Was I expecting too much?
When the invite came in I leapt on it like a stampeding unicorn. I had used Olay previously but not for several years at least. The box is similar to the original total effects but they have added a glossy foil/plastic on the front to show the bottle and benefits of b3 pro-b5 and bb creme with a big 7 in one. It also says that the bb creme is all skin tones, I have a laugh at that as it is too dark for really pale skins and too light for some darker skins. For myself it was a ok match once rubbed in, not fantastic but livable.
On first use you do need to pump the dispenser for several goes till the product comes through. One pump is too much for my face so I slowly pump down till I have about the same as I normally squeeze out of a tube. I would apply this as I normally did, dotted over my face and then rubbed in. I had random chances with this as sometimes it felt like it burnt but other times nothing. I did notice that there was no redness with the burning feel. In the 2 weeks I have been using this, I haven't noticed any of the other antiaging benefits but sometimes they take a little longer to show through. There is a slight fresh scent to it, it won't appeal to everyone and seems to stick around for a while.
If you have good skin you could probably get away with this and a dusting of powder. It also went ok under liquid foundation with or without powder on top but it wasn't the same level as with a primer. To be honest I felt it was lacking as I was so used to put on the primer after my moisturizer, this might be habit on my part so I did double layer of this a few times but it didn't make up for the missing of primer. I would wear this by itself on the weekend if I wasn't going anywhere. It did come off easily at the end of the day, wipes, cream and foaming washes and makeup remover.
There are some downsides with this product that I noticed, one colour fits all as I mentioned earlier. If you wanted to use this as a night cream you would need to get the normal version of this too but at the price you would skip buying this one. Even when wearing by itself at home you still have to take it off at the end of the day. I don't plan of repurchasing this one but I would relook at the normal non tinted version that I used to buy and could use day and night if I wanted to.
Ive tried Olay before and it seems to be making a comeback. This BB cream is a great idea combining anti ageing benefits with a touch a colour. The container says it suits all skin tones. Im light/fair about a NC 15-20 Mac, not as light as some skin tones but pretty fair. This is way to dark for me! It also oxidized really badly and I ended up looking like an oompa loompa! I think that instead of being a quick easy moisturise and slightly colour with me it would have a be a full considered application with a sponge to make sure it was all even. With this in mind Im more likely to just use foundation that I know is my colour. Im interested to hear how it went on darker skin tones but it a no for light skin tones for me.
Tips: On me it went really patchy, you have to make sure its all blended or will look very obvious!