French brand L’Occitane en Provence, renown for creating amazing skincare, body care and scented products with ingredients primarily sourced from the bountiful region of Provence, has entered the BB cream market with the their ‘Sublime Beauty Cream’. What sets this apart from the already flooded marketplace, is the addition of organic Iris and Angelica essential oils – two ingredients that provide long-lasting skin care benefits and hydration, while leaving behind a perfectly flawless finish. According to the company:
– Gives the complexion a fresh, natural and even look
– Visibly reduces the look of pores, redness and blemishes and pores
– Hydrates and smoothes the skin
– Provides SPF 30 sun protection
I confess to having been somewhat hesitant to test this out, as my experience with BB creams thus far has been less than successful, but just one application later, I was converted to a loyal fan — read on to find out why!
Sublime Beauty Cream (CAD $42.00 40 ml/1.3 fl.oz) – available in 2 shades, light and medium and with a broad spectrum SPF 30 rating, this combination foundation and moisturizer is best applied using your fingertips. With its delicate ‘green/floral’ scent that dissipates quickly once the product touches your skin and bearing a unique texture – looks and feels like a liquid, yet comes to a soft matte powder finish, you need to work quickly in your application, before it begins to set. The oil absorbing properties of this cream make it ideal for anyone with oily skin as well as those with combination skin, although the latter types may need to add extra moisture to any dry-ish areas of the face.
My experience: I have combination skin that tends to run oily in the T-zone (down the nose & chin, along the forehead) and if I apply any type of foundation without primer first, by the end of the day I begin to sport the dreaded “oil-slick” effect on my face. Once applied all over and blended down my neck as well, this Sublime Beauty Cream came to a matte/powder finish and the first thing I noticed was an incredible evenness of tone to my skin. My pores seemed to disappear, and while I can’t say I looked luminous, my face did appear somewhat brighter overall. The Medium shade I was sent to try works perfectly on my skin now that I have a light tan (I couldn’t wear it before this), although I do detect a slight pink-ish hue to the colour which I felt clashed a bit with my more yellowish undertones. I solved the problem by adding a light dusting of bronzer on top and it worked beautifully. Ready for the best part? Lasting power went on all day – over 12 hours and counting, with nary a speck of oiliness to be seen and if anything, seemed to look even better by the time I was ready to remove my makeup. Blew. Me. Away. One caveat: I suspect anyone with dry skin might find this cream to emphasize any flakiness or dry patches, so you should certainly swatch this before purchasing. My only complaint is with the fact that it comes in only 2 shades — I don’t feel that this limited colour selection is enough to cover most skin tones along the spectrum.
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream (info)
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream (directions)
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream (ingredients)
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream (protective foil seal)
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream swatch
L’Occitane – Sublime Beauty Cream swatch (blended)
Last word: The benefits of a product such as this are many; when you’re rushed, this combination SPF-moisturizer-foundation is a Godsend. The beneficial skincare properties this cream boasts are another huge plus and for those with oily/combination skins, L’Occitane’s Sublime Beauty Cream is a bonafide miracle worker. The downside is the meagre colour selection, something I sincerely hope the brand will address soon, as they are definitely on to something here. All in all, I will venture so far as to say that this is my new favourite of multi-tasking foundation-type products, and you owe it to yourself to check it out.
Available through all L’Occitane Boutiques and online, find more information via their website, twitter or facebook.
*Disclosure: Product sample provided by the company/PR for my unbiased consideration
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