Happy Monday folks! Hope you’ve had a great long weekend (we had two long weekends back-to-back in Australia. And it’s now over. Boo!). Mine was a weekend of eating-out breakfasts, off-leash park time with Janey and vegging out on the couch. Ah that’s my version of a good long weekend. 😀

Anyway, it’s onto a new week and today, I have another instalment of BB Creamology for you. Today it’s all about BB creams you can find in pharmacies and they’re from Olay, Bioderma and Rimmel. Unfortunately, one of them can only be found in French pharmacies but the other two, you’ll have absolutely no problem locating them at all.

Having said that, these are just mediocre BB creams. At least, they are to me. What am I talking about, you say?

Read on and find out!

Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream*

Shade: Light to Medium (with neutral undertones). Also comes in Fair to Light.
Texture: Light and creamy
Fragrance: Has a hint of floral yet sunscreen-y scent. Sounds strange but it’s not offensive.
Wet-To-Dry Time: Quick to dry. Leaves a satin finish on the skin.
Coverage: Light
Sun Protection Factor: SPF 15
Price: AU$16.99
Availability: Priceline, Kmart, Target, major supermarkets nationally.

Bioderma Crealine AR BB Cream

Shade: Clair (light, with strong peach undertones).
Texture: Thick and creamy
Fragrance: Subtle scent of sunscreen. Almost unnoticeable.
Wet-To-Dry Time: Quick to dry and leaves a matte finish on the skin.
Coverage: Light to medium
Sun Protection Factor: SPF 30
Price: Price ranges from AU$20.00 to AU$40.00 depending on individual online stockists. Expect it to be on the more expensive side.
Availability: Available online e.g. Amazon.

Rimmel BB Cream Matte

Shade: Medium (with strong peach undertones). Also available in Light and Medium Dark.
Texture: Light and quite runny.
Fragrance: Subtle floral scent.
Wet-To-Dry Time: Quick to dry. Leaves a matte finish on the skin.
Coverage: Medium
Sun Protection Factor: SPF 15
Price: AU$12.95
Availability: Priceline, Priceline Pharmacy, Big W, Woolworths, Coles, Chemist Warehouse, My Chemist, Target and Kmart and various independent pharmacies.

Conclusion:

When I first swatched the Olay Fresh Effects BB cream, I was quite disappointed at how sheer the coverage was. The disappointment intensified when I tried it out on my face. This isn’t a BB cream. It’s a tinted moisturiser. To be honest, I really didn’t think I’d like it. But when I started using this regularly, it grew on me. It’s one of those my-skin-but-slightly-better-can-still-see-blemishes-oh-whatever sort of makeup. It doesn’t cover my blemishes or conceal the redness much but it does provide a bit of coverage. I like using this during the weekend or mail-pickup Fridays. If I was still in school (makeup was not allowed back in my day), this is the sort of “BB cream” I’d wear to school.

Fellow reader and friend, Carole, offered to get me the Bioderma BB cream when her parents were visiting from France. I missed this when I was in Paris so I was really looking forward to finally getting this and trying it out. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment because the Clair (light) shade was too dark for me. The coverage was also only just so-so. After trying Vichy BB creams, I expected the Bioderma one to be quite strong in coverage but it turned out to be just slightly better than a tinted moisturiser. It’s not a bad BB cream (did a fairly decent job in concealing my pores, blemishes and redness around my nose), but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourites.

I picked up the Rimmel Matte BB cream during a launch promotion at Chemist Warehouse. Unfortunately, I picked up the wrong shade. The Light shade was a tad too light for me yet the Medium was too dark. Gah! Can’t catch a break in this BB Creamology episode, can I? Still, the coverage for this BB cream is good. It’s definitely the best of the three. One thing I noticed is that it’s very similar to the Bioderma BB cream, even down to the shade and strong peach undertones. What I found strange was that the regular version of the BB cream is SPF 25 whereas this Matte version is only SPF 15. Hmm I wonder why they knocked the amount of SPF down. I’d have preferred it to still be at SPF 25.

So, which one do I prefer out of these 3 BB creams? It’s a tough call given that each one has its downfall. I’d say that if the shade was right, I’d go for the Rimmel Matte BB cream. It’s good for my combination skin and even though it leaves a matte, slightly powdery finish on the skin, it’s not cakey nor does it emphasise my fine lines. The coverage is the best of the lot too.

Have you tried any of these BB creams? If you have, I’d love to hear your thoughts about any of them.

Note: Product marked with * was provided for editorial consideration.