Review: Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream SPF15

Press Sample

A few weeks ago I received the new Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream for review (both shades) and now that I've been using this product for over two weeks straight, I'd love to share my thoughts with you!

This product was first spotted at Walmart (you can see the display here) and I imagine it will be at retailers nationwide soon (if you haven't spotted it already).

Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream in Light and Medium

(retail: around $10, 1.5 oz)

For these before-and-afters, I used the Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream in Light (Medium was much too deep for my NC20 skintone):

 Before

(clean, bare skin)

As you can see in the pic above, my skin has lots of imperfections. I have redness, old acne scars, sun spots, broken capillaries and darkness under my eyes. I also have large pores on my cheeks near my nose (as if you could miss those in this photo!). 

After 

(Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream in Light, applied with fingers)

In the pic above, you can see that this product did a nice job at covering up a lot of my skin imperfections. Obviously you can still see some redness on my cheeks and the broken capillaries and dark spots, but they are significantly less noticeable. The darkness under my eyes is still visible but again, it's less noticeable and I certainly feel confident to leave the house wearing just this product.

Texture and finish: This product has a creamy yet light texture. It's not watery or thin, yet it's not super thick or hard to work with. It spreads quite easily onto the skin and it feels light and hydrating once it sets. The finish stays somewhat dewy after it sets, which gives the skin that "luminous finish." There is no sparkle or shimmer in this product, which I appreciate very much. This is one of those products that I think could work quite well for oily, normal or dry skin, due to its creamy yet light consistency. It doesn't mattify, yet it doesn't look greasy on the skin. It's right in the middle between the two.

Pigmentation: This is not the most pigmented US BB Cream I have ever used, but it's also not the least-pigmented. I am able to build for extra coverage without it ever becoming cakey, but even after building and doing some spot application, I can still see my more severe skin imperfections peeking through. 

Oxidation: BB Creams are designed to adjust to your skintone (which is why there are generally so few shade options) but this product does not oxidize on me to the point of turning orange. It does deepen slightly after about 10 minutes on my skin, and it turns a little bit more pink and less yellow than what you see above. Overall, I didn't find this to be an issue because I like to top it with a setting powder that matches my skin. But if you were to wear this alone, without powder, just know that you could end up with a color that's about a half of a shade darker than what first appears on your face.

Skin benefits: I can't speak to any long-term benefits of this product because I've only been using it for a few weeks, but I do think that the claim on the packaging ("visible dark spot reduction") holds true in my case. I have dark spots and they are visibly reduced when I wear this product. Also, this product makes my skin feel extremely soft to the touch when I'm wearing it and, even after removal, my skin feels quite soft.

Staying power: Since I have very oily skin, I prefer to set this product with setting powder. But I have worn it a few times without any powder, and the staying power is fantastic both ways. I am seriously impressed with how long this product lasts on my oily skin without fading--especially these last few days here in San Diego (it's been extremely hot and humid). If you've ever tired to apply a BB cream or foundation on hot, sweaty skin, you know that it can instantly become a cakey mess. Not so with this product! It's kind of a small miracle--this product literally doesn't cake. It goes on smoothly and looks natural regardless of the weather, and it stays that way (for me at least) for the entire day. Yes, I do require some touch-ups with an oil-blotting sheet throughout the day, but I can't recall ever using a BB Cream that didn't require some oil-control throughout the day (thanks to my oily skin).

Fragrance: This product has the same fragrance that the other products in the Luminous family have--it's sort of a sweet yet clean floral fragrance. I do find the fragrance to be on the stronger side, so if you're sensitive to fragrance, this might be a drawback. It's not so strong that it stings my eyes or anything crazy like that, but it is definitely noticeable during application.

Removal: At the end of the day, this product removes easily using just my regular facial cleanser.

FINAL VERDICT: All in all, I have really enjoyed this BB Cream. The Light shade is a nice match for my skin, and I'm happy with the light-to-medium coverage this product provides, especially when I'm in a hurry and just want to slap something on my face and run out the door. If you have severe skin imperfections, you'll definitely want to use a concealer in conjunction with this product, but if you have fairly good skin, I think you'll be happy with the coverage this product provides. My favorite things about this product are its natural-looking finish and its fantastic staying power (even in hot, humid weather). I also love that this product does not become cakey, even if you build for more coverage. I do wish that the SPF were higher for an all-in-one product (I prefer SPF30 or above), and I also wish that the fragrance were a little lighter, though that's not a deal-breaker for me since fragrance doesn't generally bother me unless it's ridiculously strong (this isn't). I hope that Pond's decides to create a "Very Light" and "Deep" shade in the future so that more of us will have suitable shade options, but if you fall in between the "Light" and "Medium" range, I think you might enjoy this one if you're looking for something that provides a natural-looking finish with some added coverage. Like I said earlier, I have oily skin, but I can see this working well on normal and dry skin as well. 

Have you tried the new Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream? I'd love to hear how it's working for you!

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.Blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews. For more information, click here.