Garnier BB Cream Review

I've been a big BB Cream fan since it hit the markets in Asia a couple years ago. It's finally began to catch on the US band wagon - first beginning with some higher end companies like Dior, Bobbi Brown, Too Faced, Smashbox,... but now... Garnier! I had high expectations for the higher brands, and certainly have not been disappointed with the ones I have, which are the Diorsnow BB Cream and the Bobbi Brown BB Cream (which hasn't hit US stores yet)! Garnier is one of the first more inexpensive BB Creams at around $12.99 I believe (this was given to me as a gift from my lovely friend Erin).

If you don't know what a BB Cream is, feel free to click here and read about it on wikipedia. LOL... I'm feeling kinda lazy. :P but for those of you that do not know, BB Creams should feel lightweight, but should also provide some good coverage. Generally when I first apply BB Creams, it sort of sits on top of the skin before sinking in, which is why for many BB Creams, its much more beneficial to pat the product into your skin.

I am a huge fan of BB Creams because I am lazy as hell when it comes to my foundation routine. I would rather just pat on a little BB Cream and get along with my day than putting on a million layers of who knows what. I've tried probably over 15 different kinds of BB Cream ranging from Skin 79, BRTC, Skinfood, Dior, etc.

This BB Cream comes in two shades: Light/Medium and Medium/Dark and claims to even out, tone, boost glow, blur imperfections, smooth fine lines, provide 24 hour hydration, and provide SPF 15. All in which sounds nice, but if you were to tell me those were the properties, I would think you are selling me a radiance glow tinted moisturizer, not a BB Cream (which often has more healing and long term beneficial properties). 

At first squeeze, it looked to be very similar to a BB Cream. It was very thick... and look! I could even hold my hand upside down without the product moving! :P

Anyways here is my breakdown: 

Texture: It is a very lightweight product that feels almost 'wet' when applying despite its thick looking consistency. It smooths out quite easily as it is very liquidy once you apply it.

Pigmentation/Coverage: I would say this is light - medium coverage, leaning toward light. Pigmentation is not amazing, but it does the job. I would say this coverage is as good as any other tinted moisturizer.

Smell: This has the "Garnier" smell - kind of floral and citrus-y. Although I do not mind the scent, it is quite strong for a BB Cream.

Moisturization: So unlike most BB Creams, this product sunk right into my skin making me skeptic... but it proves to be an extremely hydrating product for the skin. Not sure about the 24 hour claim, but hydrated for a good while. I was quite impressed with this. I thought it did a great job sinking right into the skin and moisturizing the face.

Lasting Ability: The lasting ability was a couple of hours. I would not recommend this for oily skin because it will definitely make you a shining star and you will be needing to blot your face a lot. My skin began to get a bit shiny, thus making the product easier to come off.

As you can see, it leaves a nice satin-y finish and provides nice light coverage:)

Overall: The product itself is not bad, but I would not call this a BB Cream. In fact, if they called this Garnier Tinted Moisturizer, I would really RAVE this product, besides the fact that it has that strong garnier scent, but since they called themselves a BB Cream, I find that it falls short of the BB Cream name.

I would say if you are looking for a true BB Cream, I would tell you to look elsewhere - but if you are looking for something to just even out skin tone, provide minimal coverage and give nice hydration at a low price... this is definitely something worth checking out.

FYI: The fifth ingredient is alcohol, which is actually something that quite worried me, as I don't like to put alcohol products on my face... and gosh, I really don't know what the rest of those things are. LOL.