Ari's In Wonderland: Review: Tony Moly Luminous Aura Capsule CC Cream

I have to admit, I wasn’t one to quickly jump on board the CC bandwagon like almost everyone else. Why? I just assumed that CC creams, in general, were the type that were going to be too light in coverage for me and I simply never bothered trying one out. You see, I’m the kind of girl who needs a decent amount of coverage on my face before stepping out of the house. Besides, as far I knew, CC creams were really meant for just correcting uneven skin tone, right? I mean, the name itself does stand for ‘Color Correcting’ or ‘Color Control’ after all. I then realized I was being a little close-minded, and that’s actually very unlike me when it comes to beauty products, so I decided to stop shunning the very idea of CC creams and give them a try. What was there to lose anyway? So last last year I picked up my first CC cream which was the ‘Revlon Absolute Radiance CC Cream’. I’ll be doing a review on it soon so I won’t go into much detail except to say I was pleasantly surprised and I decided that the world of CC creams was something I should start exploring more!

After that purchase, naturally I began wondering what other CC creams I should try out when I stumbled upon a review by Rowena from Animetric’s World. Let’s just say I was totally swayed by her review and how the product looked on her that as soon as I could I headed straight to TONLY MOLY to purchase one of their newest products, their Luminous Aura Capsule CC Cream!

The name sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because TONY MOLY already has a ‘Luminous Pure Aura CC Cream’. I’ve never tried it myself, but according to the SA at the branch where I got this, this new one is apparently much better. Needless to say I didn’t ask any further questions! I’m not sure when this was released exactly, but it was definitely earlier this year. February, if I’m not mistaken.

Most of the info for the product is sadly in Korean, so I grabbed what I could from koreadepart.com to learn more about it:

Covers skin flaws clearly as soon as applied and creates an even and bright skin tone.
Contains 20% hyaluronic acid water to offer full moisture and fill skin with hydration. Nature originated oil capsules offer moisture, radiance, and resilience to skin.
A 10-in 1 cream (Sunscreen, whitening, wrinkle repair, blemish cover, healthy radiance, complexion correction, nutrition, moisturizing hydration, offers a luminous aura, long lasting)
Does not contain the following: Benzophenone, Talc, Mineral oil, Organic color/dye, Benzyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, and Sulfate Surfactant.

The CC cream comes in a durable, hard plastic bottle with a clear cap and it holds 1.75 fluid ounces/50ml of product. I think white and gold is always such an elegant and beautiful color combination and that’s what definitely makes the bottle visually appealing to me.

I’m normally not a fan of any makeup container that’s white, especially if they also have any mirrored or super reflective surfaces because of all the makeup residue and fingerprints that easily and inevitably get on it, but you can’t deny the tube is pretty!

The bottle itself also has a pump which makes dispensing the product easy and it comes out in controlled amounts because the hole isn’t that big. I just noticed that after a while, some product won’t come out as easily anymore and you have to pump another time or pump a little harder before any CC cream is dispensed again. As a result, there are occasions you’ll end up with too much product squirted onto your hand or finger.

The consistency of the CC cream is a little thin, but it’s not runny. It also looks like it seems to have little ‘granules’ in it – those tiny black or dark grey specks you can see. Since this CC cream changes in color to match your skin tone as you blend it out and let it set, I’m betting those ‘specks’ are the color-changing capsules. So yes, don’t worry because the CC cream doesn’t actually go on this light!

Since it’s not very thick, spreading and blending out the product is effortless and as you blend, the color gradually changes to adapt to your skin tone. When you leave it to set on your face, for at least a few minutes or so, it still continues adjusting to your skin tone a little more. The ‘finished shade’ is still quite light though, so I’d say those with warm or deep complexions might want to find another CC cream instead. I’m an NC25 and even I have to be careful not to use too much each time or else it’ll make me look I have a slight white cast on my face.

Bare face

After applying Tony Moly Luminous Aura Capsule CC Cream

For a CC cream, this really does a somewhat impressive job at evening out my skin tone and minimizing the appearance of certain blemishes, including my pores. There’s still some slight redness peeking through and my more obvious blemishes are still a little visible, but I wasn’t disappointed because I expected that since I knew this wouldn’t be a full-coverage product. I can always top this off with a full-coverage powder anyway. I also like how it really does seem to brighten my complexion and I even use a little of it under my eyes to lighten my dark circles. The product leaves a dewy finish, which is a plus for someone with dry skin like me. I wouldn’t say this is drying, but it can highlight dry areas if you don’t properly prep and moisturize your skin beforehand.

The wear time of this is another aspect that impressed me because it has the capability to last almost the entire day on its own. Even longer with a good primer and setting spray on hand! Of course, don’t expect it to pull through under all conditions because it did, unfortunately, fade away nearly completely on more than one occasion (in unsightly looking patches too) but those were during extremely hot days and I was sweating like crazy so none of my makeup could have stood a chance anyway. Overall, I really like this CC cream and it’s safe to say that I’ll most likely be re-purchasing this if I don’t find something even better!

WHAT I LIKE: