My review: Iman skin tone evener/BB cream

 May 9th 2014 

lire en français ici
Hello, today I want to review a product that I have been using for almost a year now. If you have been following my blog for a while you may have noticed that I used this product several times on my makeup looks so I thought it was finally time to do a full review of the "Iman skin tone evener/BB cream". BB or CC creams are advertised as a product that will give you more coverage than a tinted moisturizer with the addition of long term skin care benefits. I have already said what I think about that on my review for the BlackUp CC cream  but I am going to say it again. I do not believe that a cream that I use in the morning only and a few times a week only can bring me long term skin care benefits. For me occidental BB creams are just a better version of tinted moisturizers. I picked the color "earth medium" but the brand offers this product in 6 different shades that should fit dark skin (africans/ indians/latinos) from very fair to very dark complexion.

I  said above that I do not believe in the long list of skin care benefits that most occidental BB/CC creams claim to have so I was glad when I realized that the Iman BB cream does not pretend to offer so much. The instructions say that "it is a multitasking tinted beauty balm that protects, evens and balances skin with SPF 15". I have to say that I am not inmpressed by the presence of an SPF15; first because I think it is too low to do anything, second because it does not specified if it does protect against UVA or/and UVB (find out more about SPF here) so we can guess it does not. The instructions even say that "it might help prevent sunburn not skin cancer or skin aging". Well to get a sunburn you need to spend a good amount of time under the sun on a really hot day. So how such a low SPF could do for us ???? For me it is more a sale and maketing strategy than a true sun protection. 

The tube is 1.0fl.oz/30 ml and the consistency is pretty light so it is very easy to apply and blend into the skin. It gives a light to medium coverage. I chose the color "earth medium" and I was really pleased because the color is a well balanced mix of several undertones; yellow, orange and red so I think this BB cream should match a wide range of skin tone with different undertones.

BEFORE THE BB CREAM

AFTER

Sorry if I look a little bit scary on the first picture but I did not have a moisturizer on as I wanted to make sure that this BB cream does what it is supposed to do. You can see on the different pictures that with the BB cream my skin looks moisturized, it has a glow, it is even, the cream brightens my skin complexion and it looks extremely natural. Honestly when I look into a magnifying mirror it just looks like a better version of my skin, the color match is perfect and it does minimize the appearance of my pores which was a surprise for me as it is not mentioned on the packaging. "Iman if you ever read this post you should definitely add this fact on the instructions". 

The Iman BB cream moisturizes, gives a glow and a natural finish but I found out that to avoid my combination skin from turning into a oily desaster throughout the day I need to use a primer and my HD powder. For those reasons I can only use it in the winter, but I don't think all of this is necessary for dry and very dry skin.
Pros:
-moisturizes well (too much if you have oily skin)
-gives a glowy look
-looks really natural
-it has a well balanced mix of undertones so it should match many different skin tones.
-big surprise: minimize the appearance of pores 
Cons:
-burns the eyes if you use it around this area (but the instructions warn you on that)
-too moisturizing for some skin type (it will make you look oily)
-does not have long lasting properties

Who should buy/not buy this product ?
If you have oily skin, if you enjoy matte or long lasting finish this product is not for you
If you have dry to very dry skin; or if you enjoy glowy and very natural finish; you will love this product.
Will I repurchase ?
I will definitely buy this again when I am done with this tube; but to use it in the winter only.

Bellow a full makeup look with the BB cream. Details of the look here

Have you ever used this product before ? Let us know what you think about it on the comment section bellow.

XOxo
Dianna.H