When Cathy Doll first launched here in the Philippines, I wasn’t an immediate fan. We were walking around SMDC Jazz Mall Makati when we saw this Cathy Doll stall in front of the Hypermarket. It was the packaging of the products that immediately caught our eye. (Pink and metallic tubes with animal prints too!) Most of the products they had in that stall were glutathione and whitening lotions.
First of all, I’m not a fan or a user of whitening products.
My skin is already fair and I don’t exactly feel the need to use whitening products to improve my complexion. Plus, when one of my friends tried the lotions, her arm turned all white and soapy. Even with constant rubbing, she couldn’t make the lotion blend seamlessly into her skin. (I think most glutathione lotions are like that, they’re thick in consistency and very hard to blend into the skin. It has an instant whitening effect.) We were frightened and we all laughed and walked away.
Sooo….
The first time I fell in love with Cathy Doll products is the moment I tried the all-in-one Makeup Remover + Toner + Serum + Foam Cleanser. (But that’s not what we’re going to review today!)
Now, let’s talk about the Cathy Doll AA (Automatic Aura) Cream in the shade Natural Beige. I bought this in Watson’s for P649 in a 50g tube. (It’s a little expensive for me, considering it’s a small tube. But I used to love Etude House’s BB Cream that’s 60g for a P850 something per tube, so what the heck, there’s not much difference.)
As to what I’ve read online, AA literally means Automatic Aura. So it probably means that this cream will give you that instant healthy glow on your skin. It also contains tea tree oil that’s known for helping with acne problems. It also has an SPF of 45 PA+++ which is good, but probably won’t look good in flash photography.
The first thing that came to my mind when I tried this Cathy Doll AA Cream for the first time is that the shade range isn’t good. Even for a Filipina that has a fair to light complexion, this will probably look ashy to them, but probably less, compared to those who are morena. It’s not yellow undertone, it’s slightly pinkish. (Although I’ve heard that the AA Cushion has a yellow undertone compared to this one even with the same shade names.)
It has a slightly watery consistency, but not too runny.
Swatches on natural lighting. After blending into the skin.
With flash. Gosh, that’s light and ashy. Good SPF though, it’s SPF 45 PA+++!
This AA Cream really did brighten my skin and gave it a glowy look. Although my skin tone isn’t really for pinkish toned bases, so it looked a little off and had to be corrected or topped off by a yellow-toned powder.
When I used this AA Cream, I knew I was going to sweat a lot but I was relying on it’s SPF so I tried it anyways. Longevity wise, after I’ve sweat for about 2 hours, I noticed that the coverage wasn’t as good as when I applied it.
Again, here’s a list of my skin issues if you haven’t seen them in my other posts.
- Redness around my nose and below my chin.
- Uneven skin-tone.
- Dull skin.
- Dry to Combination skin, oily on the T-zone.
- Blemishes on my cheeks.
- Large pores.
Coverage wise, this AA cream offered a light to medium. I’m not sure if it was buildable, I didn’t try because it already looks ashy against my fair yellow-toned skin. Adding more product will already make my face look ghostly and unappealing. It did even out my skin tone but did not fully cover the redness around my nose and below my chin.
The scent was okay, I’ve heard a lot of reviews about the tea tree scent and they love it. It’s very mild and barely noticeable after a few minutes of putting it on. As for the tea tree ingredient, I’m acne prone but I don’t suffer from intense acne to the point that it’s bothering, so I didn’t really mind if the ingredient was there or not. I do break out from time to time, especially when I use products that my skin doesn’t like, but it’s nothing my skincare can’t fix.
The shade range needs to have more variety, especially those that can cater to Filipina skin tones. It can be easily corrected by a setting powder, but if you’re that type of person who prefers bases that can act as an all in one foundation+powder, this isn’t the product for you. It sets into a slightly dewy, slightly tacky base. I have dry combination skin but I still prefer setting this with a powder to avoid the sticky feeling on my face. My hair sometimes sticks to my face if I don’t set it. It’s not transfer proof as well, so yeah, just set it.
It’s good for everyday use. It’s definitely lightweight, as it claims to be ‘air light’. It didn’t break me out as well, I tend to have rashes on my cheeks whenever a product feels too heavy on the skin and I didn’t experience that at all.
If you’re going to be doing physical activities and you’ll be sweating a lot, it will only last for about 1-2 hours. If you’re going to be staying in a cool place where you won’t be moving around and sweating, it will last for about 5 hours or more. Using the baking technique can also make this last on a hot weather.
Would I repurchase?
Probably not until there are more shades available that look better on my skin tone. I also find it to be on the expensive side if this is something that you’re just going to wear on a daily basis for errands, work, etc. It doesn’t even last on my skin that long even if I set it with powder. My daily basis would probably consist of sweating a lot, so I’d prefer something that won’t slide off of my face as soon as I start to sweat.
I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5. Mainly because I’m not a fan of the shade range and I think that’s the most crucial part of loving a base product.
Update as of 8/17/2018: I’m still using this! I still hate the shade but bronzing your face and setting it with a yellow-toned powder does the trick of getting rid of the ashy color. Another thing that I failed to mention in the review is that the longer it stays on your face, the better it seems to look during the day. But again, too much sweating can cause the product to slide off. The excessive ashy color fades after a while and you’re left with a naturally brighter and healthy looking complexion.
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