Garnier BB Cream!

So this year is the year of the BB Cream and everyone who hasn't come out with a Beauty Balm or Blemish Balm will be this year.  It's good to know that we can find a BB cream in our local drugstore for about $12.  Well, maybe, I will get into that in a little bit!

Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector graced Walgreens at the end of November and into December 2011.  I found a display in one of my local stores a week before Christmas and grabbed it up as fast as I could!  It was a display of 8, 4 Light/Medium and 4 Medium/Dark.

Kind of annoyed with the color range, I grab a box on the left from the light/medium side of the display and grab a coupon from the tear off pad and head up to the register.  I already have some experience with BB creams (lol) and I was excited to give this one a try.

I rush home and smooth a good squeeze from the tube on my face.  Why I do this I don't know.  I always over apply a product the first time I use it for a couple reasons I guess.

1.  I can really see the color.
2.  I can see what the product looks like if one morning I'm in a rush and I don't properly blend.
3.  I can actually feel the product.  Is it greasy, heavy, runny, etc...
4.  I can tell right away if it is going to irritate my skin.

It's not science but I really test out a product.  I just assume it's not going to work and I want the product to prove me wrong.

Back to the Garnier BB Cream...  It looked a little dark coming out of the tube but most BB creams are dark on me.  I look in the mirror.  Hmm, a bit dark.  "Wow, did I really just put that much on my face?"  Scrub off, start over and put way less back on.  Hmm, still dark, but a good tone.  Oh well.  Then I go rationalizing...  This would look good in the summer maybe.  My old NY self would further rationalize and say, "Well summer isn't until another 7 months, you need to get rid of this."  But now my new NC self says, "Summer starts in 4..."

Then I look at the box, I accidentally grabbed the shade in Medium/Dark.  Oh dummy!  It took me about a week to get back to Walgreens to do the exchange.  I went to the other Walgreens in town.  I'm lucky I have two.  This one doesn't have a display.  Uh oh.  For some reason I check the skincare aisle and there it is on the shelf.  One left!  Phew...  How did I miss the display?  At that time I was in Walgreens once a week.

As I walk away from the register, I just glance down into the bag and sure enough the sales associate put the medium/dark back in there.  Good thing I checked!  So I finally have the light/medium and I open the box and smooth it on my hand.  Yikes, a little orangey.  Instead of heading back into the Walgreens and doing a return, I have a few errands to run and I really wanted to test it on my face.

About an hour later, I look down at my hand.  Hmm, no orange.  Wait did it rub off?  No.  The BB cream set beautifully with a hint of sheen.  WOW!  Now I can't wait to get it on my face.

I'm going to warn you, this post has a ton of photos.  I want to show you before, just after application and after it has set!

This is my right hand.

I realize that this last picture is in different light but I wanted to show what it looked like after it was set in natural light.  Nice huh?  No orange.

Now on to my left hand.

Woah veins!

 A bit orange after first smoothing it on.

After it has set.  Less orange.  See the sheen?

Natural light, no orange.

Unfortunately, it is still looks a bit dark on my face (because of my blasted white neck) but I can add a little of my Missha #21 and it fixes that problem right away.  But why do I want to go through all that trouble you ask?  Well, that night when I washed my face after initially using this product, my face looked, well more even toned.  It looked really nice.  This BB cream really is like a treatment.  I already was planning on returning it but after looking in the mirror after washing it off, it is now a keeper!  I have never noticed a difference with my other BB creams like this one.

There is a light scent that was pretty strong the first time I used it.  It is a very clean scent, (is that a hint of sunscreen?) but disappears after a few seconds and now that I have been using it for a couple of weeks on and off, I don't even smell it anymore.  This BB cream is not greasy, sets after a minute or two and it's also buildable.  I need a couple very, very thin layers.  My skin is too light to cake this product on, plus I don't really like that look!

I still need concealer and if I want it to last, I need to set it with a powder but I found that it does wear nicely for a few hours.  My skin shows through at the level of coverage that I prefer.  But like I said, it's buildable.  If I had a darker skintone, I might be able to load this on to cover and even out everything completely.

I just wish Garnier would come out with a shade in fair, then it would be perfect!  Like the picture on the box shows.  lol  That would be a good shade for me.  I do agree with all three claims, more even complexion, healthy glow and smoother skin.  The healthy glow is just a bit too dark on my fair skin unfortunately or I would really love it.

I am going to compare all my BB creams but this Garnier one is not as heavy as Lioele, it's more breathable but Lioele is also a bit dark, I usually add a little Missha #21.  Garnier also has a nice glow unlike Missha #21 which is a tad bit light for me and it leaves a greyish cast but luckily it oxidizes on my skin.  In fact it's consistency is not the same as Missha or Lioele so I'm not sure if it is really a "BB cream" but that's how they are marketing it.

It is definitely thicker than a tinted moisturizer and tinted moisturizers that I have tried really aren't "moisturizing" anyway, but this Garnier BB cream isn't really moisturizing either.  So I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make here.  But I found with BB creams  including this Garnier one they are best smoothed on with your fingers but with TM and foundations I like a brush.  Is that better?  :)

So give it a try if you can find it.  My area had a total of 16, well 15 since I returned one.  Not sure if they will be stocked in other drugstores soon.  Give it a chance to set on your skin and you will be pleasantly surprised.  (Unless you are white as a ghost, this will look way too dark/orange on you as you probably find with most foundations/BB creams/tinted moisturizers on you anyway...  That was me in NY with no sun.)

Have you tried this BB Cream yet???  What do you think?