This review is of the Estée Lauder Daywear B.B Anti-Oxidant Beauty Benefit Creme. It is a very long title for a product that does three things in one so let's take a look.

My thoughts with regard to summer make-up purchases are not purely how a product looks, but more how it protects my skin in the sun. Both my parents have battled skin cancer, and my father in particular continues to be treated for the condition on a regular basis. For this reason I am prepared to pay more for something that offers a high factor, and for many years I have purchased the Sunsense Daily Face Tinted Moisturiser that has an excellent reputation. This year, however I was searching for something that would combine sun protection with make-up, as this product does not have any real coverage, and so my search lead me to discover the Estée Lauder BB cream.

Now I have said many times in my reviews that I am not interested in purchasing high end products unless they are really excellent, as I feel that there are many drug store products that I love, and which do a perfectly good job when it comes to make-up and toiletries. However this product caught my eye because it has a high sun protection factor of 35, has moisturising qualities, and also has some coverage which makes it absolutely ideal for holidays, as you can bypass so many steps in your make-up routine and still be protected.

In my younger days I used to sunbathe a lot and would just apply a light coverage of sun lotion to my face, but to be honest without make-up now I don't feel at my best, and I prefer to have some sort of coverage. I have tried many tinted moisturisers but have never found one that gives me enough coverage to feel confident, and so I was hopeful that this product would supply me with more than just a hint of a tint.

Make-Up Counter Dramas!
-----------------------------------------
My first experience of trying to purchase this was really hopeless. I went into Debenhams and asked if they could give me a sample, and they said they only had a few when the product was first launched, and now they could only offer me a full refund if I wasn't happy with the product after purchase. I thought this was absolutely dreadful, and time and again it has been my experience at high end counters that the customer service is really lacking. As this is such an expensive product I decided to walk away and think, but I had read so many good reviews about it that I decided to purchase online, which did afford me a lot more discount anyway through a cash-back site, as well as extra points on my Debenhams Beauty card. The cost was £32 for 30mls which I was horrified about, but I did get substantial discounts at the time. Furthermore this was for a tropical holiday, and bearing in mind it does promise to fulfil three requirements- imparting moisture, sun protection and coverage, it was a price I was prepared to risk, especially in the light of such excellent reviews I had read on the internet.

The cream claims to be full of anti-oxidants that nourish the skin, and it also claims to impart a healthy look and an even toned complexion. It comes in two shades- I purchased light as I am fair skinned. This is known as 01 and the darker shade is 02.

Easy To Apply
-------------------
Application is easy. I used a brush, but you can also use fingers if you prefer. It has a beautiful scent which is so fresh- I would say it has a cucumber or a spring morning fresh dew fragrance, which is really lovely to use in the heat of a tropical climate. I took this on my holiday to The Maldives where the sun is intense and it is very easy to burn. I applied it first thing in the morning and again after swimming, and despite very hot and burning sun beating down I never suffered from any redness, and my skin very gradually tanned on my face so that when I returned from holiday I was able to continue using the cream for a couple of weeks. My skin was by this time still slightly darker than my usual colour, after which I gradually returned to using one of my usual foundations as my tan faded.

What I really love about this cream is that it has a good coverage which makes it so suitable for more mature skin that needs something extra on holiday other then minimal. I tended to use cream blush and a moist lipstick together with a waterproof shadow and mascara, and so it created a natural look. It was also then easy to re-apply during the day if I went swimming. The product actually has really good staying power in the sun, but I wanted to make sure that the sun protection factor was still at an optimal level all day so made sure to re-apply if I had been in the water.

I always like to look at the reviews over on Make-up Alley ( the make-up review site) and this product receives a 3.6 out of 5 with 61 percent saying they would re-purchase. I feel this slightly higher than average rating is for two main reasons- firstly the competition from several other high end products from companies like Clinique, Bobbi Brown or Laura Mercier, and secondly the shade range which some say is not covering enough variations, with the light being too dark for some skin tones. I do feel this may be relevant because I am normally a NW 20 in MAC, but many ladies are 15 or less, and this product may not cover these very light skin tones without looking unnaturally dark. There were some women who felt that the coverage still wasn't enough for them, and they used foundation over it, which of course then makes it less than ideal as it is really being used as a primer. Used in this way the price becomes prohibitively expensive, as for me the main attraction is the way it fulfils three needs in one. It does say on the tube that it can be used under foundation, but for me this misses the point, as I have a perfectly good moisturiser with SPF 50 but it simply doesn't have any coverage. I just wouldn't buy this to use as a primer it is simply too expensive- it has to do all three jobs. Therefore I wouldn't recommend this if you like full coverage make-up or have a lot of blemishes or scars to hide.

On the positive side it is so lovely to be able to pack lightly for holidays and this really helps with that. I actually took it on the aircraft, and applied it before we landed so that I was already protected before leaving the plane. At only 30ml size and in a plastic tube it travels beautifully, and was perfectly fine with the airline regulations for liquids travelling well in a plastic bag through security.

Since returning from home I have worn it for just those few days of the heat wave that we had, so all in all I have used it for about three weeks and I still have a lot left as you don't need a lot to cover the skin. However Maldivian days are very short as the islands are near to the Equator, so if you were using this in Greece, for example, you would have more hours of sun, and if you were swimming you might need to top up more regularly, so might need to take a second tube away for a back up.

I recommend this product for anyone who has a desire to protect their face from the sun, travel minimally, have a decent coverage on their face, and have a moisturised skin at the end of the day. I really love this because for me it did all these things beautifully. It made getting ready so easy, and I really valued being able to wear this and have a no make up look, even though I was actually wearing some! It is natural and healthy and together with cream products over it like cream blush it just looks dewy and fresh.

It also removes easily with wipes or lotion at the end of the day, and I have suffered no skin re-actions either. It does warn you to keep away from the eyes though so this should be kept in mind.

The Only Negative I Found- The Price
------------------------------------------------- ---------

The only negative for me I have to say really is the price. It is well worth waiting for an offer from Debenhams and these do come up with frequency, buy through a cash-back site, and join their beauty club because all these savings really do help to offset what is a major financial outlay. I would like to see more customer service training going on for representatives at the counters of these high end stores, and support from the companies themselves to make sure samples are available, because shades really matter as well as products. Also what a massive waste it is to say to a customer- "just bring it back if you don't like it"- more waste to end up in landfill and hardly an environmental tick.

I am still searching for other products that offer this triple benefit- only today a sample of a new product from Maybelline turned up in my mail which has an SPF of 30 and is also a BB cream. I hope it is good because it will save a lot of money if it turns out to be as effective as this one- we'll see.

Also to be published on Ciao under my user name Violet1278