A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If ever there was a product subject to some major scrutiny on this here blog, this would be it. You see, Kiehl’s recently discontinued one of my favourite base products: their Ultra Facial Tinted Moisturizer… and this, their new Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream has taken its hallowed place. I’m not entirely happy about this but I am curious to see how it compares, and ultimately, differs.

If Kiehl’s have done away with a fantastically valued tinted moisturiser – we’re talking 75ml of product for £20.50 – and replaced it with a glorified 30ml of tinted moisturiser (hyped as a BB cream), priced at £23.50 for 30ml, I’m not going to be a Kiehl’s fan for much longer am I?

Old vs New

Their old tinted moisturiser was a no-fuss product without any real skincare claims (not withstanding a less-than-substantial broad spectrum SPF15). Other than fantastic value, a naturally sheer coverage, and some thoroughly decent moisturising capabilities, it delivered nothing more. But that was all I wanted.

The new Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream has far more going on beneath the surface. The most obvious of which is broad spectrum SPF50 PA+++ sun protection. Whether or not one physically applies enough product to benefit from this protection in the real world is still up for discussion but it does at least, offer it in the first place.

It’s also been formulated with a high level of Vitamin C to help boost skin radiance and fade dark spots, which combined with a moisturising base certainly does enough to qualify bullshit-free, bonafide BB Cream status.

the old Tinted Moisturiser (on the left) compared to the new BB Cream

You can see that the texture of the two base products are completely different. At this point, my faith in Kiehl’s has been restored and I’m sufficiently convinced that their new release isn’t simply an excuse to bump the price on an old favourite.

So what do I actually think of Kiehl’s new BB Cream now that I’m happy to judge it on its own merits?

It’s available in three shades: fair, light, and medium. Of the three shades, I received “light” which is sadly a little too dark for my skintone as you’ll see in the following photos.

The texture is thick and the tone is fairly neutral, it certainly doesn’t present the greyed-hues of some Asian BB Creams which should please anyone who finds they tend to look ashy on their skin. Unfortunately, if I’m wearing the “middle” shade of the three, anyone with a darker skintone will feel excluded from this launch.

Please excuse the pin curl clip!

The texture feels heavier than their tinted moisturiser and yet provides only the same level of coverage and skin-unifying. The heavier texture is something that can often be expected from a product with increased sun-protection. Nevertheless, the finish isn’t greasy or even particularly dewy, something that many combination/oily skintypes should be pleased about.

I don’t feel that the BB Cream delivers the same level of prolonged moisture to my skin as the original tinted moisturiser did, and as someone with dry skin – this has the potential to be a deal-breaker for me. To be fair to Kiehl’s, this new BB Cream isn’t marketed toward any specific oily/combo/dry skin issues and as such, I’m assuming it’s more of a one-type-suits-all product. Taking this into consideration, I’m impressed that it neither highlights nor clings to my dry patches.

One thing that I will say improves upon my beloved tinted moisturiser is the longevity of the BB Cream. I have worn it on four ocassions and each time, coverage has lasted comfortably into the evening – something my old favourite would never have been able to achieve.

Ultimately, I don’t like Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream as much as I liked their Ultra Facial Tinted Moisturiser, not for my specific skin concerns and not for my wallet.

However, as a BB Cream, and standing on its own merits, it performs very well and should suit most skin-types thanks to a formula that genuinely seeks to provide an effective skincare treatment alongside surface beautification.

Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream is priced at £23.50 for 30ml and available to buy on counter and online at www.kiehls.co.uk

* press sample

I received a press release yesterday announcing the upcoming launch of a new BB cream to the UK market from The Body Shop.  Vitamin E Cool BB Cream is set to hit the stands next Tuesday (26th March) and promises to deliver light coverage in a moisture-rich formula.

The BB Cream will expand upon the bestselling Vitamin E range (a range of which, I’m personally a big fan – toner anyone?) and is enriched with wheatgerm oil, one of nature’s richest sources of Vitamin E.  It can’t actually find any other skincare benefits from this one, and with no sun-protection or other anti-aging technology included… it’s not really a BB Cream is it now?  HAI TINTED MOISTURISER!

Launching 26th March – £10.00

Perhaps most interestingly, The Body Shop have dared to release this new BB Cream in only one shade, classing it as a one-shade-fits-all product.  In reality, this can only mean one thing, coverage will be extremely, extremely light.

