Revlon photoready BB cream review

Revlon finally jumped on the BB cream bandwagon, so I wanted to do a quick review.

I like the packaging, it's sleek silver and looks nice. It has a twist off cap, which is decent.

 The color I got was 010 light, which is the lightest one of the 4 or so available. I wasn't worried about a color match because revlon's fair colors usually match me.

photoready BB cream 010 light swatch:

 blended:

This actually oxidized on me. When freshly applied  it looked ok, but after a few minutes it turned into an orange toned mess. I was not impressed. I could not wear it alone. I wore it under Revlon colorstay foundation (normal/dry) and the performance was not good. It made the colorstay wear off quickly and my face felt very greasy by the end of the day.

Photoready BB cream is another glorified tinted moisturizer. The finish is sheer and tacky. It's very similar to Maybelline dream BB cream. They both looked like an orange slick mess on my face.

pros:
- contains SPF 30
- contains antioxdants
- didn't irritate my senstitive skin
- not expensive
- moisturizing

cons:
- oxidizes after applied
- no colors suitable for very fair skin
- feels greasy, potentially pore clogging
- does not act as a primer as it claims
- rubs off easily
- very sheer

The only way I would recommend this is if you are looking for a very sheer tinted moisturizer, and if you have dry skin not prone to breakouts. I only wore this once and I felt clogs forming after. This did not impress me much. If you are curious, I'd say try Maybelline BB cream, because it's very similar in finish and also has SPF 30 for 1/2 the price of Revlon.

repurchase? No way

rating: 2.5/5

price: $16 CAD

Smashbox camera ready BB cream SPF 35 review

Can you believe the BB cream hype lately? It's pretty hard to ignore when every brand around puts out a BB cream weekly (or so it seems!).
Most of the BB creams you see out there are nothing more than tinted moisturizers, hyped up with advertising.
Smashbox did a pretty good job on this BB cream though, I must say.

This BB cream comes in a tiny (1 oz) squeeze tube that has a twist off sort of cap. Not the best packaging but hey, it's not bad.


I got the shade fair, and it was an excellent match on me! It has a very natural finish, and reflects light for a subtle glow.

Swatch of shade fair on my hand:

blended:

And, a (horrible) pic of me wearing just the BB cream by itself. I really should have put more makeup on but I was on holidays.

On my skin you can see this exaggerated dry patches, sunk into pores and didn't cover blemishes all that much. It did cover some redness, gave a glow and evened out my skin.

This BB cream is supposed to: moisturize, prime, perfect, protect and control oil. Seems like a lot for one product to do.

Did it live up to the claims?

- Moisturize? No. I have dry sensitive skin and it did not moisturize, it made dry areas look worse :(

- prime? Yes. It acted as a really good primer for makeup, helped my makeup go on smoother and last longer

- perfect? No. I don't think any product can really 'perfect' skin.

- protect? Yes. The sunscreen actives protect skin from UVA and UVB rays. The formula contains some great antioxidants that will aid your skin as well.

- Control oil? Yes. I do get slightly oily by the end of the day on my nose and chin, and this is where my makeup always slides off. I found the BB cream helped to keep my skin more balanced and less oily in those areas.


I like this product as a primer and sun screen.
It didn't offer enough coverage or hydration for me to wear by itself.
Unfortunately, it started to irritate my skin so I had to stop using it. Turns out I am sensitive to some chemical sunscreen ingredients.

Overall, I think you will like this if you are more oily skinned, and want a good primer with sunscreen. If you don't need much coverage it could be a good light foundation for some.
If you have sensitive skin like me, try a sample first.

One thing I wanted to mention is that this is available in 5 shades!!! All ranging from fair to dark. Now that is impressive, since most BB creams are only available in one or two shades.

It is a very expensive product for quite a small amount, but due to the high SPF rating and inclusion of skin beneficial ingredients I think it is pretty well worth it.
Smashbox did a very good job with this product, and I think it is the closest you will find comparable (locally) to an Asian BB cream. The only difference here is that the Smashbox BB cream does not contain any whitening ingredients like most, and the coverage is not quite as good as Asian ones.

Repurchase? No

Price: $50 CAD

Rating: 4/5

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

Missha M perfect cover BB cream review

Missha was the very first BB cream I ever tried. It is probably the most popular brand of BB creams in the beauty world.

BB or blemish balms are super popular all over Asia. They originated in Germany as a tinted healing cream for patients who underwent skin treatments and needed something to help protect, heal and soothe the skin. Japan picked up on theses ingredients and are now pumping out all different kinds of BB creams.


Here is Missha's description of the M perfect BB cream:

' The M Perfect Cover BB Cream gives an even and natural-looking coverage with the soothing, moisturising properties of a cream. It is suitable for all skin types including acne-prone skin, and can be used as a makeup base or foundation. '
source: http://www.misshaus.com

Ingredients list:
Water(Aqua), Cyclomethicone, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Zinc Oxide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Mineral Oil, Phenyl Trimethicone, Talc, Arbutin, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Dimethicone, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Squalane, Adenosine, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Polyethylene, Beeswax(Cera Alba), Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, Caviar Extract, Algae Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract, Ceramide 3, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance(Parfum), Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Benzyl Salicylate, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol
MAY CONTAIN[+/-; Titanium Dioxide(CI 77891), Iron Oxides(CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)]

This ingredients list tells me that there are some excellent antioxidant ingredients in the Missha BB cream.
It is very emmolient and moisturizing to the skin. It is comparable to a very creamy thick tinted moisturizer.

I used this product for 3 days straight and although I liked it I had to stop using it.
Upon first application, I realized that the color was two shades too dark for my pale skin. It also seemed slightly ashy toned.
I really liked the way it made my skin glow with moisture and radiance.
I tried applying it again, this time with a lighter powder over top and it helped to lighten the color a bit.
By the third day of using this my skin became slightly sensitized and I developed tiny red spots around my t zone (an indication of inflamed/irritated skin).
I believe that the algae extract is the culprit, because I seem to have a reaction to anything that has algae in it.

swatch of M perfect # 21 light beige:

Swatch on my arm - bottom half of the line is 21 blended, top is my natural skin. you can see the coverage is pretty good, my veins aren't as noticeable:

I would normally post pictures of how this looked on my face but I don't want to use it again due to my allergic reaction.
One other thing I noticed about this was that it seemed to make my skin darker. I mean after using it for 3 days it seemed like I had applied a self tanner. This effect lasted about 2 weeks. I didn't particularly like it.
I've read that this is because the pigments 'stain' the skin, but for something that is claimed to 'lighten' my skin it just doesn't seem right. It's a mystery to me.
I will tell you right now that this won't lighten your skin one bit!

Overall, I would recommend this to those with normal, dry or very dry skin who want light to moderate coverage and skin conditioning ingredients.
Since the finish is quite dewy and it does contain oil, this wouldn't be the best choice for oily skin types.
I would also be careful if you have sensitive skin because there are a few possible skin irritants in the ingredients list.

The great thing about Missha BB cream is that there are several color options, so that pale and deeper skin tones can wear it. Most BB's only come in one shade, usually quite pale or medium.
If you are curious about BB creams Missha has a good reputation, but there are many different brands available.

repurchase? No, I had an allergic reaction and found that it darkened my skin.

rating: 3/5

price: $20-$30 USD