Beauty Balm Is The Bomb

I was recently invited by bzzagent.com* to try Garnier’s new BB Cream. I was really excited, because you know how much I love my BB Cream!

But the main reason I was so excited is because I knew a lot more of my readers would be able to try BB Cream now. It’s obviously not in everyone’s budget to spend $32 on the Dr. Jart stuff I’m wild about, but Garnier’s is about $12, which is totally reasonable.

Though many of the luxury brands in the U.S. started selling BB Creams last year, Garnier is the first to introduce BB cream in the mass market, “making revolutionary skincare affordable for everyone.” With liberty and justice for all!

Just like the fancy ones, Garnier’s BB Cream promises to brighten your complexion, even out skin tone, hydrate, and provide sun protection. It has SPF 15, which is a little less that Dr.J’s 20, but that’s not a deal breaker. It also has vitamin C, to help “renew your skin’s natural radiance.”

It’s available in light/medium and medium/deep. The Dr. Jart cream I use is only available in one color, which self adjusts, though you have to wonder how far in either direction it can really adjust. (And how?!?!) Also! If you’re not sure which color to get, I’ve noticed Garnier inserts in a lot of magazines that have two tiny samples stuck to them, and the card itself is a dollar off coupon. Keep your eyes peeled!

But I guess the big question is: Is it Good?
It IS good. It’s definitely GOOD STUFF.

To start out, the Garnier cream is already pretty close to the color of my skin. Dr. J goes on a little grayish, then adjusts to my skin color. (I still don’t understand the exact science/magic, but it does.) I will say, once it has a chance to adjust, Dr. J looks more natural on me. Garnier has a yellow-ish tint to it, which may or may not work for you. I think it will work for me in the summer, but maybe not in the winter, when I am a whiter shade of pale.

Garnier’s texture is thinner, and a little slipperier. When I applied it over my regular moisturizer, it was way too much moisture! I would recommend going right on bare skin with this. (With Dr. Jart you can go either way, depending on your skin that day.)

The Garnier cream is definitely a little shiny. There are no discernible sparkles in there, but I’m guessing this is the “radiance” they are talking about. A tiny bit of translucent powder helps when it feels too shiny though, and it’s honestly not that crazy, especially if you didn’t put moisturizer on underneath.

Not only is the texture of the Garnier cream thinner, but the coverage is too. I ended up applying two coats each time I used it. The staying power, however, is just as good. I had the same (very light) coverage after wearing the cream all day, and with the lightest dusting of powder on the T-zone, even the pores on my nose were kept in check. Another option would be to use this (or any BB cream) as a moisturizing primer and apply a little foundation on top, just where you need it.

I can’t speak to the long-term benefits of using the Garnier cream, because I’ve only had it for a few weeks. Remember: BB creams are not just makeup, but skin treatments! They are actually supposed to improve your skin over time. I don’t know if there is a category for this yet, but I’m going to call it Makeup+. You heard it here first, folks.

Overall, I’d say Garnier BB Cream is a really great product and an excellent value. It might not work for everyone, but I think a lot of people will be really happy with it, and that’s what they were going for. While it’s not exactly the same as my pricier cream, I can honestly say the biggest difference between the Dr. Jart cream and the Garnier cream is the price.

It’s not very often you find a drugstore product that can compete so well with a luxury brand, though I’m always hoping to find one. I’ve certainly wasted my share of dollars on things I had hoped would be both awesome and economical, but turned out to be neither.

Well done, Garnier. This very well may be the drugstore find of the year!

*bzzagent.com is a social marketing agency I’ve been sampling for since 2006. You don’t have to have a blog to be a bzzagent, anyone can sign up. You don’t get paid, you just get free stuff to try. In return, your share your honest opinion. As you can imagine, I’m pretty good at that! Most importantly, I always disclose when I’m bzzzing or when I got something for free.