Garnier Skin Perfector BB Cream Nude Review

I had high hopes for this BB cream - universal shade that self adjusts to your skin tone sounds too good to be true.

I have quite fair pale skin and as soon as I applied the product it was very orange based. I tried to blend it out, but it was too dark and orange. Wouldn't use it again - maybe better for darker skin tone

I've tried a few different BB creams, as well as a few that claim to have self-adjusting pigments. This is another failure!

Color: this product comes out white, looks kind of like a skin cream. But when on the face, it changes to an orange muddy colour. It doesn't match any of my concealers and I have to be extra careful to get it right up to my ear line so there's not gaps in colour. This would be fine for someone with darker skin tone than mine but just doesn't work for me, even now it's summer.

Smell: a light non-offensive smell that doesn't bother me.

Packaging: I like that it is in a tube. This means you're not scooping the product out of a jar, leading to potential bacteria entry. Comes out of the tube evenly, and I normally squirt some on a clean hand then use a brush from there.

Other pros: the finish is dewy, but definitely not full coverage. I tried this for work and still had some on at the end of the day, so the staying power isn't too bad. It's a good price point, if you're med-darker skin and it works for you. There's a bit of sun protection, but if I was going to be outside for long periods, I would layer it with a dedicated sun screen. It doesn't 'pill' when I've tried it with different skin care products, which is a nice bonus. I've also tried it with different powders and still got a good effect.

I was so excited to try a new Garnier BB product as Garnier BB cream is my favourite every day light cover. I really wasn't sure what to expect and it still surprised me when I opened the tube to find the cream is white! I wasn't sure how it was going to work but applied it as I would a regular BB cream, rubbing it into my hands a little first then spreading it out across my face and blending down onto my neck as I would any moisturiser. It went on super smoothly and evenly. Instantly I could see my skin transform and begin to glow! As I rinsed my hands off under the tap I saw the water turn an orange-brown colour! "What is this sorcery?!" I thought to myself and had to have another go, applying the cream to my hands so I could watch it change. Somehow, like 24 carat magic, it changes from pure white to a glowing apricot shade and it really does "blur" my skin to give a smoother, brighter appearance. It gives just a light coverage, enough to blur imperfections but not completely hide them. So it is perfect for at home with the SPF 15, for the gym, or general days when I don't want to wear make up but still want my skin looking fresh and smooth. It definitely doesn't give me as much coverage as the regular Garnier BB cream but I found I could build it up, the same I do sometimes with regular BB cream, to add a little more coverage. Just pop on a little concealer if you're feeling a bit extra! It smells nice, not overpowering, just a really light, subtle apricot scent and makes my skin feel really soft. So it has the bonus effect of being really good for your skin with the added benefits of vitamin c and apricot oil and the SPF as I mentioned before. When I look at my skin wearing this in the sunlight, it gives me a real glow, as if I have a great highlighter on. I also tried it underneath foundation and found it worked well to keep my skin hydrated and added extra glow to that too! Personally most days I want a bit more coverage but it did help for days when I don't want to "do makeup". It blurred freckles and sunspots and the darker patches I have around my cheeks and eyes since having children were blurred and glowing. It seems to reflect the light so as to give the appearance of smooth, even skin and that glow.

To start off, I like the simple packaging of this product. As nice as weighty frosted glass and fancy packaging can be, I think when it comes to BB cream style products, a nice squeezey tube like this one is perfect. It’s easy to dispense product and light and sturdy enough to just chuck in your bag and go. Upon opening this product and trying some on the back of my hand, the first thing I noticed (aside from being absolutely SHOOK at how it changed colour - my inner child was very excited about this..) was the smell. Boy does it have a strong scent! A very clinical skincare type of smell, not bad but definitely strong, however I did notice that once I applied it and it settled into my skin the smell wasn’t as noticeable - but the fragrance could be more of an issue for sensitive skin types.

As I said, the colour changing magic of this BB cream had me shook. I was pretty sceptical about it adjusting to my actual skin colour and not just turning into a pale pink tone but I was pleasantly surprised. I applied this BB cream with my fingers and it blended in seamlessly without catching on any dry areas, even with my skin not being prepped. It adjusted perfectly to my skin tone, had the perfect amount of coverage and just looked like my skin but better! My skin felt moisturised but not oily, and the finish was a natural semi-matte. My skin is overall on the drier side but gets oily in the T zone throughout the day and I found I didn’t need to set this foundation for my usual day to day, however if it was hotter weather it would probably be worth it. I’m seriously impressed by this product - I will 100% be finishing the bottle and will likely repurchase more, it’s just such a simple and effective product and not having to stress about matching foundation shades is a god send!

I would also be very interested to see how this product works on darker skin tones.

The idea of a 'nude' BB Cream intrigued me, after all, aren't BB creams meant to be light / invisible anyway; what more could this bring to the table?

