Review: Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream

The product in this post was sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

Happy April Fools Day! Did you get tricked today? (I loved Zoya's and Julep's fake products!)

I'm not gonna prank you, I promise--but I do have something a little different today! Studio Gear sent me their Hydrating CC Cream to try out, and I jumped at the chance since I'm always looking to improve my makeup routine! I wanted to compare this product against my current CC cream, which is from Pur Minerals. Keep reading for the review and a special discount code!

Let's look at the claims Studio Gear makes about this product:

1. SPF 20 sun protection
2. Hydra-Extend technology provides moisture for up to 72 hours
3. Micro-encapsulated pigments perfect and fade dark spots and acne scarring
4. Adapts to your own skin tone, creating the most natural looking coverage
5. Anti-aging and collagen building ingredients help minimize fine lines and wrinkles
6. Skin nourishing ingredients help to correct and maintain youthful complexion

As you might remember me mentioning before, I have oily, acne-prone skin with a lot of hyperpigmentation from old zits. I also have dry patches thanks to the benzoyl peroxide I use. (Oily and dry at the same time is the worst combination!) So when I try a new makeup, I especially want to know how well it covers up my imperfections, whether it feels moisturizing without making my skin oily, and how well it stays in place throughout the day (i.e. does it melt or crease?). So I'm going to be paying special attention to claims 2-4 above! I won't have much to say about #5 and 6, since they seem like longer-term benefits and I just started using this product.

OK, here's how the Hydrating CC Cream looks before and after blending it out. I'm using the shade Linen, which is the lightest of three:

As you can see, the cream starts out white with little specks in it (those are the micro-encapsulated pigments, I'm guessing) and blends out to a very orange-yellow tone. I think they chose this tone because it's good at covering up redness (I use a yellow concealer on my pimples normally). It looks like it won't match my skintone, but don't worry!

Once you start blending the CC cream onto your skin, it does start to match your natural skintone. You just have to be careful to get every little bit blended, or you'll get little orange patches. It applies very smoothly and feels moisturizing--I didn't get a lot of flaking even on my dry spots. Plus it has a nice rosy scent!

So how well does it cover? Well, folks, I'm baring it all here by showing you my face with absolutely no makeup (auughh!), followed by one coat of Studio Gear CC Cream, then two coats. Please ignore my grumpy expression...I could've sworn I was smiling when I took these photos...

I don't have a whole lot of acne right now (except for those two lovely bulls-eyes on my chin) but I do have a lot of pigmentation from old pimples. It doesn't help that I'm really pale!

After one application of Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream, my red spots aren't totally covered up, but I do notice a difference in the evenness of my skintone. It hasn't turned me orange either! I'd say the cream doesn't really affect the shininess of my skin.

I didn't see too much difference after a second application. The cream is definitely more sheer than a foundation would be (and more sheer than my Pur Minerals CC cream), but if you have nicer skin than me, you could probably get away with wearing only the CC cream. I should also note that even after two coats it didn't feel heavy!

Finally, I put on my usual foundation, concealer and powder (all from Jane Iredale) and wore the full face of makeup for the rest of the day. Here's a shot of me with everything on, just for the sake of comparison:

So how did the Studio Gear CC cream hold up over time? I was actually really impressed! Compared to my Pur Minerals CC cream, it didn't get as sludgy, pilled or creased, except for a little bit on the oiliest parts of my face. My skin had a soft, almost velvety feel to it. I was really happy with the moisturizing qualities of the CC cream.

The Final Verdict:

• Light coverage
• Natural finish
• Good moisturizer
• Light and breathable
• Long-lasting

If you're looking for some light makeup to cover up minor imperfections in your skin tone, or if you want to add a CC cream to your current regimen, I would definitely recommend Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream! I'm looking forward to seeing if I get any long-term benefits from wearing it!

Studio Gear Hydrating CC Cream retails for $34 at the Studio Gear website. BUT you can get a 10% discount on your entire order using the coupon code bloggercc! Happy shopping!

The product in this post was sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.