L'Oréal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream: Anti-Fatigue and Anti-Redness

I don't want to begrudge the cosmetic scientists who no doubt work long hours over at l'Oréal RnD their due. I'm sure they had a lot to do with the awesomeness of the brand-new Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream.

But let's be honest about what really made the difference here.

SORCERY.

Like many of you, I tend to greet the release of yet another BB cream with a jaw-cracking yawn. Skin-smoothing, tone-enhancing, wrinkle-blurring - you and I have heard it all. Do we really need to hear it again and again with every new season?

In the case of the Magic Skin Beautifier, YES. Also, HELL YES.

This formula comes in two versions, one claiming to work against signs of fatigue to awaken the complexion, and the other to reduce the look of redness. Both of them come out of the tube distinctly coloured  - one a sherbert orange, the other pale mint green - and transform to a peach tone when rubbed in. (In the swatches below I applied the Anti-Fatigue one a little more thickly, so it's showing darker and more opaque.)

I have to say that I wasn't particularly overwhelmed with the Anti-Fatigue version - on my skin it gives my skin a subtle bronzed glow, which is certainly welcome, but not game changing. If you have deeper skin in need of perking up, or skin with a washed-out, grey cast, it might be right up your alley.

The Anti-Redness one though, is purely amazing. Here are some before and after pictures to give you a better idea...

The first picture is bare skin, with just some moisturizer.

The second picture is with a thin layer of the Anti-Redness Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream. You can see that through some strange alchemy, it's easily taken care of the redness I had in my cheeks, around the top corner of my eyebrow, and on my chin. It even muted some of the darkness below my eyes, cancelling out the red in the violet shadows. Where I applied it more heavily by mistake (just under my eye) it shows up a bit more yellow than the rest of my skin, but otherwise I don't feel like this looked visibly peachier or darker than my skin tone, despite what it looked like when swatched on my arm. (And unlike tinted green primers, it does't leave my face looking strange and ghostly.)

I suspect that if you're very pale, or you have a lot of redness to cover and thus need to apply the product more heavily, it might look more obvious. If you're using it purely as a BB cream, chances are you probably don't need a ton of coverage. If you do, then I suggest using it as a primer instead. It feels comparable to a mix of the Hourglass Mineral Veil and those new-fangled second-skin foundations, with a very liquid, silicone texture and a quick-dry, natural matte finish. Like both those products, it can look powdery and cake up over dry areas if you apply a lot, so I would suggest going with a thin layer, and using foundation, concealer and/or powder, if needed, overtop. That said, I think you'll be surprised at the amount of coverage this has, and how little of the other products you'll need to use afterward.

The third picture is with my full makeup applied on top, to test whether it would wear as a regular primer would. And it did. I applied my Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation with a moist sponge (which would normally give me negligible coverage), misted down my face with a floral water, then dabbed some Maybelline Dream Lumi Highlighting Concealer under my eyes, a bit of Nars Light Reflecting Powder, and that was it for the face.

I am incredibly impressed with this product, even though I really don't understand how it works. So in the long tradition of humans before me, I'm going to ascribe its wondrous properties to the dark arts, and call it a day.

Availability: Should be showing up very soon (possibly now) at your local drugstore, with a suggested retail price of 16.99$, though of course that can vary with vendor and promotion.

(Item was sent by the brand/PR to be considered for review. Opinions are my own, and I am not compensated.)

Benefit The Big Easy Liquid to Powder SPF 35 Foundation

Sometimes it feels like BB creams are the Lululemon yoga pants of the makeup world - they promise to lift and perfect everything you've been neglecting for the past 20 years, while making you look like you just sort of roll out of bed looking like this glowy, wheatgrass-shooting, got-it-together, piece of gorgeousness.

Sadly, makeup magic (and lycra) will only take you so far. On the other hand, I do appreciate an addition to the BB family that tries to do something a little different. Where most Western BB creams have focused on a dewy finish and light coverage (basically tinted moisturizer with some extra bells and whistles), Benefit has opted to bring something new to the table. Their answer to BB is The Big Easy, which promises to balance both moisture and oil-control, while concealing imperfections and self adjusting to your natural skin tone. With a liquid-to-powder formula, it also offers an alternative to the dewy or silicone-satin options currently on the market.

Benefit The Big Easy Liquid to Powder SPF 35 Foundation

Benefit The Big Easy Liquid to Powder SPF 35 Foundation

The formula for The Big Easy is thick, rich, luxuriously creamy. Whenever I squeeze it out, I'm tempted to smoosh a big dollop on my face, just because it feels so nice. But that would be counterproductive, because I really only need the smallest dot. Benefit recommends using your fingers to apply it, and I do agree that the finish achieved that way is probably the smoothest. (Liquid-to-powder formulas can look cakey and will start kicking up flakes if you're over-enthusiastic with a buffing brush.) I also like the finish when paired with a Beauty Blender, though it will sheer out the product slightly.

