B.B Beautiful.

The new whizz-kid products on the block at the moment are B.B Creams. Every brand from Vivo Beauty to L'Oreal and Lancome are touting their B.B Creams as a 'wonder' product. We're all sucked in to the marketing hype of wanting to look our best and wanting the next 'miracle' product to work wonders for us, me included. So far I have tried L'Oreal's B.B Cream, Garnier's B.B Cream and Rimmel's primer/perfector cream. I have already blogged about Rimmel's one here and gave it a positive review not just for the price but also the fact it did what it said it would do and did not make false promises in my opinion. I will review the Garnier B.B Cream and the L'Oreal B.B Cream in due course.

What is a B.B Cream?: A B.B Cream is an all round face product consisting of primer, moisturiser, treatment and tinted moisturiser/foundation in one.They can be used alone in place of your usual primer, foundation or tinted moisturiser or they can be used in place of a primer when using foundation for those skin types that need extra coverage. They are different from other cosmetic products in that they are supposed to be good for your skin and treat any imperfections as you wear it. Do I believe they do this? To be honest I am dubious but even if they don't treat imperfections, they still make great all-in-one products for those short on time or light bases for the Summer as  find foundation can be too heavy for use during the Summer months.

Price Range: Today's review is about a budget beauty brand called 'Pure' and I am reviewing their B.B Cream, 'Daily All In One'. I have so far only seen this product on sale in Home Bargains but will update this post if I find it on sale in any other stores. It is on sale in Home Bargains at £1.99 for a 30ml tube which I think is fantastic value for money.

Outer Packaging.

 

Photo of tube out of the box.

 

Shades Available: This B.B cream comes in two shades, light and medium. Having looked at both the testers available I would say that the light is more a light/medium and the medium is more a medium/dark.

Appearance: Once I'd removed the little foil protector from the nozzle and squeezed the tube, the product came out quite fast so be wary of this. On closer inspection the consistency seems really nice, it's quite mousse-like but creamy too. It doesn't have a greasy or heavy consistency and I had high hopes after trying it on the back of my hand.

Application: As I said above, I bought the light shade as I am quite fair-skinned but I did find that due to the light shade being darker than most that I had to  blend it quite well to make sure there were none of the dreaded 'tidemarks'. I used a cosmetic sponge to apply the cream and it wasn't difficult to blend, went on really smoothly and felt really refreshing against my skin. A better known brand (which I will review next week) feels slightly greasy on my skin and a little mask-like but this 'Pure' B.B Cream didn't feel like that at all.

Performance: I thought that it covered imperfections and evened out my skin tone very well indeed considering it is a budget brand. In a blind test I would have priced this nearer the £10 mark than I would it's actual cost of £1.99. Bearing in mind the cost of the product I thought it lived up to it's claims very well indeed.
I don't know if it had any positive effect on my skin as I've only worn it twice so far but I will carry on buying it as I consider it an excellent product for the price.

The only cosmetic products I have on here are eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner and my usual daily moisturiser.

You can see around my chin particularly that there is redness and also, you can see shadows under my eyes and a couple of little spots around my chin and forehead.

In this photo I have a light covering of 'Pure' B.B Cream and you can see that my skin tone is much more even and the shadows and redness that were there previously have been concealed rather well considering I've only used the one product. I have not used any concealer, foundation, tinted moisturiser or setting powder in this photo. Just a light layer of the 'Pure' B.B Cream and I think it has done such a good job of evening out my skin that I would wear it alone in place of my usual foundation.

Both of these photos were taken minutes apart, in the same light and using the same camera so for me, I can definitely see that my skin is brighter and more even than it was without the B.B Cream.

'Fresh Faced' if you like :-).

 

Performance: Overall I thought this product performed really really well. It was much less greasy than a better known and more expensive brand and didn't leave my skin feeling 'caked' in product or leave it feeling greasy and it lasted pretty well through the day considering the price bracket it is in and the fact it is a budget range. My skin just looked and felt a better version of it's natural self and that is a sign of a good product for me.

Positive Points: One of the positive points for me is that it is a very well priced brand so anyone on a budget would be able to afford this product, from pocket-money teens to mums and cash-strapped stidents.
It's also very easy and quick to apply (I used a cosmetics sponge) providing you blend the edges. One of the biggest positive points is that it is unfragranced (unlike another brand) which meant I could use this to conceal the shadows under my eyes without my eyes being left with that horrible stingy and watering feeling. I have quite sensitive skin and if a product does have any artificial or unneccesary fragrance added, I do find it a bit of a problem as the product then tends to affect my eyes. This one doesn't at all which is another thing I love about it and one of the things that I consider is better about it than other better known brands. This is a hidden gem!

