Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base

This is such a mixed bag for me. I will just lay out the pros and cons that I found:

Pros (for me):
Does initially when first applied make the skin feel somewhat softer, smoother, and more evened out (but nothing 'wow!')

Cons (for me):
Makes the skin look oily....like disco ball shine (I have combo skin)
Very strong scent. I see some list a citrus scent, but to me, this is floral scented with maybe a citrus scent in the background (bought mine from Macy's.com so I know it is not fake)
Does not make makeup go on smoother nor last any longer (in fact I think it makes my blush fade faster; tried with various blushes)
I also think this makes my foundation break down and/or wear off faster. Again, tried with several foundations.
Not a fan of potted moisturizers/primers/bases. I prefer pump or squeeze tube. I realize this is personal preference, but it is what it is. I just think pumps or squeeze tubes are more sanitary and keep the product "fresher" longer. Less air getting into the product keeps it more sanitary and I feel makes the product last longer in the container/does not expire as fast.
I also do not like how 'thick' this is. It does soften up once it hits the skin to blend in (takes a bit of work, which I am also not a fan of), but to me, it just feels kind of 'waxy' when in the pot. I am just not a fan of 'waxy' feeling makeup items, even if they do 'soften' upon application. Just is a very weird consistency to me that I do not like. I might be okay with the weird consistency if it performed really well, but for me, it does not perform 'really well'.
Just feels heavy on the skin, even when applied very thinly. I can just feel it 'sitting' on my skin.

All in all, I am not a fan of this. I think there are better products out there or similar ones that cost a fraction of the price. I ordered the mini size of this from Macy's and it was only around $20.00USD, so I am glad I did not get the big one.

Hi guys!

I bought this product due to the high reviews all over the net. Unfortunately, this was NOT what I expected. I will defo NOT be buying again due to the following reasons -

*Greasy - even though Bobbi Brown say that it is oil free, no matter what foundation I use with it, my face looks like an oil stick! After a few hours my face was so shiny and felt wet/greasy.

*Sticky - it feels sticky when on the face and even after you have waited for a few minutes or even 10 minutes! When you apply your foundation on top, it just doesn't work well together (with liquid foundations).

*Smells - you will need a peg for your nose! I did not like the smell at all and it made me get the sniffles whenever applied.

*Pricey - high end price retailing at a whopping £40!!! This is actually dearer than most foundations....a bit like having car insurance that is higher than what the actual car is worth!!

I gave it a 2* instead of a 1* rating because you get 50ml instead of the usual 30ml standard size you get with most cosmetic products.

I have combination to oily skin and was therefore looking for something to keep it at bay. #Epic fail. #Never again!

I love this cream! I had a few dry spots on my forehead throughout winter and the girls at Mecca suggested this now I apply it first everytime I do my makeup, smells yummy kinda citrusy and a little goes a long way!

I bought the Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base after reading an online review here no MUA. I was looking for something to perk up my skin after the dermatologist prescribed a retinol. My previously oily T-Zone skin dried up and peeled, continuously. I'm now only using the retinol 2 days a week, and will increase it back up again gradually to try and help, but that doesn't make the issue go away now.

My biggest problem was that my makeup no longer sat well, it bunched up, pilled up, clung to ever flake on my face and looked downright awful. This was even after I bought a more luminous foundation, and changed my moisturiser and other face products to try and help. Along came Bobbi Brown... now my makeup sits well even though my dryness and flakiness is still problematic. It moisturises my TZone well enough that I don't need another moisturiser during the day, the outer aspects of my cheeks get additional moisturiser before and then this Bobbi Brown product on top. This works well, and I have had no issues with the areas with additional moisturiser or without.

The downside of this product is the beautiful, yet impractical packaging. The jar makes it hard to get to the product once you're a way through the jar, it also exposes this beautiful cream to bacteria and other nasties.

I currently don't plan to rebuy simply due to cost, but when my jar is out if nothing else has caught my eye, Bobbi Brown will get another $72 (AUD) from me.

