Review: Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Fair

I've had the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream in Fair for a number of months and haven't quite gotten around to doing a review. I bought this at ULTA during one of their 20% off F&F periods which included the prestige brands. The 1oz tube has a retail price of $39 which is around the same price as other BB creams (other than the US drugstore knock-offs) on the market. I've tried quite a few other BB creams, my favorite being the Missha Perfect Cover in #13.

In my opinion, this resembles a BB cream more than a tinted moisturizer. It's thick just like the Asian creams and patting it in on the face is a better application method then rubbing or sweeping. Generally, unless I am dealing with massive breakouts, this covers my imperfections without needing additional concealer or powder. As my skin is on the drier side, I do not need to set this during the day and I get a good 10 hours of wear in air conditioning.

The Fair is a pretty good color match on my NW10 (or thereabouts) skin. It is a touch too dark but it isn't super obvious. It oxidizes a bit but not nearly as bad as the Cover Girl Natureluxe. As far as scent is concerned (one of the only negatives about the Missha), this smells like sunscreen but it's not super overwhelming or offensive and with the SPF 35 I'm not complaining.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with this product and it's been my go-to "foundation" for the last few weeks. Again, patting this on with fingers produces the best finish for me which is great since it means I don't have to wash makeup brushes!

Have you tried the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream? What did you think?


*Apologies for my absence. Work has been taking over my life.

Review: Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream Light/Medium

The Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream was something I picked up at Walgreens a week or so ago. I am a big fan of BB Creams and I've tried a few on the market but none from the drugstore. I believe Garnier is the first big brand available at US drugstores that has come out with a BB Cream though I'm sure we'll see more in the future. The Garnier version promises to instantly renew, brighten and even the skin while also being hydrating. As a dry-skinned person, this is the kind of thing I look for in a tinted moisturizer which is what a BB Cream is like. I believe I paid $12.99 for the Garnier version but as with all drugstore products, the price will vary depending on the actual store and the area.

The Miracle Skin Perfector (BB Cream) comes in two color selections, Light/Medium and Medium/Dark, I obviously picked the lighter of the two being fair. It contains 2.5 floz of product which makes the price point fairly reasonable as most foundation-type products, Asian BB Creams included, come with 1floz of product. It's an opaque squeeze tube with a flip top which is nice.  

The problem lies with the color...

 Uh oh...

Uh...

This is supposed to go on my face?!

Alright, so the color is quite dark. Granted, if you use a tiny amount for your whole face, it mostly disappears; however, if you want to cover anything you need to add more than just a little dot and when you do that, you get an orange jaw line which is not very becoming on my ~nw10 skin tone.

So would I recommend this product? Not if you're actually light. Not if you want coverage if you're light; though really you're not going to get a lot of coverage if you're medium toned. This is definitely lighter coverage than a lot of BB Creams on the market (compared to the Missha for instance, this is practically non-existent in terms of coverage). What I do like is it's scented like the Garnier line so it's a very pleasant non-offensive scent and it does keep me well moisturized throughout the day. That being said, I'd look much better if I just used a clear moisturizer instead of this.

Final thoughts? I'm returning this.