Right now there is a huge beauty trend going on, all thanks to BB Creams and now CC Creams. I already did a review on CC Cream (you can read it here), so today I want to do a review on a couple of BB Creams that I have tried. My main question for you to consider is, are these any different than a tinted moisturizer??
So what does BB Cream stand for? Beauty Balm. BB Creams were first discovered in Asia as women were using them as a post procedure cream. This was a product that was supposed to contain skin care ingredients, moisturize and smooth, prime the skin, color correct the skin and protect the skin with SPF. Now that they are readily available in the US, most companies have come out with their own version. The three that I have used are all extremely different and offer a variety of results.
The first brand that I tried was the Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector in Light/Medium. This was one of the very first BB Creams that was available in the US. My first thoughts on this product was that it had a very fake smell to me. If you struggle with beauty items when they contain scent, this isn’t the product for you. The website said that it claims to help with discoloration, dullness, blotchiness, dryness and help with skin’s hydration. The biggest thing I noticed was that this is marketed for sunscreen. Even the directions say this is used to decrease the risk of skin cancer and goes on about how to wear for sunscreen use. When watching commercials and such, I don’t remember it being marketed that way?? Anyways, the color Light/Medium was way to dark for me. Especially as it sat on my skin, it got darker and darker. It is very light and not thick like some of the BB Creams were that I have used. As far as coverage, this was the least covering product in my opinion. It showed my imperfections the most and didn’t cover my redness. The more it was on my skin, the less coverage I felt that I had. Now if I was just using this as sunscreen in the summer (I couldn’t use it as a sunscreen in the winter time) it wouldn’t be such a big deal. It would give me a little bit of color and an SPF benefit. However, I feel that this BB Cream lacks enough pigmentation to really cover any of my imperfections. ($12.99, available at most drug stores)
My second brand that I tried was the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector. This claims to: Blur imperfections, enhance, brighten, even skin-tone, smoothes and hydrate. It also says that it contains no heavy ingredients and contains no oils. The first thing I noticed on the packaging was that instead of them calling it a BB Cream, they call it a BB Sheer Tint. However, with that being said, it covered a lot better than the Garnier BB Cream, in my opinion. It has a little bit of a scent, but nothing like Garnier. This also has sunscreen in it and it contains an SPF 30. My overall opinion of this product was that it is very light and if you are looking for a very sheer coverage, this is a great product for you to try. It helped with my redness more than the Garnier product did, but it still didn’t cover it enough. I tried the color Light/Medium and it was pretty good for me. They have a lot of colors available to choose from. ($7.44, available at most drug stores)
My last BB Cream that I tried was Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream. This was my favorite. Not only was the coverage good enough for me to use to hide my redness, but the color matching was the closest that I found. Smashbox offers this in five shades and I chose the Light shade. They did offer this in a shade lighter, which probably could have worked for me also. When I first touched the product, it did seem thick, but when I applied it, the product went on very smooth. I didn’t need much of the product at all to cover my entire face. This was something that was very different than the other two that I mentioned above. This product claims to prime, perfect and control oil. It contains emollients and optical pearl pigments that give the skin a “glowing” look and provides a lot of moisture to the skin. It does contain an SPF 35 (UVA/UVB) and is an excellent option for anyone who needs oil control as it helps control the complexion from becoming to shiny throughout the day. This product was exactly what I wanted a BB Cream to be. Good coverage throughout the day and very lightweight. There was no scent to this product and with an SPF 35, I know I’m being protected. There was no changing color of the product throughout the day and I barely needed to do any touch ups with my powder for my oil control. Excellent BB Cream. ($39.00 I purchased mine at Sephora)
 Left to Right: Garnier, Maybelline, Smashbox |
| Also (and its hard to tell in this picture) after I had these on my hand for at least a half hour, the colors changed drastically with the first two shades. They got extremely dark. |
So do I feel that these are any different than a tinted moisturizer? I think it depends on the product. I feel that they both offer SPF protection and they both hydrate. The BB Cream, if you purchase a good one, might have a little bit more coverage and offer you a more benefits with the added skin care ingredients, than a tinted moisturizer. I like the convenience of having one product do the work of five other products, especially when traveling, but a tinted moisturizer is also helpful in that as well. It hydrates and gives you color (and sometimes SPF). To me, they are extremely similar products. I say do some research and ask for samples before you buy the products.
What do you think? Have you joined the BB Cream craze? Have you found one that really works for you or one that you didn’t like? Let me know!
I agree. It’s just a fancy tinted moisturizer! That said, I am on the hunt for the “perfect” tinted moisturizer so I have tried the two drugstore ones. Neither worked for me. Still searching!