Tinted moisturiser vs BB cream. Let the battle commence.

Which one would you choose? Neither? Both? Guess what, I have both! And it’s been a battle to decide between the two.

I confess, I own a BB cream and a tinted moisturiser. Excessive? Perhaps. There is a genuine reason for it. Honest. I succumbed to the hype. I bought a BB cream, and not because my trusted tinted moisturiser was doing a bad job. No, I fell for the ‘second skin / it will feel like you only have moisturiser on / it will perfect your skin / your skin could look as glorious as Asian skin’ rhetoric. And there are so many to choose from right now – BB creams, CC creams, DD, creams and even EE creams! All evolutions of their predecessor. Mind boggling. I think it’s a bit overkill on the part of cosmetics companies, desperate to revive their tinted moisturisers.

Historically, tinted moisturisers were just lighter versions of foundations and nothing more. There for those who wanted lighter coverage, or were blessed with great skin in the first place. But the new generation of tinted moisturisers contain a whole heap of perfecting, protecting, plumping (you get the gist) ingredients, making them a close cousin of the BB/CC/DD/EE cream.

Back to the battle of the tints…

Our first contestant is Bobbi Brown’s BB Cream, a trusted brand who knows how to ‘do natural’. It’s lovely stuff, great for those days when I just want some light coverage to even out my skin and am not planning on wearing any make up. It matches my skin tone perfectly, glides on and instantly transforms my skin with the goodness contained within. It has SPF built into it so protects from harmful rays (I don’t buy a moisturiser with SPF because I think the job of a moisturiser is to do just that – moisturise). I don’t need anything else and can leave home knowing I won’t scare anyone with my patchy or blotchy skin. My only bugbear is that it doesn’t stay on all day and I need to reapply it. By the end of the day, my skin ends up looking a bit patchy. Not a good look at all.

Up against Bobbi Brown is Nars’ Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser, another trusted cosmetics brand. More lovely stuff that matches my skin colour perfectly and stays put all day. One layer is enough to take me into the evening. It doesn’t slip into any of my lines either! It enhances the luminescence of skin and gives it a natural glow (much needed when trying to look younger). It is super charged with some natural goodness to help correct my uneven complexion (the bane of Indian skin) so I know it is doing my skin some good whilst giving me SPF protection from the sun. The packaging is lovely too. My only bugbear here is that it takes a bit of applying, as in you have to blend to make sure it doesn’t look streaky on skin.

So, who wins the battle of the tints? It’s got to be Nars. Yes, it takes longer to apply but it lasts all day and works to correct my skin permanently. I don’t need to reapply it, and it is an effective moisturiser with tint added to it, so keeping any dry patches at bay. A final bonus is that a little goes a long way. Now, who wouldn’t want that?

P.S. I’ve kept the Bobbi Brown one for weekend make-up free days when I need a tiny bit of coverage and know that I won’t be venturing very far from home. Once I’ve used it up I might try and find a BB cream that smooths on as easily but lasts the day…the hunt will continue, but for now, Nars, it’s just you and me to face the day together.