theNotice: a beauty blog

The product: Marcelle BB Cream in Light to Medium

What they say about it: Marcelle is marketing their BB Cream as a hypo-allergenic beauty balm/skin enhancer, calling it an 8 in 1 product. I couldn’t quite suss out what those eight claims were, but I’ve numbered off my guesses – and will try to judge the product accordingly!

Your ultimate skin care enhancer for all ages and skin types, this multi-purpose skin care cream is more than a tinted moisturizer or simple make-up base. It perfects the skin to (1) reveal a more even epidermis and (2) well-hydrated, (3) flawless complexion, all in one. Use it (4) alone as a tinted moisturizer;  (5) over your moisturizer to unify your complexion and (6) reduce the appearance of blemishes, (7) apply as a make-up base under foundation for total coverage and (8) improved stay-on power. BB Cream is offered in two shades and is suitable for a wide variety of skintones thanks to its self-adjusting pigments that transform and adapt to skin tone.

Please note that because I am sensitive to silicones, I will be unable to judge the long term or long-wearing effects of this product – that is, claims 1 through 3, and 8. I can, however, speak toward all of the other claims, so keep reading for the review!

The shade: Somehow, Marcelle has managed to put just the right amount of pigment into their BB cream - more on par with a sheer foundation than a tinted moisturizer. It’s enough to tone down my awful undereye circles, but not so much that only having two shade choices will be terribly limiting.

Light to Medium is darker than my own skintone, and yet, it’s completely seamless: my face still matches my neck, but I’d feel completely comfortable wearing this and nothing else as a base product – as long as I’m not in the middle of breakout, that is! Check back tomorrow for shade comparison swatches.

Update: check out comparison swatches (MAC, 100% Pure, other Marcelle foundations) here!

Marcelle BB Cream swatches – all Light to Medium, with differing amounts of blending.

The finish: Again, Marcelle has hit the nail right on the head with this one. Similarly to the amount of pigmentation, the finish is absolutely natural – just enough glow to give my skin an extra little boost, but not so much that it’s obvious. (I’ve got a super-close-up flash photo of a swatch below; you can tell that there’s a small amount of super-finely-milled mica that’s literally imperceptible to the naked eye.)

I like to think of this as a natural plus finish - no one would ever guess that you were wearing a base product, and yet, the results are just that tiny bit more flawless.

Super-close-up swatches of Marcelle BB Cream in Light to Medium; indirect sunlight with additional flash.

The ingredients: Marcelle’s BB Cream is paraben-free, perfume-free (though it is not scent-free), and hypoallergenic. For the full ingredient list, click here.

Odds and ends: So, that throwaway comment about this being perfume-free but not scent-free? I’m not sure what to say about it. I can’t stand the slightly-sour scent of this, even after a good half hour of wear. But here’s the thing: my scent-sensitive sister? Can’t smell it at all.

My advice is that if you’re not already convinced that you’re crazy (that is, you’re frequently annoyed by a faint sour scent when everyone else is convinced a product is scent-free), I wouldn’t worry about it in relation to this BB cream, either.

Lastly, I want to give a quick shout-out to the brilliant packaging of this BB cream. Not only is it super-cute (white is underrated, you guys), but it’s blissfully user-friendly. It’s light, easy-to-use, and super sanitary. No trigger-finger pump, no bacterial contamination, and no need to worry about fingerprints or fragility!

The verdict?

Marcelle’s BB Cream retails for $22.95 CAD/45mL and is available in Light to Medium and Medium to Dark shades. I’m hesitant to give a verdict for this one, as I wasn’t able to test it for long-term or all-day wear, but I love what I did get to test it for.

With more coverage than a tinted moisturizer, a completely seamless finish, and just the right amount of “glow,” the Marcelle BB Cream is a fantastic introduction to BB Creams on the whole. I’m no expert, of course, but I’ll say this: if the rest of the trend is anything like this one, I completely understand the craze!

One last photo »

Buy it here. Read more here. Check out other BB creams here.

Review and swatches upcoming; please bear with me, here!

Just in time to get your hands on the first-ever Canadian BB cream, Marcelle is doing free shipping with all orders over $25.00 (before taxes). To make up the extra few dollars, may I recommend their Waterproof Eyeliners, Face Powder, Pressed Powder, and Rouge Xpression lipsticks? ;)

The ingredients

Aqua/Water/Eau,  Cyclopentasiloxane, Octyldodecanol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cyclohexasiloxane,  Isopropyl Myristate,  Bis-Peg/Ppg-14/14 Dimethicone, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate,  Xylitylglucoside,  Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Hexyl Laurate, Silica, Sodium Chloride, Isododecane,  Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Lauroyl Lysine,  Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower/Leaf Extract, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Trihydroxystearin, Talc, Butylene Glycol,  Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Iron Oxides.

This product is paraben-free, perfume-free, and hypoallergenic. Please note that it is not silicone-free; however, I’ll do my best to review it anyways.

