3LAB Perfect BB Cream SPF40/PA+++ review

          I'd nearly given up the search for a tinted moisturizer or BB cream for summer, when the folks at 3LAB sent along the 3LAB Perfect BB Cream SPF40/PA+++ for consideration. What excited me was that the sunscreen was Titanium Dioxide based and did not contain the chemical sunscreens that my sensitive skin reacts to. (You'd be surprised how difficult this is to find). See the ingredients list below:

Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 12.16% Inactive Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Methicone, Glycereth-26, Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Dimethicone, Alumina, Dimethicone/Vinly Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dipropylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Squalane, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower extract, Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Fruit extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Malus Domestica Fruit Cell Culture, Melissa Offcinalis Leaf Extract, Viscum Album (Mistletoe) Leaf Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Hydrolyzed Pea Protein, Tocophery Acetate, Adenosine, Oligopeptide-68, Rh-Polypeptide-7, Tocopherol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Beta-Glucan, Ceramide-3, Glycerin, Hydrogentated Lecithin, Methicone, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Phytosterols, Silica, Sodium Oleate, Sodium PCA, Hydrolyzed What Protein/PVP Crosspolymer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Urea, Xanthan Gum, Panthenol, Potassium Hydroxide, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Sodium Phosphate, Caprylyl Glycol, Boron Nitride, Acrylates/C12-22 Alkyl Methacrylate Copolymer, Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Fragrance. May contain Iron oxides.




           I chose Tint 1 Light, which was the lightest color of the three available colors. You can from the swatches below that it is a light color. It's yellow toned and close to (though a little more yellow) than NARS Ceylan. You can see the contrast with a more peach toned foundation, NARS Deauville. I wore it recently, although my skin is signifcantly more tanned than usual. The semi-sheerness allowed it to give pretty well blended appearance with my skin despite me being more medium toned. It is a little more yellow than I'd like, since I do have pinkness in my skin. The limit of the wearability for Tint 1 would probably be around MAC NC20 and maybe NC25 if you stretch it. The lasting power was fairly good. It is summer, so I tend to get oily midway through the workday. The color doesn't transfer well, which is good. The BB cream provides a bit more coverage than a tinted moisturizer, but less than a foundation. It did not mask active blemishes or blemishes on my face since it was sheer. This is expected of a partially sheer product, although there is some irony since 'BB' stands for Blemish Balm. A big positive is that the formulation did not seem to irritate my sensitive skin or blemishes, which is great for a foundation/skin product. It's too early to tell whether the skincare benefits of the BB cream have kicked in, however I am encouraged by its comfortable feel.

          With a price tag just shy of a Benjamin, is this BB cream worth it? It might be worth a try if you have sunscreen sensitive or sensitive skin like me and have a good chunk of pocket change. It does boast an impressively long list contain a list of botanical and chemical ingredients. I'm assuming some of these are to improve skin quality, as BB creams are supposed to. BB creams have been launched by a so many different cosmetic companies, however many of them seem like glorified tinted moisturizers (and number even contain glitter, yikes). In this sense, 3LAB seems to follow the mantra of an Asian BB cream. Whether these ingredients work remains up to debate and the individual.

         Thanks for reading! Have you tried any BB creams? Have you tried any 3LAB products?

Love, Dovey.

Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration by PR.