From a personal point of view (screw you guys), I’m particularly interested in this release because, if you’re a long-term follower, you may remember that my favourite Summer foundation trick is to use a light, moisturising liquid/cream base with just a hint of colour before applying mineral powder foundation ontop to adjust my coverage level until I’m happy with the finish.

Could this be my new favourite thing?  I AM EXCITE!

Will you be trying it?

The Body Shop Vitamin E Cool BB Cream launches next week, priced at a purse-cheering £10.00, available in-store or online at www.thebodyshop.co.uk

La Roche Posay Hydreane BB Creme.  Yes, it’s pretty much as awesome as I hoped it would be.  If only it had just a little higher SPF rating, we’d be best of buds all year round.  Well, at least until my new favourite base product comes out – a girl can’t be too loyal when it comes to foundations can she?

After suffering a major, practically heartbreaking disappointment over the much lusted-after Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundation (which did nothing for me other than accentuate my dry bits and make me look blotchy), along comes La Roche-Posay to stroke my hair and tell me I’m not a troll.  No, really – bad makeup positively upsets me.

Paraben-free and suitable for all skin types (allegedly), Hydreane BB Creme is a rich, tinted base with an emolliating formula.  It’s perfect for the upcoming colder months but some may feel that the lower coverage levels are more suited to Summer months when we break out our tinted moisturisers.  The difference for me is that I don’t generally achieve much coverage across my nose with tinted moisturisers, with this – it provides just about enough redness-calming to make me feel a little more secure in my skin – and that, along with the great hydration, is why I’m happy to grant this BB Cream status.

Hygenically packaged in a travel-friendly squeezy tube, the cream that dispenses is a little thinner in texture than most traditional BB Creams.  It spreads across my skin with ease and almost provides enough moisture alone to go without any additional hydration underneath.  Almost.  I find that I still need to give my skin a little hydration boost around my nose (but not on it) and between my brows.

Once worked into the skin with the warmth of my fingers aiding the process, I stepped away from the mirror.  Five minutes later, I returned and was pleased to see a great skintone match, sheer coverage and skin that looked more refined and even.  Blemishes will need spot concealing and under-eye darkness will need brightening but this is a brilliant base for anyone who needs a quick, daily product to tone down redness without looking like you’re wearing a face of makeup.  It’s a skin confidence booster rather than a full-on face-fixer and that suits my tastes perfectly.  I also have no issues to report re: longevity, though I’m afraid that I can’t speak for oilier skin types.

I’m so pleased that this one lived up to the hype that I’d managed to build up for myself around it – my favourite Western BB Cream so far.

La Roche-Posay Hydreane BB Creme is available to buy instore and online at boots.com, priced at £15.00 for 40ml

* press sample

When it comes to BB Creams, I remain unconvinced of their reinterpretations within the Western market.  In the past year, I’ve experienced attempts ranging from uninspiring tinted moisturisers with little skin protection to re-badged HD foundation to glow-givers with great SPF that wouldn’t cover a tea stain on a teabag.  I’ve found that in the majority of cases, I’ve ended up reviewing them on the basis of their efforts as a foundation which probably says a lot about how much they’ve achieved when it comes down to the skin benefits side of the equation.  Not a lot.

The first thing I really noticed when I applied Yves Rocher’s Peau Parfaite 6in1 BB Cream was the instant boost of hydration.  I mean, I actually looked down at my fingers to check that it was indeed a tinted cream and not just a moisturiser, thinking that perhaps, I’d misread the box.  But no, looking back up at me, were indeed, skin-coloured fingertips with skin-coloured gloop all over them.

The Yves Rocher incarnation of BB Cream loveliness comes in only two shades and the lightest version, imaginatively named light is a spot-on match for a NW15/20 skin-tone.  It’s extremely pink-toned which I have almost no doubt will cause problems for pale ladies with yellow or olive-toned skins.  For the rest of us, it makes a nice change.

Now, before you get all excited – as I did – as far as I’m concerned, the Yves Rocher Peau Parfaite BB Cream is an immediate BB Cream fail on account of having absolutely no sun-protection rating.  None, nada.  The skincare benefits listed are also pretty vague… as you can see for yourself…

It’s very easy to say revives, restores, smooths and unifies without actually saying much at all in terms that can be tangibly judged.

