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.

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!