little white truths

We received this La Mav Organic BB Créme in our Lust Have It boxes a couple of months back and I was thrilled to receive it, being the BB/CC cream junkie that I am. I prefer a lighter, dewy base, and those types of products tend to deliver this.

Since I have quite a few unopened products like this in store, I didn't open it straight away. But I recently finished one off and last week I decided it was time to give this a crack.

I was surprised by how dark this was when I first squirted it out, and while the colour does dull down on my wrist (see below), you can still see it.

Here's another shot. I'd be surprised if it was suitable for lasses with very pale skin (so I'm querying the 'suitable for all skin tones' claim).

You can see that it does adapt to my skin - but surprisingly, it over-adapts and goes a bit pasty! My skin looks better with a warmer product.

Verdict

This surprised me for lots of different reasons.

First, it's meant for all skintones but it comes out so dark and yellow! However it does lighten once applied to your face and blended, so don't be too freaked out by the colour. On my skin (medium), it looked way too dark/yellow when squirted/blended on my wrist, but then ended up looking a bit pale and powdery on my face.

Second, it dries really REALLY quickly. The squirt I spread on my wrist had gone all hard (like dried paint) by the time I tried to wipe it off and transfer it to my face. I guess it's a matte/powdery kind of product. For this reason, it doesn't spread well and I needed to use more than anticipated to do my face/neck/dec. Honestly, it looked and felt a bit like icing.

For this reason (the coverage/texture), I'd call it a foundation - not a BB. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a comment. The product winds up being too thick for the BB tag and doesn't give that natural coverage you'd expect from a BB. This doesn't mean it's a bad product - it's just something to be aware of.

I know it's organic, but I'm annoyed about the 6 month shelf life when it's a large size (50ml). The size should be smaller (and cheaper) or the shelf life should be longer, in my opinion. I also don't like that it contains 'natural sunscreen' but gives you no indication of SPF. I like to know exactly how much sun protection I have on my face, and this products leaves you in the dark.

Unfortunately, it settles in my pores (not terribly, but little dots are visible around my hairline) and also settles in dry patches. This isn't helped by the fact that it's hard to spread. Therefore I recommend being super hydrated first (to the point of greasiness), and/or mixing it with a moisturiser (this could improve the powdery/thick coverage issue, too).

I don't like that I can't finish it with a setting powder - it's too drying/powdery for that as it is.

I tried this product in three different ways because I wanted to make it work for me (particularly because I'm on a spending ban so I need to use what I have). First, on its own. Second, by putting oil on my face beforehand; and third by mixing it with a high SPF greasy CC cream I have, in the hope of dulling the thickness of it. Unfortunately, the oil didn't help and this product 'overrode' the CC cream, so the concoction ended up like paint too.

Obviously, this product doesn't work for me. But please note that many have left rave reviews on La Mav's website, so it may be that it just doesn't work for my skin. I suppose this isn't surprising: my skin tends towards dryness and I prefer a dewy look over a matte one; so because this is a mattifying product, it was always going to be harder for me to like it. And try as I may, I couldn't make this work for my skin - BOO!

If you have oily skin and are in the market for a thicker coverage, it would be worth testing this product. Otherwise I'd give it a wide berth.