BB Cream Battle Royale Runner Up...

Confession: I'm a sucker for anything that says BB Cream. Put BB Cream on your product, and I'm paying attention. Which is unfortunate, because that allows capitalizing companies - like our friends over at Maybelline to make things that aren't BB Creams, and call them BB Creams...and I end up owning them all.

That said, meet a BB Cream Battle Royal Runner Up:

Garnier BB Cream for eyes!

The Garnier website promises that their BB Cream does five things: corrects dark circles, minimizes puffiness, awakens skin, evens skin tone and hydrates. All in one simple step!

Does it?

In the interest of full disclosure, this picture isn't from today. It's from one day last week. But you get an idea of what I'm working with here:

Under eye area isn't terrible, but it'd take some photo shopping before I could be in an eye cream ad, right?

Just to test a theory, my right eye (my left as you're looking at the picture), I applied the BB Cream right after primer, before I'd applied any other makeup, and on the left eye (the right, as you're looking at the picture), the BB Cream was applied over the top of the foundation. I wanted to see if order of application really had any effect on the products usefulness.

And notice how my eyes don't really look any markedly different?

To be fair - this BB Cream covers well, goes on easily (you really can't mess up a roller ball), and doesn't have any notable scents. And three of the five things - even skin tone, hydration and "awakened" skin, are pretty notable. But the other two things? Corrected dark circles, and minimized puffiness? If I'm being optimistic, I see them in the right eye, and I for sure don't see them on the left.

So, much like our friends at Maybelline who I name checked in the first paragraph - I feel like Garnier made a fine product. Nice coverage, easy to use, no notable scents (which they can't always say, their face washes are heavily scented). I just feel like they made a different way to dispense a product already in their stable - they already make an eye roller and a tinted eye roller. If you google "garnier eye roller", this isn't even the first one to come up! It's fifth! And called it a day.

It's a nice enough product, and if you already own it, you probably aren't sorry. But, if you're in the market for a cream for your eyes - like the name suggests you should be, and like I was when I bought it, then you're going to be left feeling like Garnier missed the mark here.

Last up in the battle of the BB Cream all-stars...

So for the last few weeks, I've been trying out, and talking to you guys about, different drug store BB Creams. To review, a BB cream is...well, is a punched up tinted moisturizer. They're good for you if you've generally got good skin and just want the tone evened out a little, or you can layer it with your foundation if you're not getting enough coverage from your foundation already.

Over the last two weeks, we've talked about the Fergie for Wet N Wild version (not to shabby, but a little color grabby), the Maybelline version (really nice, which it's not hard to make a nice BB cream, when that's not actually what you made!), and Olay (probably the closest to a BB cream in the technical sense, but falters in that the colors run warm, and the shade range is very small).

So last up!

Garnier! 

Garnier boasts among the most extensive line of BB creams of any brand I think I've probably seen. They have the one you see pictured (who we'll call 'original formula' because...well, because it makes me laugh), oil control, anti-acne, and anti-aging. So whatever your needs are, Garnier wants to be your BB cream provider!

Where Maybelline's BB Cream promised 8 benefits that were really all just synonyms for each other, Garnier keeps it a little more simple, promising only to "renew, brighten, even skin tone, protect and hydrate".

To my eye at least, it does all of those things, quite well.

Let's go to the pictures!

Now admittedly, whether a skin care product renews and hydrates is a little subjective, because you can't really see that sort of thing on camera anyway. But, as for what we can see - little unevenness in tone, the red around the nose that I constantly blather on about, all that jazz?

The after? Evened out my skin tone, and my skin does look noticeably brighter, and fresher than in the before picture. Thumbs up, Garnier!

Garnier considers this to be a moisturizer, so you'll find this with their skin care products at your local drug store. And it does come out like a moisturizer - thick and creamy like a lotion, rather than the thin and runny that you'd expect from a foundation.

I typically apply with a foundation brush, over primer. I find that I can't get the BB cream smoothed down in a way that makes me happy, when I just use my fingers. I also appreciate about the Garnier BB cream that the coverage builds better than with some. You're actually seeing two coats through most of my t-zone, although you wouldn't know.

The Wet N Wild and Olay versions both suffered from a bit of the color grabbiness, but I didn't have that problem here. I purposely, as I was doing these posts, kept my look very simple, I wanted my actual skin to be the center of each picture. I used POP Beauty bronzer in this picture. Not only did it not grab any of the color, it probably could have stood up to a little more!

There's no over bearing scents to note here - I bought a Garnier face wash that makes me crazy because the scent is so strong. The shades are limited (Fair/Light, Light/Medium and Medium/Deep, according to the Garnier website. I'm wearing Fair/Light), but don't run as warm as Olay, which has a similar color range. The coverage is good, and builds well.

