BB Creamology: Rimmel, Palmer’s & ZA

I’ve been using a lot of BB creams for the past year. In fact, I was going through all of my makeup and found this amount of BB creams in a corner (including the ones I bought in Japan).

BB Cream Collection

Jeepers creepers! Did I really amass that many tubes of BB creams? Oh boy. One face, not even skin πŸ˜›

To review all of this in individual posts would take yonks (plus it’s too much work and I’m a lazy bugger), so I’ll be doing grouped reviews on a new segment I’d like to call BB Creamology! *applause*

Ahem. Right. Back to work. πŸ˜‰

Today’s episode of BB Creamology features three BB creams I’ve been using: Rimmel London’s BB Cream 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup, Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Eventone BB Cream and ZA’s Total Hydration BB Cream UV.

Palmer's Eventone BB Cream, Rimmel London BB Cream and ZA Total Hydration BB Cream UV

Palmer's Eventone BB Cream, Rimmel London BB Cream and ZA Total Hydration BB Cream UV

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Eventone BB Cream*

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Eventone BB Cream

  • Shade: Light. Cool undertones. This colour is one shade lighter than my skintone.
  • Texture: Thick and creamy
  • Fragrance: Strong soapy scent, typical of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter products. Too strong for my liking.
  • Wet-To-Dry Time: The BB cream is quick to dry on application. Dries to a semi-matte finish.
  • Coverage: Light to medium (reminds me more of a tinted moisturiser)
  • Sun Protection Factor: SPF 15
  • Price: AU$9.99 for 30ml
  • Availability: Currently only available at My Chemist and Chemist Warehouse stores. This BB cream will be available selected pharmacies and supermarkets nationwide from January 2013.

Rimmel London BB Cream 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup*

Rimmel London BB Cream 9-in-1 Skin Perfecting Super Makeup

  • Shade: Light. Cool undertones. This colour matches my skintone perfectly
  • Texture: Thick and creamy (but not as thick as Palmer’s)
  • Fragrance: Subtle floral scent.
  • Wet-To-Dry Time: Out of the three BB creams, Rimmel’s took the longest to dry on the skin. Dries to a dewy finish.
  • Coverage: Medium, buildable
  • Sun Protection Factor: SPF 25
  • Price: AU$12.95 for 30ml
  • Availability:Β Priceline, Big W, Kmart, Target, selected pharmacies and supermarkets nationwide.

ZA Total Hydration BB Cream UV

ZA Total Hydration BB Cream UV

  • Shade: There’s no shade name or number with this BB cream, leading me to believe that it only comes in one shade. Cool undertones. It’s also just a tad darker than my skintone.
  • Texture: Creamy but light. The consistency is similar to Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream for Oily to Combination skin.
  • Fragrance: Floral scent. It’s not as subtle as Rimmel’s but it’s not bad.
  • Wet-To-Dry Time: The BB cream is quick to dry on application. Dries to a semi-matte finish.
  • Coverage: Medium, buildable
  • Sun Protection Factor: SPF 43 PA+++
  • Price: NT$290 (AU$9.50) for 20g
  • Availability: Unfortunately this isn’t available in Australia. I requested Tina to buy this for me from Taiwan. However, this is available in most Asian countries and eBay.

BB Cream Swatches

BB Cream Swatches

Conclusion:

I’m glad that Palmer’s has finally ventured into makeup after focusing just on skincare for so many years. Even though I found the BB cream to be more like tinted moisturiser than the BB creams I’m used to, it’s a good start. It’s a decent product to use when you want a bit of coverage without having that heavy, sticky feeling on your face. The scent is strong though, and it might be something you’d want to consider when trying it out in stores.

Before Rimmel’s BB cream came along, the ZA BB cream was one of my favourites (along with Garnier’s). I didn’t expect much out of Rimmel’s BB cream before I gave it a go (on the whole, Asian brands do make better BB creams). When I did, well whaddyaknow, I like it even more than ZA’s! The shade and coverage worked better for me. I just wished the SPF was as high as ZA’s though. Oh well, it’s still the same lesson learned: never judge a BB cream by its brand πŸ˜‰

Palmer's Eventone BB Cream, Rimmel BB Cream and ZA Total Hydration BB Cream UV

I’ll be reviewing another 3 more BB creams soon. One day, I’ll get through all of them. Fingers crossed.

Have you tried any of these BB creams before? What did you think of them?

Note: These products were provided for editorial consideration.

