I have got to be honest- I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to make-up and I never really write reviews for beauty products. But BB Cream is something I have been curious about for a long time so I thought I should at least try.
As you can see, I was too tight to actually go and buy the product! This is the sample I got in the post after filling out a form on the Garnier BB website. You get 3 generous sachets and a coupon to get some money off your next BB buy (provided you like it, of course).
I went for light because I am incredibly pale skinned. This BB cream only comes in 2 shades, which I find disappointing. As I was predicting, this product was too dark for my skin so I would need to mix in a little moisturiser to make a shade closer to my natural colouring. However, some Asian BB creams appear very grey when you first put them on your skin so I suppose the colour for this one was better than I was expecting. Somehow, I have managed to lose the picture of what the actual product looks like but when I put some on my fingers, it felt just like a liquid foundation. I was a little concerned because it also felt a bit greasy and my skin can get very oily.
This first picture is part of my face before I applied BB cream or anything else. Sorry for not showing my full face but I was having a bad skin day and I was too self-conscious to show the rest of my face! As you can see I have some dark patches and blemishes. I also get very red in the face around my nose and cheeks and some of my pores are visible.
This is how my skin looked after applying the Garnier BB Cream and absolutely nothing else. Just as I predicted, the cream felt very greasy on my skin. A lot of BB creams are meant to give a dewy complexion but my skin just appeared more shiny than usual. I had to apply more powder than usual afterwards and my make-up felt as though it would slide off my face at any moment. I would probably use primer first if I were to use this BB cream again. My pores did not feel as clogged as usual. My blemishes were still visible but not as noticeable as they were in the previous picture. Despite this, my skin tone did appear more even.
This is how I looked after adding foundation, concealer and powder (yes, I wear a lot of make-up). I could not use the BB cream in place of foundation because you could still see some flaws. However, I found that I could apply a lot less foundation than I usually do. I still needed a similar amount of concealer just to make sure my blemishes were well and truly covered. My make-up stayed in place for a few hours, after which I just had to top up my powder because my skin became shiny again.At £10 a tube, I think I would spend a little bit more to import an Asian BB Cream or I would try a different one on the Western market. The Garnier BB Cream does do some of the tasks it promises but I don't think the difference is majorly noticable. I probably would not buy this particular BB cream unless I was on a very limited budget.
I have not been converted to BB creams yet. My next task will be to try another BB cream when I get the chance. I am looking in to getting one by Missha next. I am thinking of getting this one in shade 13, Milky Beige- http://www.thebbcreamshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=153&zenid=v5kjihl6faac14lkt5pcp2f0s3
Hopefully I will get to try it in the near future.
