Battle of the BB Creams

Over the past few weeks, us UK folk have experienced surprisingly warm weather... who would have thought it, being summer and all?! But of course, it wouldn't be Britain without a few storms and rainy days. On these duller days, I like to revert back to 'winter mode' by wearing a full face of makeup, but typically during the summer months I prefer to stash the away the heavy foundations and look out my small collection of BB Creams. Believe it or not, this collection was actually unintentional... I started off by simply buying the Garnier BB cream, which led to buying one from Maybelline, then another from Rimmel and last of all the BB Cream by Dr Jart. Out of these four products, I definitely like some more than others.. which you'll soon find out if you carry on reading!

First up is the Garnier 'Miracle Skin Perfector' BB Cream. I believe this was one of, if not the first, BB creams to come onto the market, and I remember there was a huge amount of hype about it. I love the smell of this product and its consistency is smooth and very easy to blend. The coverage is enough for those days when you don't want to wear a lot of makeup but you don't want to go completely bare-faced, and the finish is very dewy. I do like the  healthy glow this product gives me but I think you'd definitely have to use a powder to avoid it slipping off your face!

Next is the Maybelline 'Dream Fresh' BB Cream. I bought this in the shade 'Light', though when applied to my face it tends to leave unsightly orange marks despite me spending a couple of minutes to make sure it is all blended in properly. Unlike the Garnier BB cream, I don't find the finish particularly dewy and the coverage is extremely light - to me it looks like I haven't even bothered putting anything onto my face! Despite not being very keen on this product, I did decide to take it on holiday with me this year mainly due it containing SPF 30, which saved me from buying a separate SPF to use on my face. But since arriving back in England, this product now spends most of its days chilling at the back of a cabinet along with an assortment of other beauty products that, quite honestly, fail to impress me.. *sassy hair flip emoji* 

This is the most recent (and priciest) BB cream that has become part of my unintentional collection: the Dr Jart+ Platinum BB Cream. This is available from Boots and retails at £22 for 50ml.. eesh. I've used this less than a handful of times - not because it's a bad product, more so that I forget I even have it. That could be enough to tell you that I personally don't think it is anything special that you should all rush out and buy immediately, but as far as BB creams go, it does the job. Compared to the others, the consistency of this one is very thick, and a little definitely goes a long way. You're in luck if you have pale skin, as this is a very light shade and doesn't turn orange after it's been applied. For some reason this appears to only come in one shade, and it's even lighter than the shades of the previous two BB creams.. ideal if you're super pale but not so great if you've developed a tan over the summer. It contains SPF 30 which is a definitely bonus if you're looking to let your skin breathe while still being protected from the sun, but overall I do think the price is a little steep for a product I see as fairly average!

Lastly I have the Rimmel Matte BB Cream (again in the shade 'Light'.. surprise surprise!) This appealed to me as many BB creams seem to have quite a dewy finish - something that isn't too great if you already have oily skin. In general it's only my T-zone that seems to get oily throughout the day, so I thought i'd try this product out to see if it really did give a mattifying finish. As with the Maybelline BB cream, this product left my skin looking orange in places and despite its runny consistency, it didn't feel too lightweight on my face; it's more of a foundation than a light BB cream. As for the finish, I can't say I noticed it was particularly mattifying so it still left me reaching for my trusty Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. It claims to 'control shine all day' but I'm afraid I'd have to disagree - even after powdering, my t-zone began to get oily again 1-2 hours later :(

So there you have it, 4 BB Creams well and truly tried and tested. If I had to name my favourite and least favourite of the bunch, I'd crown Garnier my favourite for giving me a dewy-yet-healthy glow and name Rimmel's BB cream as my least favourite for giving me a patchy orange face, cheers!