Review: Simple Kind To Skin Perfecting BB Beauty Balm

I'm going to go all out here and say that BB creams are quite possibly one of the greatest beauty hypes of the last few years. I hate the weight of a heavy, full coverage foundation, but my skin isn't always that pixel perfect for me to bypass any base whatsoever. Tinted moisturisers tend to give too little coverage and are often also quite rich, but BB creams are the perfect middle ground.

It seems like everyone and their nan has brought out their version of a BB cream, which quite often doesn't have much in common with what the term was originally set out to mean (and don't even get me started on CCs and DDs and EEs and what-nots). But when Simple, which is probably my favourite affordable skincare brand, released a BB cream there was no way I wasn't going to give it a go.

There is only one shade to universally suit all skin tones and originally that had me a little worried. Then I opened the tube and thought there was absolutely no way that shade was going to suit my pale complexion - I thought the cream was a write-off before I'd even tried it. I started blending and my face went an unnatural orange colour. Then I blended some more - still orange. I blended some more and all of a sudden, like some sort of magic trick, the orange disappeared and I was left with skin that was slightly mattified but still had some of its natural luminosity peeking through. Evened out just enough to give that extra boost of confidence, but not so much that it would look unnatural.

Simple Kind To Skin Perfecting BB Beauty Balm; Left: unblended / Right: Blended in

As for the texture it's a lot less thick than all the other BBs I've tried before, which personally I think is a bonus. It might sound a bit vain, but I like to have a very light base on when I go to the gym or for a run, but it's imperative that it doesn't clog my pores when I get sweaty and this fits the bill absolutely perfectly. But also for days where I feel like my skin needs just a little pick-me-up instead of a lot of coverage, this does a great job. You can see me actually wearing this BB cream in this Face Of The Day post.

So in the end, what I thought would be a write-off turned out to be yet another great product. I still feel like adding two extra shades - one lighter and one darker - would be a good idea, just so that those of us with particularly light or very dark skin don't have to blend quite as much. But overall, this gets a big thumbs up from me!

Simple Kind To Skin Perfecting BB Beauty Balm retails at £8.99

Review: Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer

When it comes to foundation and base products I can be very picky. I don't normally own more than two foundations at the same time (an everyday one and an "off-duty" one), but the ones I do own I always use up till the last drop. I like to make sure they're amazing quality and don't mind paying a little extra for a make-up product I'll be using pretty much every day, no matter what look I'm going for.

After reading plenty of rave reviews about this one in particular, it was only a matter of time till I caved and made my way to Selfridges to get myself a tube off the Laura Mercier counter. Not only is this my first foray into Laura Mercier beauty products, it's also my first ever tinted moisturiser (BB creams don't count), so I opted for the oil free version, as that gives a little more coverage and was more akin to the light, airy foundations I normally use.

I was matched to the shade "Porcelain", unsurprisingly the lightest of all shades. I'd say it's actually a touch too pale for me, but once blended in, it matches quite well. Either way I prefer my foundation to be a bit lighter rather than too dark. It's easy to warm up your complexion with a touch of bronzer and the right blush, while a base that's too dark is hard to put right.

For those who just want to know whether or not this product is worth the hype: Well, yes, I can definitely see why everyone loves it. It actually comes out quite thick, but once it's on the skin it feels feather light. No sweaty face underneath a crusty mask of foundation.

The coverage is quite light, but don't let that put you off if you don't have perfect skin (because trust me, I don't either!). It's like it's got some sort of magic ability to detect all redness, pigmentation or imperfections in your skin and tone them down significantly, while letting your natural skin shine through where it looks good. Not entirely sure how that works... but it works!

Now, even though it says "Tinted Moisturizer", I always apply a separate moisturiser underneath and use this in place of a foundation. Even on my normal/combination skin I feel like it wouldn't quite be nourishing enough on its own. If, however, your skin is particularly oily or you're in a pinch, skipping moisturiser underneath should be just fine.

In the swatch picture above you can see it just as it comes out of the tube on the left, and then blended in on the right. You can clearly see the kind of luminous sheen it gives to the skin, though I find that the effect is a lot less prominent on the face - probably because you wouldn't use anywhere near as much product as I've done in the photo!

At £33 a tube I don't think I'll be repurchasing right away. Yes, I do love this product and it's lasted me about 4 months which isn't too bad, but I'm quite keen on trying some high street foundations and see if they can keep up with my beloved high end formulas. I'd also say that if I'm going to shell out that much money, then my all-time favourite, Chanel's Vitalumiere Aqua is still a touch better than this, as it offers smoother coverage, but I would highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a natural and "lit-from-within" finish.

Soap&Glory It's About Prime Review

I actually bought this ages ago, but only just got round to reviewing it as it hasn't been used an awful lot. You see, I purchased this primer when S&G make-up was still relatively new and I was completely sure that I'd picked up the neutral one, but at home it turned out I got the one for smokey eyes which has a silvery grey tint to it.