So, at the conclusion of our BB Cream Battle Royale, as if the conclusion weren't genuinely obvious, I'd have to say - Garnier is the champ of the drug store BB Creams. No scent, layers well. Brightens skin and evens out skin tone. Washes off cleanly at the end of the day. If you're going drug store for a BB cream, I do believe this is your guy. The Wet N Wild was a great color match, but too color grabby. Maybelline tends to run a smidge pink for me, and as I've pointed out - it wasn't really a BB cream anyway. And the Olay verion is a little warm, and shade limited. And as Garnier doesn't suffer from any of those problems, I've got to declare Garnier the champ. But I'm not one to let Garnier bask in the glow of victory for long, I'm sure I'll be back in no time to tell you about some other awesome BB cream. =)

See you next time, lovelies!

Like BB Cream? Me too! This isn't the only time I've talked about it!

Do I look familiar? You may have also seen me here!

Battle of the BB Creams continues!

ICYMI: Round One and Round Two. My verdicts were that Wet N Wild's entry was none too shabby, but was a little color grabby. And Maybelline didn't particularly make a BB Cream, but what they did actually make was very nice.

At any rate, on to round three!

This round, we're on to Olay!

Olay Fresh Effects, they of the beautiful and bright packaging, threw their hat in to the BB Cream ring. And, since I spent most of the Maybelline entry crabbing about the fact that I think Maybelline actually made a foundation and just called it a BB Cream, let me be clear - of all the drug store BB Creams that I've tried, Olay Fresh Effects comes the closest to what I imagine the Eastern market BB Creams to be like. It's not just a light coverage foundation. It's a lotion. That just happens to be tinted. Which, just to point out the probably obvious, means that if you're one of our oily skinned sisters, this is probably not your jam, it's probably too emollient for you. And if you're one of our dry skinned sisters, this will probably be among your favorites.

My before shot came out just a tad blurry, but in the sake of...making everything equal (?) I'm going to run it anyway. Rounds one and two also included bare faced shots of me, if you really feel the need to get a good look at my no makeup wearin' mug. :D

I think at this point, I had on a bit of mattifying lotion, and that was about it. Pretty good skin day, as they go. Little redness, some uneven texture issues (which no BB Cream, regardless of how awesome, is going to fix...). None too shabby.

After shot. 

My skin certainly looks brighter, and has a bit of polish to it that it didn't before. But notice how the red around the nose is still visible? So the coverage is to the lighter side. Although I suppose if coverage was that much of a sticking point for me, I'd be discussing foundations, not BB Creams, right?

And I've found that in the past, I've also had trouble with this BB Cream grabbing my powder cosmetics. In fact, in person, my chin looked pretty orange. I applied my bronzer with the biggest, fluffiest brush that I had. 

The Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream though, loses out with me for one problem, and unfortunately, it's one you can't really see all that well in the pictures. Simply - it runs warm. The colors are warm. And I'm not - I actually fancy myself a bit of a Neutral tone. I've found that warm colors make me look cool toned, and the cool makes me look warm. 

So the "flaws" in this cream - couldn't completely camouflage the redness around my nose, little color grabby with the bronzer, scented for some inexplicable reason...those are all things I can look over. And if your skin runs to the dry side, you should overlook them too, cause this is a good product. It's just warm, and I'm not. Although, given that it's January and I'm in Michigan, I'd sure like to be. ;)

So so far, the winner in the "Battle of the BB Creams" is Maybelline, just by default. I stand by my contention that they didn't make a BB Cream at all, but when your competition is color grabby (Hi, Wet N Wild!) and limited in color choices (Hi, Olay!), you come out lookin' alright.

One more cream in our "battle!" See you next time!

Battle of the BB Creams, Round Two!

(If you missed Round One!)

Today, we're talking Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream!

The beauty shot, as it were:

I don't have a lot to complain about with this one, actually. The colors are nice (they run a little pink, so if you're of the pink toned persuasion, you'll get along nicely with these), no overbearing scents - which is a problem I grumble about semi-frequently. Nice wear time, everything is very good.

My biggest problem?

Maybelline made a light/medium coverage foundation, and called it a BB Cream. I mean...I'm not in their marketing department, they can do whatever they want. But it even says balm right in the title. When you think of a balm, what do you think of? A nice, rich, emollient cream, right? You're not getting that here. You're getting a liquid foundation. 

At any rate - despite the fact that I don't think this is a BB cream at all, it's not terrible. When I actually had this on, I had about three minutes to finish my makeup, get some decent snaps, and get myself and my son out of the house, so I look like a crazy, crazy, crazed woman in all the pictures. So I swatched this one on the back of my hand instead. Please to enjoy;

Bare handed. Similarly to my face (which I've shown you before), little ruddiness, that red you see in the center is a scar from a surgery a couple of summers ago, otherwise, nothing major to cover up.

Covered. Nice, right?

To be clear - I don't think this is a bad product at all. I really don't. Nice coverage, wears well, good color match, no offensive odors. It's everything you'd want in a bb cream light coverage foundation. So I guess my only dispute is in truth in advertising. Make a foundation. That's fine. Chances are good I'll end up buying it eventually regardless. Just, in your chase to be first to the US market with a BB cream, don't make a foundation, and then tell me you made a BB cream. No, you didn't! You made a foundation!