Marcelle BB cream is available in both Light to Medium and Medium to Dark shades. The airless tube-pump contains 1.5 oz / 45 mL of product, and retails for $22.95 starting today.

For those of you that can’t wait until the 16th (online exclusively at shop.marcelle.com) for the new Marcelle BB Cream ($22.50 CAD, in stores Feb 6th), here are a few others…

What makes up a BB cream?

The blemish balms that have been sweeping through Asia over the past few years are finally making waves in North American brands, too. These all-in-one bases are lightly tinted to even out the skin, creating a smooth, even base under foundation (or, depending on the brand and shade, replace foundation altogether.)

I’ve also seen “BB” cited as “beauty base,” “beauty balm,” and “blemish base,” but they’ve always been blemish balms in my head. You may recognize them from brands like Skin Food, Dr. Jart, Etude House, Missha, and The Face Shop – and those are just the big ones. BB creams are, more or less, the tinted moisturizers of the other side of the world; sheer foundation with an extra marketing punch. (And, hopefully, an extra-punchy formula, too.)

There are a number of multinationals that do Asia-exclusive BB creams, so perhaps they’ll show up here sometime, too. I know Maybelline, L’Oreal, and Garnier do them, as well as department/boutique brands like La Roche Posay, Dior, Estee Lauder, and Bobbi Brown, so perhaps it’s not too much to hope for! (Note, the Estee one sold here is different from the one sold in Asia; theirs launched earlier and is part of the Cyber White line, not the DayWear range.)

Can we talk about how nice it is to see Asian faces in Canadian advertising? Yes? Alright then, I’ll leave you with this:

To celebrate (ahem) the start of Fall term, I thought I’d finally post some photos I took… in June. 2010. I know, I know; I’m awful. I often surprise myself with my ability to procrastinate, too :P

There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to MAC shade numbers, but hopefully, this’ll help clarify things for you!

PLEASE NOTE: if you are viewing these images in a browser that doesn’t colour-manage (ahem, Chrome), the colour values will be off!

The letters

L-R: MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 15 in C15, NC15, and NW15

Perhaps the trickiest thing about MAC’s shade system is that you have to know your undertones – and most of the time, you only have two choices. I’m going to start off by saying that, though MAC does a lot of shades, not everyone will be able to find a perfect match. It’s rather unfortunate, but, well, that’s just the way it works!

NC stands for “neutral-cool,” and corresponds to yellow, golden, or olive.

NW stands for “neutral-warm,” and corresponds to pink or rose.

N, C, and W stand for “neutral,” “cool,” and “warm,” respectively. So, a N shade has more of a yellow/pink balance, a C shade is more yellow than a NC shade, and a W shade is more pink than a NW shade.

What’s important to remember is that MAC refers to pink as “warm” and yellow as “cool.” Keep that in mind and it should be smooth sailing from hereon in!

To help explain this a little better, I swatched three “15″ Studio Fix Concealers: C15, NC15, and NW15. As you can see, the C shade is the most yellow, and the NW shade is the most pink – even though I, personally, would say that the NW is a cold pink!

Swatches: MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 15 in C15, NC15, and NW15

The numbers

Thankfully, MAC’s number system is (much) easier to understand than their lettering system! Basically, the larger the number is, the darker the shade will be. And that’s all you need to know ;)

To show off the shade values, I swatched four consecutive NW concealers, in 15, 20, 25, and 30.

R-L: MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 15 in-NW15, NW20, NW25, NW30

Swatches: MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF 15 in-NW15, NW20, NW25, NW30

Still can’t find your match?

• Try mixing – maybe your shade is two parts NW and one part NC, for instance. Or perhaps it’s just time to admit defeat! Yep, you heard me – it’s okay to admit defeat. Because…
• Most lines mix their shades along the same strain, so another brand may simply work better for your skintone. I mean, MAC foundations are often criticized for being too extreme (that is, too pink or too yellow); Bobbi foundations are supposed to lean yellow; Marcelle ones usually have more a of a pink/peach base. And don’t even get me started on Clinique: I love the line, but I’ve never been able to find a foundation match with them!
• Go theatrical. Brands made for theatre, or which originated in theatre, tend to have a broader shade range, so keep an eye out for them – think Ben Nye, Mehron, and MUFE.
• And last but not least, always be ready to swatch-test new things! A good base will always be in, so brands are always going to be launching new shades, new undertones, or even entirely new foundations. You’ll find something, trust me. It might take a long time and a ton of testing, but your perfect match is out there!

Don’t forget…

The thing about being online is that, well, you have the world at your fingertips. If you’re still having trouble figuring out your shade, make sure you check out pages like the Temptalia Foundation Matrix, KarlaSugar’s foundation swatches, or MAC’s own shade finder!

If possible, try to find a skin twin, too –  a blogger or fellow beauty junkie who wears the same shade as you. Or, optimally, someone who wears the same shade and has the same skin type. I’m still hunting for mine, but I hear they can be incredibly useful :P Possibly harder to find than snipes named Kevin, but definitely worthwhile if you can track one down!