But just because I’m writing it off as a BB Cream, that’s not to say that I’m writing it off completely… my skin felt very comfortable whilst wearing it throughout the day, it caused no aggravations or flakiness and I was pleased with how my skin looked everytime I looked in the mirror.  My nose did need blotting a couple of times throughout the day but I always experience that whenever I wear a moisturising base, which is what I believe this to be and where, I feel, its greatest strength lies.

I do have to laugh at the packaging which claims that from a satisfaction test on 26 women, 85% thought that their skin was visibly more beautiful.  Basically, that’s a bit of a crap claim isn’t it?  Talk about damning oneself with faint praise.

A perfect skin-tone match though eh what?

I’m aware that a lot of my foundation before/afters aren’t the most mind-blowing examples of WOAH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE!  But that’s probably because I favour (and get more excited about) base products that give a natural, flawless finish rather than a mask-like one.  I probably wouldn’t be happy with my nose redness completely obliterated, what can I say… it matches my eyes!

Yves Rocher Peau Parfaite BB Creme is currently priced at £9 (usual price £18) and is available to buy online at YvesRocher.co.uk – please do a quick google search for discount/free gift codes before buying – my latest order came with a lovely bounty of freebies after spending over a certain amount.

* press sample

I first came acros the Ginvera brand about 5 years ago after they’d released their Marvel Gel onto the UK scene and were exhibiting at The Vitality Show, I remember being so thoroughly intrigued by the idea of Asian beauty products, and I supposed it contributed to the interest that led me (a couple of years later) to discovering beauty blogs such as A Touch of Blusher and Cosmetic Candy.

Following on from their blackhead-busting Marvel Gel is this, the Singaporean brand’s BB Cream.  It comes in a single shade, designed to suit all skintones <insert raised eyebrow here. and leave it there>.  It promises a fine-textured finish with SPF30 PA++ sun protection, good concealing strength and all day hydration from ingredients including: green tea, ginseng, chinese angelica and hyaluronic acid.

It’s priced at around £20 for 25ml, making it ml for ml, one of the more expensive BB Creams that I’ve tried to date.  The packaging is simple and unfussy, it doesn’t present more luxury than the other BB Creams that I’ve owned in the past.  Whilst I’m on the subject of the packaging, mine does that horribly frustrating thing of continuing to dispense product long after you’ve stopped squeezing, I need to hurry to pop the lid back on to avoid wastage which isn’t always easy when you’ve got a blob of newly-squeezed BB Cream on your fingertips/back of hand.

Packaging issue aside, the texture is really quite sublime.  True to its word, it feels lightweight and finely-textured.  Many Asian BB Creams are quite thick and take considerable rubbing-in to even out the finish, this one glides on and blends effortlessly.

The shade is about 1 shade darker than my summer skintone, I’d say that it’s a NW20/25 as a rough estimate… this is obviously NOT suitable for all skintones, if you’re darker than an NW30, you’ll struggle.  I’m currently inbetween an NW15/20 and you’ll be able to see a little later how well it fared once blended on my pale skin.  As for the tone, it has the signature grey-ish cast that I personally love in a BB Cream for disguising my redness but I felt that although this faded somewhat after warming up on my skin, those with warmer skintones probably won’t appreciate the ashiness.

As an all-in-one solution, it didn’t fully work for me.  I still needed to prime my skin with additional moisturiser to keep any dry bits feeling comfortable, though it certainly didn’t contribute to any additional dryness.  I also felt that the Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream lasted well on the more oily areas of my skin with minimal migration and good longevity.  Coverage was also impressive, though any spots would still need additional concealing.

Overall, I was happy with how it performed but for the (slightly higher than average) price tag, I’d prefer additional refinement and for it to be more compatible with my personal skin needs.  If you’re a normal/combination, mid-toned girl who wants something with medium coverage and no-fuss application, I highly recommend that you check it out.  The broad spectrum SPF30 may well make this a fabulous choice for your Summer holidays this year.

The Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream is available to purchase online from Janiro.co.uk and instore at Harvey Nichols, priced at £20.00

* press sample

So, staunchly ploughing my way through the UK available BB Creams (but slowly, very slowly)… the next on my radar was the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream* which was launched recently.  It comes in a few varieties, depending on your skintype: normal/oily, normal/dry, dry/very dry.  I’ve got a stock image here because I took my photos last month and can’t find them on my computer anymore… I bet I got a bit zealous in my cleaning up process a few weeks ago.

I’m really enjoying what feels like a bonus inclusion for the dry/very dry camp and this delivers well on not exacerbating any symptoms of dry skin.  It doesn’t cling to flakes and it doesn’t highlight any dry patches or look powdery as it settles.  It doesn’t however, provide enough moisturisation for me to wear it without moisutirser underneath.  Nor, at SPF15, does it provide enough sun protection on its own.  This to me, isn’t a BB Cream – it’s simply not an all-in-one solution with the kind of skincare benefits that I’m looking for.

But how does it work as a foundation or base?

Really nicely actually.  It gives more coverage than a regular tinted moisturiser but not quite as much as a light foundation.  It leaves a dewy finish that is a little tacky to the touch before settling and tones down my redness well enough to give me the confidence I need to face the world.  I usually apply this with my fingers, making it a fast 5-minute face option for mornings when I don’t need or particularly want to look made-up.  Quick trips to the shops, school-runs, the general day-to-day stuff that you feel a little happier doing without a completely bare face.

It lasts adequately and doesn’t pack any oxidisation issues throughout the day.

Although the texture is quite thick, it feels blendable once it comes into contact with skin (especially under warm fingers) and has enough slip to allow you to really work it into the face quite well.  There are two shades available in each variety (fair & medium) and fair is a good-enough match for my pale skintone, a little too warm/dark but it’s sheer enough not to cause any problems.

The Boots No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream in Dry/Very Dry is priced at £12.95 for 40ml, and is available instore and online at boots.com

* press sample

Firstly, I’d like to say a big hoorah for a “western” BB Cream with a decent SPF rating.  The Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme* comes with a broad-spectrum sun protection rating of SPF35.  What it doesn’t come with, is a whole bunch of moisture – and that’s bad news for me, especially because it’s kind of the whole reason I fell in love with BB creams in the first place.  But let’s not forget, this version from Estee Lauder has disassociated itself with the whole BB cream ‘thing’ by re-imagining those two initials, not to mean blemish/beblesh balm, but ‘beauty benefit’.  If that sounds a little bit wanky, it’s because it is.

Having said that… every cloud has a silver lining does it not?

What the Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme does introduce, is very good oil control.  It doesn’t achieve this by mattifying the crap out of your complexion, you’ll still see a certain amount of dewiness (a.k.a life) and definitely a lot of ‘real’ skin, but it manages to velvet-ify (that’s SO a word), keeping the greasies (also a word) at bay very effectively indeed.

Coverage is sheer/medium but it evens my skintone without arguments and reduces the redness admirably.  If you’ve got blemishes, you’ll need to conceal these – don’t be layering four coats of BB cream ontop and hoping for the best.

Many have raised concerns about the shade and yes, two shades is not enough and 01 Light (the palest) is both too dark and too warm-toned for pale, cool pink types like myself.  If you’re an NC20 upward, you should be fine with this shade.  I’m not one to be massively horrified if a foundation doesn’t match my skintone exactly, I just don’t want to look tangoed or for people to take sly twitpics of me to show their friends how ‘not’ to get matched for foundation.  You know?  Hopefully the pictures will give a better impression of what I’m trying to say but I think I can get away with this one aslong as I don’t get too fixated on it not quite being right.

What else is there to mention?  Packaging is sleek and portable, if not the sexiest I’ve seen.  It smells strongly of cucumber, reminding me of the Boots own range of cucumber products… again, this doesn’t really scream “I’m worth my £32 price tag”.

Ok, before/after time – this is taken under flash conditions, at night so the change in tone is pretty much spot on (as I have complete control over the lighting here).  Also, I’m loving the chin spot.

The bottom line is this, if you have very dry skin, there are more suitable products available in the BB cream world for you.  If you have combination or oily skin and you’re a little darker than the average sun-dodger, you should really try and beg a sample of this from your nearest counter because I think it may be the best BB cream you’ve yet to try.

Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme is available to buy now online and on counter, priced at £32 for 30ml

* press sample

Please forgive the weary expression, it’s late at night – I wanted to film this during the day but I just don’t get 10 minutes to myself at the moment.  I thought it might be fun to record my thoughts on the new (ish) Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One B.B. Cream…

Click play to see what I thought of it.

Ingredient List

Aqua/Water, Isononyl Isononanoate, Isohexadecane, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., PEG-20 Methyl Glucose Sequistearate, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Methyl Glucose Sequistearate, Cetyl Palmitate, Nylon-12, Cyclohexasiloxane, Propylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Stearyl Alcohol, Argilla/Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum/Fragrance, Caprylyl Glycol, Lithium Magnesium Sodium Silicate, Disodium EDTA, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Caffeine, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Geraniol, Cellulose Acetate Butyrate, Polyphosphorylcholine Glycol Acrylate, Citral, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide / Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl taurate, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, [+/- May Contain CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI77499 / Iron Oxides]

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Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One B.B. Cream is priced at £9.99 for 50ml and available to buy online and instore at Boots in shades Light or Medium.

I feel like I’ve been waiting FOREVER for this to turn up… I ordered about a month ago, so I’m making the assumption that post from the Far East is slow-going at the minute.  Missha M Perfect Cover was the name that kept cropping up following my last post showing my small collection of BB Creams and so it was this one that I decided to add to my ever-growing stash.

Packaged in a squeezy tube with a pump dispenser, the 50g of product contained within is well-housed both for hygienic application and freshness.  I don’t know why more base products don’t use this method.

I opted for the shade #21 (light beige) and am pleased I did as it matches my skin-tone well, I’m around a NW15 for reference.  The tone is fairly neutral to my eye, neither too yellow or pink but it does tone the redness down very well, which is something I find BB Creams excel at doing.

The particular skin benefits of the Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream include:  SPF 42 PA+++ (the PA+++ meaning that it is a broad spectrum product with the maximum UVA protection), skin lightening (hyper pigmentation) and anti-ageing.

The texture is thick but spreads well, it doesn’t feel particularly heavy or greasy… something which many BB Creams are prone to doing.  I find this quite moisturising but still wouldn’t be without an additional light moisturiser as base.

I would describe coverage as medium, it evens out my skintone nicely without looking too heavy.  It will dampen blemishes but not disguise them completely.  A great choice for everyday wear but you may want something that offers fuller coverage in the evening.

Compared to my other BB Creams, I find the Missha M Perfect Cover fairly matte.  It’s not flat matte but I wouldn’t describe it as dewy either…. on my combination skin, it didn’t need powdering and neither did it allow too much oil to break down the effectiveness on my t-zone for many, many hours.

It’s another LOVE to add to my collection… so easy just to apply with your fingers (as I have above) and there’s undoubted comfort in the knowledge that I have decent sun protection, good coverage and a little bit of added skin TLC thrown in for good measure.  Thanks for recomending this one to me chaps, I’ve struck gold!

I bought my Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream from seller FriedGreen on eBay and paid £11.78 inc. postage.

I promised you a post on BB creams and in all honesty, what I know about BB creams can probably be written on the back of one.  In other words, not an awful lot.

However, one thing I do know is that they’ve been around for a lot longer than you might think.  Currently hot topic across the UK blogosphere, we’re about 3 years out of date on this one.  Here’s the post that introduced me to them back in 2008: The lovely Muse talks about BB Creams…

Since then, I’ve been gathering snippets here and there from other Asian cosmetics aficiandos like Rowena, Kathi and ParisB (just a small selection of amazing blogs with an Asian beauty focus) and dipping my toe in the proverbial waters.

The biggest complaint lodged against the Asian BB Cream market is the lack of colour variation and this still holds true 3 years down the line… for medium toned or paler skins, it’s not too bad.  Darker skintones (with the exception of one or two products) are pretty much ignored in this genre.

Speaking from a personal point of view, my pale pink skin isn’t as bothered by the oft-disliked ‘beige/grey’ tones found within many of these creams.  Infact, I find that they cancel out my redness better than any other foundation or concealer I’ve tried but I can absolutely appreciate why they don’t look as good on olive or yellow-toned skintones.