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18 comments… add one
  1. Chelsea

    Innnteresting. I am yet to try any of the asian BB creams. I don’t know why, I just haven’t. Must put it on the to do list πŸ™‚
    Chelsea recently posted..Get To Know Me: My JobMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Make 2013 the year of Asian BB cream discovery. You won’t regret it πŸ˜‰

  2. Beauty Box

    I thought I was a BB cream freak but you win hands down. I def have more of these than traditional foundations. I think it’s because BB creams are more affordable and perform as well as some high end foundations. Anyway I’ll def be getting the Rimmel one when I head to Sydney for Xmas. It looks and sounds great! Rimmel in Japan doesn’t have a BB cream and it seems they sell different products from their Western counterpart.
    Beauty Box recently posted..Updated Skincare Routine For Face: Early Winter 2012My Profile

    1. Tine

      Oooh any chances of you coming to Melbourne then? πŸ˜‰

      The Rimmel one is pretty good. It’s quite similar to a lot of Asian BB creams, which says a lot because a lot of Western BB creams just don’t cut the mustard for me. I’ve been using a lot more BB creams than I do foundations. Like you said, they’re more affordable and I get to try more for the price of one high-end foundie πŸ™‚

      1. Beauty Box

        Nah sorry, just Sydney this time but will def let you know when I go to Melbourne again. πŸ™‚
        Beauty Box recently posted..End Of My 30-Day Beauty Buy Ban: Thoughts & RuminationsMy Profile

  3. Becca

    Ok wow! Your BB Cream collection may just match my lip product collection πŸ˜›
    I love your BB Creamology concept and cant wait for the rest of the series. I’ve been sorting through reviews to figure out which one might be best for me to start with, but I haven’t found it yet! Maybe you can help! πŸ˜€
    Becca recently posted..Sephora HaulMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Hee hee, thanks! From the picture, I have at least 3 more posts to do. Not counting more I’m going to be getting when I’m back in Malaysia for Chinese New Year. Ahem πŸ˜›

      Best to start with … hmm … if you can get your hands on any Asian BB creams, the Garnier one is good (in fact, it’s my favourite of the lot!). Missha also does very good BB creams too (they’re richer than Garnier’s). For Western brand, try Rimmel. The Garnier for oily skin is a tad runny, which a lot of people don’t really like. I like it because it’s very similar to its Asian counterpart. I recently tried out Skinfood’s Red Orange Jelly BB (the orange jar in the picture), and I really like it too. It might even rival my favourite Garnier! πŸ˜›

  4. LittleMissSCB

    Yay a BB cream series! I can’t believe I haven’t jumped on the BB cream wagon yet. I’ve considered the Rimmel and the Garnier one. Can’t wait to hear what you think of the Garnier one.

    1. Tine

      I reviewed the Garnier for oily skin one here: http://www.beautyholicsanonymous.com/2012/09/garniers-bb-cream-for-combination-to-oily-skin-has-finally-gotten-it-right/

      It’s very similar to my favourite Asian version one, which is why I have it two very enthusiastic thumbs up πŸ˜›

  5. mc

    I love Dr G Hydra Intensive Blemish Balm (spf 30). It doesn’t give me the heavy feeling and on a normal day it lasts quite long (unless I’m sweating too much in a 38c day like today…). I’d say it gives light-medium coverage & it is buildable! Try it out if you’re looking to buy more πŸ˜‰

    http://web1.sasa.com/SasaWeb/tch/product/viewProductDetail.jspa?itemno=10011942

    1. Tine

      Ooooohhhh you temptress! πŸ˜€

  6. cuteandcurls

    Whoaaaa there !!! When you told me about today’s blog, I promised to keep my eyes peeled but whoa, my eyes nearly popped out of its sockets when I saw your BB cream load, girl! I kow tow to you heheehhehe and I see ZA there waheyyyyy great reviews, I tried ZA’s hydration moisture cream and Im a big fan, its great on my skin but shame i never tried their BB cream i will have to check it out this weekend at the GP or Watsons, I just love a high SPF , cant wait for the next BB creamology πŸ™‚ Oooh I’ll let you know what i think of that ZA BB Cream

    1. Tine

      Ahem. Crazy collection, right? I actually have more I forgot to put in πŸ˜›

  7. Tina @ BeautyToast

    Great. Thank you for the great review!

    1. Tine

      My pleasure, Tina πŸ™‚

  8. Jyoan

    OMG! WOW! haha, I never thought you’d have so many. Whoops! Not blogging on it doesn’t means don’t have.
    Jyoan recently posted..What’s I Am Watching – The Epitome of No-Makeup MakeupMy Profile

    1. Tine

      I know! Crazy right? This does not include the two new CC creams I just acquired from Rachel K and Chanel. I’m going a bit nuts on this BB and CC wagon. Who knows what will be launched next? ZZ cream? Zit Zapper πŸ˜›

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