Personally, I don't understand the point of BB creams. Mainly because I'm a foundation wearer, and I don't understand why you'd want to ever use something that's a bit shitter than foundation but still sort of covers your blemishes. Also, they all say things like '9-IN-1' and then go on to list two things using different synonyms: Radiance! Light! Light Radiance! Sparkle! Flawless! Light Radiance Flawless Sparkle!
But then it gets to summer and sometimes your foundation feels a bit too foundationy. And you want something lighter. And then you realise that you should probably buy a goddamn BB cream but there are so many of them, and some of them might cover those spot scars around your chin, but some won't and which one do you go for? Worry no more, because I went into the breach and tested them on my sad, pale face and fell in love with a few of them. And actually, it was the cheaper ones that got me all hot and bothered rather than the really pricey ones, which is nice.
Anyway, don't buy any BB creams until you've seen what they look like on my creepy ghost face.
Garnier BB Cream in Light
Price: £9.99
It says: Miracle skin perfector! 5-in-1!
**Did it work? **
I liked this cream because it felt like putting suncream on when you're a kid and you're going on holiday. It smelled of nostalgia and sandcastles and crying because I wet myself in the sea and I didn't want the fish to get wee on them. It also gave my face a glow which looked pretty good, but was slightly orangey and a bit oily. Basically, like when you have to put suncream on under your foundation because your foundation doesn't have an SPF and you're not into dying of skin cancer, but it mixes in a weird way and makes your face feel slippery. Like an otter. I'm not sure I enjoyed it. Sorry Garnier.
Estee Lauder BB Cream in Intensity
Price: £29.00
It says: Double wear! All-Day Glow!
Did it work?
I can imagine this really is all day, because it feels heavier than your average BB cream. Sturdy, like an ox. But while the coverage on this is really excellent, it felt a bit too excellent, and that you might as well just wear full foundation with an SPF. It also smelt like plastic, which is actually quite a big part of putting something on your face. Do you want your face smell like plastic? Probably not. Overall, though, this is good, but I wish it was more glowy as opposed to heavy.
Revlon BB Cream in Light
**Price: **£9.99
**It says: **Skin perfector! Photoready!
**Did it work? **
You know what? Yeah, it did. It's light, it's creamy, it's smells like makeup rather than plastic, and it went on smoothly while hiding all my nice red spot scars (and redness from scrubbing BB creams on my face all morning - all for you guys). It didn't feel oily, it wasn't too mask-like, and it's good for combination skin like mine (lol no idea what combination skin is - I'm presuming it's 'a bit oily sometimes, a bit dry in some places') and probably not great if you've got dry patches.
Rimmel BB Cream Beauty Balm in Very Light
Price: £6.99
It says: 9-in-1! Primes! Smooths! Conceals! Minimises Pores! Coverage! Moisturises! Brightens! Etc! Etc!
**Did it work? **
This is the cheapest, and this was my favourite. Yeah, it was a bit pale - so don't go for the lightest shade unless you're the moon (In which case, babe, you don't need BB cream! Give yourself a break babe, you're orbiting the earth! Babe) - but aside from that, this did pretty much everything it said on the tin. It made my skin look so much better, every single spot-scar or red patch was gone, and it felt so incredibly smooth. Like a smooth moon. Top marks.
Smashbox BB Cream in Fair
Price: £27.00
It says: Camera ready! 5-in-1!
**Did it work? **
It gave good coverage, but felt a tad heavy and unfortunately smelled really strongly of playdough. By 'unfortunately' I mean 'excellently'. But, while I love the smell of playdough, I don't really want to walk around with my face smelling of it even if it did cover my red face. I felt a bit like this was too serious, whereas BB creams are supposed to be fun and cool and light and free and easy. Does that make sense? No, it doesn't. But if you can get a BB cream that's just as good for a quarter of the price, then probably do that (hey, Rimmel).
Kiko BB Cream in Very Light
Price: £8.90
It says: Natural effect! Radiant finish!
**Did it work? **
This is lighter than the others, and doesn't give a mask-like coverage but feels like a second skin. Not in the sense that you have some skin over your skin, but that your skin becomes this cream. So one skin. I don't understand the saying, but I do know that this smells amazing and made my face glow without the oiliness of Garnier or the orangey tone of, erm, Garnier (really sorry Garnier). Basically, I subtly look loads better, but it didn't cover my blemishes that well - so probably one for when you've got great skin but just need the tone to be evened out.
Like this? You might also be interested in...
Six Second Hacks: Foundations You Should Buy. Tested On An Actual Face
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Adult Acne: 'Leaving The House Without A Thick Layer Of Foundation Isn't An Option'
Follow Stevie on Twitter: @5tevieM
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.