Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream Review (Shade 03)

So, I popped into Body Shop with my £10 off voucher which you get if you buy something worth £15 the previous month or so; I am not sure how it works again. We all know Body Shop always has these offers and I am pretty sure I have never bought anything full price from Body Shop..nah, that ain't happening and it's not because they are not worth it; they absolutely are. It's just because they always offer these discount codes and other offers so why pay full price? Anyway, I popped down there and picked up the Body Shop Instablur Primer and Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream and both of them cost £16 altogether which is not too shabby at all (this was after all my discounts). Today's review will focus on the Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream....





Packaging
Unless a product is amazingly fantastic, I see no reason why I should forgive a tube packaging; I just loathe it :-(. Plastic tubes are a little bit more acceptable but I generally don't like tubes for Foundation/BB creams packaging but I guess the default packaging for BB creams are tubes. Apart from that, it actually looks cute and it was lovely to photograph. Although it looks like a metal tube, it is plastic/elastic (I think) so it springs back into shape once you give it a squeeze and that is commendable.

Shade/Match
I and BB creams have never gotten along because I have just never found any that suits me and  I have tried two BB creams: Drug store (Sleek BB Cream) and High end (Bobbi Brown BB Cream) and none of them were inspiring enough for me to make another purchase. My conclusion is there are very few BB creams that work well for women with darker skin. Somehow,  the lovely sales lady convinced me to try the Body Shop BB cream and I found myself just sitting down for a mini makeover. I was matched to the shade 03 which is more suited for olive/warmer/dark skin tones. At first, I had a poker face during application because I was so sure I was going to say"I told you no BB cream could suit me" but I was surprised; it actually looked nice. You see, its white texture is speckled with tiny pigments and particles that mimic the skin tone to create a blurring effect to the skin which is why it looked good on my skin and matched well.

Texture/Fragrance
This is when things go downhill; the texture is a little different to what I am used to. It feels liquid-ey which I don't mind but when it's time to blend it in, it becomes problematic. On my face, it just feels a little pasty and I feel I have to work really fast to ensure it blends really well. The best tool for using this BB cream is a Beauty Blender or any other sponge you may have but the Beauty Blender, for me, gives the best results. It also has a weird fragrance/scent which reminds me of something unappealing but I can't seem to place my fingers on it. It's not a bad smell per say but I am just not a fan although it's not unbearable and it does not get in the way of application.





Coverage/Application
I won't say it gives the best coverage, for Pete's sake it's a damn BB cream, but it gives that needed better-than-skin coverage. Paired with the Body Shop Instablur Primer, it gives a really good finish to the skin. If you have some dark blemishes like me, you may want to use a concealer to hide those blemishes if you want more coverage. To set this BB cream, I follow up with the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural (MSF) and it just looks like my skin but much more better. I doubt if I can just use this BB cream on its own without a primer or a powder as I don't think it will deliver the same results. However, for summer, I think this is really promising.

Cost
Without any discounts, this retails for £12 which is not too bad for a BB cream seeing that high end brands are much more expensive. As mentioned earlier, Body Shop constantly has offers so you don't have to pay full price for this. I got BB Cream and the Instablur for £16 altogether when it should have been £26 so it's worth checking for discount codes before you make any purchases and their discounts run almost all year long.

Cons
1. I know I have mentioned this before but I am not a fan of the packaging although it looks beautiful.
2. The fragrance is not one of my favourites; I just don't find it appealing in any way.
3. The texture is a bit funny and not the easiest to blend.



Personal Thoughts
I know I may have sounded negative in this review (which was not my intention) but the Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream cream is actually one of the best I have tried despite all its cons/flaws listed above. The finished result is well worth the whole stress of applying it. As mentioned earlier, the primer (Instablur) and MAC Mineralize Skin Finish make it amazingly fantastic and it's perfect for summer. I use this during weekends when I have time to blend it in properly because blending this effectively can cause you go to late to work (speaking from experience, don't tell my boss..sshhh) . However, it gives a really natural and skin-like (but better) finish and I just really like it which is why I decided to post a review on it. Have you tried the Body Shop BB cream? See you in my next post...xx

P.S. Totally unrelated but Debenhams is having £5 off all Lipsticks today to mark National Lipstick Day (It's online and only today!!)..... and Yes!! It includes MAC Lipsticks (at £10.50 amazing!!).. (Link)

Sleek BB Cream (Blemish Balm) Review in Medium 803

Hi My Lovelies,
I hope you all have been having an amazing Christmassy week so far. I  recently ran out of all my foundation which is something that hardly happens because i always have new ones to try or even samples/pots but this time I had none. I  recently tried the Estee Lauder Foundation (review up soon) but i wanted something lighter and for every day use . During the summer, I went without foundation and only used powder and concealer sometimes but with Winter here, i think foundation would be nice. So, I decided to try my second BB cream. The first one i tried was the Bobbi Brown BB cream (check out my review here) but i was not totally convinced to buy a full size so I went to Super Drug to pick up the Sleek BB cream. I have read mixed reviews about it but i was attracted to it because the shade "seemed" quite close to my complexion and Sleek is one of those brands that cater to dark skinned women really well. Let's get to the nitty gritty shall we?





