La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur Review, Swatches and Photos

La Roche-Posay (LRP) recently launched a new foundation to their Effaclar line which is designed for oily/combination/acne prone skin types. Effaclar BB Blur is a hybrid product that is a cross between a BB cream, foundation and a blurring/mattifying primer.

According to LRP Effaclar BB Blur contains cutting edge technology including:

1. Perlite - a natural substance primarily composed of silica has clinical absorbent powder, allowing it to "soak up" sweat and oil.

2. Airlicium - a new molecule able to absorb 100x its weight in sebum and triggers sweat evaporation.

3. Elastogels - gel polymers that form a supple and breathable film over the skin while blurring imperfections.

4. Mineral SPF of 24.

BB Blur is a moderate coverage BB/foundation which is intended to cover and conceal blemishes, marks, redness and pores while also blurring fine lines, softening/unifying skin tone and mattifying skin all day long.

BB Blur comes in two "universal" shades of Light and Medium. I found both shades to be yellow toned beiges. Photos and swatches in natural light on NC 35 skin.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur in Light (heavy/blended) and Medium (heavy/blended)

I tested the BB Blur in Medium for a week on bare skin without any setting powder to test the mattifying properties. I found this product had medium coverage which could be sheered out if needed. Since I don't typically wear foundation and do not feel comfortable with more coverage, I chose to sheer out the BB Blur with a Real Techniques buffing brush after applying with my fingers.

I found the BB Blur wore well throughout the day on my combination skin. It does have a matte finish, but not as matte as a powder finish (ie: MAC Blot Powder.) It feels fairly weightless on the skin, although as a non-regular foundation wearer, I could still detect it slightly on my skin, but it was not an unpleasant feeling. I did find that it kept my oily t-zone at bay for most of the day but I still felt the need to blot - perhaps more out of habit than necessity.

It looked natural on my skin buffed out, though I don't think the finish would be as natural if I had built up the coverage, mainly because I found the Medium shade was not an exact match for my NC 30-35/C3 skin. This product suffers from the same problem most BB creams do which is the idea of "universal" shades. I think any product offering coverage beyond the "sheer" end of the spectrum will be destined to fail on the majority skin tones. As it is the end of the winter season, my skin is as pale as it's going to get, and I found the Medium shade to be just deep enough for my medium, yellow based skin tone. When I eventually get a little sun this spring/summer I suspect I won't be able to wear BB Blur anymore due to the slight white undertone which could be caused by the high SPF factor.

On the positive side, this product does deliver on it's claims of mattifying, blurring and unifying the skin. Like other silicone based BB creams/primers, this product leaves you with a very smooth "airbrushed" type canvas. I think that this product could function both as a BB and as a primer. Another big plus is that BB Blur has a healthy SPF of 24 and a very little amount of this product goes a long way! My one suggestion to improve this product would be that LRP expands the shade range as I suspect anyone with a skin tone deeper than mine, or someone with a very cool (pink) toned skin would be unable to wear this product as a standalone BB or foundation.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur* is available at retailers such as Shoppers Drug Mart and London Drugs and retails for approximately $30.00 CA. 

Grade: B/B+

J

*This product was sent to Beauty Squared for consideration.

Benefit Cosmetics The Big Easy Swatches

Benefit Cosmetics' The Big Easy is a liquid to powder foundation that works like a BB cream. This isn't a review, as I haven't actually tried the product but I wanted to share some swatches of the shades in case you wanted to pick some up yourself. 

Info from the Benefit website. 

Bigger than BB! Why? Two reasons. First, Big Easy balances moisture and controls oil. Second, the cushiony liquid-to-powder formula melts in like a cream, yet finishes lightweight and velvety like a powder. 

This multi-balancing complexion perfector gives light-to-medium natural coverage to even out skintone and conceal imperfections. Even better, it contains ingredients known to sooth and comfort the skin and help fight free radicals. One and done...Big Easy saves the day! Non-comedogenic. Oil-free.

The Big Easy comes in a 35 mL tube and costs $38 US. There are six shades - Fair, Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Beige and Deep Beige. 

I received a sample that included a small amount of each shade which is meant more to allow you to find your shade but not quite enough of it to cover more than a small section of your face.

Because it's Benefit and they do packaging in a big way, the samples came in this sizeable brochure-type packaging.

Here are the samples, with photos of models who match each shade. It is of course, necessary to note that there aren't any shades suitable for dark skin tones. Nor very, very fair shades. 

