Review: Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream SPF 25

I recently received a sample of the Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream with an SPF of 25. I don’t typically use a BB cream in my regular makeup routine – I usually opt for my Demalogica Oil Clearing Matte Moisturiser with SPF 15 – but I wanted to give it a try regardless as I love the fact that the SPF is a little higher than my usual base.

The cream is described as “a quick and easy to use product for immediate beauty results” and is meant to mask imperfections and revitalise dull, tired skin while providing sunscreen protection.

The colour that I received was 01 Light – looking at the other options, I think I’d have been much better with the 00 Fair due to my extremely fair complexion (even NC15 can sometimes look too dark for me!)

After cleansing and moisturising my face, I applied the BB cream and was quite surprised at the consistency of it – the packaging states that the cream is light to medium coverage but I found that it was actually more like a medium to full coverage with a very dense feel which is quite unusual for a BB cream. The cream was absolutely way too dark for me and had a very orange tinge – not so great for you fairer ladies like me! I applied the cream with my fingertips and found it took quite a while to blend in evenly and that it seemed to sit rather blotchy on certain areas of my face and leave an unsightly uneven finish.

Pros

1. High SPF to protect skin throughout the day
2. Nice consistency and heavier coverage than most BB’s – this is all down to preference, but I appreciate a fuller coverage so this BB cream scores points from me on this feature
3. Smells lovely and luxurious but not synthetic

Cons

1. The ’01 Light’ colour is actually pretty orange tinged – not particularly light as the name suggests
2. Limited selection of colours available
3. The price: The BB cream retails at £30 for 45ml which is quite a lot of money to spend if you don’t get your match bang on – try before you buy.

Would I purchase this product?

I’d love to say that I would purchase this product, but unless the formula was re-assessed to prevent the blotchy effect, I wouldn’t take the risk. As I mentioned previously, the coverage is great for a BB cream and I love the higher SPF included. Also, this BB cream doesn’t sit excessively shiny on the skin as many SPF containing products do. If it hadn’t left me with the horribly uneven finish, I probably would purchase this but in the lighter shade.

 

© This post is copyright of Rachael Divers 2014.