Garnier BB Cream to Launch in Ireland in August!

If you're a dedicated fan of beauty blog browsing it's a good bet you've come across a fair few mentions of BB creams of late. BBs - or blemish balms - come to us from Asia and they're particularly popular in the Korean and Japanese markets where brands like Etude House, Skin79, Tony Moly, Beautiful by Nature and Melliesh all make them.

But what are they? Fans rave about BBs, which were originally created for post-laser surgery patients. They're a sort of hybrid tinted moisturiser-cum-sunscreen-cum-issue specific product and becuse they tend to claim so much - typically moisturisation, light coverage, SPF, whitening or anti-acne properites, I've been a little bit sceptical.

The closest I've yet come to using a product with a similar sort of BB status is Hissyfit's Saving Face foundation, so while I'm clearly as much of a beauty junkie as the rest of you, I've put off experimenting with BBs until now, because I knew the European market was going to see some brands launching product off the back of the Asian craze. Illamasqua's just debuted a new BB-inspired Skin Base Foundation, Mac has a new Prep + Prime Beauty Balm and in Asia, Bobbi Brown recently released a BB too so it can't be long before that makes its way back westwards.

The one that's of most interest to us here though is Garnier's offering. Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Daily all-in-one B.B. Cream, €14.99, cuts out the posh and fussy high-end positioning so many products start out at and zips right into the mass market with a two-shade selection (light and medium). Launching in mid-August, it seems to be pretty true to the spirit and formulation of Asian BBs and boasts:

• quick-break micro-sphere polymers that break instantly upon contact with the skin, releasing an intense burst of moisture for a refreshing, lightweight texture
• an intensely hydrating formula that combines lipidure, hyaluronic acid and glycerin for 24 hour moisturisation.
• SPF15 to protect against the harmful effects of the sun and premature skin aging, antioxidant vitamin C and stimulating caffeine
• a light, non-greasy formula containing mineral pigments (as found in the Caffeine Anti-Dark Circles 2-in-1 Tinted Eye Roll-On). It helps to even skin tone and create a natural, naked finish that blurs imperfections and smoothes the appearance of fine lines

So, how and where and why and what and and and etc do you use a BB cream? For good skin days you can go it solo. For not-so-good skin days you can look at your BB as a treatment base over which you can apply foundation.

Obviously with just two shades on offer, you may not find a match - but because the coverage is sheer, it's quite likely that it'll be able to suit a broader range of tones than a more opaque formulation.

If you're already familiar with BBs will you give Garnier's a whirl? And if you're not, and BB is a whole brave new world to you, are you excited to check out a brand new product? Obviously, we will be lashing on Miracle Skin Perfector Daily all-in-one B.B. Cream when it arrives from the brand and we will report back to you very soon!