I've seen some reviews saying that this is a sheer or light coverage foundation, but I would disagree. To me it feels solidly in between light and medium. I think if you're used to applying two layers to achieve medium coverage, then that might be the problem, as I don't think the finish is given to building up. I find a second coat takes the finish from velvety powder to straight-up powdery.

One application, however, takes care of my general discolouration and redness, to the point where I can wear it interchangeably with my medium-coverage foundations. The reason for that is while the coverage might be technically less opaque, it benefits (ha! pun!) from that light diffusing magic that seems to be part and parcel of BB formulations.

That sheerer pigment + diffusing effect is probably why Benefit can claim that this is self-adjusting to your natural skin tone. That's true, to an extent. In the swatches below, you can see that the Light is somewhat too pale and yellow, while the Medium is a touch too pink and dark. In reality, I can wear either of them without looking absurd. I wouldn't stretch it more than a shade either way, but I do appreciate that this is that rare base product that doesn't seem to struggle with my skin's natural undertone. (Light but kinda olive = freaking annoying to match.)

Top to bottom: Deep Beige 06, Medium 04, Light 02

To give you an idea of the coverage level and finish, I actually wore this in the picture I featured in my Radiant Orchid post. (I didn't use any concealer or powder.) As you can see, it didn't cover the dark spot I have on my cheek (my personal measure for full coverage), or obliterate my under eye circles, but it faked the look of nicely uniform, matte-but-not-dry skin.

As a side note, both the extra amount (35 ml compared to the usual 30 ml) and the broad-spectrum spf 35 are a nice touch.

Overall, I was really happy with how this foundation/BB cream performed. I though the finish was polished enough to be perfect for those days when I wanted to be a little less casual, but still wanted the ease of a tinted moisturizer. It wore well for me, about 8 hours before I noticed some very slight shine around my nose, but no breakdown otherwise.

If you have normal to somewhat combination skin, with no major skin concealing required, this would make a great everyday base. If you have dry or mature skin, however, I suspect the velvet/powder finish would be unkind to flakes and lines.

Availability: At Pharmaprix/Shoppers Drug Mart and Murale locations, as well as Sephora stores and www.sephora.com. (And if you're a BI, VIB or VIBR, you can also redeem 100 points for a deluxe sample via this link.) Price is 38$ USD and 46$ CAD.

Have you tried The Big Easy yet? How do you feel it compares to other BB creams or foundations?

(This item was provided by the brand/PR. All opinions are my own, this post is not compensated or sponsored.)

The week in samples - UD foundation, Guerlain and Dermalogica skin stuff, Biotherm BB cream, Bare Minerals (pressed!) foundation

I've wanted to do one of these posts for a while now, but while I hoard samples like a manic squirrel, I can never seem to use them up. This last week was a perfect opportunity, however, as I had to fly out to Toronto for work. Since I prefer not to check my luggage, I stuffed that little plastic baggie from airline security full of little tubes and packets.

My skin tends to act up when I travel, so I grabbed these two acne-fighting packets from Dermalogica.

Dermalogica Clear Start Wash Off - This has nice mix of pimple-busting ingredients, including Tea Tree oil and salicylic acid, plus a variety of extracts. For a foaming wash aimed at acne-prone skin I found it surprisingly non-drying. It was refreshing, left my skin feeling smooth and soft, not tight. It has an herbal scent, which is pleasant. I'm not sure if it did anything extraordinary though, since the various extracts and other beneficial ingredients didn't stay on my skin for very long. At the very least it did nothing catastrophic. Won't be purchasing a full size.

Dermalogica Clear Start Hit The Spot - This one is chock-full of stuff. Extracts galore, plus zinc sulfate, sulfur and that Tea Tree again. The smell is FAR more pungent - the sulfur adds a certain egg-y odor that does NOT dissipate as the day wears on. It's unfortunate because this is actually an incredibly effective spot treatment. It reduces redness and swelling, somehow getting the spots to simmer down to less volcanic levels immediately, and renders them irrelevant within a couple of days.

Really awesome, and I will definitely be purchasing a full size - to use at night, when only my beloved can be tortured by my egg-salad-smelling face.

I also wanted to bring a cleanser option from Fresh that I knew would be gentle, in case the one above turned out to be too harsh. Since I wouldn't be packing by regular Hydraluron tube and Cerave lotion, I figured a serum/lotion from Guerlain would be fine.

Fresh Soy Face Cleanser - This was ok. I can't say anything more dramatic than that. It cleaned my skin, it was gentle, it smelled vaguely like cucumbers. It's good, not mind-blowing, and the full size is pricy. I'm sure I could find something comparable from the drugstore.

