A quick tutorial on adding natural-looking colour for everyone from the chronically ill to just the mildly hungover. (Hey, I’ve been both. And unfortunately, I can therefore guarentee that the same principles more or less apply.) (Think about that the next time you go out drinking. Man.)
Dug this one out of the archives. I’m not sure what possessed me to put together an eighteen-product assortment of lip balms, lip balms, and more lip balms, but… well.
Let’s just say I don’t regret it in the least.
Anything catch your eye?
At long last – I’ve finally gotten my act together! As promised, here are full-face swatches (honestly, though, what are those called?! I hardly think they can be referred to as “swatches” at this point) of Marcelle and Garnier’s BB creams.
So, without further adieu…
Bare, freshly-cleansed skin!
For my skintone, Marcelle’s Light to Medium was a good match – darker than I am, but not by too much. I really liked the neutral tone of the product, which did a great job of cancelling out both redness and sallowness, resulting in an overall illusion of evenness and “perfect skin.” (The satin finish is great, too, which also adds to the illusion.)
I was particularly impressed with the way it tackled my undereye circles and the redness I have in my eye area – I probably wouldn’t leave the house without concealer, just on principle, but I’d feel comfortable having forgotten to conceal if I was wearing this.
Wearing Marcelle’s BB Cream (both images)
Left: bare skin / Right: wearing Marcelle’s BB Cream
The weird little box in the left corner is a colour sampling of my skintone – the left side being bare, and the right, with BB cream. For consistency, I grabbed the colours from the same spot on my cheek in both photos. (Freckle-mapping for the win!)
As you can tell from the colour swatches, Marcelle’s BB adds depth of tone to my skin, and has a clever mix of yellow/greyish pigments to neutralize redness.
I was less impressed with Garnier’s product, but I wanted to share photos for a very specific reason – I think it would be great as a Prtty Peaushun-like product (but, y’know, for your face.) As mentioned in the review, I was sent Medium/Dark, which really isn’t a match for me. However, it turned out to be great for faking a darker skintone, with results that are still very “real skin.”
As a BB cream in and of itself, though, I was less impressed – I found it left me overly dewy, a bit sticky, and while it did a good job of adding warmth, it failed to counteract redness.
Wearing Garnier’s BB Cream
Left: bare skin / Right: wearing Garnier’s BB Cream
The look: Garnier’s BB Cream is more sheer than I had expected, and more dewy. You know how I mentioned that the Marcelle BB Cream is really… I don’t know; BB-Cream-ish? I feel like Garnier’s isn’t – I can’t tell how it differentiates from a basic tinted moisturizer, in coverage or in finish.
If you have quite good skin to begin with that just needs a small “pick me up,” this may be an option – but don’t expect it to give your skin any more than a bit of a boost. I think I would have been a lot happier with this if it had been marketed as a sheer, luminizing base rather than a BB Cream or “Miracle Skin Perfector,” because it’s just that: it imparts a warm, dewy finish, but with very little coverage.
Garnier Skin Renew BB Cream in Medium/Dark on NW15ish skin
The shade: I was sent Medium/Dark, which is a massive error in logic that I’m not even going to begin to approach. I had a bit of fun with it, though – sometimes it’s nice to fake out a different skintone for a little while, and it blended in really well, probably because it’s so sheer. I’m fairly certain that Garnier’s Medium/Dark is darker than Marcelle’s Medium to Dark, so if you’re still searching for a drugstore BB cream but you’re on the darker end of the spectrum, this might be a shade option you’ll want to check out.
While I can’t speak for the lighter shade, I found the undertones of this one to run a bit pink – not so much that Asian skintones will find it completely unwearable but enough that it’s noticeable; it adds a bit of warmth by way of red undertones, rather than orange ones.
The ingredients:
Swatched L-R: MAC NW25, Garnier Med/Dark B.B. Cream, MAC NW30, MAC NC30, Garnier B.B., MAC NC35.
All MAC shades are Studio Finish SPF 15 concealers.
Garnier describes their BB Cream as an ”all-in-one every day moisturizer [... a] light, velvety-smooth lotion.” And, honestly, I’m going to have to say that it’s none of the above. It always irks me when a product isn’t bad, but doesn’t do as it should – because as a blogger, what am I supposed to rate it by, then?
If you’re looking for a B.B. Cream that will provide a sheer, dewy, luminizing base, then I would say this is worth checking out. However, if you’re on the market for more coverage, something scent- or silicone-free, or that truly “flawless” finish, this isn’t the product for you.
Garnier’s Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B. Cream (quite the name!) retails at a SRP of $19.99 CAD, though you can get a $3 off coupon at their site, here. Full-face comparison photos later this week, if I can find time ;)
It’s the sixth; it’s the sixth!! Please, tell me you know what that means.
If you haven’t guessed, you should be ashamed today is the “official” launch date of Marcelle’s new BB Cream. As of today, it should be in stores as well as online, so do go check out your local drugstore if you’re in Canada and eagerly waiting for this to hit shelves!
If you hadn’t guessed, I’m going to assume that you’ve been living underground for the last month. Or, at least, in a place without internet. (But honestly; the internet is bloody everywhere nowadays. If you’ve been cut off from it entirely, you were probably underground or in a rainforest or a coma or something.)
A quick swipe of Light-Med, blended out as a gradient.
(Photo taken darker and with more contrast than usual, to help show how seamlessly this can be blended out.)
More BB later this week, if I can find time ;) Another drugstore one, though I warn you, I don’t love it half as much as this one.
