BB Creams land with a Bang!
Last year, BB Creams – or Blemish Balms to give them their full name – were the subject of every whisper in the beauty world. There were one or two on the market here last year, and I wrote about them on here back in October.
Now they have landed with a bang, and are everywhere – and there are more on the way! On counter on January 25, Boots No7’s Beautiful Skin BB Cream (£15) which is a 4-in-1 formula to even and enhance skin tone, disguise imperfections, banish blemishes, and give SPF15 and 5*UVA technology protection from the sun. The No7 version comes in three formats – for Dry/Very Dry, Normal/Oily and Normal/Dry skin.
If you don’t know what a BB cream is, then, in simple terms, it’s an illuminator, moisturiser and protector all in one.They all have a tint to them, and some come in different shades. You can wear it under your foundation if you like, or you can use it like a tinted moisturiser, and add a bit of concealer where you need it. This is how I wear them.
Estee Lauder’s DayWear BB Anti-Oxidant BB Creme SPF35 (£32) comes in two shades, Light and Medium, and is oil-free. It is super-radiant giving, you can see the sheen in the creme when you apply it. With my dry skin, I found I needed a good moisturiser before application of this, and a BB cream is the last step in your skincare routine, remember. Lauder’s version is available now at Selfridges, and nationwide from February, and it has the absolutely gorgeous classic fresh Lauder cucumber scent.
Clinique will be later to the party, when they launch their Age Defense BB Cream SPF30 (£25) nationwide on March 2, but you can get it now at clinique.co.uk and also at Harrods. This format, I’ve found, is weightier in the foundation stakes than others – it provides more coverage, and they market it to ‘instantly conceals what’s aging you—dark spots, discolouration, acne scars, pores.’
It also has optics to help blur lines and wrinkles – the radiance factor once again, and it has the usual antioxidants and UVA/UVB protection. I like the Clinique BB cream. It comes in two shades at the moment, and it’s a bigger 40ml tube as well, and feels more like a foundation.
There are bound to be many more of these to come in 2012. Going into Spring I think they’re going to be huge, and if you love make-up, then I’d say you MUST invest in one of these!
