Olay Total Effects Touch of Foundation BB Crème SPF15 Review

I tried a few BB creams when they first became a thing here in NZ, and to be honest they didn't do a lot for me. Often the colour was off or the coverage wasn't enough for my pimple and acne-prone skin. This was a surprising find.

I really like the packaging, it feels pretty luxurious and looks nice on my counter. The pump is a great touch as I hate the idea of putting my fingers in product repeatedly. That being said my only gripe is with the pump as I can never get the right amount on my hand. It's either too little, then the next pump provides too much, or it's too much. I'm not a fan of the wastage that goes on. The actual BB cream though? Big fan.

It's a thick consistency, and I like the scent. It's not too strong but has a delicate perfume to it. The colour is spot-on for my light/medium skin tone, and it blends effortlessly. Best of all I can see a difference. It minimises my pores and almost gives a blurring effect to my skin. It makes me think of a cross between a blurring primer and a foundation. While it's not so good on my bad skin days, on the days when acne isn't flaming up on my cheeks it's a really nice and lightweight product that gives a natural fresh look to my skin.

Would repurchase and recommend to friends with dry/combo skin like mine. (Not sure how it would go on oily skin as it does feel very moisturising).

As a woman in her 50s I have the usual old-lady skin issues going on - redness, wrinkles, furrows. The thought of wearing foundation horrifies me, all of that caking into the lines.

So a BB creme from one of my favourite brands was too intriguing to refuse. It arrived first thing in the morning and I couldn't wait, I moisturised and got stuck in.

It applied beautifully and while it definitely evened my skin tone and sort of softened my lines, it didn't feel or look like there was a layer of product on my face - I looked like a less red, less haggard me, but still me.

It was incredibly moisturising, and lasted the day at work. It smelled like sunscreen, but I didn't find that off putting, in fact a rather nice reminder I was using SPF.

It was quite like a lotion more than a cream, but I liked that as it was easy to apply and move around your face. I tried applying with a brush, my hands and a sponge ball my daughter gave me, and each worked well with the Olay.

I think the price is good and I like that you can pick this up in the supermarket!

Was I expecting too much?

When the invite came in I leapt on it like a stampeding unicorn. I had used Olay previously but not for several years at least. The box is similar to the original total effects but they have added a glossy foil/plastic on the front to show the bottle and benefits of b3 pro-b5 and bb creme with a big 7 in one. It also says that the bb creme is all skin tones, I have a laugh at that as it is too dark for really pale skins and too light for some darker skins. For myself it was a ok match once rubbed in, not fantastic but livable.

On first use you do need to pump the dispenser for several goes till the product comes through. One pump is too much for my face so I slowly pump down till I have about the same as I normally squeeze out of a tube. I would apply this as I normally did, dotted over my face and then rubbed in. I had random chances with this as sometimes it felt like it burnt but other times nothing. I did notice that there was no redness with the burning feel. In the 2 weeks I have been using this, I haven't noticed any of the other antiaging benefits but sometimes they take a little longer to show through. There is a slight fresh scent to it, it won't appeal to everyone and seems to stick around for a while.

If you have good skin you could probably get away with this and a dusting of powder. It also went ok under liquid foundation with or without powder on top but it wasn't the same level as with a primer. To be honest I felt it was lacking as I was so used to put on the primer after my moisturizer, this might be habit on my part so I did double layer of this a few times but it didn't make up for the missing of primer. I would wear this by itself on the weekend if I wasn't going anywhere. It did come off easily at the end of the day, wipes, cream and foaming washes and makeup remover.

There are some downsides with this product that I noticed, one colour fits all as I mentioned earlier. If you wanted to use this as a night cream you would need to get the normal version of this too but at the price you would skip buying this one. Even when wearing by itself at home you still have to take it off at the end of the day. I don't plan of repurchasing this one but I would relook at the normal non tinted version that I used to buy and could use day and night if I wanted to.

I actually really liked this product. I'm not a fan of foundations generally as they are often too heavy. This particular product was a nice light weight and gave the right amount of coverage for me as well as evening out my skin tone. I'd definitely use it again!

I had high hopes for this all in one type of product. I applied it with a flat top foundation brush and it smelt nice. It spread easy and effortlessly. Blended well and my skin looked really nice and even, fresh and dewy.

I went to work.....I went orange :( It had oxidised on me so much that I turned into an oompa loompa.

So I tried again for 3 days , using the bare minimum of product. It did the same. So I'm sorry, this product is a no from me. If I was tanner , sure! But I'm a porcelain.

Great product. Smells beautiful. And applies smoothly. A bit thicker than what I was expecting but blended nicely. Gives a light coverage. Just enough for every day. Would purchase.

I was really happy to be asked to be part of this trial, the product sounds so good in theory.

The packaging didn't stand out to me, though Olay is a well known and trusted brand, so maybe that gets it through. The first claim - perfect light cover. If you have perfect skin, then this will probably glide on gloriously. If your skins is a bit...average like mine (combination, but fairly acne free while I was trying this) then it probably wont look so good. On my skin it looked patchy, dark spots that looked like I had caked it on and others that were light. (Note I'm always the palest shade you can get in foundation, and this was not a match for me at all) It worked a little better when I piled some light powder on, smoothed out the patchiness and lightened it enough to have just a light summer cover. This kind of removes the 'radiance' claim that comes with the shine of the product without powder. The sunscreen element is great - it really works. I have had other foundations that claim to have spf but have failed dismally. This worked well in the full sun of a 28 degree day at the beach, and it wore well as well, not sliding or disappearing. I can't really comment on the anti-aging. It wasn't obvious on application to me and I don't feel that I had long enough to figure out if it was going to make any huge difference.

Would I buy this again - honestly, probably not unless they came out with one for us vampire pale girls. I like the idea of it, and I think it works. It's just the colour and patchiness that really don't impress me personally.

Overall I liked this product. As someone who does not wear alot of makeup I found Olay Total Effects Touch of Foundation BB Cream perfect for me.

Loved how it combines a moisturizer with SPF 15 sunscreen and BB Cream. The pump bottle was perfect shape and easy to use with enough cream being pumped out with a single pump. Smell was fine and wasn't too overpowering.

Cream was quite thin it maybe could be a tad thicker but was easy to apply with fingers or a brush (I tried both ways and both worked well). Colour was great for me very natural but that's what I like as do not wear alot of makeup anyway. Don't know what it would be like on slightly tanned/darker skin tones but probably not suitable for someone who likes a thicker coverage.

Ive tried Olay before and it seems to be making a comeback. This BB cream is a great idea combining anti ageing benefits with a touch a colour. The container says it suits all skin tones. Im light/fair about a NC 15-20 Mac, not as light as some skin tones but pretty fair. This is way to dark for me! It also oxidized really badly and I ended up looking like an oompa loompa! I think that instead of being a quick easy moisturise and slightly colour with me it would have a be a full considered application with a sponge to make sure it was all even. With this in mind Im more likely to just use foundation that I know is my colour. Im interested to hear how it went on darker skin tones but it a no for light skin tones for me.

I love BB creams - so I have tried quite a few over the years. This product by Olay ticked all the boxes. It absorbs beautifully and is moisturising without being greasy. Coverage is light - unfortunately I need to use a concealer to cover pigmentation. I am quite fair, and the colour was perfect for me. I like the fact that it provides SPF15. Doesn't smell like much. Packaging is nice and the product is very reasonably priced. Yes, I will recommend it to a friend as I think it compares very well to other products with a hefty price tag.