Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm SPF20 Review

I ran out of my usual BB cream while overseas so I decided to buy Benefit's Big Easy from Sephora. On my way to the counter I thought of my teenage daughter, stopped one of the shop assistants and asked what she would recommend for teenage skin. She recommended Urban Decay BB on the basis that it is oil-free and matches any skin tone. Once I got home said teenager got her lampers on the the Big Easy and pleaded so eloquently . . . so the Urban Decay went in my drawer. Right about that time my opportunity to trial a Garnier BB came up (thanks BR!) so UD languished a little longer. The Garnier was a disaster, and it was a little while before I was brave enough to try the UD, but it has turned out to be a find. This BB is packaged nicely, the plastic tube feels sturdy yet flexible. It has a fine nozzle and removable screw cap lid. Product flow is easily controlled when squeezing the tube. The BB looks really dark when dispensed and I did wonder how it would look on my rather pale complexion. It also smells, frankly, nasty - kind of like burnt toast. This seems to dissipate completely though. UD BB spreads easily and blends completely, I use my fingers to blend it. UD BB claims an optical blurring effect as well as SPF20 and moisturising action. I think this claim holds up as my skin looks even-toned and natural with this BB on. I find for daytime makeup all I need is this BB, a swish of blush, mascara and lippy. UD BB stays put, looks great and feels like clean skin. I can't say that I feel the overall condition of my skin is greatly improved, but it certainly feels well looked after. I haven't yet tried my foundation over UD BB as a primer but I feels confident that it would be a suitable product to use in this way. Apart from the product smell and that this product isn't easily come by in NZ, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a good multitasking skin product.

I absolutely hated this product. It smells really really unpleasant and the texture of it is like a silicone type of cream mix. So dry skin users, run. Applying it made my skin feel dry but look semi oily. And dirty. It just didn’t feel nice on the skin at all. I am not giving it one star though because, I have seen it look really good on others. The packaging is really lovely and looks nice and I love that it has SPF.