Guerlain Super Aqua-Serum Intense Hydration Wrinkle Plumper - Even though this is a serum, it has a milky-lotion texture and provides more hydration that a serum typically does. It also has hyaluronic acid, which is my jam these days. It did a fine job of moisturizing and keeping the fine lines around my eyes under control. Plump, even. :P

It also smells AMAZING. I know - fragrance in skincare isn't a selling point, but I'm not generally reactive to scent and this has that classic rose/violet/awesome smell that most Guerlain products do. But....I'm not ready to spend upwards of 100$ on one skincare item. Not yet anyway. I will treasure you always, Sample Guerlain Tube, but we are not meant to be.

I didn't want to pack a foundation bottle, so I tried to make do with a BB cream from Biotherm and the new pressed foundation from Bare Minerals.

Biotherm Aquasource BB Cream - This is really nice, though definitely heavier on the moisturizer than the coverage. I rubbed it in all over, and sort of tapped more on areas that were more red (thankfully my cheek area, which is the driest portion of my face). The coverage is about what I would expect for a tinted moisturizer, and the overall effect is natural, healthy and luminous. With a touch of concealer and powder, it would work beautifully for low-maintenance days. And it smells awesome too! Super fresh and yummy. I want a body cream that smells like that.

Bare Minerals Ready SPF 20 Foundation - Urgh. I wanted to like this. I love pretty much everything I've tried from their Ready line, but this was just powdery and weird, and sat on top of the skin in a cake-y mess. I don't know if maybe I just got a bum sample, but I'm definitely not enticed into trying a full-sized version.

Motivated by this successful sampling program, I tested another foundation when I got home.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition Liquid Makeup - (Why with the endlessly long product names??) I mixed two shades because the 3.5 is a touch too pink and the 2.0 is a bit too light. The result still skewed a little too rosy on me, but wearable. I remember trying this foundation when it first came out, and being unimpressed. The coverage seemed poor and it got all caught up in the dry parts of my face. I was using a brush to apply it then, and I think that was part of the problem.

This time I used my hands, but not in a rubbing motion. For lack of a better term, I pretty much "slapped" this foundation on. Smeared a bit between my fingers and slapped it around my face, dabbing more precisely around my nose and over areas that needed extra coverage. I got medium coverage out of it that way, and it looked incredibly natural, neutralized the appearance of pores, and felt incredibly lightweight. The finish is satin, veering towards dewy on the nose about middway through the day, so I need some powder to set it and/or maybe a primer - but the finish is so nice, I'm considering a bottle purchase.

So I think that was a successful sample spree, no? Now I'm itching to make my way through more of my stash!

Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream SPF 25

Clarins has officially jumped on the BB bandwagon for Spring/Summer, with their brand new BB Skin Perfecting Cream SPF 25. The press release indicated that this cream "illuminates, smoothes and creates a more even skin tone" and that "imperfections and red areas become less noticeable". It's also chock-full of skin-benefiting ingredients like organic kiwi extract, katafray bark extract, and hyaluronic acid, and boasts a 100% mineral, broad-spectrum sun protection filter.

Those are some pretty awesome claims and ingredients. Does the promise hold true?

In a word: yes.

The Clarins BB Cream feels amazing. It has next to no tangible weight or texture, and appears to vanish like air as you rub it into your skin. I literally couldn't tell I had anything on, whether by weight or by touch. I assume this is due to the silicone content, but it doesn't have that greasy-dry feel that some silicone-heavy formulations lean toward. 

The finish is demi-satin, meaning it will slightly mattify oilier areas, while adding a natural radiance to the skin overall. It's not moisturizing as such, but the moisture-attracting properties of Katafray bark extract and the hyaluronic acid likely contribute to the slight plumping effect I noticed around my eyes, which seemed to make the dry, fine lines less apparent.

The coverage is light, just enough to smooth out redness and some general unevenness. Something about the finish seems to lightly blur out fine lines and pores. Your skin doesn't look like a blank, lifeless canvas, but like a better version of the natural you. It's not likely to meet your needs if you need to cover significant discolouration, but if you want boosted, naturally luminous skin and can make do with concealer for the problem spots, this is fabulous. 

It does have a scent, sort of fresh, slightly floral and beachy. If you're sensitive to added fragrance, this would be an issue. Personally, I loooooove the smell and wish it came in a body splash. As it is, I was trying to huff my own face, which made for some awkward looks from strangers.

This is also by far the best-feeling sunscreen option I have ever tried. I can't think of many sunscreens that are this weightless while not being drying, and I love that the SPF is broad-spectrum, non-chemical and strong enough for everyday wear. I feel like this will be my go-to in the summer, when I want that SPF and as little coverage as I can get away with, especially with a tan.

