battle of the bb creams

Hi lovelies!

 

I have yet another confession to make: I am a total face junkie. Out of all the beauty products in the world, my favourite would have to be foundations. This is mainly because I have naturally very rosy cheeks, and its something I am super self-conscious about. No one wants to look like they have been sitting in the sun for too long and roasting to the point of no return, or Rudolphs long lost sister. Therefore, when I discovered foundation it was a real lightbulb moment, because I could hide them from the world and keep them my secret.

 

Once I had discovered the wonder of foundation, and what it could do for my face, I noticed that dry patches began to appear on my skin. Just to point out, I have normal skin, and it is really rare for me to get any dry skin or oil. Because I am loyal to about 5 different foundations at any one time, I couldn't pinpoint if it was one of them that was having this affect on my skin. It could have been the moisturiser I was using as well, but I'm really not sure. It was then that I discovered BB creams.

 

Traditionally, a BB cream (which stands for blemish balm) is an 'all in one' product, priming your skin, being able to cover your imperfections, while moisturising and providing SPF. I was drawn in with the moisturising option, as well as it covering my skin. But the fact that they are have other added benefits was definitely not a bad thing. During my trial of BB creams, I have noticed a big difference between those that are glorified 'tinted moisturisers', and those that are all they claim to be and more.

 

For this post, I am going to be giving you a mini review of each of the BB creams pictured below. I actually do own more, but I haven't used all of them to the extent that I believe I can fairly review them. The ones that I am reviewing are BB creams that I have used on regular basis at one time (or still use today), and can definitely give you an idea of which are actual BB creams and which are those you can steer clear of.

 

I should mention, that even though some of these BB creams did not receive rave reviews, it is not a review of the brand. I do love all of the brands, but the experience I have had with the product may be different.

 

Pictured above:

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector: Sensitive Skin

Rimmel London BB Cream 9-IN-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup

Chi Chi Super BB Cream

L'Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream

Lioele Dollish BB Veil Vita BB Cream (Natural Green)

Skin 79 Super+ BB Cream (Pink)

 

 

 Swatches of the above BB creams in same order they are pictured :)

I also have self-tanner on my skin at the moment, and am not at my palest.

 

1. Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector: Sensitive Skin



I wanted to like this.. I really did. This is talked up SO MUCH within the blogsphere, and after reading and watching so many favourable reviews on this product, I went straight out and brought this as my first ever BB cream. There is an option for oily skin, normal skin and sensitive skin. I do have normal skin, but there was none available to buy, so in my haste I decided to pick up the sensitive skin option in the light shade. First of all, there is nothing light about this. I am naturally super pale, and lighter than the lightest options in most foundations. This goes on a little dark, but then oxidises to make me look like an oompa loompa. The second thing is that it balls up! I applied it to my face, and it started shredding off. I tried applying it with my fingers, a brush, sponge, you name it, the result was the same. I honestly didn't feel that this really moisturised my skin any more than a subpar moisturiser. This was a huge let down, especially given that it has such favourable reviews, and I'm going to go ahead and put this in the 'tinted moisturiser', and the 'not worth your money' categories. This retails for $13.99AU.

 

2. Rimmel London BB Cream 9-IN-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup





A really long name for a tinted moisturiser.. This was the second BB cream I tried, and ugh. This review would pretty much be the same as the Garnier BB Cream, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Again, I brought this in the 'Light' option, and excuse my language, but light my ass. It is super dark, and then oxidises. But this doesn't ball up on my face, and it actually is quite moisturising.. And that's it. Seeing as it claims to 'prime, moisturise, minimise pores, conceal, cover, smooth, mattify, brighten and help protect', it really only matches two of its claims. To me, this is definitely a tinted moisturiser under a super fancy and long winded name. Retails for $12.95AU.

