I have had the chance to test out the Olay Total Effects CC Cream – 7 in One Tone Correcting Moisturizer with Sunscreen (Light to Medium) a number of times and would like to share my thoughts. Is it me or are these product names getting longer and longer??
The Olay CC cream has an SPF 15 and sets out to fight the 7 signs of aging: 1 reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkes, 2 balance and even out tone, 3 reduce the appearance of discoloration, 4 improve surface cell turnover, 5 provide nourishing moisturization, 6 strengthen skin’s natural defense against moisture loss, 7 recapture youthful luminosity.
The Olay CC Cream is an all-in-one triple stream formula that combines a daily anti-aging moisturizer, SPF 15 sunscreen and sheer tint.
Below you can see a skin swatch of the Olay CC Cream (Light to Medium), this shade completely disappears into my skin:
The Olay CC Cream feels lightweight as you apply and blends easily. It does not have much of a scent, a very simple foundation-type scent. I am not a fan of using my fingers to apply any type of foundation, so I used my favorite foundation brush to apply.
Below you can see my BEFORE and AFTER photos. The first photo is me without any makeup at all (obviously), clearly showing all my imperfections and discolorations. In the second photo, all I have on my face is the Olay CC Cream.
In these photos you can see that the Olay CC Cream really does not do much of anything as far as reducing the appearance of discolorations or fine lines. To me, it barely shows a difference from bare skin. Besides that, my main issue with this CC Cream is that it made my face shinier than I can even articulate! It reminded me of when I used to wear regular old sunscreen on my face and you just have this awful glare on your skin. I guess that’s Olay’s idea of luminosity?? No thank you, not for my oily, acne-prone skin. I did not find it comfortable on my skin either, it even felt a little irritating under my eyes. Again, it reminded me of pure sunscreen on my face.
The photo above shows me wearing ONLY the Olay CC Cream so you can see what it looks like all on its own. I have also been wearing the CC Cream with all of my regular makeup (concealer, bronzer, blush, highlighter, eyeshadow, etc.). I did not have better results using the Olay CC Cream with my full face makeup. My face did not look much less shiny/oily and after one hour, it looked even worse!
Left to right: Olay CC Cream with full face makeup, then after one hour
Hopefully, you can see that the photo on the right shows how much shinier my face was after one hour. I blotted the oil and then by the time another hour had passed my face was beyond shiny again. I simply cannot wear something like this with my oily skin. Maybe this would work for someone with very dry skin?
I noticed it contains 3 different sunscreens: Avobenzone 2%, Octisalate 3%, Octocrylene 3%. I think maybe Olay bit off more than they could chew with the expectations of this CC cream. I’d say ease up on the sunscreen and add more tinted moisturizer to this product.
Overall, this product did not work for me and I would not recommend it for someone with oily skin.
Olay CC Cream is available in Fair to Light, Light to Medium, and Medium to Dark at Walmart, $23.99.
More before and after photos: Hourglass Vanish Foundation Stick, Garnier BB Cream, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream, Aveeno BB Cream, L’Oreal Youth Code BB Cream, L’Oreal Paris Magic BB Cream, L’Oreal Paris Magic Nude Liquid Powder, Maybelline Fit Me! Stick Foundation, IT Cosmetics CC Cream
I received a complimentary product as a member of the Vogue Influencer Network, all opinions expressed are my own. Post contains affiliate link.
Will you be trying the Olay CC Cream?
Very good review! I was looking for a drugstore CC cream a few weeks ago, and I looked at this product as well as a CC from CoverGirl/Olay and it was confusing about whether it was a CC cream or something else. Instead, I bought a CC cream from Lumene, and I love it. My skin is very different from yours: fair and dry as a bone so I need more SPF than 15 and I can handle a little more glossiness/heavier formula. That said, Lumene’s CC is not as heavy as my Dr. Jart Premium BB Cream but it provides quite good coverage. I want my CC to be instead of foundation not in addition to. Sorry you were disappointed.
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Hi! I was really looking forward to trying this but not so sure now….I will say though that I usually go for the Medium or darker shade to notice a difference. Do you think that would have helped a little bit? Not for the ‘shining’ part but for the coverage? Has anyone tried the L’Oreal CC cream? If so…thoughts/opinions?
Thanks everyone!
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Hi Nuccia! I honestly don’t know if that would help since it has the triple stream formula. I think the two additional products in this just water it down to much. But it certainly may work for you! I have not tried the L’Oreal CC Cream but did a review of the L’Oreal BB cream here with before and afters: https://myhighestselfblog.com/review-with-before-and-after-photos-loreal-youth-code-bb-cream-illuminator/
Thanks for taking the time to comment, let me know if you try the CC Cream!
The colour is a good match but I have to agree with you re its overall performance! I thought CC was meant to be a step up from the BB and so provide even better coverage than what BBs do (even then some BBs I’ve tried have been little more than tinted moisturiser, which is so disappointing!).
Having said all that, I really like the makeup look you created for this post. 🙂
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Thank you, Sarah! I also thought CC meant better than the BB creams. There are so many drugstore lines coming ou with even more BB creams it’s overwhelming at times. Happy New Year!
Great review and I’m glad I read it. I’m a huge of fan of bb creams and when Olay came out with the cc cream, I really wanted to try it. I guess I probably is not going to work too for my oily skin.
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Thanks for reviewing this product. I have been interested in trying the new CC creams, but i also have oily/acne prone skin, so i’m glad I read this before trying it. I know Juice Beauty just launched their new CC cream, maybe that will be a winner? Thanks again!
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You’re so welcome, Kristina! I wish it had worked for me. Oooo, I’m going to google the Juice Beauty CC cream, thanks for the info :). Let me know if you try that one!
I have a lot of hyperpigmentation I need to cover and also have an oily t-zone area so this is one product I will skip.
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Hi Marla! Yes, I’m guessing that other folks with oily skin would have the same results. It’s too bad, my hand swatch had such a nice feel to it. Not so much on the face, though!
I can already tell this won’t work for me too since I have super oily skin. 🙁
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Yep, we both have the dreaded oily skin :(. I’m glad I have a few products that have worked out very well for me, the Liz Earle Skin Tint and Garnier BB Cream!
My sister loves this Olay product she has dry skin. I like Olay products but I am in love with Aveeno’s positively radiante tinted moisturizer.
Tina I have to say you do the best reviews with such great detail!
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So glad you found a product you love in Aveeno! Thanks so much for the compliment, it took me FOREVER to finish this review. I tried to include every bit of info that I could that might be helpful. I hope the photos help too :).
I wonder if the part about evening out discolorations was for continued use over time, like how most BB creams are? I’ve got dry skin but when I tried the BB cream by Garnier, it made me look shiny and greasy. Nobody wants to look like that!! It’s not a dewy freshness, it’s just shiny. I can relate to why you don’t want a finish like that!!
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Yes, I’m betting you are right that these are long-term effects. It’s too bad I couldn’t stand to use this long-term! It’s funny that a lot of folks said that about the Garnier too. I agree I had to blot more with the Garnier but it was such a light-feeling product, nothing like the Olay.