And actually, that brings me to what might be problematic for some people - the shade options. I received this in 01 Light, which is darker than my NC 20 skintone. Once it's blended in it gives a nice, sun-kissed effect to my skin that I love, and heightens that blurring of imperfections (much like a real tan tends to do). But it looks best if I work it down my neck, otherwise there is a visible difference in certain lighting. Not quite at the level of a foundation mismatch, because it is such a sheer product, but like I overdid the bronzer.

I think this will work best for folks a shade  deeper than I am, but those of a porcelain persuasion will likely have to work with this a little more, or use it specifically to give their skin a golden glow. There appear to be three shades available on the Clarins website, including 02 Medium and 03 Dark (03 Warm in the US), so there are good options for those in the medium to medium-deep range. Now there appear to only be two, in 01 Light and 03 Warm.

As you can see, it applies a bit too dark to be a perfect match, though the difference doesn't read as obvious once it's on the skin and blended down the neck.

The before and after shot above should give you an idea of the coverage level, the slight mattifying effect and the general look of healthy radiance it has to offer. If you click on the pictures to see the bigger image, you will also see how it smooths out the fine lines around my eyes.

Availability: It's already out at The Bay and on the Clarins website, and should be at Pharmprix/SDM and Murale locations soon. Price is 40$ USD and 43$ CAD.

Pros: Incredibly lightweight nonexistent texture. Optically reduces the look of redness and imperfections. The ingredients work to keep moisture in the skin, making fine lines look less apparent. An excellent sunscreen option, as it has a broad-spectrum, non-chemical SPF agent, and is utterly weightless.

Cons: The shade range won't work for very pale skin. It's not an all-in-one if you need more than a light coverage level. The scent may be bothersome if you prefer (or require) products to be fragrance-free.

(This item was provided by the brand to be considered for review. This post is not sponsored or compensated.)

Marcelle BB Cream

Bb creams. We've all heard the criticism by now: the Western versions are but sad bastardizations of the Asian original, and not worth the hoopla. Fair point, and I do think it odd to use the same name for something that is qualitatively different. The thing is, it's only smart to adapt a product to the target market, and I don't know how well the "real" deal would play to a demographic that demands invisible finish and a range of perfect skintone options. Somehow I don't see a product with a generally thick texture and extremely limited shade options being terribly successful.

That said, I've been disappointed by BB creams that are really nothing more than repackaged tinted moisturizers. Not that those are bad products in and of themselves, just that with the immediate buzz a new product garners, I wish more brands would try their hand at creating something truly new and unique.

Like Marcelle did, with their Beauty Balm.

Not the usual background, because it's hella difficult to photograph white on white.

This is not a lightweight foundation, or a tinted moisturizer. It's a...tinted primer? Sort of? Make-your-skin-better cream thingie? I'm not entirely sure how to describe it, though I suppose the "skin enhancer" Marcelle calls it is spot-on.

In shade Light to Medium.

This will not cover a lot of skin sins - some redness, mild pigmentation, but not significant discolouration. What it will do is something akin to light photoshop blurring. Light will hit your face and bounce drunkenly away, diffusing those imperfections in its path. This only comes in three shades so far, but due to the sheerness, it should match up unless you fall into the very pale and deep range. (I'm perfect with the Light to Medium shade.)

The texture is creamy but lightweight, with a liquidy but slippy silicone feel. It applies best when massaged into the skin with your hands, not so much with brushes. Unlike a lot of other BB creams on the market, this doesn't feel greasy or moist at all - it dries quickly to a nearly matte finish that still allows for some natural radiance. It can be layered lightly for some extra coverage, but I wouldn't overdo it or it can start looking patchy.

It does appear to have some primer-like qualities, and if you wish you can layer on your foundation overtop. I found the best combination was actually with a powder foundation, like MAC Skinfinish or Cargo Blu-Ray.

Below is a before and after comparison on freshly washed and moisturized skin.

  

And on a different day, in different lighting.

The after picture is just the Marcelle BB on the skin, with the Guerlain Turandot palette, Lancome Definicils mascara and Tarte SmolderEyes in Gunmetal used on the eyes, and Burberry Antique Rose on the lips.

Overall, I like this for my no-fuss days.

And of course, the Instagram version. ;)

Availaibility: At Jean Coutu and Pharmaprix locations, as well as the Marcelle website (which does ship to the US). Price is 22.95$ CAD.

Pros: Very lightweight, matte finish that doesn't look dry, diffuses minor imperfections and fakes the look of better skin without adding visible texture. Can be layered with other base products for increased coverage.

Cons: Won't cover anything substantially, if that is what you need. Dry skin may not like the finish.

(I purchased this item from Pharmaprix.)