So, while I generally like this BB Cream a lot, and have been pretty specifically grumpy about the fact that I don't think it's a BB Cream at all, in the spirit of the "Battle of the BB Creams", between Wet N Wild and Maybelline, I'd have to tell you to pick Maybelline. This is good for those days where your skin is pretty good, you just need a little extra oomph. :)

Tomorrow, round three!

Until then!

Battle of the BB Creams, Round ONE!

All week, I'm featuring various BB Creams. Mainly to compare them to each other, and partly because...well, because I've got a lot of them. So let's talk BB Creams!

Yesterday, I explained what a BB Cream is. Sort of a heavy weight tinted moisturizer (some brands have actually phased out their tinted moisturizer, in favor of the popularity of BB Creams), or a light weight foundation, depending on the brand you're working with.

Today, we're talking:

Fergie for Wet N Wild's BB Cream 8 in 1 beauty balm!

This product came out with much the consistency of a foundation. I wouldn't have thought anything was amiss if it'd said it was one in fact. No funky smells, nothing seemed out of the ordinary in any way. Stellar so far!

And just for the sake of comparisons, this is the face I'm working with:

Little ruddy, little uneven in places, but nothing terrible right? Right. Nothing a BB Cream shouldn't be able to handle.

I washed my face with the Aveeno Positively Ageless face wash, applied the Aveeno Day Cream, and L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur. Used a foundation brush to apply the BB Cream. After application;

See, this is where me and this BB Cream start to run off the rails with each other a little. Coverage is good, not great. See the left side of my nose (right side, as you're looking at the photo). See how it's still visibly red? See how the blemish by my lip is still pretty pink too? See me being annoyed with that?

Let's not lie to each other - the color match is pretty impeccable. This is "Light", and it's probably right up there with the best matched foundations/BB Creams I've ever worn. But if it's not covering everything, then it doesn't make much of a difference.

Also, it never fully absorbed in to my skin. I had to powder over it, to get that slightly tacky feeling to go away.

After powder, bronzer, blush, eyebrow wax, and mascara;

Notice how I look...kind of splotchy? And how what looked like a excellent color match in the last picture no longer really does?

Meet my biggest problem with this BB Cream - the color grabbing! I used my typical brushes, and my typical technique, and my typical product, and began trying to do a speedy little contour. I do that a lot, should have been no big deal. The BB Cream grabbed up the color, as if I were rubbing the bronzer compact directly on to my skin. Which I did not! I buffed and buffed and buffed, and was able to get the color to lighten up some, but there's still some visible splotchies. And just to test, to make sure that it wasn't that my bronzer had gone weird, I swatched both my highlight and contour shades on the inside of my arms. They were not the guilty parties on this one, it was hands down the BB Cream.

Just to put them all next to each other:

My verdict? Unless you plan to wear nothing but the BB cream and translucent powder, skip it.

Battle of the BB Creams!

This week, I'm testing out not one, not two, but FOUR BB creams! My, that's a lot of BB Cream!

But I find a lot of people asking "What is a BB Cream, and do I need one?"

Our good friends at webmd.com say that BB Creams were first invented by a doctor in Germany, who wanted a cream to be able to give his patients that would both protect skin, and offer coverage after laser treatments.

The cream eventually caught on in South Korea, then catching fire in Asia. There, the main benefit was the streamlining opportunity it offered to a woman's beauty routine. Rather than using 7 or 8 different products, if your BB cream is well formulated, you could use just the one, and achieve the same results!

But, as they often do, by the time BB creams made it to the American markets, it had been...well, Americanized, and wasn't quite the wonder cream it'd been when it initially began gaining ground overseas. Now, many consider BB cream to be an equivalent to tinted moisturizer, or more like a lightweight foundation.

Maybelline (who we'll hear from their BB Cream entry later this week), promises that their BB cream performs 8 functions - "Blurs imperfections, Brightens, Evens skin tone, Smooths, hydrates, enhances, Protects with SPF 30, and 0% oils and heavy ingredients."

Now, never mind that many other products on the market do that exact same thing. And, never mind that many of those listed things are simply euphemisms for each other. That's a handy thing, if I can get all that in one shot, mama want!

Do you need BB Cream in your life? It kind of depends. If you're like me, and you've got pretty good skin generally, maybe just a little ruddiness to cover over, or a little dullness you're hoping to brighten up, then yes, BB cream is a good product for you. You'd probably also be satisfied with it's sister, CC cream. If you're not one with just a little ruddiness to cover over, you've got real skin problems of some sort - acne, etc., then you're going to simply want more coverage than a BB Cream will offer.

If you opt to use BB Cream, then it goes on in your beauty routine in place of foundation. Or, for the boost I guess, it goes on under your foundation - if you want the extra coverage.

I've got FOUR different kinds of BB Cream I'll be trying out this week, for your singing and dancing pleasure. See you back here tomorrow!