Packaging
It's basic and characteristic of Sleek with their black sleek (no pun intended) packaging. This comes in a tube which is really handy as i hate anything without a pump. It's flat which means it can fit into my makeup purse or stand easily and it won't easily get damaged. It's also easy to clean if it gets messy during application. I also like the flip lid which makes it really easy to get the product out and prevent it from being infested with germs flying around.



Shade
I chose the shade Medium 803 which is a little bit dark for me. Understandably, many BB creams have a limited range of shades and Sleek has only 4 which include the Fair, Light, Medium and Dark. Light is too light for me and Fair is out of the question. Don't get me started with the Dark one though; it's really dark. Medium is more of my shade but it's a teensy weensy bit dark so i look a little tanned which I thought was not too bad at first...



Formula/Ingredients
According to Sleek Makeup, the Sleek BB cream marries the world of skincare and makeup into one formulation that provides full coverage that instantly conceals skin imperfections, resulting in a natural flawless finish. I quite agree with some aspects of the claim because this provides full coverage that is similar to a foundation but without the associated heaviness on the skin. It also contains Red Algae extracts which normalises the skin's moisture content and suppleness and Vitamin C which is an antioxidant which aids in reducing skin discolorations and aids in providing a natural glowing skin. It also contains SPF 15 which is quite handy in protecting your skin against the harsh rays of the sun




Coverage
As stated earlier, this is a medium-full coverage BB cream which is quite different to the Bobbi Brown BB Cream which is more like a light-medium coverage BB cream. If you have some redness or slight skin discolourations, this would be ideal to wear while your skin heals. For me, I was unable to appreciate its coverage because it was too dark for me so it indeed made me look very "covered" in a different shade.Given the thick coverage, it lasts longer than the Bobbi Brown BB cream in my own opinion and I quite like that although using a primer may be aiding it. I find that towards the end of the day, my T-Zone is quite shiny. I think it is very good lasting power for a BB cream.





Application
I find the formula a little too thick for the consistency of a BB cream but it is not too much of  a problem because the coverage is good, if you find your shade. It is a little problematic to apply on its own but if you mix it with a moisturiser it becomes a tinted moisturiser which is easier to apply provided the moisturiser's formula does not mess with its stability. I apply and blend this in as soon as it hits my face because if you wait longer, especially with the Winter weather, it becomes even harder to blend. But once its blended well (i use my small Lancome Travel Foundation Brush), it gives a very good finish and almost flawless look. It is very important to use a primer underneath and a powder to set it.

Cost
It retails for £8.99 which i think is very reasonable for the quality and amount that you get. Did i mention it comes in 50 ml? Oh yes, it does which is equivalent to almost 2 foundations (1 and more than half) given that most foundations and BB creams are 30 ml and more pricey than this.

Verdict
Would i repurchase? I don't think so... until Sleek Makeup releases more shades. I think it is a good quality BB cream especially for women with darker skin color but I think the range of shades are very limited which would make it difficult to find a good shade. I think if i mixed this with the Light shade it may work but if there is anything that puts me off, it is having to mix foundations or BB creams or anything at all. That's pet peeve of mine and it's an absolute No-No.



I hope you have enjoyed this post and I know i don't sound my usual enthusiastic self but i think I always have to give a good representation of how i feel about a particular product although my experience may differ from other people's own but i think this may help someone out there especially if you have a similar skin tone like mine. I would be seeing you in my next post which would hopefully be a positive review....x

Bobbi Brown BB Cream SPF 35 (Dark) Review

Hey Lovelies,
I hope your week has been lovely so far. I still can't wait for the weekend; judge me all you can because it's just Tuesday...Hahahaha. So, I am a bit on a roll this week so I thought I'd do a little review on the Bobbi Brown BB cream in Dark. If you are African/Black American or just have darker skin, you would realise that it is a bit difficult to get a good BB cream for your skin tone/complexion. It has been the same for me, in fact, I have totally given up on the idea of using a BB cream ever until Bobbi Brown launched additional shades to her already thriving BB Cream Range.

