I have purposely held off trying any of the BB creams that are currently on offer in South Africa. Even though I have read numerous reviews, of which most rave about this "wonder" product, I wanted my "first time" experience of a BB cream, to be one from a reputable house and preferably from a house that had its roots in skin care rather than in make up. I have been somewhat sceptical about trying a BB cream, as I am a mature female who has all the normal concerns about ageing, so was this type of product going to have any place in my beauty regime?
The BB can stand for either Beauty Balm, Blemish Balm or Blemish Base, but I prefer to refer to the BB cream as a Beauty Balm.....
BB creams have hit the cosmetic market with a vengeance since the beginning of 2012, but have been around for many years and with great success, in most Asian countries.
Each cosmetic house seems to have their own take on the BB cream, but most are promoted as a multi tasking cream and can be used as a:
Tinted moisturizer/light foundation
Radiance Enhancer
Coverage of sunspots/age spots/acne
The reason for my hesitation with not getting too excited with all this BB hype....is that I cannot understand how one product can claim to literally "do it all", so call me "old fashioned" but I am not sold on multi tasking products that claim to do all of the above and in some cases, even more....
My advice to you, is to check out the features and the benefits that each of the BB creams will provide for you, and work from there.....not every brand out there will suit your shade of skin colour either, as the selection of colours is fairly limited.
The product that I have been waiting to try was the Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream, which was launched a couple of weeks ago here in South Africa....
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| R375 |
They claim that their BB skin perfecting Cream will:
"Even skin tone, revitalise and protect - resulting in beautiful skin with a perfect complexion in one simple step. Efficient skin care and beauty expertise have been combined by the Clarins Laboratories in this 3-in-1 product".
I was comfortable with the claims above, as they are not trying to multi task too much. I used the medium of the three shades that they have on offer. The product was easy to apply and I applied over my usual moisturizer, as I felt I needed that extra protective layer, but a younger and less dry skin can definitely use this product alone. I must make mention here that you need to warm the product between hands and apply with your fingertips in order to get the best application results. I tried both ways and the warming does make the product more emollient and therefore application easier, far easier than if you just applied cold, straight from the tube!
I was not prepared for the great coverage that this product gave me....without appearing too "foundation" like.
The other advantage that I was hoping to see was the effect of the 3-D Pigments, which Clarins have in several of their products, and is especially good for the more mature skin. These 3-D Pigments help to give you radiance, smoothness and an even complexion , which I enjoy, as would any older user! The product felt light on my skin and provided a perfect satin canvas for my blush etc......however I especially enjoyed the product when used alone and as you can see from the photos the medium shade was perfect for my colouring.
Other active ingredients include Organic Kiwi extract, which enhances vitality and radiance, as well as an exclusive combination of Katafray and Hyaluronic acid ensuring that your skins water stores are kept topped up, which in turn keeps your skin feeling soft and comfortable.
Another important feature of this BB cream is the fact that it contains an SPF 25....
If you read my blog regularly you will have read my series of posts on Tinted Moisturisers and I even made comment, that the arrival of the BB cream could mean the demise of the tinted moisturiser and I have to say that this could be true, as the BB creams have so much more to offer.
So does this product have a place in my beauty regime? It most definitely does and I am somewhat disappointed with myself that I did not try a BB cream sooner, but I think I made the correct choice in waiting for the Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream to be launched, as this product has "blown away" all my hesitations and doubts for good!
Well Done Clarins for producing another great product!
Available at all Clarins outlets
