Me and my BBs (pic heavy!)

I thought I would pause to do my first BB Cream comparison, though my collection is by no means extensive...

My tools ;)

For a reference point, my skin tone is generally a medium golden-beige but tends to darken in the summer--Meow’s foundations in Korat seem to be a perfect match for me, ranging from Frisky to Fierce depending on season and sun exposure:

Me after about 5 days on Maui last fall

Reference pic of me with bare face I sent to the folks at Meow in April this year so they could help me find a match in their foundations; I'm probably a good 2-3 shades lighter than when I returned from Maui!

After about a month or so of using the foundation alone, I thought I would try using some sort of skin primer/perfector under my foundation both for better coverage of flaws and to help the powder last longer.  I was not yet aware of BB Creams, so I thought a tinted moisturizer might be the way to go.  My first experience was with Aveda's Inner Light Mineral Tinted Moisture SPF 15; the sales associate I originally consulted recommended the shade Sheer, explaining it was meant for all skin tones and would be a good choice for wearing under a powder foundation.

I think you can see from this pic that there is a significant paling effect of this product, which here was worn under a mix of Meow foundations in Fierce Manx and Naughty Siamese--I was still looking for a match and had yet to try Naughty Korat.  In RL, this looked absolutely horrid--the "tinted" moisturizer had a chalky look to it on my face and I appeared to have caked baby powder on as foundation.  Ick.  Unable to return the product, I gave it to my niece, whose skin is paler and has more of a porcelain tone to it.  I returned to Aveda and, after consulting with an esthetician who tested a few shades to find a more proper match, purchased the tinted moisturizer in Sweet Tea.

Aveda tinted moisturizer in Sweet Tea topped with Meow's Equilibrium Balancing Powder + Pampered Puss foundation in Naughty Korat--MUCH better!

Sweet Tea is a better match to my skin but has to be blended in very well or it will cause foundation to collect in the fine lines/pores on my face--and my pores are pretty freakin’ big >_<.  Additionally, I was having issues with shininess after about 1/2 day of wear and wished I could do something to hide my XL pores.  After reading posts by Manda about the wonders of BB Creams, I decided to look for a few to try.  I picked up BB Creams by Skin 79 and Skinfood (through ebay) to see if the coverage/priming functions would be better than Aveda.

I have:

Skin 79 Diamond Collection Absolute Total BB Cream SPF 37 (only one shade available)

Skin 79 Diamond Collection Crystal Pearl BB Cream (only one shade; noticeable sparkles, no SPF listed)

Skin 79 Diamond Collection UV Perfect BB Pact SPF 30 (only one shade; pressed powder compact, gift with Absolute Total BB Cream)

Skinfood Gingko Green BB Cream #2 (medium beige; no SPF listed)

Skinfood Peach Sake Pore BB Cream SPF 20 #2 (medium beige)

First Impressions:
Skin 79 Diamond Collection Crystal Pearl BB Cream--pales me out but not as badly as the Aveda tinted moisturizer in Sheer did; this effect is still noticeable after blending and with what is now my regular foundation over the BB Cream--even the Flawless Feline formula which is heavier coverage and tends to be ever so slightly darker than the Pampered Puss-- because of the sparkliness of this product.  Blending with the Aveda tinted moisturizer in Sweet Tea helps; blending Meow's Flawless Feline foundation in Fierce Korat (a darker shade) corrects the paling.

Skin 79 Diamond Collection Absolute Total BB Cream topped with Benefit's The POREfessional and Meow Flawless Feline foundation in Naughty Korat

Skin 79 Diamond Collection Absolute Total BB Cream--pales me out some but not as much as the Crystal Pearl BB Cream; this one seems to adjust better over time than Crystal Pearl BB Cream but still looks better with Flawless Feline foundation in Fierce Korat over it to correct paling and match the rest of my skin.  However, this + the BB Pact might be a good choice for winter wear for me.

Skin 79 Diamond Collection UV Perfect BB Pact (only one shade)--too pale for me at the moment but about 1.5 months ago it wasn’t far off even when applied over Absolute Total BB Cream

Skinfood Gingko Green BB Cream #2--only slightly paler than my skin when first applied/blended out but adjusts fairly well even with no foundation applied over it.  For me, this would probably go best with Meow Flawless Feline (higher coverage) in Naughty Korat

Skinfood Peach Sake Pore BB Cream #2--best match of the BB creams I currently own, blends in and adjusts to my tone fairly quickly even without foundation over, looks great with either Meow's Flawless Feline or Pampered Puss foundation formulas in Naughty Korat and would likely kick ass over Benefit POREfessional, though I have not tried this yet.

Today's look: Skinfood Peach Sake Pore BB Cream under Meow's Flawless Feline foundation in Naughty Korat

My opinion is that so far, this is the best match for my skin and provides good coverage of flaws--even toning down my freckles a bit without looking like they've been whitewashed.  If you compare the pic above to the reference pic I sent Meow for color matching help, they're nearly identical (down to the slight flush in the cheeks, courtesy of sunshine in the first pic and Fyrinnae's Glow Blush in Seduce in this one).


What do you think, my wonderfully patient readers?  Have any experiences with BB Creams out there?  What about those of you with deeper skin tones?


MKA,


Lizzy

Disclaimer:  All content is my own opinion only and should in no way be construed as a paid endorsement or representation of any companies/blogs named.  I receive no compensation whatsoever from any makeup or other companies or blogs named/linked to in my posts for my looks or reviews.  All of the products used in this look I paid for with my own money (my hubby wouldn't have it any other way, lol!).  I just like to have fun with all the pretty pretty colors...