Boots No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream Review and Swatches

Every brand is bringing out their own version of BB cream at the moment and now Boots's own brand, No 7 has one as well. I had heard about it being a good one, so I thought I'd give it a go. As I had a £5 No 7 voucher, I only has £7.95 to lose. But actually, it was money well spent.

No 7 Beautiful Skin BB cream comes in 2 different shades (fair and medium) and also there are 3 different versions according to your skin type (normal/oily skin, normal/dry skin, dry/very dry skin). So other than dark skinned ladies, everyone can find their own match (and yes, there should be a dark shade!).

I bought the shade fair and as I have a normal/combination skin, I opted for the normal/oily version. The colour is a pretty good match for me and the consistency works well with my skin type. It did need blotting/powdering halfway through the day, but that's normal for me. The coverage is medium and the cream doesn't feel at all heavy on my skin. Blends in like a dream, doesn't feel at all tacky and doesn't make my face shiny. I really like this one.

It also qualifies as an actual BB cream as it has skincare elements as well as SPF15 and 5 star UVA protection, and it's also a pretty good tinted moisturiser/foundation. I can't confirm whether it's moisturising on its own or not, because I always use my usual daycream under it, but it's certainly not drying on me.

I think this BB cream is comparable to the 17 Blemish Balm, but it's more lightweight, has a slightly less coverage, has less SPF and is more expensive. So there are pros and cons to it. This one costs £12.95, but if you manage to get hold of a £5 off No 7 voucher (Boots are handing them out right now!), it is a very good deal as you get 40 ml with this, whereas the 17 Blemish Balm is just 30 ml. 

So all in all, I think this is a very good BB cream and would happily recommend it. I really like that they cater for different skin types. On that note, has anyone tried the new Garnier BB cream for oily skin? Is it any good? I'm too scared to buy one, I hated the original one so much.

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MUA Beauty Balm BB Cream Review

It seems every brand is coming out with their own version of BB cream at the moment, and this time it's Make Up Academy's (MUA) turn. Their version is called Beauty Balm instead of Blemish Balm, but since they put a big BB on it, we'll just assume that's supposed to be the same thing.

Although technically this is not a BB cream, because it doesn't include any SPF. They claim the all in one, multi-functional formula primes, protects and conceals. I'm not sure how it's supposed to protect your skin without any SPF though. Okay, so what does it do? It's basically a medium coverage foundation as far as I can see. For the price it's not a bad one either. The formula is a little on the thick side for my liking, but it does blend out eventually, and it gives a good medium coverage, so I don't need extra concealer on my spots/scars. I chose the medium shade as the light one was too light for me (it comes in 3 shades by the way), and other than being a little pink for my colouring, it's a very good match. It has a slight scent, but it doesn't bother me and fades away quickly anyway. I always set my foundation, so didn't test it without setting powder, but with it this lasted on me for a good few hours before I had to do some blotting, which is very much the same as any other foundation I own.

I'd say for £4 (or rather £3 at the moment in Superdrug!) this is a good foundation. It's a good size at 30 ml too. I would prefer it to have some SPF, but for the price it's really hard to fault it. Out of the four BB creams I have tried so far (MUA, 17, Garnier and Ginvera) this is not my favourite, but probably comes close to the 17 one. The Ginvera BB cream is still leading, although it contains the least product and costs the most, so I'd probably go for the 17 one when it came to repurchasing. I hated the Garnier one so much, I got rid of it, but I will be keeping and using this one, however, probably won't repurchase it if I ever run out. 

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17 Blemish Balm All In One Magic Make Up Review - This One Is Good!

After the disappointment that was the Garnier B.B. cream I swore I wasn't gonna buy another one, but somehow I ended up getting the new 17 B.B. cream. I actually like this one though, so it wasn't a waste of money.

The formula is much thicker than the Garnier one and as a result provides a much better coverage. They claim it's full coverage, but I wouldn't go that far, however you certainly get a decent medium coverage. It feels more like a foundation than a tinted moisturiser to me actually. I got the light shade and it's a very good match for me, but I suspect it will be too dark for those who have a lighter skintone (I'm a Mac light medium (NC/W20-ish) in winter). I think this only comes in light and medium, so there won't be a match for everyone for sure. It lasted very well on me, and I only had to touch up my oily bits once, but that's the same with other foundations too (if I'm lucky). This certainly doesn't make my face look oily or dewey like the Garnier one did, so that's a major plus too. It also hasn't made me break out which that did, so another plus goes to 17's B.B. cream.

I still don't like the use of the word magic in the title because quite frankly it's not. It's a decent tinted moisturiser/foundation, but I see nothing magic about it. It's great that it has SPF25 as I'm lazy about my suncream in winter, so that gives enough protection for me. I can't really say if it's moisturising, but it's certainly non drying, and I would also disagree with the weightless formula because it actually feels a bit heavy on my skin, but like I said, at least this way it gives a good coverage.

You get 30 ml for £6.99 which makes it more expensive than the Garnier B.B. cream, but it's on par with 17 foundations, so it's fine (plus I'd much rather pay more for a better product anyway). So all in all I would recommend this, but I really need to add that this is in no way a miracle product, so as long as you're not expecting one, you'll be fine.

See more pictures after the jump!