Negative Points: I don't feel the shades are an accurate description of what is in the tube. As I said above, I consider the light to be more a light/medium and the medium to be more a medium/dark. This could cause issues for people with very fair or pale skin as the light may well be too dark for them.
If I was being really picky I would say that it is a shame that this is the only product in their range when it comes to B.B Creams/cosmetics. I'd personally loved to see a tinted moisturiser or light concealer pen from them as well as I consider the B.B Cream to be so good that I think one or two products added to the range would make a great all round package for treating, concealing and minimising any imperfections you may have on your face.

Would I recommend this product?: Absolutely! I will admit that I was dubious at first because it seemed to be very cheap in comparison to others and due to that, I really didn't expect much at all from this B.B Cream but I was very pleasantly surprised. I have a bit of an issue with cosmetics when it comes to 'known' brands, because I react to cheap fragrances and formulations I don't tend to try the budget or unknown brands at all as I expect them to be of a much lesser quality than the 'known' brands but on this occasion I am very glad I took the gamble as this cream not only surpassed my expectations but also provided more than I expected it to.
For £1.99 I really don't think you can go wrong especially as more well known brands are hovering around the £8 - £13 price bracket.

Prime Time.

The buzz on the beauty scene right now are primers. Gel primers, all in one primers (B.B creams) etc etc.

First up to be reviewed is Rimmel's Fix & Perfect Pro primer.

What is a primer?: A primer is 'undercoat' for your face. In the same way as undercoat on walls covers colour inconsistencies and blemishes on the wall that not only allow you to use less paint but also provide a smoother base for you to apply paint to. In this way, primers do the same for your skin in that they will smooth out any blemishes, blur any fine lines around your eyes or mouth and give you a smooth base for your foundation. Not only will you need to use less foundation but a primer will help your foundation to last longer and give it something to 'stick' to rather than 'sliding' off your face with wear. In general, a good primer will make your foundation go further and last longer once on your face.

Cost:  Rimmel are traditionally seen as a 'pocket money' range/mid-price range so this primer retails for a very reasonable RRP of £6.99 for a 30ml tube.

Shades: This comes in one shade, a very natural and nice neutral that is invisible once on your face and will suit everyone from the palest tone to the darker skin tones.

Appearance: On squeezing the tube a white gel-cream appears. First impressions are that it isn't greasy or too much of a 'cream' consistency but more a light gel. It's quite an odd texture to describe but it isn't an unpleasant texture or greasy at all. There is also no strong fragrance which for me is a big plus as my skin can sometimes react to fragrances in face products.

Application: This primer glides on very easily and you really don't need a lot of it. During my trial of this I wore it daily for a week and applied it ten minutes after cleansing and moisturising my face. I personally found it best to apply with a latex cosmetics sponge as I find this enables me to get an even coverage of primer over my entire face and then to dab any hard to reach areas with my fingertips.

Performance: It isn't realistic to expect a primer to keep your foundation absolutely perfectly in place for the whole day, particularly if you have oily/combination skin. On the whole I was very pleased with the performance of this primer considering the cost comparison of other slightly higher end brands. I found I needed to use much less foundation and that the primer helped to brighten my skin and made any imperfections much easier to conceal along with mattifying my T-zone area and helping to conceal some pores. I also noticed that my foundation and base makeup still looked fresh after three or four hourse wear. I tested this primer in a variety of conditions, wet weather, hot weather and everything in between and found that it helped to hold my foundation in place very well indeed.

Negative Points: I can't really say that this product has any. It doesn't promise the world but for a budget range, you can't expect miracles. It does exactly what it says it will do in a no-nonsense way and is fuss-free to apply. I would recommend this to anyone on a budget who wanted a general all-round primer that performs as it says it will. 

Positive Points: Very well priced and a generous size tube that should last you a month - six weeks if applying a thin layer daily. Easy and very fuss-free to apply as the transparent colour means you don't have to worry about tidemarks or blending. It doesn't leave a greasy residue on your skin nor feel 'mask-like' as some primers can and actually holds your base in place. I also find I need to use much less foundation and concealer when using this primer as a base. Another positive point is that you could wear this alone on top of your moisturiser if you are not a fan of foundation as it does balance out your skin and leaves you with a better version of your natural look. This primer doesn't cake or leave any sort of 'film' over your skin either.
As it comes in a neutral shade that is invisible once on your skin, it will suit any skin tone from very fair skin right up to black skin without leaving the dreaded 'ashy' look on black skins.

Would I Recommend This Product?: Yes. I'd recommend this primer 100%. Plain and no frills packaging that is hiding a superstar of a primer inside.