First, an explanation of BB. It's a face product that is basically an all-in-one thing. A single squirt rubbed on your face and you've got moisturiser, sunscreen and makeup on. You can see why I love this concept, SO EFFICIENT!!! It's unlike me to be interested in beauty products. Except Burt's Bees and nail polish. The beauty counters at Myer are a foreign and baffling place to me, other than as a shortcut from Pitt St to George St. And now here I am with a mini-encyclopeadic knowledge of BB creams. And Elsie too.
Different BB creams have different strong points. So you pick one that does the things you need. Options:
- Covering (light foundation)
- Tinting
- Moisturising
- Sunscreening
They're basically the things. They'll say "9 in 1!" but there isn't much more to it than those things, they just say it with more words. "Mattifying" "brightening" etc etc. I've cut through the faff for you.
Then you decide what's most important, because different BBs have different strengths. My favourite BB cream is from Tarte; it's a very natural-looking coverage (hides pigmentation pretty well), with an SPF30 mineral sunscreen. It's so good I never use my actual makeup anymore. But it's not very moisturous. Looks bad on flakey skin. And it's expensive, I got a friend to buy it in the US for me and it was $35. But I love it. It has a wooden lid! It feels like silk! It's made from diamonds! My LOreal BB has inadequate SPF12, but better moisturiser, a slight tint, thinner coverage, and is cheaper (cos Priceline has really good sales sometimes). The Body Shop BB (I had a sample) is basically a thick tinted moisturiser with vitamin E and healthy stuff in it. I'd like to get many more BB creams, but tiny bottles last forever! So anyway, in Summer I use the high SPF one mostly, but in Winter I save money and use the cheaper BB that focuses on moisturising. That's my jessenomics system.
So that's that. Google around and find one that does the things you want, read some reviews, and give it a go. Or Jelssie is a fountain of knowledge, Elsie will have her own favourites. Or fruitybeauty is a good place to learn more.
My fave is my Kiehl's BB cream. It's usually moistrous enough (great word!), though some days I need a bit of extra moisture I've found. But the colour is good. And the SPF is 50! Well, it is overseas. In Australia they stick a sticker over the 50 and say 30 because apparently they don't recognise SPF over 30 here? Well that's what the guy in Melbourne said anyway. It's the treat I buy duty free when I go to Malaysia (or...Melbourne.)
ReplyDeleteAlso I bought a tube of L'Oreal BB cream at Priceline during a sale (like you!) but haven't used it yet. I've also got a bottle of Clinique tinted moisturiser with sunscreen but it's a bit goopy, and not as nice a make-up finish as BB cream.
ReplyDeleteThat's the sum of my BB knowledge. :)
Thanks for your reviews! I also was quite proud of Moisturous when I typed it.
DeleteI would still wear a high SPF one in winter. Sometimes, I even wear sunscreen under a lower SPF product. It's all about sun protection!
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