BB Cream: The Body Shop Vitamin E Cool BB Cream

As I mentioned in the review of The Body Shop All-In-One BB Cream, The Body Shop advertised a second BB Cream offering, their Vitamin E Cool BB Cream, which at the time, hadn't hit stores here. Vitamin E is marketed as a powerful antioxident that neutralizes the oxident effect of free radicals. The effect of free radicals can include fine lines, wrinkles and skin dryness. For a full article on Vitamin E and how it benefits the skin, try out Discovery Health's article.

This particular BB Cream only comes in one cool shade. This is a bit of a let down, considering that we don't all come in one cool shade. The Body Shop markets the BB Cream as providing the following:

• Hydrates to protect

• Evens tone

• Fresh-looking skin

• One cool shade

The BB Cream comes in a 50ml.1.69 US FL OZ, plastic tube with a snap shut lid. It smells a little bit like aqueous cream, which isn't bad - it is mild and unoffensive.

It has the consistency of a moisturizer, and applies smoothly without any of the botchy effects of The Body Shop's last offering. It is hydrating, and I don't notice any tightness or dryness during the day. It provides light coverage and to that extent gives an even skin tone. Like almost all BB Creams, it gives a fresh, natural and dewy finish.

I tend to use this particular product as a primer for foundation, or alone at night if I want a fresh faced look, don't need to wear sunblock, and am a little too lazy to apply a full face of war paint. It is, in its own right, a decent BB Cream; it applies easily, it doesn't smell bad, it provides mild coverage, and it isn't bad. It is, hands down, an improvement on the All-In-One BB Cream. 

The major reason I am disappointed with this BB Cream is, like the All-In-One BB Cream, this contains no sunblock. I maintain that BB Creams should do more than even out skin tone and moisturize, they should contain some skincare benefits, the least of which should be sunblock. I appreciate that Vitamin E is good for skin, and I hear it is great for younger skin in protecting against the early signs of aging and environmental stresses, but is it enough to justify this being a BB Cream? I am personally not convinced.

Unfortunately, and I don't know if this is true the world over, this product is still a little pricey, and considering how little it does, I can't see why I should spend more money on this particular product, when there are other cheaper, and more protective products on the market.

In case you're interested, here's another article, from the Huffington Post, this time, on why you should be cautious when applying Vitamin E to your body.

Have you tried the Vitamin E Cool BB Cream? What are your thoughts?