Annabelle BB cream review

I just wanted to do a quick review on a new drugstore BB cream that I've recently tried.
I tend to stay away from the new drug store ones since they tend to have skin irritating ingredients or low to no SPF ratings.

But, I saw the Annabelle one has some antioxidants and no alcohol so I figured I'd give it a try.

Annabelle is an exclusively Canadian cosmetics company and can be purchased practically anywhere that sells drug store make up country wide.

Basically this BB cream is trying to be like all the others, stating that it is a fusion of skin care and make up.

I think they did a pretty good job on this one to be honest, but it does have it's flaws.
The BB cream comes in two shades only, light/medium and medium/dark.
Light medium is obviously the one I chose since I'm fair. But I must say it's not for fair skin at all! It's very yellow toned and more suited to medium skin.
The reason this is a problem is because it is actually quite pigmented! I couldn't use this on my face because it was more like a foundation, and well - it looked way to dark on me.

Here are swatches on my hand :

blended:

My hands are like 2 shades darker than my face at this point of the summer. I should really use sunscreen on my hands as well!
Anyways this gives a gorgeous luminous finish, and is actually very hydrating. I was very impressed, except with the color.

pros:

- Protects skin against UVB rays
- non irritating
- includes skin beneficial antioxidants and moisturizers
- feels very nice on
- great coverage
- gives complexion a luminous healthy look

cons:

- Not broad spectrum sun protection (you need to block both UVA and UVB rays to avoid skin damage)
- Feels slippery on the skin, doesn't fully 'set' rubs off on clothing (unless set with powder)
- Color options are very limited (medium to deep skin tones - nothing for fair or very dark)

Overall, I highly recommend this if you like tinted moisturizers and some coverage. I would say the light/medium would suit NC20 to NC35 skin tones. Possibly NW15 if you get darker in summer.
I love this stuff and I'm very sad they don't make it in a lighter color.

Repurchase? No. Not light enough for my skin.

Price: $16 CAD

Rating: 4/5

Annabelle smudgeliner swatches

Pictured: armour & oh my goth!

I love eyeliner (in case you hadn't noticed - haha) and Annabelle smudgeliners are one of my favorites.
They are comparable to Urban Decay's 24/7 liners, in that they don't smudge or move at all after they have set. But they are not so good on the waterline. They really don't like to stay on the waterline at all, it will not even stay for more than a second, but they sit well on the lash line. So what I'm trying to say is that they work exceptionally well for outlining the eye, and even good for tight-lining, but they are not meant for the waterline.
Annabelle has another pencil called smoothliner that work really well on the waterline.

Swatches left to right:

armour, electric sapphire, limette, vortex violet, purple storm, oh my goth!, rich chocolate, wired, sea green

I smudged oh my goth and rich chocolate before they 'set'.The smudger on the end of the pencil is pretty handy.

Just to give you an idea of their staying power I washed my hands twice before I did these swatches! I did these swatches yesterday and even today after repetitive hand washing and a shower I can still see remnants of them! They really do stay.

If you like Clinique kohl shapers, you will definitely love these. They act exactly the same, only Annabelle has a much nicer color selection. There are still 4 or so I didn't swatch (a gold, silver, light blue, deep green).

These are available in Canada where Annabelle is sold. They retail for around $8-10 depending on where you buy them.

Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencil liner swatches

Left to Right:
row 1 - Zero, Gunmetal, 1999
row 2- Oil Slick, Bourbon, Crash
row 3- baked, Lucky
row4 - Eldorado, Stash

*Swatches are in artificial light, really deceptive since oil slick, stash, lucky, bourbon and 1999 have glitter in them IRL, it doesn't show up much here *

I decided to post swatches of my favorite colors of Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencils. I use them everyday. They will likely be in all of my EOTD's. If you haven't tried them, you should check them out. Best liners out there, IMO.
A dupe for Urban Decay liners is Annabelle smoothliners. Annabelle is much more affordable, and extremely similar to UD 24/7 so check those out if you don't want to spend a lot of money. (For ref Annabelle smoothliner is $9.99, UD liner is $17.00)