bareMinerals BB Cream Eyeshadow in Candlelit Peach: the perfect lid brightener

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The BB hysteria has gone a little too far if you ask me, and I've never been on board. So let me make this clear, if I bought bareMinerals 5 in 1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow, it was NOT because I was attracted by the name BB. It was in fact despite that silly name trying to surf an overused trend. Here, I said it. 

What made me go for this product is first of all my obsession for cream eyeshadows. Then, there's the fact that it has an SPF15, and while I live in a place with intense sunshine all year round, I don't have a single sunscreen that is safe to use on the eyelids. And finally, I was excited by the promise of a brightening, smoothing effect



The delicate skin on my eyelids tends to be dry and look crepey, it shows some sunspots and is really darkened (you know under-eye dark circles? Well I have that all around my eyes, not just underneath...). All that can make me look tired, and I'm always searching for eyeshadows that will provide some moisture, brighten up my lids and protect them from further sun damage. 

According to bareMinerals, the BB Cream Eyeshadow has 5 benefits: 
- long wear time, up to 12 hours 
- primes the lid and can be used as a base for powder shadows 
- a brightening, illuminating effect 
- smoothes the lid and diminishes the appearance of fine lines 
- offers sun protection 



There are 10 neutral shades in the range that are meant to be nude, and with colors ranging from ivory to rich brown and olive taupe, almost everyone should be able to find a shade that matches their complexion. I picked Candlelit Peach, a peachy beige that works well with light to medium skintones. 


After reading the brand's description of the BB Cream Eyeshadows and looking at the little tubes, I was convinced they were all matte. They're not, they all hide fine shimmer that only reveals itself when you blend them. It's really strange, there is absolutely no visible shimmer if you just put some cream on your skin with the applicator, it looks like a flat, matte concealer. Then you start blending and it magically appears! This is micro-shimmer we're talking about, not sparkles, so they attract and reflect the light (hence the brightening effect) but there's no grittiness and it looks more like a glow. 


Before and after blending
Shades from left to right: Barely Nude, Soft Linen,
Sweet Spice, Blushing Pink, Elegant Taupe


Candlelit Peach: direct sun/shade

The creamy texture is extremely easy to apply and blend with your fingers, and it dries fast. With its fine brightening shimmer and opaque coverage, it corrects my discoloration issues perfectly well. My eyes look more fresh and rested, I think it's pretty obvious from the before/after photo, although I wasn't wearing any concealer under the eye! 


Before/After applying Candlelit Peach

The wear time is as promised by the brand, it lasts all day without creasing, and from my experience it won't budge with water. Although it does make a good primer for powder shadows, I don't like to use it that way. It works so well by itself as a brightening shadow that I don't particularly feel like covering it with other colors, I'd rather use a classic (and potentially cheaper) eyeshadow primer. 


See all that product left around the mouth of the tube?

The only flaw of this product, but one that hugely annoys me, is its packaging. The doe foot applicator is way too long and gets to much product out of the tube. The entry of the tube is shaped like a funnel, which is the stupidest idea, as a ton of cream stays stuck on the sides of that funnel to dry and die, unless you're really good at aiming for the tiny whole at the bottom without touching the sides. There's a major amount of waste here, and with the tube being fairly small, it really won't last me much longer. 

Overall: I'm very pleased with this BB Cream Eyeshadow which allows me to get brighter, more awake eyes in just a minute. It's a simple, fool-proof, yet extremely effective product. I just wish bareMinerals would improve the packaging! 

Where to buy: at the following retailers. Note that Sephora doesn't carry all the shades. Nordstrom has free shipping and returns with no minimum purchase.

The product featured in this review was purchased by Lulle. I received no compensation to write this post, which only reflects my personal opinion. This post contains affiliate links.


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