Benefit says that The Big Easy adapts to match your skintone, so presumably it's not full coverage. I cannot vouch for this as the sample that best matches my skintone (Fair) wasn't enough to do more than swatch it on my arm. 

Here are the swatches of the shades. From left to right: Fair, Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Beige and Dark Beige. 

L-R: Fair, Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Beige and Dark Beige

You can already see the swatches starting to dry to powder form in the photo above. It happened fairly quickly, but I figure that you'd have plenty of time to blend it into your skin first. 

It looks like The Big Easy comes in a fairly good mid-range of shades, but it's disappointing that yet again, darker skintones and very, very fair skintones are ignored. 

But if you fall within this skintone spectrum and are curious about trying out The Big Easy, I hope this has been helpful!

In Canada, Benefit Cosmetics are available in select Shoppers Drug Mart, in Sephora stores and online. 

C.

Beauty Squared Round-Up - June 15, 2014

Good morning lovelies,

Here are some beauty links to get your Sunday going...

• Do you hate wearing sunscreen? Allure attempts to solve your sunscreen problems with a list of sunscreens that address breakout issues, odour, wearing makeup on top, and ashiness, among other things.
  
• Here's a makeup trick that will help get the skin on your legs, arms and decolletage (or what other body parts are exposed) camera-ready.
  
• A cult-favourite Korean BB cream - Holika Holika's Aqua Petit Jelly - is now available in Canada! Read Beauty Editor's review of it here.
  
• MUA Kandee Johnson talks eyebrows and shows us how she does her own. She talks very quickly (and has edited the video in a choppy way) but lots to learn here about defining your eyebrows!
  
• From brows to lashes: Fashion Magazine's Beauty Panel shares their tips for lashes - from falsies to just amping up your mascara game.
  
• Tracy from Beauty Reflections talks about one of her favourite blushes - Make Up For Ever's HD Second Skin Cream Blush #150 - Raspberry.
  
• This video is swoon-worthy. MUA Lisa Eldridge got fashion icon and IT girl Alexa Chung to sit down to do a video tutorial with her. Anyone who has envied Alexa's perfect and perfectly iconic eyeliner needs to watch this - she applies her own!
  
• We've all seen the photos of celebs on the red carpet sporting some embarrassing makeup mishaps (Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore) and you're maybe aware of the heavy contouring done on celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, to achieve the most perfect photos possible. The thing is, the makeup done on these celebs is done that way for a reason. It's meant to look best in specific lighting and under a camera's flash. Sometimes it goes wrong, and often, it can look overdone in person, if not in photos. MUA Nick Barose explains why these red carpet makeup looks should not be attempted in real life.

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm Review, Swatches and Photos

Sleek Makeup is a UK beauty company, available in Superdrug in the UK and online. I had been hearing a lot about their products, namely their eyeshadow palettes, blushes and their BB cream, so I decided to place an order. I'll review each of the items I ordered individually. This post is for their BB cream, which they call Be Beautiful Blemish Balm.

Product Description (from the Sleek website):

Be Beautiful Blemish Balm combines unique properties of skincare with makeup, with this multi-tasking balm that can be used as a primer, tinted moisturizer or concealer. With added benefits of SPF 15 to protect you from harmful UV rays. Be Beautiful Blemish Balm is perfect for those who what light to medium coverage.

Contains red algae extract to combat anti-ageing, protein peptides that aid in skin repair, and Vitamin C to increase brightness to your overall complexion.

50 mL/1.76 fl oz

$11.49 USD

I'll refer to this product as a BB cream, just to save me some keystrokes.  Here are some photos of the packaging.

It's tough to order skintone-matching products without testing them first. But this was so inexpensive and I was ordering other products anyway, I thought I'd take the chance and chose Fair.

Packaging Photos: 

The BB cream comes in a black box, with a good amount of information on it.

The tube of BB cream is also black, that type of packaging that most of you probably have experienced before. It gets pretty grubby pretty quickly.

What I've heard sets this inexpensive BB cream apart from the other inexpensive BB creams is that it's got a good amount of pigment. I've heard that that's more in line with Asian BB creams though I've never tested or worn a BB cream from Asia so I can't compare them with any certainty.

But I can say that the Sleek BB cream does have more pigment to it than the other BB creams I've tried. 

Here are some swatch photos.

A dab of Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm in Fair on the back of my hand.

