I first heard about BB Creams through beauty blogger and youtube guru Jen of From Head To Toe. I was able to try some samples out and buy some small tubes of BB creams through other bloggers but they never worked out for me.
First off, what’s a BB Cream anyway?
From Wikipedia:
BB cream, also known as Blemish Balm, Blemish Base or Beblesh Balm, is a cosmetic item sold mainly in East and Southeast Asia.
Originally formulated in Germany it was initially used by dermatologists to help laser surgery patients protect, soothe and refine highly sensitive skin while providing light coverage for post-laser scars, acne and other blemishes.
BB creams come in a variety of different formulations and qualities. Some are said to have skin whitening or brightening properties. Others are anti-acne, some are anti-wrinkle, some are intended to even out skin tone, and yet others to lighten blemish scars. BB creams are sometimes used like a primer under foundation, and if tinted may even replace foundation and some newer ones will have functions of primer, foundation, moisturizer, sun block, pore minimization and skin refining together which can save time and money in make-up.
And why didn’t they work for me? Usually BB Creams don’t come in many shades and are often grey-ish in tone and then oxidize and change colour after. Mainly for me the BB creams were too sheer for my liking and all the times I tried them out they just slid off my face leaving an unattractive looking oil slick!
Marcelle has introduced the first Canadian Made BB Cream launching February 6th, 2012 and will retail for $22.95.
The Marcelle BB Cream boasts 8-in-1 multi benefits:
- minimizes the appearance of imperfections and pores
- evens out skin tone
- acts as a make-up base and replaces primers
- mattifies skin and controls shine
- hydrating benefits
- soothes and calms skin
- protects from premature aging and environmental stresses
- promotes skin regeneration
- use in replacement of a day cream as a corrective tinted moisturizer. For more intense moisture it can be used on top of your moisturizer
- use alone or over moisturizer to create a more uniform complexion
- use as a make-up base under foundation for more coverage and staying power
- I’ve only been using this for a couple of days and I haven’t had any unwanted reactions from it which is always the first thing I look for, so that’s a definite plus!
- I’m pretty sure the colour I’m using is “light to medium”. There is only one other colour “medium to dark” but this product supposedly has “self-adjusting pigments” so I’m guessing that makes it suitable for a wide range of skin tones. “Light to medium” works perfectly for me, I was worried this BB cream would give me a strange white or greyish tinge like the other BB creams I tried or would look orangey like many foundations I try.
- No sliding and no oil slick! Thumbs up in my books!
- It DOES even out my skin tone – though it’s not a miracle worker. I have dark spots and scars which are still noticeable but this product does help.
- I used it instead of my primer underneath my mineral powder foundation and I liked the results. My foundation didn’t go on cakey, it went on smoothly and evenly.
- It mattifies slightly, I don’t really notice a huge difference in that department
- I’m not sure about the hydration part – it definitely wasn’t drying so that’s a plus!
- As for the last 3 claims, I can’t really say, as I don’t have inflamed skin that requires soothing and I don’t really know how to test out if it protects against the environment or promotes skin regeneration.
I’m not sure if you can see the difference of the first picture and the last but the redness in my skin is evened out due to a slight yellow tinge and there is an overall matte finish.
I’m really impressed with this product so far! It goes on smoothly and I feel it has more coverage than a tinted moisturizer which I usually find to be really sheer (and kind of pointless for me to be honest!). However I still need to layer with my powder foundation on top for true coverage. I haven’t tested it out with liquid foundation so I’m not sure how that would work, but since it dries so fast on the skin I don’t see it as being an issue.
The one complaint I’m hearing from other bloggers is that this BB Cream doesn’t contain an SPF so those that want to use it to cut down their beauty regime will still have to apply an SPF first. If I’m not mistaken Marcelle is working on a version with SPF so let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Canadians, while Marcelle’s BB Cream will be available in stores on February 6th, if you’d like to try it out before everyone else you can order it online from the Marcelle Site – and there is free ship with $25 minimum order!
So what do you think of BB Creams? Have you tried them before? Will you be trying this one out?