnesium sulfate, mica, zinc oxide, alcohol, talc, camellia/moringa seed oil, adansonia seed extract, arvense extract, cranberry fruit extract, olive leaf extract, japonica flower extract, fructan, lauroyl lysine, hexarosinate, tribehenin, Sorbitan isostearate, calcium stearate, hydrogen dimethicone, lecithin, iron oxides.

I didn’t show how this looks on me, apologies for that, because I just didn’t feel like wasting that sort of time on such an inferior product. I’m not the only one feeling a little duped by all the positive press this product receives online. Shopgirl too has similar complaints to mine, and I wish I’d read it before I bought mine (I might still have bought it but at least I’d have been better informed)

I bought mine at RM95 which is cheaper than the online price of RM108 (regular discounts on that website not withstanding) but take my word. Save that RM108 and just top up a little more to pick up the Lunasol or Urban Decay foundation if you really want something lightweight, that performs like magic on your skin and makes you look amazing – even toned and glowing naturally, without looking like a greasy mess. I love those 2, among others, and I’m not even sponsored to say so because I bought them with my own moolah, as I did with this ugh! dud /headdesk

Have you tried this foundation and do you like it? Is there anything else from 3CE worth trying?

To be honest, I think this ends my curiousity and experiment with 3CE as a brand. One dud, that’s all it took. But I am of course, curious to know if it’s just me, or if you love this foundation and got it to work, one way or another. Or perhaps there’s something else in the brand that’s worth looking at? Share! :)

Paris B

3CE Glossing Waterful Foundation comes in 4 shades Price: RM95-RM108 | US$31 for 40g Availability: 3CE website (ships internationally) and if you do an online search, you may turn up other online stores locally and abroad