Although I am new to Canada, I am always happy to try Canadian brands and am a teeny bit partial towards them :). So when I saw the Marcelle BB trial kit at Rexall, I grabbed it and has been trying it out for some time. Here is my take on the 3 products that came in the kit, I didn't take a pic of the cute black bag that came with it :(
You can read about the products from Marcelle's website here; I don't exactly remember the price for the trial kit but I think it was around $25 CAD.
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| Please excuse the mess made by usage! |
I am a fan of trial kits as I think its a good idea and gives a nice feel of the product range without burning a hole in the pocket. Out of a complete product range, you may like 1 or 2 or may be everything. This way, you get to try stuff especially if the brand claims that they are complimentary.
My Experience:
BB cream:
If it is not an Asian brand, my expectations from any product labelled as BB cream is that it should work well as a good foundation and nothing else. I don't expect any skin care benefits, so when Marcelle says that this cream gives 8-in-1 benefits, I say 'yawn.' Anyways the 8 benefits this product is touted to have are:
1. Evens out skin tone - which I guess is the purpose of a foundation or a tinted product or do they mean long term???
2. Offers immediate and long term hydrating benefits - Immediate is understandable; how to test for long term?
3. Protects from premature aging and environmental stresses - Oh crap! Really!
4. Promotes skin regeneration - Good bye all the healthy but yucky food, Marcelle BB cream is here & I dnt need you any more....
5.Controls shine - so this has mattifying effect, good
6. Soothes and calms - I am assuming Marcelle means the soothing & calming effect on skin and not on nerves :)
7. Reduces the appearance of imperfections - a reiteration of point 1. So this product has some good coverage. I dont think they do anything for your acne scar in the long term !
8. Provides anti-dull radiant complexion - Okay, come on!!!! if you didnt have anything to write for point 8 and you advertised 8-in-1, doesn't mean you have to fill in crap. Anti-dull!! is that even a word?
What companies do in the name of marketing is at times hilarious and at times atrocious. Anyways, so summing what is actually meant and discarding absurdities like "anti-dull" here is what Marcelle claims this cream does:
1. Provides good & even coverage
2. Mattifying effect without drying out skin - which may mean a satin finish
3. Soothing, calming and anti-aging - God only knows, but since I want to trust Marcelle I assume something is happening in the background.
Leaving aside all the snarky comments, this is a good tinted moisturizer. In fact, I will go even further and say that this is a good medium coverage foundation that applies smoothly and gives nice satin finish. Even without any primer, it lasts for at least 5-6 hours on my normal-to-oily skin. I have to agree on the mattifying effect also. It gives a very glow-y finish to the skin and I feel I can build the coverage to some extent.
Cream to Powder: This gives more coverage than the cream and can be used to add coverage to the look. I like how it applies.
If you are using this in isolation and if you have dry or baggy under eyes like mine, make sure to prime or else the product will sink into the lines.
Lasting power is almost the same if not a bit better.
Considering the ethnic diversity in Canada, it is sad that Marcelle has only 3 shades [ now only 2 listed in their website] for this product. Sad, sad, sad!!!
Cleanser: I am not a huge fan of cleansers as I love my baby wipes better than any cleanser. However, this did impress me cos it is so travel friendly. This is more like a cleansing milk and I really liked it.
Cleanser in action!
Overall: I have already got a back-up
for the BB cream when there was a sale. I am not very sure on the
Cream-to-Powder but I may buy if I see a sale. As for Cleanser,
hmmmmm..no thanks, I still love my Huggies :)
