Monday, July 8, 2013

Olay: Fresh Effects BB Cream

I received Olay's Fresh Effects BB Cream complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster (post coming soon on Influenster if you don't know what I'm talking about). I was excited to receive this product because Olay is one of my favorite drugstore brands.



This BB cream retails for around $12.99 and comes in 2 shades: Fair/Light and Light/Medium. I'm about an NC35 and I can kind of get away with Light/Medium but I definitely think there should be darker shade options. This product has an SPF 15 which is nice but it's not water resistant so it's not meant to be used in place of a sunscreen for swimming or outdoor activities that may cause sweating.

*You can visit OlayFreshEffects.com or Amazon for purchase info*


It comes with 2.5 fl oz. of product which is a decent amount of product. According to the description sent to me, this product claims to provide:
"24-hr hydration and a splash of sheer color. This all-in-one skin perfecter, sunscreen, and tinted moisturizer evens skin tone and refreshes the dullness, for flawless looking skin."


In general, I'm not a big fan of BB creams because I personally need more coverage. I envy those who can get away with a little tinted moisturizer and be on their way.


So how did Olay's Fresh Effects fare for me?

Let's first start off with the Pro's:

*Smell: One of the best smelling BB creams I have ever smelled. I can only describe it as a universally good smelling shampoo like Herbal Essence or Dove Shampoo. I know it smells like something else, but I just can't put my finger on it. The other great thing is although it definitely has a scent, it's not irritating or overwhelming.

*No White Cast: Most BB creams I've encountered leave your face very white or if you are tan, a bit gray/purple. This BB cream blends into your skin without leaving that color on your face like you put too much sunscreen on.

*Finish- This BB cream leaves your skin looking and feeling like skin. It's not too dry and not too greasy. I've been able to use this without moisturizer and it doesn't emphasize dry patches nor does it leave my skin looking too dewey.

*6 Skincare benefits in one product:
• Refreshes skin 
• Brightens skin
• Evens tone with a splash of sheer color
• Hydrates
• Smoothes for softer feeling skin
• Protects against UV damage with SPF 15 

Con's:

*Coverage: As mentioned before, I need more coverage when it comes to face products. This is truly a tinted moisturizer so the color and coverage is very minimal. I think this product is great if you are someone who usually doesn't wear make up. However, for those who have spots, scars, uneven skin tone, etc. and want that no make up, make up look and are hoping to find it in this BB cream, this isn't it. I found that when you blend this into your skin, it almost disappears completely. I still saw some redness in my face and definitely still needed to use concealer. For someone like myself, I use this more as a primer before powder foundation on days where I want "lighter" coverage or just want to use less products in general (which has come in handy during these hot summer days/nights). With the 6 benefits in one product as mentioned above, it's nice to use one product to achieve a brighter, less dull complexion and still be hydrated, correct some uneven tone and have SPF.

*Here is a picture of a scar on my hand, before and after applying the BB cream*


*Shade selection: Again, there are only 2 shades to choose from which is unfortunate for those who have darker skintones.



Bottom Line:
This product is as it is marketed: a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen. As for the skin perfecting aspect, I do think it falls a bit short in that category because it doesn't provide enough coverage to get all the redness out of the face. I took a before & after photo on my Instagram where you can see that it does provide some coverage to even out the face. However in person, I find that you can still see a lot of the imperfections coming through, as the product almost disappears once blended in. For those of you lucky girls with almost perfect/perfect skin, this is a nice tinted moisturizer with spf that's worth giving a try. For the rest of us, I would say this isn't something you would want to wear alone if you have more problematic skin.

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