There are no choices of shade, this is a one shade fits all product, I was surprised when it really did blend to match my skintone, as promised on the box! The whiteness of the cream and the texture of the cream makes you feel like you're applying your usual day cream but, almost instantaneously your skin begins to smooth and even out as the particles inside change colour to a tinted moisturiser.

I actually agree with the claim of it providing 24 hour hydration - my skin really does feel good and less dry using this. And it honestly is so wonderfully light, the only evidence this isn't a day cream is my cotton pad when I cleanse my face at the end of the day.

I would use it again for sure, but it wouldn't be my go-to base for an occasion or event where I would want to conceal a bit more, and neutralise my redness. Some times a girl just needs foundation - but for every other day, this BB Cream will do the trick.

So I wasn't expecting to love this, but I do! For me it was super moisturizing and muted the red tones on my face really well. The sent was also quite pleasant, kind of smelled of oranges to me lol

I was pleased to be selected for this trial as I’ve never used a BB cream before so was a great chance to try one, thanks Beauty Review!!

First up, it has a light fragrance and applies nicely. Interesting that it is a white cream in the packaging and yet when applied to the skin it does change colour to closely match your skin tone. I’m not sure if all BB creams do this, but was a bit of a surprise the first time I used it. It feels light on the skin and didn’t irritate at all. It’s definately a light coverage and therefore not really suitable for me as a makeup base due to not completely covering redness and small broken veins. The instructions do say to apply a second layer if needed but I found it started to turn my skin a more orange shade, so one layer is enough. It does provide enough coverage though for weekend wear, when you want to even things out a little but not have to go the full foundation route.

In short, it’s great for the weekend, nipping out to the shops etc and the SP15 is an added bonus. I haven't tried any other BB creams but I would purchase again to have on hand when a light coverage is needed.

I was lucky enough to be on the trial team for this product, so I used it in a number of different ways/situations several times to make sure I can give it a really thorough review. I also used it without moisturising first and with moisturising first. I preferred moisturising first, because I tend to have skin on the dry side. I found that it was good to let the moisturiser dry slightly before applying the BB cream for better coverage. When I applied without moisturiser, I was pleasantly surprised at how easily the cream went on to my skin and did not feel drying.

The cream itself is creamy and light and has a pleasant smell that is not overpowering.

Overall, I really like this BB cream. It is very moisturising and light on my skin so it didn't really feel like I was wearing make up. I often finish the day feeling like I can't wait to wash the makeup off my face, but that wasn't the case with this cream. I still felt like my skin could breathe and I wasn't in a rush to wash and moisturise. The coverage lasted well all day and didn't become splotchy or rub off.

When I first used the BB cream, I was so surprised to see that it was white. It's amazing stuff really - when you apply it to your face you can see it changing colour before your eyes! The product says that it matches your skin tone. I felt that the colour match was probably slightly too dark for my liking.

You can layer the cream to increase the coverage, although it is a BB cream, so it's never going to give you a really flawless coverage. On one of the days that I wore it at work, I had an important meeting, so I applied it twice to increase the coverage and it looked really good. Most importantly, it felt really good all day! I work in an air conditioned office so it's quite drying and I find that my skin generally feels awful by the end of the day. However, it still felt moisturised and like it could breathe with this BB cream on.

When I wore it to the gym, it lasted really well and didn't sweat off. The weekend wear was probably my favourite because one application was the perfect amount of coverage to make me feel confident, but it didn't actually look like I was wearing make up.

I also wore it out to dinner and again, applied it twice for a slightly heavier coverage. I normally wear a heavier foundation when I go out, and I would probably add some concealer or a light application of foundation to my problems areas next time, but all in all, I felt that my face looked nice and felt nice.

The downsides? I think there are three: - it's quite a small bottle, so if you are applying twice for a heavier coverage quite regularly, it won't last very long - you do need to make sure you rub it in well, as I found that it was easy to miss patches and discover them later looking splotchy - the colour was slightly darker than I would have preferred.

Overall, I would recommend this to a friend who wants light, moisturising and breathable coverage.

This BB cream had a really nice smell and lovely consistency on the skin, it didn't feel too sticky straight after applying and I liked that it was very sheer and water based for these hot summers. I think this BB cream would be great for wearing at the beach when you want something light on your skin. I loved that it was SPF as well. I also loved that you could apply this onto your face without the use of makeup brushes. However, there were some cons for me with this BB cream. I didn't like how it was white out of the tube and then changed color onto the skin because I couldn't really see where I was putting it. This BB cream also went orange on my light-medium skintone and got into my hairline and eyebrows. It also made my eyes sting like crazy, I'm not sure why as I've never had this before, perhaps a allergic reaction??? After wearing it for a full day my face did go quite oily