My 10 BB Cream Collection - Swatches & Comparison

My internet troubles, work schedule, and *new additions* held back this post. Glad that I've been able to sort everything during the weekend :-) Btw, off topic, it's a myth that Sundays are lazy and relaxing. Ask my Mom, she says it's a nightmare for stay-at-home mothers/wives/sisters who'd usually have to deal with 5 different meal timings and requests, more-than-usual guests/dinners, etc. etc. 

I don't know what she means by it *sitting in my blanket, sipping soup breakfast at 4:30PM*

:-D

Lol.

Coming back to the post, I have resisted the urge to REVIEW every single one of them in this. I will only be sharing comparitive swatches to show shades, coverage, and finish. Here you go:

I don't use foundation on a daily basis. However, if you're going to work, most of us need a sheer-medium coverage for the skin to look neater. These are the 10 BB creams I acquired during my beauty shopping addiction spree in due course:

1. Garnier BB Cream - Oil Free (Medium)
2. Garnier BB Cream (Light) [Made in Germany]
3. Garnier BB Cream (Light-Medium) [Made in India] - Full Size
4. Pond's BB+ Cream [Made in India]
5. Garnier BB Cream - Oil Free (Light)
6. Urban Decay Tinted Moisturizer - Bodyguard
7. Anovia BB Cream (Light/Medium)
8. Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream (Shade 23)
9. Garnier BB Cream (Light-Medium) [Made in India] - Deluxe Size
10. Oriflame Skin Dream BB Cream (Fair)

For reference, my Mom has NC15-20 skin. Her face has several moles and pigmentation areas which are hereditary. Other than that, her skin is pretty much porcelain. She has very strong yellowish undertones which became prominent with age. Picking a foundation for her is very difficult because most of the foundations cause a major white cast over freckles and moles when layered on lightly. She doesn't like that -and won't go for medium/full coverage. It's a tug of war, I tell you. Anyhow, more on that later on. Without further ado, let me present the swatches and coverage:

I tried drawing freehand lines on Mom's arm to (a) Separate the areas of all BB creams. (b) See how much does the swatch cover the middle pen-line. :-) Since this is an older picture, it does not have one of the BB swatches (Garnier Oil Free LIGHT). FYI, I didn't alter the indoor lighting at all in this picture because I wanted to show you the undertones as accurately as I could. 

FROM Left-to-Right:

1. Urban Decay Tinted Moisturizer - Bodyguard - Has very strong orange undertones. Dries & oxidizes really fast. Has minimal coverage - that ballpoint line wasn't covered, it smudged since I tried rubbing a quick-drying moisturizer. :-/ Price - PKR 1600 (from a UD Clearance Sale)
2. Garnier BB Cream - Oil Free (Medium) - Has strong orange undertones, but does not oxidize that quickly. Very watery in its consistency. Price - PKR 450
3. Garnier BB Cream (Light-Medium) [Made in India] - Full Size - The first BB cream ever purchased from Agha's. Light and natural coverage. Has slight orange undertone, but does not oxidize on me even in Summers. Price - PKR 900
4. Garnier BB Cream (Light) [Made in Germany] - The one officially launched in Pakistan. Better coverage than above, but does not feel as light on skin as Indian-make. Neutral undertone makes it better-match for a larger segment. PKR 350 (from the official launch discount. Now it is something around 400-450)
5. Pond's BB+ Cream [Made in India] - Deluxe Size - Has strong yellow undertones and provides better coverage than Garnier BB creams. Silky-matte finish. Price - PKR 189
6. Anovia BB Cream (Light/Medium) - Sheer coverage, but matches most Asian skintones for dailywear. Doesn't do much overall. Price - PKR 450
7. Oriflame Skin Dream BB Cream (Light) - Neutral undertones and medium coverage. Does not oxidize on my skin. Looks ashy for first 10-20 minutes, before settling down. Price - PKR 800 (through recent catalogue discount offer from Oriflame Pro)
8. Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream (Shade 23) - Typical Greyish tinge of Korean BB Creams. Looks ashy for first few minutes before settling down. Perfect replacement of a foundation with its coverage and shade options. - PKR 1500-2000 (I don't exactly remember. It was purchased through BeautyInBudget4U)
9. Garnier BB Cream (Light-Medium) [Made in India] - Deluxe Size - This is the deluxe size of my very first BB cream, but I got this one recently from Lahore, so wanted to check how it fared. Turns out it has better coverage and even less orangey undertones. I guess thats because this would be a "fresh"(er) piece... or just my personal opinion :-) Price - PKR 289

It is so hard keeping this precise and "objective" :-D I find it difficult to keep it a non-review-y post :-) So, let's have a peek at my Garnier collection separately because I got quite a few questions about them on my Facebook.

