I have a very long list of products I've purchased lately and I'm just absolutely desperate to get it all reviewed and I don't quite know where to begin!
I went on this little shopping spree for some brushes, BB cream and the highly spoken of "Baby Skin", and I did so with high hopes.
Maybelline New York's "Dream Pure" BB Cream
I purchased this BB Cream after a long time of wondering whether or not to try it. I'd spoken to a few of my friends, a couple of which don't use any products on their skin (no foundation, BB cream, concealer etc.) and I was in awe of how beautiful their skin was. I decided to take a step down from Dream Matte Mousse with a powder finish of Stay Matte, and go down to a BB Cream.
I'd heard of BB Cream but was never really sure of what exactly it was. Once I did my research online into the types of BB Creams you can get, I learnt that BB Cream is - in a nutshell - a thinner, more natural and far more beneficial version of foundation. It has built in benefits for different skin types - for example, I've been having a huge issue with my skin since I've started college with all of the rubbish we've piled onto our skin over the course of the year, so my skin has become oily and I have, for the first time ever, started having breakouts like you've never seen, so I figured I needed something to reduce the oiliness in my skin. The one I've picked up is for oily skin with 2% salicylic acid (which helps to calm down acne-prone skin).
So when I looked at this small tube of BB Cream, I instantly looked at the back to see how it would benefit my skin. It claims to do the wonders of 8 things in 1 product:
- Conceals imperfections
- Helps to protect against the appearance of blemishes
- Oil-free, non-greasy
- Minimises the appearance of pores
- Clarifies the skin's look
- Conceals redness
- Hydrates and smoothes
- Complements skin tone
I have to say I am actually really impressed with this product. While it's a very small tube and there's really not that much in it, a small amount goes a long way! It doesn't offer full coverage unlike foundations usually do offer, but BB Cream is a lot closer to a more natural coverage than anything and it allows your own skin to still show through. It does, however, even out your skin tone nicely and conceals redness. It makes my skin feel so lovely, soft and hydrated. Although my pores don't really look a LOT different with the product on, it doesn't bother me because all of the other benefits it offers, it has.
All in all, I think this product is lovely. It feels light on my skin, it does what it says it'll do and it helps my skin. The only downside is that there's not a lot in the tube!
Maybelline New York's "Baby Skin" Instant Pore Eraser
Baby skin claims to give a smooth and "poreless" looking skin. While Baby Skin does what a lightweight primer is expected to do, I can't honestly say it really makes my skin look smooth or "poreless". In fact, my skin feels a little clogged up with this product on it. Sure, it looks fairly nice once my BB Cream is over the top and a little of my Stay Matte powder has been splashed on, but once I do have all of my makeup over this primer, it starts to feel a little heavy. And all I can think is "this doesn't feel as though it's doing my skin any good".
I can't knock that the product feels so beautiful and silky soft, it goes from a gel to feeling just like a silky powder. It's the weirdest but nicest product I've used based on touch, but for the benefits it claims to give I'm not so sure about. While, yes my pores do look slightly smaller and my skin does look smoother, I can't say they're anywhere near what I was expecting considering I'd heard so many people rave about what an incredible product it was. So, I was a little disappointed with the results but I shouldn't have expected so much of the product to begin with!
I'm finding it difficult to really express my opinion on this product. So to try and sum it up: it's an okay product, not the best, it's a basic primer that sort of minimises the appearance of pores. It makes your skin feel soft, definitely. It does do what it says on the bottle, however, the results aren't perhaps as effective as you would have hoped for or expected from it.
Real Techniques Core Collection Brushes
This mini little pouch came with four essential brushes for your face. Including a contour brush, a powder brush, a foundation brush and a concealer brush. I don't really like using brushes for my foundation, as I went from a Mousse, which I used a sponge with, to a BB Cream, which I just put on with my finger tips. And, to be quite honest, I very rarely use concealer! I figured I'd buy these brushes and give them a go and see if I can get into the habit of using all sorts of products for when I want to go into make-up more professionally.
I will just throw out there and say that these brushes are so unbelievably soft! I could sit there all day brushing them on my face, they feel so beautiful and soft against your skin they just glide products on. Now, the contour brush is beautiful, however the products I have for contouring aren't very good and just come out very patchy on my skin. However I've actually used it for blusher and I find it has such a beautiful finish. As the brush is fairly small and kind of dome shaped, it fits onto the apples of your cheeks perfectly and you can just brush it across your cheeks and result in such a beautiful, natural blusher finish.
The powder brush is exactly the same as the blusher brush, at least in the sense that I fell in love with this brush as well! I like to use the powder brush with my bronzer. It's bigger than the contour brush but not too big, it's just light enough to pick up just enough bronzer without having to tap loads of the make-up off so I don't look like a tangerine!
So, in conclusion, these little products from this beauty haul are overall pretty darn good! They do everything they say they will and they all have their benefits to help making your skin look and feel beautiful and flawless! I would definitely recommend the BB Cream, recommend the two brushes by Real Techniques that I've mentioned and perhaps recommend the Baby Skin (however, I would also add to that recommendation to not have high expectations!).
I'd love to know if anybody has any similar or different opinions on any of the products I've spoken about above. If you'd like to get in touch, I'd really love to hear what you have to say!
Tweet any questions or opinions to me at @EmilyJeanGC
Thanks for reading!
