Tuesday 17 January 2012

No7 BB Cream Review


After so much hype over BB creams, first in Asia and now with several beauty brands jumping on the bandwagon over here as well, I knew I'd had to try one eventually. When Boots reintroduced their £5 No7 vouchers shortly before this came out I knew this was the one to try.


The No7 BB cream is unique in that it comes in three different formulations catering for various skin types. They are normal/oily, normal/dry and dry/very dry. I went for the normal/oily variety, hoping that it would be lighter in texture, as I really can't bear anything sticky and heavy on my skin at the moment.


Apart from the different skin formulations this product also comes in two different shades, namely fair and medium. I find that the shade descriptions are a bit misleading - the fair shade is way too dark for my skin when it comes out of the tube. Now I know that I have a ghostly pale complexion, but I still think that medium and dark would have been better descriptions.


The product comes in a 40ml tube which makes application very hygienic and minimises wastage. It's the perfect size to get a decent amount of cream, but it's still easy to transport and can just be popped into a handbag.

Despite the fact that this is a few shades too dark for me, I still bought it as it blended extremely well on my hand. At home it was no different: the cream glides onto my face like silk and blends like a dream. Coverage is quite light; stronger than a tinted moisturiser, but lighter than foundation, which sounds about right from what I've read about BB creams so far. Surprisingly, it feels quite heavy on the skin for the amount of coverage it gives, but I did get used to the feeling after a few applications.

No7 BB cream straight out of the tube

No7 BB cream lightly blended
No7 BB cream fully blended

Due to the level of coverage I do need to use concealer with this to cover up dark circles and blemishes. Depending on how my skin is doing I may or may not use powder - on very oily days I definitely need to dust some powder over the top, as my skin is still shiny after application, but when my skin has a good day I can skip this step. It may sound odd, but I found that this cream actually looks better once it's had a bit of time (about 30 minutes) to work on my skin than straight after application.

I bought this to wear on my "off days" when I'm just running errands or doing nothing at all, but still want to look decent. However, it works well enough to be worn to work or out shopping, though I'd still need something with more coverage for a night out. It lasts really well for most of the day and only needs some topping up with powder after about 8 hours of wear. 

It has an added SPF of 15, which is a nice bonus, though I wouldn't rely on it in the warmer seasons. As for any long lasting skin benefits this may bring I cannot really comment, as I've only been using this for about a week and I've been changing up my skincare regime so much my skin is getting a bit confused. All in all, I'm quite happy with my purchase. It's the perfect product to smack on when I want to look like I'm not wearing foundation, but just have naturally radiant skin.

No7 BB cream is available for 12.95 here or in-store.


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