Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream: Review & Swatches!

Hey everyone,
So, lately a lot of well known brands, both high and low end, have been coming up with their own versions of BB creams. I find that with these Americanized BB creams, many companies have completely missed the concept of what a Beauty Balm cream is actually supposed to do, and unfortunately, Maybelline is no exception to that group.

First I'm going to go through the list of 8 things this 'BB cream' claims to do, and give you my opinions on them based on my experience, and go into more detail below!

1. So, this cream has SPF 30, which offers a decent amount of sun protection for the face, but I would still recommend using sunscreen underneath.

2. I like how they cleverly worded this one...yes, it does blur the look of imperfections a little bit, but if you have redness and acne that you wish to cover up, this alone will not do the trick.

3. Yes it does create a gorgeous natural glow to the face, which is great if you have dry to normal skin, but I have oily skin, so I need to set this with a powder in order to avoid looking like a grease ball.

4. It actually does make my skin look and feel smoother!!  Whenever I walked past a mirror and looked at my face, I couldn't believe how smooth it looked.  You can see in the pictures below where I've applied it to my hand, compared to the first swatch photo, my hand looks much smoother once this BB cream has been blended out.

5.  This BB cream comes in 5 different shades, which is really good compared to many true Asian BB creams which only come in 1 shade.  I'm a pretty pale person, even when tanned, and I had to purchase the 4th shade, and even that was a little light.  However, it does blend seamlessly into my skin and looks completely natural on my face, so I guess it blends out to compliment my skin tone.  Still, I feel like there aren't any darker shades to compliment the darker toned ladies, which is really unfortunate.

6. The formulation of this feels so moisturizing on your face, it almost makes me feel like I don't need a moisturizer.

7. I'm really not sure what they mean by 'feel fresh', but this is seriously so lightweight on my skin, I don't feel like i'm wearing any face makeup. 

8.  For someone who has oily, acne prone, sensitive skin, the fact that this is oil-free is such a bonus.

This balm has a really light, water based formulation, so it's a very light coverage balm which feels incredible on the skin.  Once applied, it gives an amazing lightweight feel and look, so it's the perfect alternative to a heavy foundation in the summer.  Again, coverage is zero-light with this balm.  It does provide the tiniest amount of coverage and seems to even out the skin tone, but if you're looking to cover up acne, you'll need to use a concealer for sure.

This makes my skin look really dewy, actually, bordering on just plain greasy because I have oily skin to begin with, and I'm guessing that's from it's claim to give a natural glow to the face and because of it's hydrating formulation. So, I always need to set this with powder and touch up during the day. That being said though, even when I don't set it with powder, it does not slide around on my face and disappear half way through the day like some tinted moisturizers I've tried.   Over all, if you have normal-dry, pretty clear skin you will love this product for the summer!

When applied, this just melts into your skin, making it look naturally radiant and smooth.  When I apply this to my face I find that it blends out the best with good 'ol fingers as opposed to with brushes to achieve a light textured look. 

My only issue here is that this doesn't offer any of the benefits that true Asian BB creams offer such as anti-aging properties or anything to actually improve the skin.  As well, this is available in 5 shades as opposed to the typical legitimate BB cream, making this more like a hyped up tinted moisturizer rather than a BB cream.

Overall, this product definitely exceeded my expectations as a tinted moisturizer, but disappointed me as a BB cream.  It leaves my skin feeling amazingly hydrated and lightweight and looks and feels very natural on the skin.  I purchased this on sale for $8.99 CND at Shoppers and will definitely repurchase it once I run out!

Have you tried Maybelline Dream Fresh yet?  What do you think of it?
& What do you think of these Americanized BB creams versus true Asian BB creams?  Let me know below!