The below image shows them swatched on my inner wrist where the skin is considerably more milk-bottle than my face.  The texture of the three varies considerably.  I’m going to do a speed review on each…

Therapia ECO Feel BB Cream

This one has the heaviest texture, it’s quite hard to spread and drags a little unless my skin is well moisturised underneath.  The colour is good, though a tiny bit too dark for me.  Skin-loving properties are based around whitening and calming irritated skin with Apricot Oil and Aloe Vera Gel.

Coverage is medium, it conceals redness nicely but blemishes will need extra work.  I don’t find that this builds very well, more than one layer and it starts to look caked on.  It’s unscented and has an SPF rating of SPF25 PA++

I would recommend this for normal/combo skins.

Skin Food Gingko Green BB Cream

The lightest in texture of the three I currently have in rotation.  Best for drier skins, this leaves behind a medium coverage and a dewy finish. If you’re oily, you will probably hate this with a passion.

It’s delicately scented and promises to be filled with ‘beauty enhancing’ ingredients like lecithin and Vit B to moisturise and nourish.  Sadly, this one contains no SPF.

The colour is less ‘beige’ (read grey) than the other two and will be better suited to warmer skintones (though it is still very light).

Shills Super Magic BB Cream

My favourite and the one I’ve been reaching for recently is this offering from Taiwanese brand, Shills.  With the highest SPF rating of SPF50 PA+++, it’s been doing a good job of keeping my skin protected in the sun.  It promises to aid with whitening, wrinkles(!) and general skin improvement.

It’s the palest of the three and the most suited to a cooler, pink skin tone.  It covers my redness phenomenally well and is mid-way between the other two in terms of spreadability.  Again, this one is delicately scented which may put you off.  It glides on over a moisturised face but if you’re combo-skinned, you may not want to add that extra dewiness as this is pretty moisturising on its own.

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As you can see, these ones all come from the Asian marketplace but I’ll be interested to see how the bigger brands currently throwing themselves on the bandwagon will interpret the ‘genre’ for the Western market.  I buy all my BB Creams on eBay but please be aware that there are fakes.  Infact, I’m not certain that all my purchases are genuine (though I’ve thankfully had no adverse reactions) so do all your usual eBay homework, check ratings… compare products to stock images etc and if in doubt, ask questions!

Have you tried BB Creams?  Want to?

My first foray into the infamous world of BB Creams!

What are BB Creams?

BB Cream stands for Blemish Balm Cream and is a very popular base product in Asia.  Korean companies in particular offer a wide-range of BB Creams to suit many different skin types.  They fill the gap in the market between cosmetics and skincare… a product designed to give flawless coverage whilst benefiting the health of your skin in one (or many) ways.

I first heard of BB Creams when I went to South Korea a few years ago, I had absolutely no idea what they were or did until I arrived back in the UK and started blog reading.

BB Creams at the minimum, offer moisturisation and coverage, with many more offering SPF, Whitening Properties and Anti-Aging to name but a few.  They’re big business in Asia and have been slowly but steadily making a splash amongst makeup aficionados worldwide.

So, why has it taken me so long to try one?  Ultimately… convenience.  You have to head to eBay or online stores that specialise in Asian cosmetics.  Then you have to work out which BB Cream you fancy trying and frankly, there are so many available… it all gets a bit confusing.

I took the plunge and settled for South Korean brand Skin Food.

Skin Food Gingko Green BB Cream #1 (50g) to be exact.

Here’s what they say about it:

A multi-function product for skin care and makeup.  Containing gingko leaf and green tea extracts rich in lecithin and vitamin B, it protects sensitive skin and improves skin tone.  Use when you want to achieve a bright, radiant skin tone.

It’s a little warmer than my skintone but ultimately blends to a decent match.  Colour matching seems to be one of the biggest issues with BB Creams and it’s always worth googling for a swatch to get an idea of how it might suit you.

The texture is truly rather lovely.  Thick but not so thick that it’s hard to spread.  There’s still enough slip to the product to stop it dragging across your face as you spread it.  Coverage is medium… it tones down my redness quite well and evens out my skintone.  Blemishes are not covered and concealer is necessary.  It really does feel like I’m wearing something different to my usual foundations… far more natural feeling on the skin.

Ultimately, this would be all you need if you’re blessed with great skin.  Oily skins will probably want something a little more matte.  I’m pleased I bought it, do I want to try more?  Oh yes….

I think I may have developed a dangerous new addiction.

Are you a fan of BB Creams?  Let me know some of your favourites!