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm spread out slightly on the back of my hand.

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm almost completely worked into the skin on the back of my hand.

You can see that that one small dab of product would cover a cheek and a little more. The pigmentation is very good - more than a tinted moisturizer and about equivalent to a light-medium coverage foundation.

The Fair has cool yellow undertones, which makes it good for counteracting redness in the skin. This detail is noted on the website and for each BB cream shade, so that's definitely helpful in selecting which one is best for you. I wish that there were photos of the BB creams on the website. Trying to determine which one works for you without trying them first is pretty difficult. What does Medium look like compared to Medium 01? And how dark is Dark? 

If you're looking to order one of these BB creams from Sleek, do some research. Check some beauty blog reviews of the ones you're looking at. It will help, trust me.

In the photo below I applied the BB cream to one half of my face (the right half below) and left the other side bare, apart from some Benefit Porefessional primer on my t-zone. You can see that the Fair is a good match for me, as well as the subtle change it has on my complexion. The right half of my face looks smoother, even-toned but natural. The BB cream has brightened my complexion, evened my skintone and reduced redness without making me look like I'm wearing a lot of product. 

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm Cream on right side only. Left side is bare.

Here's a close up of the right side of my face.

Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm Cream close-up

I like that this BB cream does not go on with a lot of dewiness as the Garnier BB Cream I've been using does. It doesn't mattify my skin either, but gives it a natural, healthy glow.
And this is what a complete make-up look with the Sleek Be Beautiful Blemish Balm Cream looks like.

I've got concealer in areas that needed it, and loose powder on top as well as on my T-zone. 

I noticed the first time I wore the BB cream, when I washed my face at night, that my skin felt noticeably smoother and firmer. This did not change with subsequent wears and washes. 

Sleek says this BB cream can be worn as a primer, concealer or tinted moisturizer. In my experience I'd say this has light primer qualities, light-medium concealer qualities and medium-high tinted moisturizer qualities. I didn't notice that it kept my blush (the only visible product I wore on top) from fading any more or less than other products. It didn't keep the oily areas of my skin from getting shiny. As a concealer, it's good for areas that require light concealing and can be layered for areas in need of more concealing. And as a tinted moisturizer, it's best for skin that's not too oily and not too dry. Tint-wise, it's very good and for moisture, it's average. It left my combination (normal-oily) skin feeling hydrated all day but not excessively so. 

In summary, it is my opinion that this is a good BB cream. It applies and wears well and it makes my skin look and feel good. Since the cost to buy this is about the same as buying the Garnier BB cream I usually wear ($20 CDN), I may be ordering this again. 

One thing to note is that the SPF of 15 in the Sleek BB cream is not great. With the inclusion of vitamin C in it, it definitely needs SPF 15 MINIMUM, since vitamin C makes the skin more vulnerable to harmful UV rays. They've take away some of the skin's ability to protect itself from the sun with the vitamin C and put it back with the SPF 15. So that means this is basically a skin product with no SPF, in my opinion. A higher SPF (say SPF 30) would make this a very, very, very good BB cream. Why won't beauty brands LISTEN TO THIS already? Our skin needs more protection from the sun. Sort it out!

Grade: B 

A few things I've discovered about ordering Sleek products online: I looked into a few different ways to get my hands on Sleek products. You can order through the Sleek website directly, or find some products through Ebay. You can also order through Superdrug if you live in the UK. US residents, note that you cannot order eyeshadow from the Sleek website due to shipping regulations, but Canadian residents have no such issues. I ended up going through Sleek directly. Prices were in US$. Shipping was very reasonable. I paid $6.49 US for an order that came to just over $50 US. There was no duty once it arrived either. I was very happy with the cost! No added charges.

Another thing you should know was that it took about a week and a half for my order to arrive. From the UK. That's fantastic! I was shocked as I expected to have to wait for a month or more as I have ordering things from the UK in the past!

Your turn! Have you used Sleek products? Have you tried their Be Beautiful Blemish Balm? Let us know in the comments below!

La Roche-Posay Hydreane BB Cream in Light Review, Swatches and Photos

La Roche-Posay recently launched their BB cream and I was sent a tube of this brand new product from LR-P to sample and review. 

Here's some background info on the La Roche-Posay Hydreane BB Cream. From the press material:

Need to camouflage redness, calm skin and restore its comfort, freshness and radiance? 

These are all priorities when skin is naturally sensitive – or sensitized by treatments at your dermatologist’s office!

