Normally I use the L'Oreal True Match Lumi foundation (It's my holy grail drugstore cosmetic product) but I prefer this BB cream now for the summer months because it's lighter and it has an SPF. It isn't full coverage so if you have dark spots or breakouts you'll have to use a concealer underneath it but it gives enough coverage to make your skin tone look brighter and even. The only down side for me was it made my skin a bit oily so I did still have to use powder. Otherwise, it's I'm really happy with this BB Cream.

This product had a couple of good reviews on-line so I purchased. The light shade was ok for me but the cream itself looked chalky on my face. Did not blend well. That said - I did apply it over a heavy sunscreen, but the sunscreen had been applied an hour earlier and had already absorbed into my skin. I have to wear heavy duty sunscreen daily due to my outdoor work. Other BB's have blended just fine with the sunscreen underneath (Revlon, L'Oreal, UD Naked). This did not. Maybe it would work better with no sunscreen underneath, but that is not an option for me.

EDIT: I ended up returning the light shade and purchased the darker shade. The darker shade DEFINITELY fits my skin color a lot better. The only downfall is that is applies with a bit of a pink undertone! However, after about 5 minutes or so... it somehow adjusts to my more yellow-ish undertone. Either way, I am loving it!

Just a warning, I did write my little rant on BB creams here. I mention where the actual review starts though!

I have been on a hunt for a good drugstore BB cream. I am a huge fan of the Dior Hydra-Life BB cream, however, the price tag of it goes way out of hand. I am so paranoid using it so much since I do not want to run out and pay for it all over again (College-grad needing to pay off debt first... not purchasing expensive BB cream). I had been looking up reviews for nearly every drugstore BB cream there is and I've been hoping something would match my needs. I have sensitive, dry, slightly acne prone (however, I do have quite a bit of acne scars on my cheeks) skin, and it's an NC35 for color reference (or an N20 for Bare Minerals). I tried the L'oreal BB Cream (the one that comes out white) and though the color was great for me... the coverage and the feel... not so much. And it wasn't really a "BB cream"... more like a cool foundation. I tried a sample of the Maybelline one... and it made my skin feel itchy... nor did it really help my skin. A few other sensitive skin folks, with similar skin to my own, said that most drugstore BB creams did not react well with them.
So I receive a coupon from CVS saying I have 20% off any regular priced item. Then I remembered I had a moneycard with about $6.00 on it. I decided if I wanted to try some BB creams, that time was now. I ventured into the skincare aisle, as opposed to the makeup aisle. In my basket I had L'Oreal Youth Code (which is extremely similar to Garnier... I figured to skip out on Garnier because of that), the Aveeno one, Olay, and Lumene. All 4 seem tempting. So, like a crazy person, I paced around the store, phone in hand, looking at what other people said about each BB cream. Out of the 4, Lumene sounded most promising. I ended up purchasing it for $7 and some change. It is normally sold for $15.49 at my CVS, however, the brand goes on sale often and sometimes you can get extrabucks out of it! I believe Walgreens and Ulta sell Lumene.

Sorry for the rant... here is the actual review!

As soon as I got home, I wiped whatever makeup I had on my face and decided to try it out. I purchased the shade 01 Light/Medium (downside... there are only 2 shades... 01 light/medium and 02 medium/dark). It is a 50 mL white squeeze tube with blue writing and an orange cap. I dispensed a little to my fingers, rubbed my fingertips together, and dotted the product on my face. At first I was astonished that it went on so pale against my skin (well... d'uh, self, you got 01 Light/Medium...), however, when I blended it, it started to melt into my skin wonderfully. I squeezed a little bit more and covered the acne scars on my cheeks. After applying, I found that the coverage was so great that I did not need any concealer! There is a light (I mean very light) citrus-y smell. That could be from the Arctic Cloudberry, which is claimed to be extracted to anti-aging benefits. This BB cream has SPF 20, so it should be reapplied every so often (I was indoors, so I did not reapply... plus I wanted to test the longevity of wearing it). It claims to brighten (check!), hydrate (check! Not a bit of dryness while wearing it!), protect (check), even skin tone (check!), cover imperfections (check--well enough that I did not conceal!), and delay the signs of aging (I'm going to assume check because of the Arctic Cloudberry claims... I'm not the best candidate for that since I am in my early 20's). I wore it for about 7 hours before I saw it fading. It did not irritate my skin nor did I break out. So far, this BB cream delivered what it claims and I am very please with this product! The only problem I have with this product is the color selection being so limited. I can see this being too dark or too light for many people. I am thinking about purchasing 02 and seeing how that measures against my skin color. Or maybe I'll purchase it to mix to my own shade. Either way... I think it is reasonable to purchase BB cream anywhere from $15 to $25 if you like it! Anyway, this has actually took place of my foundation and concealer that I normally use instead of my Dior Hydra-Life. I would definitely repurchase this again (especially when it goes on sale and/or knowing I can get this for about 80% less than Dior's price!).

Update #2- The light version works awesome as a highlighter, under eye brightener, and nose slimmer. I'm currently using Boots Stay Perfect foundation in Almond, and I top that puppy off with this. Gives a nice healthy glow and works way better than NYX Illuminator and the whole pearl line of Physician's formula blushes and bronzers.


The only other BB cream I've tried has been the light and medium versions of Garnier BB line, so I don't have much to compare it too. Lumene's has a thicker stickier texture, which feels more like a concealer as opposed to a tinted moisturizer or foundation when it's rubbed in. It feels pretty comparable to Hard Candy's Glamoflauge in texture/thickness. It definitely has more coverage than Garnier's BB cream (less shiny/dewy too) or tinted moisturizer. My face definitely looks brighter, but I've also started using 3 other Lumene products under it, so it's hard to tell what's actually doing the most work. I'm tan, but I opted for the light since I like to have a lighter shade under my eyes and around my nose. It has a pinky undertone but it will match fine if you plan to put foundation or bronzer over it. I love how this looks when I'm in my car under natural sunlight. It makes me look very rejuvenated, however it comes with a price. Since it's on the heavier side, I've noticed little bumps popping up...which normally would bother me, but this doesn't because the brightening effect is worth it. Same thing happens if I use any moisturizer on my face, so apparently my skin just hates hydration. I will probably buy this again because the anti-aging part really sucks me in :) If you have oily skin, you might want to stay away from it on your entire face, or at least use a powder over it and pack some blotting papers.

Update--After a few weeks of using this I actually found it kind of drying, oddly, since I said to stay away from it if you have oily skin originally. It might be the extra dry winter air, or the color (I can't find medium at any Walgreen's). I still like it, but I think I should have definitely gone with the medium since light makes me look like a corpse.