Garnier BB Cream

So I had only vaguely heard of BB cream until recently. I'd read about how it's very big in Asia, but as my skin was always quite bad, I never really wanted any foundation that gave extra moisture.  BB (blemish balm) cream was originally designed for women who've had skin peels, to protect the skin until it's fully healed, but women, especially in Japan and Korea, picked up on it and started using it for cosmetic reasons.

Now I'm a bit older, the spot situation has kinda sorted itself out and I've started thinking about future-proofing my skin. Normally I use Lush's Jackie Oates Colour Supplement, mixed with SPF 50 moisturiser, or in the winter, Lush's Enzymion moisturiser.

When BB cream started making an appearance in this country, I thought it would be a good thing to try. One of my favorite higher-end brands, Illamasqua, released their Skin Bases bb cream, and I really wanted to try that, but due to the cost, I thought I'd maybe experiment with a cheaper brand first. The cheapest one on the market seemed to be by Garnier, and they're known as a good brand so I had it in my mind to try.

I hadn't got round to buying it, but I got a sample sachet in a magazine, so tried it out yesterday morning. It actually feels very nice and smooth going on. My skin is quite dry and sore from the weather at the moment, and it did sting ever so slightly putting it on but it was nowhere near unbearable. It made my skin feel lovely and smooth and even. It actually did feel a little bit drying, which was odd for something called 'balm' but maybe it's just because my skin was sore anyway.

I was all set to give it an all-day trial, but when I looked in the bathroom mirror, which has better lighting, my face was bright orange! Unfortunatly the Garnier BB only comes in dark, medium and light, and the light is, well, not all that light! In fact, I think it would have matched my olive-skinned boyfriends skin tone more than mine! Such a shame because I would have liked to have given it a proper try-out. Limiting the colour range like that just cuts out so many potential customers who don't have the exact same skin tone.

This is why I'm probably going to try the Illamasqua Skin Base now. They do everything in a range of colours from the purest white to the darkest black, so everyone is covered! I assume I could probably blag a sample or something before I pay out for it...