Love this stuff. Having very oily skin I've struggled finding a moisturizer that doesn't break me out and make my make off melt off my face. This is amazing for oily skin and I've been using it for the last 3 years. I use this in the morning and before going to bed and it makes my skin feel great! Plus it smells amazing!

I love the smell but maybe would like to try other primers that are cheaper :)

If you have dry skin you need this product. The older I get, the dryer my skin looks. I wanted a good moisturizer/primer specifically before makeup application. I love this stuff. It smells amazing, like lemon freshness. It's very thick so a small amount is all you need. It melts into the skin and leaves everything soft and supple. There is no sticky residue left behind. I still use a primer after the face base and I get great results. I have yet to try it on it's own without a primer over the top. The only down side is it's expensive and you only get 1.7 oz of product. I also don't like the bottle, you have dig the product out. There is no pump. It's a minor complaint though. Overall, I love this moisturizer and would buy it again.

I am not a primer person, in fact, I only own one "true" primer that I do not use often because I like to rely on good skincare like moisturizer and serum to give me a good base. This caught my eye because it didnt seem like all the other primers, so I got some samples to try out. Here are my thoughts:

This is a primer-moisturizer hybrid. So for you people who generally dont like primers, this is for you. It was moisturizing yet didnt feel greasy and had a plush sort of feeling like from a typical silicone primer. It didnt ball up and it made my face smooth and a bit more evened out. This however, does not completely cancel out pores or wrinkles, it smoothed things over but dont expect this to be a pore filler. One thing I dont like is the strong citronella smell, it smells like one of those candles to keep bugs away. It's not gagging bad but I would prefer rose, powder, lavender, patchouli, anything but citrus-bug repellent smell! I like using this, skincare is something I dont mind layering as it actually helps and improves skin. That makes this product multitasking. One thing to keep in mind is that if your looking for a true primer to keep makeup in place all day and stay super matte, this is not for you. This is good for many skintypes, for oily skin you can skip the moisturizer and go with this. For dry skin folks, add a serum and or moisturizer. Im very impressed with this primer/base.

I would compare this to Too Faced Hangover primer, it's also a moisturizer/primer hybrid that is very similar in performance. I find the TooFaced one is more moisturizing and less "primer" like. Toofaced is lighter feeling and dewier. It also smells WAY better than BobbiBrowns. TooFaced Hangover primer is much cheaper at $32USD and Bobbi's is $58USD, Ouch. BobbiBrown's "primer" does have more unique ingredients like retinol, hydrolic acid, shea butter, yeast extract and flower oils. BobbiBrowns primer is more skincare/treatment and luxurious. I would bite the bullet and choose BobbiBrowns primer because quality over quantity. I would say go with TooFaced Hangover primer if your on a budget, it's still a great primer. I myself, plan to buy BobbiBrowns primer.

Overall, I really like this! I would recommend this.

I've been using this hydrating treatment from Bobbi Brown for a little over a year now. Essentially, this cream serves as my primer, prolonging the wear-time of whatever foundation I'm using.

The jar presentation of the product is probably off-putting to many folks. I don't mind it, but I do have the small travel jars from Bobbi Brown when they send samples, so I simply scoop out the Face Base from the large jar using a spatula, and I fill up the little travel jar. It fits nicely into my skin care box which sits on my bathroom counter, and I don't have to keep my big jar of the cream in sight (and thus don't have to worry that my sweet husband would accidentally knock the jar onto the floor).

My complexion is dry enough that Face Base is not moisturizing enough on its own for me, so I use the Bobbi Brown Extra Balm first, then follow with the Face Base. I've been mixing the Bobbi Brown CC & BB creams for my overall foundation, and the combination seems to work very well for me.

I have the typical sensitivity common amongst my fellow-redheads, and the Face Base has not caused any irritation whatsoever. The fragrance is not perfume-y, it is simply a pleasant combination of essential oils and herbs which impart a fresh citrusy scent. For those sensitive to such things, I find the scent dissipates upon application of other products.

This is a pricey moisturizer that doubles as a makeup base. I found it made my skin look flawless, and foundation went on evenly, and looked great! The scent is nice, but I worried it may be a bit irritating at first. I wish it was in a pump, but it's not so there you go.