Avon Ideal Flawless BB Cream review

Occasionally I like to pick up the odd gaming or fashion magazine when I am back and to on trains from work to university to meeting friends. So when I picked up Marie Claire June 2013 and it came with two samples I was happy I picked it up! One of the two products I received was the Avon ideal flawless BB cream in a sample sachet. I was kind of disappointed with the sample size as my Seventeen on the spot foundation sample that I placed in an old case is still going for me! I have at least two weeks worth of product in there! But this I made stretch to two applications worth. According to those reviews I have seen on the full size product this is representative of the size of the actual product which does not come with much.  If you check out this review here you will see that for a full 30ml container the price is £12. So I decided to base my review on how I would feel if I had invested that money in to this product.

Now for those of you that are new to BB creams or have yet to try them, I myself was breaking my BB cream virginity with this one, a BB cream is essentially supposed to be a concealer  a foundation, a moisturiser and a SPF all in one. They are slowly gaining popularity among make-up brands lately, I myself had yet to try one up until now so I was eager to see what they were like.

Above: The sample package from Marie Claire

Above you can see the sample sachet I received that came in the colour natural beige which turned out to be a good colour match for myself. When I first opened it I noticed that the product itself looked thinner than a foundation which worried me since it was supposed to be working instead of the foundation and concealer that I already applied however when I swatched it on the back of my hand I realised the consistency was actually pretty thick.

Above: Swatch of the product

The swatch shows that once its been blended a bit it actually turns into a thick consistency. I immediately thought uh-oh I hope it isn't as full coverage as the Seventeen On The Spot foundation, as I have mentioned in previous reviews I always feel overly done up with full coverage foundations for every day wear! However one I blended this into my skin it actually worked pretty well and felt like my everyday face make-up.

Now as for application, as I swatched this product on my hand and blended I could tell due to the consistency that my hands were probably going to work best at blending the product and warming it up to my skin so I ended up using my hands. I did try to use a brush initially on my forehead but I felt like it wan't giving a smooth finish so I resumed using my hands. I applied primer beforehand as I usually would do with any make-up. I used the Smashbox primer beforehand (of which I have reviewed here) and to set the BB cream after application along with the rest of my make-up I used my MUA Fixing Mist (of which I have also reviewed here) after applying my Maybelline Stay Matte powder to set it and then I set about my day!

Above: Make-up on the left at the beginning of the day and right 3 hours of wear

The picture on the left above shows the product straight after application, it had a nice matte finish and was comparable to my usual make-up so I was happy enough to go to university for the day with it on to test is. This was at 7am. The second photo was taken at 10 after I had been working for two hours and done an hours worth of walking. I was happy that the product was still a good tone for my skin and did not oxidise with the surrounding environment. However I did notice my face going a little shiny so I did after this photo need to blot my face with powder to regain the matte finish.

Above: Picture on the left is after 5 hours of wear and the right is 8 hours after wear

On the above photo on the right I had been wearing the BB cream for five hours, I had also done another hour of walking and work on top of this, nothing my normal make-up doesn't usually stand up to. As you can see the shinyness again came back however what confused me was it became shiny on my cheeks where I never usually do go shiny. It was almost as if the product was coming off gradually throughout the day. This made me sad as from its initial application I really liked how the product was easy to put on and required little application. However as you can tell from the 8 hour make-up photo all of the product had come off by then. I was kind of expecting the product to fade a little like normal face make-up but the product had literally come off by 3pm after wearing it since 7. Usually my normal Rimmel foundation can last me from 7am to 10pm and of course I wasn't expecting the same results from a BB cream. I was more expecting a product that would stick for around 6/7 hours that would need minimal touch ups and then FADE not DISAPPIER! 

Now on to the products claims; the product claims to make your skin feel good after application and I must admit after I removed the product I did feel my skin was smooth however I felt that this also achieved with the moisturiser I use with my foundation so I was at a loss as to if this was really a wow factor of the product. The product also claims to help cover up skin blemishes, which it pretty much does until the product fades, it also does contain SPF which as I have said in the past is always a plus so the product does have its benefits.

Overall I loved the initial product and thought it would be my first and only BB cream from its initial application, I really did but as soon as I realised It was going to completely come off my face and not simply fade I realised that this product would be good for those of us that don't want to re-apply make-up throughout the day or do an awful lot of blotting. I think if this product was around £4-6 pound I would be pretty okay with it but for £12 and for only 30ml I wasn't too thrilled. I think if it was around the £4-6 mark it would be a fantastic product for young girls starting to use make-up to begin with but again the price does come into this review! I wouldn't recommend this product for those with oily skin either as I would assume that the lasting power may be even less. 

On saying all of this, I have a feeling if I had of used this on a lazy day, where I stayed in and didn't really do a lot of things it would have stuck for a few more hours but honestly I don't wear make-up on those types of days and I wanted to see how this would perform on an actual day I would wear BB cream!

Now on to my usual positives and negatives of the product!

Positives:

• Contains a moisturiser, spf, foundation and concealer - makes make-up application in the morning quick
• Hardly any scent
• Colour matches seem to be pretty good from those available online for paler skinned individuals
• Does leave the skin feeling a bit softer

Negatives:

• Doesn't fade with time, basically fades quickly then goes before the 8 hour mark
• Doesn't have many available tones for darker skinned individuals
• £12 for 30ml for a face product that doesn't wow me seems steep!
• Only available online unless you are subscribed to Avon catalogues 

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