                                                  
Before I ramble on, let's dwell a little on what a BB cream is. BB Cream stands for a Blemish Balm which originated from Asia and I still think it is optimised for the beautiful delicate Asian skin especially Japanese and Chinese. In the Western World, it is referred to as a Beauty Balm which is simply a glorified tinted moisturiser (that's my own silly definition, so don't quote me). The beauty dictionaries describe a BB Cream as an all-in-one facial cosmetic product designed to replace serum, moisturiser, primer, foundation and sun block. It can be worn alone as a tinted moisturiser (there...I was right after all); over serum and moistriser as a regular foundation; and under powder, depending on the desired amount of coverage needed. BB creams are often mineral based which are made to cover and treat blemishes such as acne, age spots and sun spots also acting as anti-wrinkle, anti-inflammatory and usually have a soothing effect on the skin.



So, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that Bobbi Brown had launched additional shades to their BB cream range to cater for women of color and other skin tones- Dark, Deep and Rich. I already have a rare love for all Bobbi Brown products although they are pricey. I have tried their Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation in Warm Almond 6.5 reviewed here and I love it which was why I was eager to try this. Of course, I did not just trot along to a Bobbi Brown Counter to purchase it...Nah..I went to pick up a sample because I got an email from Bobbi Brown Newsletter (Sign up here if you like) saying I was entitled to some freebies/beauty sample.. Read my post on how to get these kind of freebies here. So, I went to pick up a free sample of the Bobbi Brown BB cream (Dark) and Bobbi Brown Hydrating Face Moisturiser (review coming up soon).




Packaging
Although, this is not the proper package for the actual size, I kinda like this little tub as it is really cute and I can foresee myself using it for other products when this runs out. I was really bad and got one extra sample just because I liked the little tub...Hahahaha... 

Sorry for an unclear pic.. :-)

Match to my Skin
Looking at the BB cream from the tub does not look anywhere near my complexion; it looks way darker. However, on application, I would say it is a close match but it is not my exact shade and this was the lightest of the dark shades. The Medium-Dark just did nothing for me; I looked way too ashy for my own good. The Bobbi Brown BB cream in Dark makes me look like I have got a slight tan which I do not mind but it means I can't wear this during winter when I get a little lighter. It also has a slight glow which is quite flattering in summer.



Coverage
You obviously should not expect to be getting full coverage from a BB cream as it is meant to give sheer to light coverage. I would say this is build-able but you need to be careful as you may get into the oily zone so a light hand is the best as always with both BB creams and foundation. This does nothing for the dark spots/blemishes on my face so I always use a dab of concealer which kind of defeats the purpose of using a BB cream, innit?



Application
This is one of those occasions where i toss all my brushes and use my God-given natural brushes- my trusty fingers to apply this BB cream and I think it helps a lot. It blends in really nicely on application. With my fingers, it is easier to spread and I don't even pay much attention to its previous dark colour anymore as it is well blended.

Formula
Just like all other Bobbi Brown Face Makeup, it has a good formula although you tend to get shiny towards the end of the day which is why the very nice Sales Lady advised me to always set it with a powder and retouch if necessary and I have never worn this without a powder. Remember the glow it gives you on application? It can dramatically turn to a shiny face so it is very important to set it with any setting powder of your choice to reduce any unwanted shine.  I use my Maybelline Fit Me foundation powder to set it and they both go very well because the powder helps counteract the initial darker/tan match to my skin tone.

                                                                     

Overall Verdict
To be honest, I am not sure if i would purchase a full size given that it is £28-29 pounds. I feel that is rather expensive for a BB cream although I know Bobbi Brown has top quality makeup products. The main reason why I won't purchase this ,apart from the cost, is the fact that it takes me three steps to achieve the look I want which may not be entirely the fault of the BB cream but may be due to the dark blemishes on my face. My normal foundation is the Bella Pierre Mineral Foundation reviewed here which is solely adequate as a one step foundation, concealer, powder, etc. I just put on my moisturiser, Kabuki brush on my Bellapierre Mineral Foundation, Blend...I'm outta the door. So, I am bit spoilt with using one step and reverting back to concealer, foundation/BB cream and Powder 3-step technique in this case and that does not float my boat. However, if you do not have noticeable blemishes, I dare say you can purchase this if it matches your skin tone as it feels really light on the skin and perfect for summer. I rate it 6.5/10 mostly because it is not my exact match and the many steps involved to get the look I desire. I hope you enjoyed this post and I would be reviewing the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Moisturiser which I think is fantastic so watch out for the sequel to this post...toodles...xxx