Review: Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pink Transformer

When I first saw this product at Watson’s in Taiwan, I honestly had no idea what it was? Primer? Highlighter? Who cares, it’s pink, it has good SPF coverage, and it claims to give you baby-like skin. Sounds good to me! 

The Claim

Pink formula contains a unique blend of pearls to make skin instantly brighter, fairer and more pink. Skin stays glowing and hydrated all day., UV protection with SPF35 / PA+++.

Findings

Yes the product claim is vague, but that just makes this baby all the more versatile. There are several ways you can use this:

1. Alone after your day moisturizer.
   This will brighten your skin a bit and give it a nice subtle glow. You can even replace your regular SPF with this, since it has great UVA and UVB coverage. Don’t expect this to hide any scars, acne, or spots though.
2. As a highligher.
   This is great if you’re looking for something more natural and with no shimmer. I personally never use it this way though because I find the effects too subtle. What can I say, I’m a drama queen when it comes to highlighting.
3. Mixed with your bb cream/foundation.
   This is my preferred method of application, as it makes the foundation easier to apply and gives it a dewey finish. I also find that my foundations crease a lot less and feels more hydrating when used with the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pink Transformer. The foundation coverage level does decrease, depending on the ratio of the products.

For me this product hits the perfect balance of faking brighter skin without it looking fake. One of my biggest skin concern is sallowness and dullness, and the Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pink Transformer is able to brighten my skin in the most natural way, without any shimmer particles. The brightness/glow level is buildable, so depending on your look you can use a rice size to a pea sized amount. The squeeze tube packaging makes it easy to control just how much product you want to use – remember, a little goes a long way with this one!

The Maybelline Baby Skin Instant Pink Transformer has a light creamy texture – it’s a bit thicker than lotion, yet it doesn’t feel greasy or heavy at all. It’s easy to apply and quickly absorbed by the skin. Though it claims to keep your skin hydrated “all day”, I found its hydrating properties were ok at best. It’s definitely more hydrating than any foundation (one of the many reasons why I like to mix them together), but I wouldn’t replace my moisturizer with this.

Another thing this can’t replace is your primer – hence why I mix it with my foundation and not apply it beforehand. For one it doesn’t cover your pores or fine lines like a traditional primer does, and second, it definitely doesn’t help my makeup stay on longer. What it can do though, is make your matte summer foundation more wearable for the colder months.

Final Verdict

Where to buy

Amazon (~$13)

Further Reading

1. Favorite beauty products in 2014