Marcelle BB Cream Review

I've heard so many rave reviews on this product, I just had to try it myself! Because it is not sold in the US, my good friend Erin was able to pick it up for me from Canada. I think that this BB Cream may be my favorite "non asian" bb cream... probably the best one i've seen on the market outside of Asia.

Now this claims to do many things. Not the traditional things that Asian BB Creams have, but it claims to:

Out of all of these - I think it does what it claims. It certainly evens out my skintone and hydrates it. I'm not sure if I would know if its anti-aging of skin regenerative, lol but it does have great shine control (has an almost powdery finish), sooth and calms skin (it really does! i think it is the aloe), reduces appearance of imperfection and add radiance (with its bizarre powdery AND satin-y finish!)

For me, this is a great everyday BB Cream that I can throw on without a lot of fuss. I'm absolutely in love!

Now for my usual breakdown:
Texture: It's very soft and smooth - it is kind of a mix between a foundation and a BB Cream. It is not as thick and it doesn't just sit on top of skin like a BB Cream does, but acts a bit more like a mix between the two. It has a bit more of a liquidy texture than a traditional bb cream and feels very light weight on the skin.
Packaging: I LOVE THE PACKAGING. okay, now that I got that out of the way... it has a similar package as the lioele beyond the solution bb cream. it is in a squeeze tube, but instead it has a pump on top to make it convenient and hygienic. Unlike those tubes though, this is the first pump where I can actually control how much comes out without a ton of product exploding out or accidentally putting too much. Above that, the pump doesnt emit any extra product to get stuck in the cap!

Pigmentation: The pigmentation is alright. I would say this provides light to medium coverage.
Moisturization: I think it does a good job of making your skin not feel WET, but providing skin with some moisturizing factors. It definitely felt nice on my parched skin even when I forgot to put on moisturizer.
Finish: It's gonna sound bizarre but it has a satin-y finish that is almost powdery, but not really.
Lasting Ability: Doesn't last especially long, but does the job. probably 3-4 hours.
Color: I believe it comes in two colors, light to medium and medium to dark. I am light to medium (NC25ish)

Overall: I think this is an excellent performer. It doesn't stand as a tradition "BB Cream" but has made some nice adaptations for the American (well or Canadian) consumer. I found that it is light weight and smooth (VERY SMOOTH) and performs better than any other tinted moisturizer/foundation out there. If you are looking for a BB Cream that is more full coverage or do not fall in it's limited color range, I would look elsewhere.

My friend purchased it for you from canada. I do not believe it is readily available in the US, but you can purchase it online from marcelle.com :)

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Holika Holika Pore Cover Mousse BB Balm Review

I couldn't wait to whip out my Holika Holika Mousse BB Balm during the warmer weather. Right now (well not right now because the sky is kind of grey and yicky) - this week, the weather was FANTASTIC! 70ish degrees and sunny... spring is definitely on her way!

So naturally, I whipped this baby out to use her up! I have previously tried the BB Mousse during the wintertime, but my skin during the cooler months is so incredibly dry, my skin can only handle using tinted moisturizers or extremely 'wet' face products.  So here is what the product looks like:

This is a great product for my skin during the warm weather. I honestly love the way it feels on my skin, how it looks on my skin and the overall effect it has throughout the day.

The first picture is first application. It seems more of a cream texture as it is stiffer than a mousse.
The second picture is blended a bit. It feels creamy and almost seems 'wet' looking.
In the third picture, once you spread it more evenly, the product transforms into a nice powdery, matte finish.

Here is my breakdown for you all: 

Texture: The texture claims to be a mousse product, but this to me was more of a cream type product with a mousse -ish texture. As you can see with the picture above, the product can easily stand up with ease. When I think of mousse, I think of like a spray can type product (like the revlon mousse foundation) It's quite hard to the touch (compared to mousses), so I would recommend either using the sponge provided or using a spatula. Its a very nice, soft, almost dry/powdery texture when applied. It glides on easily, almost like it's a primer.

Coverage: I would definitely say this is light - medium coverage. It is definitely buildable, but I say that with hesitation because in order to build some coverage, it does take a lot of finagling around and practice to get the product the way you would like it (although it is definitely possible!)

Application: This took a bit of me playing around to get it right. I am very used to just "throwing" on bb cream or foundation on my face, using my hands, in a hurry because at the end of the day, I dont really need foundation, and use it just because sometimes my forehead is way darker than the rest of my face.

I used my fingers, which was fine, but then when I looked close up, I had little patches of product all throughout my face (I looked a fool). It did a bit of clinging to some dry patches so I was like EW! haha! I just had to use my finger to lightly pat the product and it was fine though. Below is a picture of the product smoothed out with my fingers.

Then the next couple of times I applied, I decided to use the sponge that it came with and pat & rolled the product on my face and it came out perfect!! It did a great job of giving the perfect layer of product.  It was so nice on my face - really silky smooth and it didn't cling to any of the imperfections on my face. And now the application process is much easier ;D Below is a picture of how I smoothed the product out with a sponge! Flawless! : )

Finish: The finish for me is more of a powdery, matte finish. For me its a great finish because it doesn't slide off my face, but with the sort of silky (almost silica based feeling) texture, I could imagine this may become oily for those friends that have more oily skin... but don't quote me on it!

