Imagine, if you will, that you have 15 minutes to kill one night and you are directly outside a supermarket.  If you’re me, this is an invitation to go and cruise the beauty aisle for new products.  Which is how I found myself throwing down $18 on Garnier’s Miracle Skin Perfector.

Garnier calls this a “B.B. Cream Innovation” to which I say: whatever, Garnier, the Japanese invented BB creams ages ago. You are just jumping on their bandwagon – which is totally fine because BB cream is hard to find in NZ – but make it clear it wasn’t your idea please.  If you’ve improved BB cream then perhaps say something like “A New Generation of BB Cream Skincare” (yup, copywriting is not my day job).

For $18 I was willing to give it a go and review it here.  BB creams were designed for people with scarring.  They basically act as a foundation which also heals your skin, i.e. all my dreams coming true in one product.  It is a mystery to me why they didn’t catch on years ago.  However, the Internet has been lighting up with BB cream love in the last year or two, so the big brands seem to be developing their own hybrid products.

About my face: I have some light acne scarring, mainly near my hairline, which is hidden by light foundation.  I suffered with eczema for several years so I am very cautious about products irritating my skin.  In recent years I have been more prone to breakouts.  My skin gets very dry at the start of winter and I am obsessed with dewy, glowing skin.  I can’t really complain but I do anyway.

Pros:

• it’s a moisturiser and a foundation so you cut out a step in your routine.  This is a winner and buys me about 5 minutes of additional snooze time per day.
• you can slap it on with your fingers so I don’t have to constantly wash foundation brushes.
• it is buildable. This was important because I often find tinted moisturisers are too thin and are a pointless waste of my time.
• it gives you a bit of a glow.  I would say this evens out my skin but it is not high coverage.  It is just enough to look polished at work (two layers) or slightly less pale and uninteresting on weekends (one layer).
• it’s SPF 15.
• I honestly think it is improving my skin slightly.  This may be placebo effect but I feel like my skin is loving this.  At the very least I haven’t had any break-outs and the hormonal spots on my chin healed super quickly once I began using this product.

Cons:

• It only comes in two colours: light and medium. What the hell, Garnier?  I bought light which works well.  It’s number 2 so I do wonder if there is a wider range but we just aren’t seeing it here.
• It stinks. Not gross-stink but “let’s tip all the perfumes ever into the mix” stink.  I can’t smell it once it’s on, but it is choking in the tube.
• It slips. If I double-layer it is better but it doesn’t wear as well as foundation.  You cannot touch your face if you want this to last. It took me two days to get on board with this realisation and in those two days I hated this product.

My recommendation?  If you want a quick and easy foundation-esque product then I would give this a try.  It is much cheaper than foundation and is relatively foolproof, so it would be great if you aren’t that into makeup but sometimes need something to give you a boost.  But if you can dedicate yourself to using it everyday, I think you will see results in your underlying skin quality too.  In summary: worth a try.