Too Faced Beauty Balm- Vanilla Glow

I was reluctant to get on the BB cream bandwagon, but with the summertime heat I was getting tired of my thick foundations. I figured this was worth a try.

First of, the shade range isn't the best. The tones are very yellow. But since it's a bb cream and not a full coverage foundation, you can get away with it not matching perfectly. This one is close enough on me.

I apply this with my flat topped kabuki brush. It's super easy to blend this stuff out and it's buildable without being cakey. I would say it's light to medium coverage. This stuff feels like it's moisturizing my face, which I love. However, it's not the best at controlling oil and the finish can look a little greasy, so I always dust a finishing powder over the top.

I can get a ggod 6 hours of wear out of this before it starts to separate and rub off on my oily areas. For a bb cream, that's really not too bad. I like the fact that there's SPF too. The one thing I really dislike is the sparkles. They aren't super noticeable, but the finish is already shiny and the sparkles just add to it. It's not a total dealbreaker though.

I do love the packaging and the fact that you get 1.5oz of product instead of the standard 1oz. If you think of the amount you're getting, the price doesn't seem so steep. To me it was worth it.

This is definitely a product that I love to use. I feel like it does nice things for my skin. I only took a lippy off because of the sparkles, poor oil control, and strange shade selection. Otherwise I love everything about this and it's super easy to throw it on and go.

This has a lot going for it, which is why I purchased it at Ulta a few months ago.

PROS:

Tube packaging is my favorite for portability.

The SPF 20 sunscreen is mineral based (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) making it ideal for sensitive skin.

It contains antioxidants to further benefit the skin.

1.5 ounces for $34 would make this around $22 if they sold it by the ounce. Most foundations come in 1 ounce bottles and I think it's worth mentioning that this is a larger size in case price is a factor in your decision.

CONS:

The color range should be expanded. Snow Glow was too pale for me but Vanilla Glow is slightly too yellow - so it looks too dark. What I really need is a shade in between the two that does not exist.

My skin is too oily for it now that it's summer. It's just shiny and can't stand up to the heat. I can't use a tinted moisturizer right now. I'm trying to look less oily and sweaty and should be using something with a matte finish. This is really more of a winter beauty item for me.

I should've known better. I tried this in store, didn't love it, walked away.

Tried it again a couple weeks ago, in store---had no foundation on at all so I used a full face application and LOVED IT. It looked glowy--not greasy. It was a perfect match. I looked younger, even!
So I bought a tube.
Then proceeded to hate it for the rest of the week afterward (tried it every day, tried no powder, with powder, with different powder, different moisturizer--nada).
Back it goes. It's too expensive for it to just sit in my drawer.

I really wanted to like this product but I was disappointed. ....I have oily skin so when I tried this I put on a bit of powder just in case.....it still left me an oily mess.....when you first apply it it looks super cute nice even with light to medium coverage....but after a few hours it looks shiny and makes my pores look huge....the good thing is it doesn't break me out.....this probably would be good for someone who has dry skin but if you have oily skin dont use this and it a little on the expensive side......

Like this BB cream. It leaves a nice glow and stays put even in heat and humidity. The only problem is that the SPF is only 20, so I wear an SPF cream beneath this with at least an SPF 30. I compared this to my Smashbox BB cream in Light. I like Smashbox better and it has an SPF of 35.

I like to wear foundation if I am going out (mac studio fix) but for a more natural look I like a tinted moisturiser. My job is quite masculine so I dont like to look heavily made up but at the same time I need my make up to last 12 hour shifts! My skin is around nc20 and weird: it gets oily at the slightest thing but if I use products designed for oily skin its gets super dry and tight, and I am prone to occasional bouts of cystic acne around my jaw line. I finally seem to have found the skin care products and foundation that work so my last item on the list was tinted moisturiser/bb cream.
I have tried allsorts: nars (lovely but not available near me and I hate ordering on line), laura mercier (lasted approximately 5 seconds on me before it became an oil slick, plus shades not yellow enough for my liking), bobbi brown (felt like I was coating my face in liquid plastic), benefit (may as well have been putting lard on my face) and garnier (in a word: awful). I had heard good things about this online and on paulas choice so I decided to pick it up whilst in boots.
Vanilla glow seemed the best match for me, I always go slightly lighter as I can darken with benefits hoola when Im more tan. It looks lovely when it goes on, ideal match colour wise, nice glow to it as well. Its one of those products you can just slap on quickly and it looks great. I dont use moisturiser before it as it would be too much for my skin, but this product alone feels moisturising enough for me. I set with soap and glory blotting powder, some bronzer, mascara and Im done!
Its lasts around 6/7 hours before it starts to rub off in places and I do still get some shine around my nose area that needs blotting but other than that it still looks fairly acceptable at the end of a shift. I think I just need to accept that this will happen no matter what I use!
Overall I would buy this product again unless I hear of something even better!

Nice light coverage, doesn't break me out, adds a healthy glow to the skin and keeps my look fresh all day. Looks even better with a tiny bit of setting powder!(: Plus the packaging is cute too. I use this BB cream + Physicians Formula Super BB Powder on top to set for my everyday medium coverage natural skin look, but for dates with my Boyfriend (who prefers me makeup-free,) a dab of this TF BB Cream on my face and a coat of mascara does the job :) I love this bb cream and recommend it to everyone, if you are looking for a naturally flawless look with light to medium coverage. Xoxo<3


EDIT: decided I don't love this! The slight shimmer in this really emphasizes pores and highlights bumpy skin. Not smoothing.

I give this a 3/5 only because I like the consistency and sheer coverage and it stays nicely all day long. However, the color range is terrible. I am very fair with pink undertones. I tested it while in Ulta and it seemed perfect. Looks great when I apply it in my bathroom and any mirror in my house looks fine. However, after a week of use I happened to glance in my rear view mirror while driving and was mortified. I looked like I was wearing a yellow mask, and I apply it very lightly!

No more, I threw it out and until they can come up with a shade that matches my skin I won't be buying again. The price didn't bother me when I thought it was the perfect shade. :)

I really dislike this stuff. It does absolutely nothing on my skin. I wasn't expecting full coverage, but this hardly qualifies as tinted. It doesn't match me, somehow it just turns my face yellow without actually providing coverage I have a yellow undertone, but this is way too strong and dark. It is nothing like a true BB cream, and it's ridiculously expensive for what it is. I usually love Too Faced, but the only positive thing I can say about it is it doesn't really get shiny on me.

Sadly... expensive. On a good note, great consistency, yellow undertones and it doesn't make me break out! For this amount of money... I wanted to LOVE it... didn't happen. It is a decent bb cream but for almost $50... it needed to be worth it!