Rimmel BB Cream Review

I have been on the look out for a cheaper, everyday alternative to my Revlon Colourstay Foundation for quite awhile and when Rimmel released its BB Cream here in New Zealand I new I had to give it a try. I have always been impressed with all the Rimmel products I have tried and the price is great.

I bought mine from The Warehouse for around $18 in a buy one get one half price sale, I also picked up the Hide the Blemish concealer for half price.

I believe there are 2 colours, light and medim. I chose light and the colour is maybe half a shade too dark but this works well for me because my chest is darker than my face and neck, so I just make sure to blend the BB Cream down my neck. If you are any lighter than me you will probably find this too dark.
It claims to be a 9 in 1 product. Primes, moisturises, minimises pores, conceals, covers, smoothes, mattifies, brightens and helps protect. I shall address each claim.

Primes - For me there are two types of primers, those that moisturise the skin making sure your makeup does not cling to dry patches and those that mattify the skin making your make up last longer and minimising pores. The product does not cling to dry patches but I wouldn't consider this a long lasting foundation.

Moisturises - This is definitely a moisturising product. I have used it with no moisturiser underneath and my skin still felt moisturised.

Minimises Pores - I'm not sure if it minimises pores but it does not exaggerate them. My pores look smaller with this BB Cream than they do when I use my Revlon Colourstay with no primer.

Conceals - As you can see from the pictures, this BB Cream conceals my more minor blemishes wonderfully. It does struggle a bit with my gigantic blemishes which even my full coverage concealers struggle to cover up. I would definitely wear this without concealer on a daily basis.

Covers- To me, concealing and covering are the same thing.

Smoothes - This BB Cream smoothes over any dry patches without clinging to them and also helps to moisturise them.

Mattifies - I did not find the BB Cream mattified my face at all. Perhaps this is because I have oily skin or on't leave it long enough to set. But I would never wear this without setting it with a powder, although this is personal preference as I never wear any liquid with out a powder.

Brightens - I would not have described this BB Cream as brightening but I don't really have any areas that I want to brighten. It did leave a dewy glow on my skin.

Protects - The BB Cream has an SPF of 25, which I think is pretty good for daily wear.

So, although it claims to be 9 in 1 I feel it's more like 6 in 1. For me the priming it does is the same as moisturising, concealing and covering are also the same thing. I don't find it mattifies or brightens my skin.

This BB Cream doesn't have a claim on how long it lasts on the skin,but on my combination oily skin I have to blot or powder every couple of hours and this will vary depending on your skin type and shine preference.

Lets get on to the photos. I'll start off by saying front on photos do not flatter my face at all but I wanted to show the product in the nest way possible. The first photo is my naked moisturised face, you can see I have a few large red spots on my chin and quite a few smaller red spots all over my face as well as freckles.

Photo 2 is after applying only the BB Cream using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush. The BB Cream has covered my less obvious spots and has significantly reduced the redness in my giant spots. It still lets my natural skin and freckles show through which I like.

In the third photo I have filled in my eyebrows, added mascara, under eye highlighter, powdered my face, a little bit of blush and applied lip gloss to show you the finished product.

Rimmel BB Cream Before and After

The BB Creams i have tried in the past have been more like tinted moisturisers that give little to no coverage. This BB Cream is more like a foundation that has the benefits of moisturiser. This has become my daily face makeup although I do still use my Revlon Colourstay when I need my makeup to last with out touch ups. I am really pleased with this BB Cream and would definitely repurchase.