[Review] Rimmel Matte BB Cream

During my beauty binge last night, I picked up a product I hadn't tried yet, Rimmel's Matte BB Cream.

As you can see, it advertises as a 9-in-1 skin perfecting super makeup. The only color available at the time was Light, which is what I use anyway. 

Here are the nine things it claims: 

1. Minimizes the appearance of Pores

2. Evens Skin Tone

3. Mattifies

4. Controls Shine All Day

5. Smooths

6. Soothes

7. Conceals Dark Circles

8. Helps Prevent Blemishes

9. Gives all day coverage

This is what it looks like straight out of the tube.

Here I did the absolute minimal blending, just so you get an idea of what the product looks like as you start to put it on. 

Here I blended it a bit more and let it "bake" (or sit) for about five minutes. 

Those pictures are all taken under the light of my lamp last night. 

Today I put it to the true test. 

I was trying to take pictures so you can see the L'oreal Manga mascara when I realized that my face looked like a total hot mess. 

Look at that crazy redness! I also had to have a lovely humongous zit pop up on the side of my nose next to my eye. The mascara is great, as you can see how it is on the left and there is none on the right.

To fix this problem, I whipped out the BB Cream and tried it out.

This is with just one layer on my face, and built up a little around my eyes to try and cover the dark circles. I used my Snow White beauty sponge from last night's haul to blend it out, then took an eyeshadow brush that I hadn't used to dot the product around my dark circles, following it with the sponge to blend it out. 

Just like I did with my hand, I let this "bake" for about five minutes before I took the picture. 

My only disappointment was I couldn't find my setting powder!

So now let's tackle those claimed statements on the tube. 

1. Minimizes Pores

I don't think it really minimized them at all. It did a lovely job on my nose, but the pores on my cheeks still stood out like a sore thumb to me. I imagine if I used a good skin primer before application that it would do what it claims to do. 

2. Evens Tone

It did a so so job with that. You can still see all of my redness and my freckles show through. I do not think this is a full coverage product, you will have to build it up. Even doing that on my eyes you can still see right through to the dark under eye circles. You gals with this issue like me will need a concealer with this product. 

3. Mattifies

I think it did do a great job in this aspect. Again, I didn't have my setting powder, so I think that the mattification could have been over the moon amazing if it had been set properly. 

It's very humid today, so I did start to sweat and it melted off a bit. Setting powder or spray with this product is an absolute must. 

4. Controls Shine All Day

I didn't wear this for long, but it didn't control shine very well to me. Between the humidity and other factors, it's a total boot in this category. 

5. Smooths

It does a lovely job smoothing out the skin. Used with the beauty sponge, I think it went on very nicely and gave my skin a lovely smooth appearance.

6. Soothes

I guess it was soothing? It wasn't the smell that soothed, that's for sure. I didn't like the scent. It smelled rather chemically. I don't really have an opinion built on this point.

7. Conceals Dark Circles

I'm calling total boot on this. Even with the building up of product, my dark circles still stood out and yelled "look at me, here I am!!". 

8. Helps Prevent Blemishes

This I have no idea, since I haven't worn it long enough to tell if it prevents them or not. This is what I have good skincare for, not makeup. It will never beat the old Neutrogena makeup that was specifically for those with acne. That stuff was a total toot!

9. Gives All Day Coverage

I am not going to agree with this one. If I was able to sweat it off within fifteen minutes, I highly doubt that it will last all day without some sort of touch up from a powder. 

It felt a bit heavy on my skin, but I'm not used to using a fuller coverage product. I generally use powders and build up with those. With my beauty sponge it went on much easier than anticipated. I was a bit afraid of how dark it starts out, you just have to blend, blend, blend to get it to work well with your skintone. 

Don't forget a setting powder or it will not look as matte as it is advertised. 

I'd say this product is a total toot. It's got a few bad points, though the good points outweigh the bad. 

If you're up to trying a Western BB Cream that isn't a high price, I'd say give this one a try. I picked it up at Walgreens for $6.99. 

What BB Creams have you tried? What is your true blue, ride or die foundation? 

xx Vonnie