Hello hello, and welcome to the 6th episode of BB Creamology! I don’t think I’ve ever tried (or wanted to try) that many BB creams before this series started. What can I say, it’s all for the blog, folks. It’s all for the blog. π
In my last episode, I promised some of you an updated count and look at my current BB cream stash. Well, here it is – I currently have 26 BB creams in my collection. When I took the photo of my updated stash, I forgot to add one more that I recently acquired, so the correct total should be 27. Some of these BB creams were purchased on my own and some were provided for review. Either way, that’s a whole lot of base makeup for just one face! π
In today’s BB Creamology, I’d like to show you three more BB creams and they’re from Clarins, Skin Physics and COVO.
Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream*
Shade: 01 Light has cool undertones (it comes in 3 shades – Light, Medium and Warm)
Texture: Thick and creamy
Fragrance: Floral fragrance. If you stick your nose to the cream, you’ll detect a hint of sunscreen-y scent with the floral perfume as well.
Wet-To-Dry Time: Dries fairly quickly on the skin. It leaves a semi-matte finish on the skin.
Coverage: Medium
Sun Protection Factor: SPF25
Price: AU$50
Availability: All Clarins counters at major departmental stores (MYER, David Jones), selected pharmacies and Adore Beauty.
Skin Physics Instant Age Reset BB Plus Complete Correction Balm with Renovage*
Shade: Fair (comes in 3 shades – Light, Medium and Dark) with yellow undertones
Texture: Light, almost watery
Fragrance: Sunscreen, almost soapy scent
Wet-To-Dry Time: Takes a slightly longer time to dry. It leaves a dewy finish on the skin.
Coverage: Light to medium
Sun Protection Factor: SPF15
Price: AU$39
Availability: Stocked at MYER, Priceline and selected pharmacies
Shade: Ivory (it comes in 2 shades, Ivory and Sand) with warm yellow undertones
Texture: Light and creamy. The longer itβs on the skin, the lovelier the finish.
Fragrance: Strong floral fragrance (can be too strong at times)
Wet-To-Dry Time: Dries quickly on the skin to a semi-matte finish.
Coverage: Medium
Sun Protection Factor: SPF50 PA+++
Price: RM89 (approximately AU$30)
Availability: COVO pop-up booths in selected shopping centres in Malaysia. At the time of writing, their online store is still under construction.
Conclusion:
When I first heard that Clarins had come out with a BB cream of their own, I couldn’t wait to try it out. I selected the lightest shade of the three thinking that I wouldn’t be able to get it wrong. However, when I tried it out on my face, I realised that it was too dark on me! It wasn’t long after that when I started to read reviews of this with the only complaint that the lightest shade was still a tad too dark. Still, I wanted to give the BB cream a fair review so I persevered and tried it out. The finish on the skin improved as the hours went by and looked very good on my skin. The coverage was good and just how I like it to be – not heavy but enough to cover any blemishes. It’s just such a pity that the shade just didn’t work for me because if I can switch this with the other 2 BB creams that had the correct shade, this would be a winner.
I’ve not tried any of the skincare or makeup from Skin Physics before (if I’m not mistaken, it’s an Australian brand) so the BB cream was definitely a first. I have to say, the Light shade was spot on. It matched my skintone to a T (don’t you just love finding a foundation/BB cream that disappears to your skin when you spread it on the skin? It’s a match!). The only thing I’m not too keen on is how light the coverage is for a BB cream. It’s what I’d call a tinted moisturiser. Having said that, for weekends when you’d like to chill without plying on heaps of makeup? I’d go for this.
COVO is a Malaysian brand that I was really excited to try out when I was back in Malaysia earlier this year. I first heard about it from Kerrie Hess, a popular Australian illustrator (my favourite, in fact) who designed the backdrop for COVO. Amongst other things, I also picked up the HD Picturesque BB cream to try out. As a BB cream, it’s not a bad one. The coverage is decent (enough to cover the redness around my nose). The only thing I’m not happy about it the strong floral fragrance that can be a bit cloying at times. What I do like about this BB cream is the high SPF. SPF50 for a BB cream? Hell yes! I’d admit that when I do have to rush for time, I skip sunscreen and just use this. I don’t normally skip the sunscreen step and I don’t like to but if I’m really short on time, I’ll use this.
On the whole, there aren’t any major standouts from these BB creams, I’m afraid. Each one has its ups and downs. Now if we can combine the creaminess and coverage of the Clarins, the spot-on shade of the Skin Physics and the high SPF of COVO, we’ll have a big BB cream winner on our hands! π
Have you tried any of these BB creams before? Your thoughts? Yay or nay?
Note: The products marked with * are provided for editorial consideration.
I tried the Skin Physics one and surprisingly I quite enjoyed it as compared to other BB creams I’ve tried as the others tend to be either too thick or greasy or just doesn’t want to blend onto my skin. π
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I’ve been using it quite regular the past week and I’m surprised to find liking it more and more. The shade is just spot on for me and while the texture is not as thick as most Asian BB creams are nor give as much coverage, it’s working for me. Yay!
Yeah, I’ve tried the Clarins and Skin Physics. Strangely I prefer the Skin Physics one to the Clarins one. First because it doesn’t have such a strong scent as the Clarins one. And I also liked how the Skin Physics one blended onto my skin perfectly, even though I was wearing their “light” shade. I did like the Clarins BB Cream, but after using it and comparing it to another favourite of mine – the Smashbox one – I found that the Clarins one didn’t blend nicely onto my nose unless I applied a primer. :/ Hmm…
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It’s just sad that the one by Clarins is too dark for me or else I’d actually be able to properly use it. I’ve been using the Skin Physics one more and more these days and I find myself liking it more and more. It’s definitely lighter and the shade is just right. Something I can use in the weekend π
What’s your top 5 out of the entire collection?
Oooh this is a toughie. Top of my head in no particular order:
1. Garnier BB cream (Asian version)
2. Anessa BB cream
3. Skinfood Red Orange Jelly BB cream
4. Freshel BB Cream
5. ZA Total Hydration BB cream UV
I’ve blogged about these before so if you’d like to know more, just search for it using the search box π
I still find your BB cream collection simply amazing. I think it is going to take you years to get through all of them. Lol. Do you still need to use sunscreen if your BB cream already provides SPF 50 in protection? Always wondered about that because I am already using sunscreen with SPF 50 and if I were to add on a BB cream with that amount of SPF, it would seem like and overkill.
Crazy, right? I just tell myself “it’s for the blog, it’s for the blog”. Yeah, like that justifies me having so many with just one face! π
Yes I do, I always have separate sunscreen on regardless of how low or high the BB cream’s SPF is. Skincare routine -> Sunscreen -> BB cream/foundation. It’s a habit I guess. My sunscreen is almost always SPF50 and to be honest, a lot of BB creams don’t have SPF that high. Some only have SPF15. Treat BB cream like any other base makeup, that’s what I always say.
I’ve never heard of COVO before, but it sounds like a great one. I’m quite tempted to give that Clarins BB cream a try because the semi-matte finish sounds good for my oily skin.
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COVO’s a relatively new Malaysian cosmetics brand. Last I check, they’re currently building up their online store. Could be worth checking out when they’re ready.
This is weird. In Singapore, the packaging for Clarins BB cream is white in color and the shade is quite fair. Perhaps you can check it out in Asian countries if they carry different version.
Oh I know! I saw the Asian version on some beauty blogs and I was like, eh? It’s white! I definitely want to check it out when I’m in Malaysia/Singapore just to see how it differs from the Western version (kinda like Garnier’s Asian vs Western versions) π