Color: This comes in two shades: Light Beige and Natural Beige. I have Light Beige (#1) and it is probably around an NC20ish as it is a bit light on my skin, but matches okay right now, but I think in the warmer days I may need to use Natural Beige (although I am unsure of the color match for it).

Smell: I LOVE the smell of this. it smells sweet and yummy. Maybe in my mind because there is a picture of a strawberry on it, I think it smells that way, but to me it kinda smells like strawberries and cream! haha

Lasting Ability: Alone, it definitely does a great job of lasting throughout the day. BUT. with makeup, it REALLY lasts throughout the day. Remember how I said it had this sort of silky feel like a primer? Well it definitely delivered as one too!

Extra goodies: Says on the box "Pore Cover" aka it'll minimize the appearance of pores. Um yes please! HAHA My pores are gross around my nose area and on occasion, around my nose the pores get kinda larger.. but yes! It does help with covering up my pores - when I looked in the mirror, my nose was noticeably nicer. I was like 'woot woot' - haha! I love when products make imperfections look better!

Conclusion: This is a really nice product. I would say this is suitable for those of you that want light-medium matte coverage. If you have dry, normal, or combo skin, this would work great for the warmer weather, and if you have normal, combo or oily skin this would work for the cooler weather. It is also suitable for those of you who have nasty pores that need some fake covering (like me lol).

COUPON CODE!!! I also had to get this review up because I had to share this with you!!! Currently there is an AWESOME promotion going on. (LIKE SERIOUSLY AWESOME)... You can get 20% off ALL HOLIKAHOLIKA products until March 20, 2012 using the code HH4ME.

Now I would probably insert my referral code for 10% off Lioele using code jessicalee422 or receive a free surprise item when you write jessicalee422 in the comment box at check out, but there is no need, because use the 20% off code for HolikaHolika! It's so much better!! HHAHAH

Let me know if you purchase anything! I love when people share their hauls with me ;D

FTC: I am a p&c blogger, therefore i received this product for free, but do not get compensated in any way.. and as always, I always share my honest opinions. 

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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.

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Boscia BB Cream Review

So after being SO excited to try the Boscia BB cream, I can tell you guys that I'm disappointed in the product. SIGH! So before I show you any swatches, let me explain to you my life story with this product.

I went to Sephora all excited because I anticipated on buying my very first dior palette (which by the way i LOVE!) and trying out the Boscia BB Cream. I ventured over to try out all the Dior palettes first. Of course 15-20 minutes later, my hands were beautiful and sparkly filled with different pigmented and fun shadows.

Anyway, after I took it off, I went over to the Boscia BB Cream and tried it on. It was a thicker consistency than other BB Creams I tried and it was much darker than a lot of the BB Creams I own. When I smoothed it out, it was still very thick, but became a little bit watery (but I dont think it's a water BB Cream!?). After smoothing it out, it felt really really nice! I was pleasantly surprised with the product. I noticed some glitter on my hands and fingers, but come on now, I'm in sephora, swatching millions of shadows, that's bound to happen :)

I get home and I'm playing with it some more when I realize... wait now, wait now. The glitters are from the BB Cream!!! What? EW! Now don't get me wrong, i LOVE my shimmers. I love high beam & the lioele silky touch highlighter (THANKS WEN!) -- but this was glitter. glitter bits all over! And again, I might like some glitter.... but when it's BB Cream to put over my whole face? -- no thank you!

About 20 minutes later, I notice on my skin that the BB Cream became a bit ashy and really sunken in (meaning that I knew I would have a hard time getting it off) - despite the fact that it had a bit of a watery texture. Lo and behold, it was a bit difficult for me to rub off. - boo!

Overall, the product itself is not terrible. It's a great option for those that don't have porcelain skin - because the color is a bit darker and a bit more pink (rather than light and grey!)

As you can see in the swatches below - I compared the Boscia with all Skin79 products. From the bottom up, it's the Skin79 hot pink, then Skin79 Diamond, then Skin79 luminous and then Boscia. As you can see from the picture below, the Boscia is much thicker in texture than the other products. The rest of the products are way more liquid-y.

Here are all the products semi blended, then completely blended out. Lol, I'm not sure what kind of lighting I have in the first picture to make my skin look so tan (I didn't use flash), but the second was with natural lighting.

As you can see, the Boscia is pretty accurate to my color, in fact, its almost a bit dark/orange-y. So I'm an NC25, so if you are like 30+, I would say this color would probably be a good match for you.

Here are the swatches of the luminous skin79 bb cream next to the Boscia - so you can see the difference between something luminous and something sparkly.

As you can see, the left, which is the skin79 is luminous and has a nice sheen to it, where as the boscia has sparkly bits in it. Dang, I hope you can see the bits. It's very apparent in real life.

Below are just little glitter bits that the boscia left behind: 

So overall, I was really sad this didn't work out because I do really love Boscia products (especially the luminizing black mask and their blotting sheets!) - it was just way too sparkly and the longer I kept the product on, the drier the product felt on my skin.

This doesn't mean it won't work for everyone - I would say if you have a darker skintone, are more on the combo, oily side and love sparkles, this could really work for you! I would say go to the store and try the heck out of it! But sadly for me, it went back to Sephora.

Hope this was helpful! :) xoxo

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