From L-R, the first two are exactly the same make & shade, just different sizes. The next two are Light and Medium shades of Garnier Oil-Free (ironically, the LIGHT shade has a darker tube :P One reason could be - The LIGHT shade was purchased by my friend and I from Hyperstar, Dolmen Clifton. (I tossed mine away when it didn't work for me :-/ and this was borrowed from my friend to complete the review) and the MEDIUM one was bought from Green Valley, Mall of Lahore. The last one is the German version launched officially in Pakistan. 

The officially launched version of Garnier BB cream is really good. I didn't have much chance to try that one for long because I handed it over to a cousin. In colder weather, it would match my skin better and it isn't too runny like the Oil-Free versions either. My extensive experience has been with the Indian version(s) below:

The deluxe size is PERFECT for starters who want to check which BB cream shade/brand works for them. I have combination/oily skin in Summers and I have used up the full-sized tube (on the right). It gives me sheer coverage that I can trust when I want no-fuss application. It doesn't oxidize on my skin, but it transfers ever-so-lightly if I use touchscreen phone while I am sweating (eekh). I have used this with and without primers and compact powder. Sadly, it does nothing to control my T-zone oil, but it doesn't make it worse either. I never touch up the BB/Foundation, so blotting is my friend. Can't say much about Deluxe sized, except that it performed the same - or slightly better - than the full-sized version in terms of coverage.

A closer look at the two. Even though both Oil-Free versions are Made in France, 40 ML tubes, I noticed slight packaging differences. See if you can track them in the pictures above. When the Oil-Free version was launched in 2013, it only had the LIGHT shade (right), but I recently tracked the MEDIUM shade in Metro Cash & Carry as well as Green Valley. Both of them are very fluid-y. They're too eager to come out of the tube that you don't need to press them  AT ALL. It becomes worse in Summers. Here are the comparitive swatches:

And since I couldn't include the blended arm swatch for Garnier Oil-Free LIGHT in the combined swatches picture, here you go:

In terms of coverage, I think the Oil-Free versions do have better coverage. I included this LIGHT one in my Product Disappointments of 2013, but everyone negated my choice - claiming that my "piece" would have some issue. And this worked wonderfully for them. Since Summers are coming again and my face would be an oil-slick, I'd be giving this one a second chance and see if it works for me or not.

Now have a look at the the individual swatches on all 10 BB creams when worn on (Mom's) face (under indoor lighting and flash) before I sum my thoughts up:

Here's my roundup:

Best Coverage - Missha M Perfect Cover, Oriflame Skin Dream, Pond's BB+

Most Natural-Looking - That depends on the shade matching your skin & undertone. For me, Missha M in daytime. Once it is absorbed in the skin. NEVER use it night under flash - it shows a white-cast under flashlight. For evening, I like Garnier (Made in India) - Full Size.

Best Airbrush Effect - Pond's BB+ gives an instant smoothing velvet effect. Oriflame and Missha ones also do that to an extent, but I don't feel that every time.

Best for Oily Skin - Garnier Oil-Free gives a semi-matte finish (which other people have vouched for, but I have yet to decide on that). Pond's would be my own pick due to its satin-matte finish.

Best for Dry/Normal Skin - Oriflame, Garnier (PK launch), Garnier (India) would be my top picks in order of preference, Oriflame gives your skin instant feel of moisture in Winters that I love.

Closest to Korean BB Creams - Oriflame one is the closest to Missha in terms of consistency, undertones, and coverage

Easiest Availablity - The PK-launched Garnier BB creams. Other ones are to be found in specific locations/special ordering.

Best SPF/UV Protection - Missha, with SPF 42 helps my lazy habit of putting sunscreen on :-)

Best Value-for-Money - Pond's and Garnier (PK-launched). At less than PKR 500, you get a decent coverage and benefits. I didn't include Oriflame in this because even its full-size is not bigger than my index finger (30 ML), while it costs PKR 990 (without current promotion).

I don't have much to add about Anovia and Urban Decay because I have not used them except for a swatch ;-) Will update if anything changes!

Which BB cream do is your favorite? Do share your thoughts. If you want me to do a detailed review on a specific BB Cream, let me know via Facebook or the comment below. I hope this helps you in some way.

Cheers,

Bia