Battle of the Budget BB Creams

Claims: 
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - one for all! this lightly tinted cream ensures a smooth, radiant and flawless complexion. it makes small skin imperfections disappear without blocking your pores. Oil and perfume-free beauty balm.

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - covers outside and helps to even skin tone inside! It gives you natural coverage that is specially designed to match your skin tone instantly. While its even tone actives are known to penetrate deep to continuously even your skin tone and reduce dark spots from within the epidermal layer.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - immediately perfected skin with even tone and boosted glow. Blurs imperfections and smooths fine lines. SPF15 protection and 24hr hydration.

Shade Options:
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - Available in 3 shades - Universal, Natural & Medium. I'm using 02 Natural on my pale skin and that's the lightest shade they have. Medium is the darkest and universal is a bit of a mix, but too orange for my skin.

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - Available in Beige & Chocolate.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - Available in Light, Medium & Dark.

Consistency/texture:
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - This blends very well into your skin and leaves you with a healthy looking complexion that's quite natural. It has a slightly more 'watery' consistency and feels very lightweight and smooth on your skin. It also feels very hydrating.

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - It's creamy and hydrating and easy to blend. The bit of silicone in the formula makes it easy to apply. It leaves your skin with a more matte look. It's hydrating and actually improves your skin quality after repeated use. 

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - This can leave you with a slightly oily feel on your skin if your skin is more on the oily side already. I have combination skin and this isn't oily or greasy on my face, but rather healthy and dewy. It's super easy to blend and build and just melts into your skin. It has a lightweight consistency that glides on smoothly.

Coverage:
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - The coverage is sheer but build-able. It covers most imperfections, but you do need a bit of concealer for darker spots or blemishes.  It also 'adapts' quite nicely to your skin-tone and gives color to a dull complexion.

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - This has sheer, natural coverage but definitely covers what it needs to cover, even without concealer. I feel comfortable wearing this knowing that my blemishes are sufficiently disguised. It feels lightweight on your skin and it reflects light in such a way that gives your skin a more flawless appearance.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - This offers quite a bit of coverage in  my opinion. It's sheer to medium, depending on how you build it. It covers redness and minor skin imperfections. It gives your skin a more 'airbrushed' appearance

Price:
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - R54.95 for a 30ml tube. You can buy this BB cream at Dis-Chem & Clicks. 

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - R89.99 for a 25ml tube. It's available at Clicks, Dischem, Foschini and Edgars stores.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - R79 for a 50ml tube. It's available at
Clicks, Dischem and Foschini

Wear-ability:
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - This one doesn't last very long on my skin. It seems to bring out all the oils in my face and after a few hours I have a greasy, oily face that needs powder/a touch-up. This applies beautifully but only lasts for about two hours before shifting on my combination skin.

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - This BB cream is moisturising. It stays on my skin for most of the day and coverage is good as I don't need to apply concealer to any blemishes or dark areas. I like the matte, natural finish it gives my skin and even after a few hours it still wears well and feels the same.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - This stays put on my skin for most of the day, but does start 'slipping' closer to the end of the afternoon. It feels very lightweight and hydrating on your skin and I don't feel like I need to apply moisturizer before using it. It leaves my skin looking fresh and dewy and even though I don't feel like I'm wearing foundation I do feel as 'covered' as if I were.

SPF & Ingredients:
Essence All-in-One BB Cream - SPF 30. Fragrance-free, oil-free and dermatologist tested.

Pond's Flawless Radiance BB Cream - SPF 30.  Vitamin B3 and contains soothing allantoin and antioxidant vitamin E.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfecter BB Cream - SPF 15. Using a derivative of Vitamin C the cream has both antioxidant and illuminating properties

Lip Balms/Butters I'm Loving ♥

Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch & Cherry Me (from eBay) ♥ Vaseline Rosy Lips Tint (from Overseas) ♥ Zam-Buk Cherry Lip Balm (About R5) ♥ Turkish Delight Lip Gloss Tin from Woolworths ♥ Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sugar Plum (About R100) ♥ L’Occitane Limited Edition Hibiscus Flower Shea Lip Balm ♥ Kiehl's #1 Lip Balm in mango (R70)

Think About it Thursday

Image source - pinterest.com

Be Right Back...

I'm sorry for the lack of new posts. I haven't disappeared, just a bit busy with everyday work. I will have new reviews and posts up very soon. So please do come back soon...

Image source - fab.com

5 Favourites Friday ♥

1. LUSH Butterball ♥ About R35 - This plain white bath bomb from LUSH doesn't come with the extra bells and whistles like most of their bombs do. But this has a lovely scent and leaves your skin amazingly soft and super moisturized. It's kind of like taking a milk bath.
2. Cocolife Coconut Water ♥ R14.99 - This coconut water is my new favourite thing. I can't get enough of this healthy drink. It's 100% natural coconut water with no added water, it's high in potassium and made from young succulent green coconuts. This has a creamy coconut taste - so delish. You can get them at Spar, Wellness Warehouse & Dis-Chem
   
3. Wasabi Dough Coated Peanuts from Woolworths ♥ R14.95 - I love wasabi peanuts and these are extra yummy as they have a dough-like coating. I also like that these aren't blow your hair back hot.
   
4. Revlon Lip Butter ♥ About R100 - I've had one of these for a while and they are by no means new, but I love how smooth these are. I have the sugar plum shade and it's a gorgeous rich plum colour. These glide on your lips, feel hydrating and have decent pigment.
5. Lucky Rodrigo Hamburgers  - I recently tried the burgers at Lucky Rodrigo in Pretoria. I love the vibe of this place. It has a Cape Town vibe and the burgers are yummy. I also wanna try their Steri Stumpie milkshakes and their footlongs.

Think About it Thursday

Image found on pinterest.com

{I've Tried That} ♥ Stila Smudge Crayon

This Stila crayon is a 3-in-1 and works as a gel-based waterproof eye primer, shadow & liner.  The colour I chose is called "umber" and it's a beautiful, wintery maroonish-brown colour that Stila describes as Chocolate brown with a hint of purple.  It's a rich, warm shade that that has a deep color payoff with a creamy texture. It glides on effortlessly and smoothly and delivers pigment in just one swipe. These crayons are Vitamin-E enriched, feel soft on your lids and appear to be crease-resistant.

I've been using this as a liner and due to the thicker tipped pencil it creates a bolder, bigger line. But with a bit of sharpening (and wastage) with the built-in twist off sharpener (how cool is that?) you can create a sharper point and therefore a neater, thinner liner look. I've also been using it in my waterline and it works beautifully there and cause it's so soft and creamy it's very gentle on the eyes, but still stays put for a good few hours. These adhere to your lids quite quickly and don't really 'smudge', so in my opinion don't really work as a shadow/primer. Is this crayon waterproof? Hmm, not sure. I never wear waterproof products, but had no problem with this running or shifting.

Gorgeous colour payoff, gentle on the eyes, no tugging and a creamy, smooth texture. They are available in various shades for R210 at selected Woolworths & Truworths stores.