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Best BB Cream Ever! Boots Botanics BB Cream Review with swatches

6 October 2013 0 comments

So I was going to save this one for a little later but guess who couldn't contain their excitement! It's weird that recently I've found both my "HG" CC and BB cream after so long?? But nevertheless here we are!

Obviously the word "best" in my post title is subjective. And for me, with regards to BB creams, I have a number of criteria they must match to reach the accolades of "best"!:

1) Texture
2) Finish
3) Colour
4) Skincare benefits (which encompasses sun protection)

After having swatched (and bought) what feels like a thousand different BB creams, all have instantly put me off for 1 reason or another; from feeling too heavy or powdery or having weird colourings, to not smelling nice! From Korean brands to Western brands, drugstore or high end, I've never found one that beats what my favourite foundations can do. Until I stumbled unknowingly across this little gem from a seemingly unassuming source:

Boots Botanics BB Cream Radiant Youth SPF 30 (in Medium)

Boots Botanics BB Cream Review Tigerlilybeautyblog


I wouldn't have thought to look for this but having swatched it in the store, it's meets every section of my "best" criteria:

1) The texture is creamy and delicious and light, especially compared to some BB creams. It's actually not dissimilar to the Olay CC cream I've been raving about here . 

Boots Botanics BB Cream swatch

Boots Botanics BB Cream review with swatches, tigerlilybeautyblog, jnnfrch, beauty, makeup


2) The finish on the skin in dewy which I'm really pleased about and feels very light and barely noticeable when you're wearing it. There isn't a whole lot of coverage, which is fair for a BB cream, but it is buildable and doesn't feel cakey if you do wear a couple of layers. Something I've noticed is that this product settles and wears so nicely throughout the day; I've found it definitely gets better with wear.

boots botanics bb cream review with swatches
Just blended out on the right half

3) I'm pretty certain this BB cream came in Light, Medium and Dark, although my local Boots had no sign of ever stocking the Dark shade. What I like is that this BB cream, unlike the many pink-toned creams I have tried, has a neutral-on-the-side-of-yellow/warm undertone which works perfectly for skins with the same undertone, blending in seamlessly.

4) The product contains Ginkgo Biloba aka an antioxidant which protects your skin against free radical damage. It also has an SPF of 30, double the Olay CC cream. There's also Glycerin (a humectant) and it's been formulated without parabens yay!

The only negative I should mention is that there is a pretty hefty white cast when subjected to flash photography. It gets better as it wears but its most definitely noticeable. For me, this isn't a problem; it looks flawless in natural or artificial lighting and I would wear a foundation without SPF for evenings/flash, but here's the damage:

flash swatch boots botanics bb cream review


It comes in at around the £7-8 mark from Boots stores so is both affordable and easily obtainable and I would personally completely recommend it.

Please do Comment, Share, Subscribe if you so desire :) Let me know your favourite BB creams!

Tigerlily 

P.S I'm on Instagram :) Follow me @jnnfrch xx