B.B. Cream - does it live up to all the hype?

I thought that I'd kick-start my blog with a look at one of the cult beauty products of the moment - B.B. Cream. This little beauty has appeared on our shelves over the Summer, but has actually been around for a few years now.

Beauty Balm Cream (or B.B. Cream) is hugely popular in Asia for its ability to create a flawless look whilst appearing to be 'make-up free'. It is essentially an all-in-one product that (depending on the brand) acts as moisturiser, SPF, foundation and concealer.

For lots more info on B.B cream go to http://www.squidoo.com/b-b-cream

Upon reading an article in LOOK magazine and seeing an advert for a free sample, I decided to log on to the Garnier website and register to get my free sample of their B.B. Cream - Miracle Skin Perfector. The samples were only available in light, perfect for me as I am pale skinned, and they dropped through my door yesterday in the neat little package above. I opened it up and was pleased to find three little sachets of the product for me to try.

I have been eager to try this for about a month now, and surprised myself somewhat by not doing my typical 'buy now, try later' approach to beauty products! After visiting Boots a couple of times and seeing a near empty product shelf, I was quite excited to finally receive it in the post. And with an added bonus of a £1 off voucher for if (or when!) I decide to purchase the full size tube!

I tried it for the first time today and thus far, I am impressed. The three little sachets will easily last a week and I have squeezed them into a little travel pot to keep them fresh once opened.

First of the all, the colour that I have sampled is the Light shade and it suits my skin OK however it is a little orange in tone for my very pale pink skin. I normally struggle to find correctly matching foundation shades, so was unsurprised to find that this wasn't as pale as I would have hoped. But having said that, once on, it gives me the same glow that I would get when I apply bronzer, so in a way it actually eliminates the need for another make-up product.

Secondly, the consistency of the product is more like a mousse style foundation and feels wonderfully like a serum when you apply it to your skin. Blending it in with my fingers, the cream dispersed very well and smoothed in easily, although it did leave a slightly tacky feel to my skin afterwards and some shine. Having oily skin, you will never catch me without my powder, so naturally, I blotted the shine with my favourite Clinique powder and I was much happier with this result.

It gives a similar feel to a tinted moisturiser or sheer foundation when on the skin but most noticeably for me,  I didn't really need to add any eye make-up as the cream allows your natural skin tones to show through. Often when I apply a foundation, I have to balance it with mascara or my eyes don't stand out. But with this, I could get away with wearing it alone (with powder).

The look is very natural and it really does give a more flawless look that appears 'make-up' free. But I would definitely want to wear concealer as well because the cream doesn't cover all the dark areas around my eyes. It will not keep the shine at bay all day, so I will have to (as per usual) regularly blot with powder throughout the day - but as long as you use a transparent powder, this shouldn't add a 'caked' look to your skin.

Overall, I'm quite pleasantly surprised (having been unimpressed with Garnier products in the past) but will continue to try it for the rest of the week to see if it's worth spending the money on as a replacement to my tinted moisturiser.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One B.B. Cream (Light or Medium) is available in most health and beauty stores at around £9.99.