 

3. Chi Chi Super BB Cream


Let me begin by saying that I adore this BB cream. It is honestly the best 'westernised' BB cream I have ever tried, and the only one that I truly believe is worth the money. Available in 3 shades, I picked up the Medium shade, which is a little light with yellow undertones. It contains caviar extract and collguard, and claims to be anti aging and ultra moisturising with SPF 30. This cream goes on like a dream (ha, rhymes), and is seriously as moisturising as they claim it to be. The colour match isn't exactly dead on, but that's ok with me because I can warm up my face with bronzer. It gives me sheer coverage, but covers where I want it to, and leaves me healthy, radiant looking skin. I would recommend this above all the other BB creams you can find in the drugstore. Retailing for $22.95AU it is a bit more expensive than the others. But I would rather save up my money and spend a little extra than buy others and be completely disappointed. The only other downside is that is only available in Australia, but I'm sure other countries would be able to find it somewhere. Chi Chi products are available at Target and Myer in Australia (with regular sales, might I add), or online at www.chichicosmetics.com.au .



 

4. L'Oreal Paris Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream

 

This BB cream claims to prime, correct, hydrate and perfect. It also goes on white with little particles, but once you rub it in it does adapt to your skin. I have this in the fair shade, and again, it isn't fair. However, it doesn't oxidise too bad, but once it does it is still a little orange and dark when I am at my whitest. This isn't a bad BB cream.. But then again, I don't believe it to be a true BB cream. It doesn't moisturise, it doesn't have SPF and it doesn't really cover much either.  But that also means it  also doesn't fit into the tinted moisturiser category. However, I do like using this as a base for my foundation when I am self-tanned, as it does provide just a little coverage and is nice as a primer. This retails for $26.95AU, which I don't believe it is worth, but if you are willing to give it a try, I would recommend going through eBay. I brought this through the seller special_spice, for about $14AU (I think).

 

5. Lioele Dollish Veil Vita BB Cream (Natural Green)

 

After growing tired of not being able to find a BB cream, or one that fit its description, in the drugstore, I started researching more into them. I found that the best BB creams supposedly come out of Korea, and Lioele BB Creams were highly favoured and reviewed. After looking at my options, I went with this because it has two options: one for colour correcting (green) and one for dull-looking skin (purple). The green one got me, because of my cheeks and I wanted to see if this would have an affect. This BB cream is similar to L'Oreal one, as it goes on white with a green tinge and then oxidises to match your skin. This matches my skin well, is pale enough for me to wear when I am white, and covers my redness. The only downside to this is I don't think its very moisturising.. But again, it makes a great base if I was to wear this underneath my foundation. I believe this is only available online if you are outside Korea, and retails for $21.98US on prettyandcute.com . However, I did again go through eBay and brought this from the seller cosmeticmarket2012 for about $15AU. If you are going to go through eBay, be careful and only buy from reputable sellers that have good feedback. Lioele is a brand that is faked quite often, and a lot of those fakes are sold on eBay. If you want to be sure that you are getting the real deal, buy from a site like prettyandcute.

 

6. Skin79 Super+ BB Cream

 

My favourite of all BB creams I have tried. Again, this is another Korean BB cream, and is another brand that is reviewed often, and quite favourably. This is supposedly for oily skin, but to be honest I do own the counterpart that is for dry skin (Skin79 Super+ Gold BB Cream), and I prefer this. This is a very pale bb cream that is quite ashy when first applied, but this does go away once it is set. I apply it with my fingers and then pat around my skin with my hands to help it set (this is recommended on the back of the bottle). It moisturises my skin really well, and covers really well as well, as it has whitening properties. I wear this every day underneath my foundation, and when it runs out I will be repurchasing straight away. Again, I brought this on eBay through the seller cosmeticmarket2012 for $13.22AU, but if you are going to go through eBay, I warn you to be careful as this is a another product that is faked often. There are blog posts available to compare yours to a fake Skin79 BB cream, so I would recommend reading them and checking your bottle once it is received. This retails for $30 on prettyandcute.com .

 

I hope this post was helpful! It is quite long, but I really wanted to point out the differences in the western BB creams when compared to those of the Korean BB creams which are definitely more traditional. Apart from the Chi Chi BB cream, I can't really recommend any of the drugstore BB creams, unless you are in the market for a tinted moisturiser.

 

But, just because they didn't work for me does not mean they won't work for you!

 

What BB creams do you guys love? Let me know in the comments below :)

 

*all products were purchased by me, and all opinions and photos are my own*