Saturday 21 April 2012

Light Coverage for Spring/ Summer: 3 options for dry skin

For a long time my skin was not a friend of mine. Having pale white skin which burns at the mere suggestion of the sun has meant that I have had to ensure I wear at least spf15 on sunnier days, particularly as I didn't always do this when I was younger and less educated on these matters. Of course, my skin colour also means that I am in danger of sporting the 'tangerine-glow', if I don't find suitable matches. To throw in another variable, I also have dry skin which gets easily weather-beaten in the Winter and, if I'm not careful, in the Summer too. Although there are imperfections I would like to cover up, having cakey-looking, obvious-looking and dryness-emphasising foundation is not a good look for me.


If you are looking for a natural, complexion-boosting product for Spring/Summer, I have three options which work for me in varying degrees, but generally fit into the 'light coverage' bracket.

Left to right: Missha Perfect Cover BB cream; Mac Studio Moisture Tint; No 7 BB cream

I'll start with No 7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream: a fairly new product to Boots here in the UK. I believe that this brand has also found its way to the US. At £12.95 for 40ml it is perhaps priced a little high for people who want to try many BB creams in search for something that works for them. Maybelline and L'oreal are lower priced (under £10), but it was No 7's good reputation in terms of skincare that drew me in. I have used some of their products and find them generally quite good.

A bonus of this BB cream compared to some others on the market is that there are different variations for different skin types as well as fair and medium shades to choose from. I chose dry/ very dry in fair, which actually is on the darker side of fair when first applied to my NW15 skin. You can see, however, that it blends in to match your skintone as it is not a densely pigmented product.


No 7 BB cream: blended slightly

















The consistency is thicker than your average tinted moisturiser. BB creams are meant to provide more coverage and this seems to be true for this product. Beautiful Skin BB cream imparts all of the moisture my skin needs on a good day, but I wear something underneath it (SteamCream at the moment) if I feel my skin is looking dehydrated. The overall result is that my skin looks considerably more even than before I applied it and it lasts throughout the day with a healthy, but not shiny finish. The spf15 is ok, but could be higher, especially as Missha's Perfect Cover has spf42.



Now let's talk about Missha's BB cream mentioned above. I purchased a 20ml tube from a reputable ebay seller about six months ago and chose shade 13. It is again, I believe, one of, if not the lightest colour available. Like many reviewers say of Asian brand BB products, it does have a slight gray cast to it, but it blends nicely into my pale skin, complimenting the paleness and giving an even finish. In comparison to the No 7 cream, it requires slightly more blending as the consistency tends to cling to areas a little rather than melting into the skin with ease.

Another use I have found for this product is to tone down foundations that are slightly dark on me. I blend the two together on my hand before applying and find that this works well.

Finally, a product I have owned for a couple of years: Mac Studio Moisture Tint spf15.

Mac Studio Moisture Tint
The fact that I have owned the same 40ml tube for quite a considerable amount of time does indicate that this is far from my favourite Mac product. It has its use, but I'm not sure I would re-purchase straight away, if at all. So why am I mentioning it at all? 

This tinted moisturiser is easy to apply and blend. It matches my skin nicely when blended in and it gives a natural, comfortable finish. The colour Light sits somewhere in the middle of Missha and No 7 and works for me. The other benefit of choosing from Mac's range is that, unlike many other brands, they cater for darker skintones.

Bottom to top: Missha; Mac; No 7

 A downside to this product is that it will not survive rainy weather: on contact with water, you can see the product begin to lift from your face in places. If you choose this as your 'sunny weather' face make-up, this is no problem, but if you intend to wear it through all seasons and need it to last throughout the day, forget it.  

Downside two: it smells of paint! Not of toxic paint, but rather the nostalgic powder paint you had to mix with water as a child. This may sound awful, but the smell never lingers when on my face, so it's not actually offensive to me personally; however, less tolerant noses may object!

Overall, No 7 wins for me and will be my base make-up of choice over the Summer months. It's rich, adequately-pigmented consistency blends well and the colours available would suit the vast majority of light to medium skintones.

None of the products have caused bad skin reactions, but we all respond differently to ingredients, so it would be worth checking on the brand websites (boots.com for No 7) to make sure you are not allergic to anything in them.




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