They are also the vocations of Blemish Balm Creams, originally dermatological creams designed for post- laser use. Hydreane BB Cream fulfills these vocations to perfection; specially created for the most delicate and unpredictable skin thanks to its concentration of La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water...

Hydrates for 12 hours

Hydreane BB Cream embodies all the thermal hydration and comfort of the Hydreane range for all sensitive skin types. The La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water is combined with a hydration complex based on glycerine and sodium hyaluronate, vegetal oils (passion flower, apricot kernel, maize, bran, rice) and Shea butter.

Soothes

When you apply Hydreane BB Cream, skin breathes a sigh of relief, regaining its freshness and “calm” thanks to the naturally soothing effects of La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water. It is a pure, soft water thanks to its near-neutral acidity level (pH) and its ideal balance of mineral salts and trace elements which respects the physiological balance of sensitive skin.

Strengthens

Hydreane BB Cream is not just another “BB”: first and foremost, it is a dermatological skincare product. The naturally high selenium content of La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water aids skin’s defense mechanisms against the free radicals that can cause manifold skin deregulations.

Unifies and illuminates

Hydreane BB Cream contains a unique “BB” pigment dosage. The perfect combination of pigments to suit all skin tones, correct imperfections and instantly unify the complexion. Its rich, almost creamy texture melts into skin without ever caking.

LR-P's BB Creams contain their Thermal Spring Water (found in all of their skin care products) which hydrates and soothes sensitive skin. The LR-P press information wants to make it clear that their BB Cream is not makeup, it's skincare. This is in essence what the very first BB Creams intended (the article here gives one of the best historical backgrounds of the BB Cream that I've yet found) although their arrival to North American brands has touted their makeup properties more than their benefits for their skin. LR-P's BB Cream is "100% skincare and 100% makeup".

The La Roche-Posay BB Cream comes in two shades - Light and Medium - will be released in early March and will retail for approximately $29 CDN for 40 mL. 

Unfortunately, having only two shades is very limiting if you have a skintone that does not fall under the "light" and "medium" categories. Of course, as this doesn't have a lot of pigmentation, it will likely fit more skintones than a foundation or even a tinted moisturizer. It's best, if you're interested in this product, to test it before you buy it. 

The tube I was sent was surprisingly small, definitely smaller than other products (my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer, Vichy BB Cream and Garnier BB Cream) in my makeup kit. But 40 mL is the same volume as all of the others (the Garnier BB Cream has no size on the tube and there's no info on the website) so it's simply the packaging that is the visible difference. 

Here it is in my hand to show the size. With it being this small, it's easy to carry with you during the day or when you travel.

Some packaging photos:

Basic instructions on the back of the tube. The only warning is to avoid the eye area.

I received the Light BB Cream.

And here it is on the back of my hand. To my naked eye, the cream looks quite pink but it didn't come across in these photos. I was a little alarmed to see how pink it was since my skin has a lot of pink undertones and why would I want to add more? I normally wear something that has more yellow to counter the pink of my skin.

The texture is light, cool and refreshing to massage into the skin. The BB Cream is fragranced, which is too bad since it's meant for sensitive skin and fragrance can be irritating to those with allergies. It's not an overpowering fragrance, however, and if you're not bothered by it, you'll be OK.

Here it is partially worked into the skin on the back of my hand. The skin on my hand is more yellow toned and less pink than the skin on my face, so you can see that the BB Cream is slightly darker (on the right side of the photo)

Here it is almost completely worked into the back of my hand. 

And here is it completely worked into the back of my hand. 

To compare, here is the hand with the BB Cream on it and my other hand, which is bare.

Hand with BB Cream applied.

Hand without BB Cream applied.

Clearly, the BB Cream evens out my skintone, fades discolouration (the pink) and adds slight colour. It also gives a healthy, moisturized glow. Quite impressive. 

Here it is applied to my face. I'm not wearing anything else apart from a serum underneath the BB Cream. 

It provides me with some coverage and certainly brightens my skin, making it look smooth and healthy. It feels great on - slightly cool when first applied - and it applies easily. You can use a brush or your fingers to smooth it into the skin.

My skin is oily, so anything with colour that I put on my skin will get sucked up by the oil within a few hours of application. I need to wear a primer to help prevent this but found applying a primer on top of the LR-P BB Cream streaked it a bit. 

