Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream Review (Shade 03)

So, I popped into Body Shop with my £10 off voucher which you get if you buy something worth £15 the previous month or so; I am not sure how it works again. We all know Body Shop always has these offers and I am pretty sure I have never bought anything full price from Body Shop..nah, that ain't happening and it's not because they are not worth it; they absolutely are. It's just because they always offer these discount codes and other offers so why pay full price? Anyway, I popped down there and picked up the Body Shop Instablur Primer and Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream and both of them cost £16 altogether which is not too shabby at all (this was after all my discounts). Today's review will focus on the Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream....





Packaging
Unless a product is amazingly fantastic, I see no reason why I should forgive a tube packaging; I just loathe it :-(. Plastic tubes are a little bit more acceptable but I generally don't like tubes for Foundation/BB creams packaging but I guess the default packaging for BB creams are tubes. Apart from that, it actually looks cute and it was lovely to photograph. Although it looks like a metal tube, it is plastic/elastic (I think) so it springs back into shape once you give it a squeeze and that is commendable.

Shade/Match
I and BB creams have never gotten along because I have just never found any that suits me and  I have tried two BB creams: Drug store (Sleek BB Cream) and High end (Bobbi Brown BB Cream) and none of them were inspiring enough for me to make another purchase. My conclusion is there are very few BB creams that work well for women with darker skin. Somehow,  the lovely sales lady convinced me to try the Body Shop BB cream and I found myself just sitting down for a mini makeover. I was matched to the shade 03 which is more suited for olive/warmer/dark skin tones. At first, I had a poker face during application because I was so sure I was going to say"I told you no BB cream could suit me" but I was surprised; it actually looked nice. You see, its white texture is speckled with tiny pigments and particles that mimic the skin tone to create a blurring effect to the skin which is why it looked good on my skin and matched well.

Texture/Fragrance
This is when things go downhill; the texture is a little different to what I am used to. It feels liquid-ey which I don't mind but when it's time to blend it in, it becomes problematic. On my face, it just feels a little pasty and I feel I have to work really fast to ensure it blends really well. The best tool for using this BB cream is a Beauty Blender or any other sponge you may have but the Beauty Blender, for me, gives the best results. It also has a weird fragrance/scent which reminds me of something unappealing but I can't seem to place my fingers on it. It's not a bad smell per say but I am just not a fan although it's not unbearable and it does not get in the way of application.





Coverage/Application
I won't say it gives the best coverage, for Pete's sake it's a damn BB cream, but it gives that needed better-than-skin coverage. Paired with the Body Shop Instablur Primer, it gives a really good finish to the skin. If you have some dark blemishes like me, you may want to use a concealer to hide those blemishes if you want more coverage. To set this BB cream, I follow up with the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural (MSF) and it just looks like my skin but much more better. I doubt if I can just use this BB cream on its own without a primer or a powder as I don't think it will deliver the same results. However, for summer, I think this is really promising.

Cost
Without any discounts, this retails for £12 which is not too bad for a BB cream seeing that high end brands are much more expensive. As mentioned earlier, Body Shop constantly has offers so you don't have to pay full price for this. I got BB Cream and the Instablur for £16 altogether when it should have been £26 so it's worth checking for discount codes before you make any purchases and their discounts run almost all year long.

Cons
1. I know I have mentioned this before but I am not a fan of the packaging although it looks beautiful.
2. The fragrance is not one of my favourites; I just don't find it appealing in any way.
3. The texture is a bit funny and not the easiest to blend.



Personal Thoughts
I know I may have sounded negative in this review (which was not my intention) but the Body Shop All-in-One BB Cream cream is actually one of the best I have tried despite all its cons/flaws listed above. The finished result is well worth the whole stress of applying it. As mentioned earlier, the primer (Instablur) and MAC Mineralize Skin Finish make it amazingly fantastic and it's perfect for summer. I use this during weekends when I have time to blend it in properly because blending this effectively can cause you go to late to work (speaking from experience, don't tell my boss..sshhh) . However, it gives a really natural and skin-like (but better) finish and I just really like it which is why I decided to post a review on it. Have you tried the Body Shop BB cream? See you in my next post...xx

P.S. Totally unrelated but Debenhams is having £5 off all Lipsticks today to mark National Lipstick Day (It's online and only today!!)..... and Yes!! It includes MAC Lipsticks (at £10.50 amazing!!).. (Link)