BB Cream and Primer Review - Urban Decay and Mirabella

I have been a subscriber to MyGlam Ispy makeup bags for a few months as of this blog entry and have received only a couple MyGlam bags over the past two or three months. Ispy is a make up service that puts together a small makeup bag of four to give items of makeup and beauty items and sends them out to your door once a month, for only ten dollars a month! I love it, as its a great deal and it introduces me to many new beauty products out there, as well as the companies who make them.

I have Ipsy to thank for these two discoveries I wanted to review. Ispy has introduced a number of products to me which I have, or will buy again directly from the manufacturer!

In Decembers Myglam bag of 2012 one such item was called Mirabella Prime for Face and Eyes. Primers are used as a base for makeup, it helps everything stay in place and last longer through the day. Until this bag I have never tried a primer but I have always wanted to. Im pleased to say that first primer I tried was one that I loved!

I have very oily skin, as you might have gathered if you saw my Skin Care Regimen article, so dealing with constant shininess on my face as been a war I have struggled with all my life! I feel like just after the first hour of a fresh makeup application I would start to see shine in my t-zone, and dont even get me started on how bad it was in summer! O.o

Mirabella Prime solved this problem! much to my surprise.

"Prime for Face and Eyes weightless, oil-free formula glides onto help promote long-wearing makeup. Vitamin E works as an antioxidant to smooth out lines as it moisturizes and protects skin. Prime provides a silky feel to the skin as it aids in repairing cellular damage. Application: Use a small amount and lightly pat into skin." Link here.

This I could not agree with more! The product does feel silky, at first I confused it for oily, but its not, and it seems to dry with a soft and light feelings on my skin, almost invisible. When I where this under my make up I can go hours before I see any inklings of shininess come through, my make up remained matte looking for a long time, a miracle! I highly recommend this to girls with oil skin. Dont bother with those blotting papers, just get this!

The next product I wanted to review is Naked Skin Beauty Balm by Urban Decay. I actually tried this though the My Glam Ispy bag as well. It was a kind of 'gift' that was given to members of the community that participated. I imagine I was chosen as one such member for my reviews of the Ipsy Bags I had uploaded. The BB Cream came in a sample size before this product was even released. Im under the impression they were looking for customer reviews and opinions first.

"Minimize pores, lines, wrinkles and redness instantly. Get significantly firmer, more lifted skin in 8 weeks.

It’s not just any beauty balm—it’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm—the BB cream with INSANE benefits. Unlike a lot of beauty balms, Naked Skin delivers measurable anti-aging benefits—and we’ve got the claims to prove it. And while many beauty balms are tinted to provide coverage, ours diffuses light with high-tech pigments to give you amazing, natural, NAKED-looking skin that keeps getting better every week.

Naked Skin is like an instant retoucher in a tube! This multitasking formula:

Perfects: Optical blurring pigment instantly evens out skin tone and minimizes pores, lines, wrinkles and redness.

Protects: SPF 20 shields skin from sun damage and Pepha®-Protect helps inhibit DNA damage.

Treats: Vitasource™ and dGlyage® firm skin, improve elasticity and provide measurable anti-aging benefits.

Primes: Extremely blendable formula creates a smooth finish so makeup goes on beautifully and stays put.

Hydrates: Moisturizing but never greasy, Naked Skin Beauty Balm hydrates skin instantly and improves hydration over time. Link Here"

I have not used this product long enough to say if I notice it does /all/ the things listed above, but what I can tell you, is that I agree it events out the skin tone perfectly, working similar to a foundation, but light like a gentle moisturizer. It does not feel like a foundation to me which I love! Even with the redness and sometimes acne prone skin, this product glides on so thin, but it seems to make my face look almost photoshop touched up! I think it definitely has something to do with that optical blurring pigment. I dont even bother much with under eye concealer, this BB Cream takes care of it.

This product amazes me and I loved it so much that I went and ordered the full sized product directly from Urban Decay as soon as the product was released to their website! This BB Cream works great in combination with the above Mirabella Prime. At least for me I found the magic combination to nice looking natural matte skin!

A bit of BB cream history...

BB cream was originally formulated in the 1960s in Germany by dermatologist Dr. Christine Schrammek to protect her patients' skin after surgery. Introduced to South Korea and Japan in 1985 – where healthy-looking, porcelain skin is heavily prized and was heavily endorsed by Korean celebrities.

BB cream is promoted as an all-in-one facial cosmetic product to replace serum, moisturizer, primer, foundation, and sunblock. It can be worn alone as a tinted moisturizer, over serum and moisturizer as a regular foundation, and under powder, depending on the desired amount of coverage. (source link)


Please leave me your thoughts in the comments! Id love to hear what you use and what you like :)