I like the way my skin feels with the BB Cream. It definitely makes it feel smooth, soft and hydrated. It keeps my skin feeling great all day and even after I wash my face at night, it feels more hydrated. As an all-day moisturizer, it's very good. I haven't worn it long enough to see a major difference in my skin but in the short time I've worn it, it's been very impressive.

Personally, I need something that has more pigmentation, as I hate layers and layers and layers of product on my face and my skin is quite pink and it's hard to make it match the skin on my neck with is quite fair and yellow-toned. 

If you're looking for a BB Cream that is gentle, soothing, healing and excellent for your skin, this would be a good one to try. If your skin is sensitive and you're OK with fragrance in your skincare, you might want to take a look at this one as well. 

It is on the lower-mid-range price of BB Creams available in Canada and in line with the other LR-P products. It does exactly what it claims to, so there's value in that.

$29 CDN, 40 mL

La Roche-Posay products are available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharma Plus, Pharma Prix and London Drug stores across Canada. You can use the search function on the La Roche-Posay website (bottom left) to find the nearest location to you. 

Grade: A

Beauty Squared Round-Up - February 3, 2013

Happy February, dear readers! Here's Beauty Squared's Round-Up for this week.
I guess we should note that this is our 600th post...wow! 
Thank you for reading.

MAC's Archie's Girls collection launched online this past week and will be in stores next week. MTV make-up artist Lucky Bromhead works her magic and creates a Betty out of MuchMusic's Liz Trinnear and a Veronica out of MTV's Aliya Jasmine using the collection - check out the photos!

Attention oily and combination skintypes! Garnier is releasing a BB cream just for you. 

Glamour lists the makeup shades (lipstick, eyeshadow, lipgloss and blush) that look good on every skin type (or so they claim). There's so real explanation about how these shades would work on someone with fair skin AND on someone with dark skin but hey, it's a good starting place if nothing else.

Men used to wear high heels and not just for fashion shoots and runway shows as they are occasionally asked to do now (above). The BBC takes a look at this once essential men's fashion accessory.

Actress Michelle Dockery plays Lady Mary on 'Downton Abbey'. The above photo is from an Interview Magazine shoot, but take a look at her style evolution courtesy of InStyle. 

Two books released by the British Library takes a look at beauty and style tips from the Victoria era. 

I hate it when that divine glittery nail polish (I'm looking at you butter London's Knackered) is so unbelievably difficult to remove. Apparently using Elmer's Glue as a base coat can make removing it a snap? Has anyone tried this? Wouldn't it mean that it'd peel off before you wanted it to?

So Jane Seymour is 61 years old. You read that correctly. And she claims to have never had plastic surgery. Thank god for aging gracefully, Jane Seymour, Helen Mirren, Judy Dench, et al!

How to create glamourous and sultry Veronica Lake retro-inspired waves. 

Go to your underwear drawer and give all of that lace, underwire and mesh a hug and thank them for all the support they've given you. The bra turned 100 this past week. 

The latest beauty product that everyone seems to be talking about are the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders. They claim to give the skin that elusive glow that certain lighting situations can give (candlelight, sunset, moonlight, etc). Check out Karen of Makeup and Beauty Blog's review of a few of them.

Beauty Squared Round-Up - November 18, 2012

Some highly clickable links for you this week. Enjoy!

Easy tricks for improving vintage clothes.

In praise of the single eyeshadow!

Two-tone lips - would you?

Makeover your Facebook profile with NARS and Andy Warhol. 

Well, this is something different. A 72-year old man has become an Internet sensation for modelling clothing for his granddaughter's online store. 

Bella Sugar offers the best skin care products for Winter 2013.

Smoky eye and a nude lip? Bold lip and soft eyes? It's always one or the other since both at the same time can look like too much but Dior MUA Ricky Wilson shows us how to wear both effectively.

These ladies look pretty average, in terms of their body types, but they're considered plus-size by the fashion industry. Huffington Post counts down their favourite plus-size models.

Amanda Palmer writes a (pretty awesome) letter to PETA regarding one of its recent ad campaigns.

Lilac wine? Is that a new name for a colour like "oxblood" is the new fashion-y name for burgundy? 

Game changer: Chanel Notorious Ombré Contraste.

A mod eye made easy. 

Makeup for eyeglass wearers.

Quick tips for applying false eyelashes.

Apparently looking at different body types make us more accepting of our own (different body types). 

All you need to know about BB creams.