BB Creams - do not be fooled!

This is a post I've been planning for a long time. BB creams seem to be everywhere and I was initially really confused as to what they were as they all seemed to promise different things. The 'BB' seems to stand for Blemish Balm mostly although sometimes it's billed as Beauty Balm and they are basically based on the real BB Creams that are huge in the Asian market and have been for sometime.

However, just because they are based on these creams does not mean they do the same thing at all. In fact, they really don't. The original BB creams soothe and regenerate the skin and help with blemishes, pigmentation and even out skin tone. They supposedly do the same thing here but they really don't.

I think they sound amazing. A moisturiser that is also a primer, that also has a bit of colour, that also helps your skin, that helps spots, that evens skin tone. This product would be amazing. But it is not what these creams do. I have been using them for the last month and I can tell you that these are nothing but often quite nice and reasonably priced tinted moisturisers.

I have been going through a spotty stage, I don't know if it's to do with no longer working in an office and therefore no air conditioning/heating, or that my diet has changed or if it's anything else but the spots are there and I'm hating it. Using the BB creams has not helped this at all. I'm still just as spotty.

I have been using Garnier's Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All in One BB Cream about £8 from Boots and Boots own 17 which is £6.99. They were the ones closest to hand and there is such a flood on the market at the moment I just thought I'd go with the two that perhaps other people would pick up and choose as they are the most obvious ones in the shop.

Garnier's Miracle Skin Perfector makes some very bold claims on their website and I definitely don't hate it at all but it is a tinted moisturiser nothing more and therefore looking at it as such I should hope that it made my skin more luminous and evens skin tone. That's what you want from a tinted moisturiser. This one smells fantastic, is very easy to use and does even out skin tone somewhat. I did need quite a bit of extra concealer around my eyes especially in one corner where I have some pigmentation so it didn't sort that out as promised. It has a very nice texture but Mrs W who does wear foundation very often and doesn't really like the feel of it on her skin found this quite heavy. Interestingly also, although they have a form for you to fill in on the website to give feedback they don't actually have any of these comments available for viewing. I'd say this is a good, reasonably price tinted moisturiser that's easy to use. It has an SPF15 which is good but not good enough for this to be my holiday tinted moisturiser of choice.

It's been so long since I bought anything from 17 I thought I should give their BB cream a try. Again this is just a tinted moisturiser but this is lighter on the skin and has an SPF of 25 so is more likely to make it into my makeup bag for South Africa. It does even out skin tone but I still had to conceal my pigmentation. It doesn't smell as nice as the Garnier but somehow felt healthier to use.

I think either of these creams would be great to try if you have a tight budget, don't like foundation but want to try something to just even out your skin tone a bit. Please don't expect anything more from them - a good skin care routine and a good tinted moisturiser is going to make your skin look good, not a cream that claims to do it all. They are both very light coverage and easy to apply and I think I probably will take the 17 one on holiday with me - it has an SPF (although I will use another one underneath), is small, easy to use and most of all it's cheap so I don't mind if I lose it.

If you have money to spend however get yourself to Laura Mercier and get their tinted moisturiser - much better range of colours and much better coverage xx

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