Eigentlich habe ich diesen Primer schon vor Ewigkeiten gekauft, doch erst jetzt schreibe ich eine Review über ihn, da er nicht sonderlich viel benutzt wurde. Es war nämlich so: Ich habe ihn gekauft, als S&G Make-up noch relativ neu war und war überzeugt, dass ich den neutralen zur Kasse genommen hatte, doch zu Hause stellte sich heraus, dass ich den für Smokey Eyes habe. Dieser ist gräulich-silber getönt.

Now, I do love my smokey eye for when I go out, but I don't entirely understand the point of this primer. Why does it have to be grey? It's primer, so it's going to be covered up with product anyway and all it does is make it impossible to use for more neutral daytime looks. I was annoyed and disappointed and this vanished into the back of my make-up case and only resurfaced fairly recently.

Ich mag meine Smokey Eyes zwar sehr gerne zum Ausgehen, aber ich verstehe nicht recht, wieso es dafür einen extra Primer gibt. Warum ist er grau? Es ist ein Primer, also wird er sowieso mit anderen Produkten zugedeckt und die Farbe macht es lediglich unmöglich, ihn auch für neutrale Tages-Make-ups zu benutzen. Ich war frustriert und enttäuscht und habe ihn in die hinterste Ecke meiner Make-up-Sammlung geschmissen, aus der er erst vor kurzem wieder erschienen ist.

The packaging is actually quite handy: a plastic tube with a sponge applicator just like lip gloss - no dipping your fingers in a pot and unlike Urban Decay's Primer Potion it's not a weird funky shape where lots of product gets lost. I used the sponge applicator to spread it over my eye lids and then patted the product in with my fingers. It's a lot wetter than any other primers I've tried, so you've got to wait a minute or so before you can apply anything over the top.

Die Verpackung finde ich sogar noch recht praktisch: eine Plastiktube mit Schwämmchenapplikator, wie bei einem Lipgloss - man muss seine Hände also nicht in einen Tiegel stecken und im Gegensatz zu Urban Decay's Primer Potion hat er keine komischen Beulen, in denen jede Menge Produkt verloren geht. Ich habe den Applikator dazu benutzt, um den Primer auf meine Lider zu streichen und habe ihn dann mit meinen Fingern eingeklopft. Er ist viel feuchter als andere Primer, die ich benutze und man muss somit eine gute Minute lang warten, bis man etwas drüber auftragen kann.

It leaves a faint shimmery grey tint to the eye lids and like I said before, I'm not really sure what purpose that tint serves. It's not pigmented enough to either serve as a highlight or to add colour intensity to your make-up, but it would make any lighter shades applied over the top look strange.

Er hinterlässt eine zarte, schimmernd graue Farbe auf den Lidern und wie oben schon gesagt, verstehe ich nicht recht, welchem Zweck jene dient. Die Pigmentierung ist nicht stark genug, um als Highlight zu dienen, oder zur Farbintensität des Make-ups beizutragen, doch alle helleren Farben würden darauf merkwürdig aussehen.

Soap&Glory It's About Prime Smokey Eyes swatch in natural light

Soap&Glory It's About Prime Smokey Eyes swatch with flash

I tried this in two different ways. First, I applied it under a khol-heavy, smudged out smokey eye. It turned out to be a complete disaster, as after an hour my make-up was a creased, gloopy mess. I certainly won't be doing that again!
Under powder eye shadow it fared a bit better. The silver tint disappeared completely and it did prolong wear time, but only by about an hour, maybe two. Both of my other primers, as in Artdeco's Eyeshadow Base and MAC Paint Pots (which technically aren't even primers) perform much, much better. And if that silvery effect is what you're after I would wholeheartedly recommend one of Illamasqua's Liquid Metals, particularly Surge.
This was just a disappointment on all levels and I really don't know what on earth I'm going to use it for.

Ich habe den Primer auf zwei verschiedene Arten getestet. Erst habe ich ihn unter einem Kajalstarkem, verschmiertem Smokey Eye benutzt. Es stellte sich als komplettes Desaster heraus, denn nach einer Stunde wurde aus meinem Make-up ein klebriges, zerlaufenes Durcheinander. Das mache ich auf jeden Fall nicht nochmal!
Unter Puderlidschatten schlug er sich schon etwas besser. Die silberne Farbe verschwand vollkommen und die Tragezeit wurde tatsächlich verlängert, wenn auch nur um eine Stunde, höchstens zwei. Beide meiner anderen Primer, also Artdecos Eyeshadow Base und MAC Paint Pots (die ja eigentlich gar kein Primer sind) funktionieren viel, viel besser. Wenn ihr diesen schimmernden silbernen Effekt sucht, dann kann ich euch von ganzem Herzen einen Liquid Metal von Illamasqua empfehlen, vor allem in Surge.
Dieses Produkt war einfach nur eine Enttäuschung auf allen Ebenen und ich habe keinen blassen Schimmer, was ich mit dem Rest machen soll.
 

This cost £8.00 in Boots. It's not available in Germany, but don't worry - you're not missing out on much.

Er hat mich £8.00 in Boots in England gekostet. In Deutschland ist er (noch?) nicht erhältlich, aber macht euch keine Gedanken - ihr verpasst nicht viel.