Triple Review & Swatches: Lavera Beauty Balm, Witch Anti-Blemish Beauty Balm & Dr Dennis Gross All-In-One Tinted Moisturizer

Saturday 7 September 2013


Tinted moisturisers and BB creams/balms have always featured prominently in my make-up routines, and I've been experimenting with a number of new ones lately.  All three of these provide different benefits, yet they all deliver a good, light base for those days when you don't want or need a face full of foundation.

Best for Normal - Oily/Combination Skin & Light-Medium skintones + Natural Organic Formula
Lavera Beauty Balm 6 in 1 Tinted Moisturiser (30ml, £17.90, link)
For those into green make-up brands, the launch of Lavera's Beauty Balm this year was exciting news.  This vegan friendly, natural mineral and organic formula promises to be a magical 6 in 1 product, so let's take a closer look at these claims:-

1.  Even glowing complexion - It will give you a lovely even finish but I didn't notice any 'glowing' aspect really.  For reference, it doesn't have any of those shimmering particles or anything like that in the formula.  It does give you a finish that's somewhere between semi-matte & satin though.  

2.  24 hour moisturisation - For my oily/combination skin I'd say definitely yes.  I didn't need to use any additional moisturiser with this and the drier parts of my face never felt parched or uncomfortable throughout the day.  However, I think dry skintypes will need to use a separate moisturiser with it.

3. Smoothes imperfections - Mostly yes but only on minor ones.  It goes over small blemishes well, but you'd still need to use a good quality concealer for a flawless finish.

4. Refines pores - Didn't see any difference here, though I should point out it didn't exaggerate them either.

5.  Ensures a matt complexion - Personally I had to use a little powder here and there to mattify it as the end result I received was more semi-matte.

6. Protects the skin against free radicals - I can't honestly answer this but I am very happy with the key natural ingredients in the formula which have been proven to help this.

So coverage wise it's light and can be built up to a light-medium layer without looking cakey.  It feels nice on the skin and has a pleasant scent to it.  I've really been enjoying using this throughout summer because the one-shade only colour it comes in suits me perfectly.  It looks very dark at first but once blended out matched my light olive skintone a treat.  I am however disappointed by how expensive it is in the UK compared to how much I paid for it in euros in Germany (almost half price!), so if you're heading over there, definitely pick one up!



Best for Blemish-Prone, Oily-Oily/Combination skin & fair skintones + SPF 15
Witch Anti Blemish Beauty Balm (50ml, £6.99, link)
If you have troublesome skin and you're on a budget, then I always recommend Witch products and their Beauty Balm offering is really good.  The formula is light, non-greasy and gives a properly matte finish.  Coverage is also good; again it's light but great for sorting out uneven skintone and covering minor blemishes and imperfections.  It feels comfortable on my oily/combination skin, but I think it would be too drying for most other skintypes.  There's not much of a scent to it, and the witch hazel extract in the formula helps to heal and prevent blemishes coming through.  Only downside for me, is that the one shade it comes in is much too light for me at the moment (it's a light pink) but I may be able to wear it during the winter months.  Bonus is that it has SPF 15 though!

Best for All Skin Types & most skintones + anti-aging benefits + SPF 15
Dr Dennis Gross All-in-One Tinted Moisturiser* (50ml, £28.65, link)  
Coming in from the high-end spectrum is this hugely underrated tinted moisturiser from Dr Dennis Gross skincare.  It gives you all the benefits of a proper moisturiser (balancing and hydrating, with SPF 15), but with amazing pigment coverage which can easily be layered to around the medium level.  I can happily slap two layers of this on and unless I'm suffering from a major breakout, I don't need to use a separate concealer.  It even works for me as an undereye corrector as well!  It feels wonderfully light on the skin, has virtually no scent and comes in six different shade combinations (Light/Medium shown above).  In many ways it reminds me of the cult Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation formula but with more coverage and at a much cheaper price!

Have you tried any of these?
What's your favourite tinted moisturiser/BB?

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11 comments

  1. I really like the sound of the Lavera one, definitely looks on the darker side but like you said they do blend out and i think i could maybe get away with it. It sounds lovely x

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    1. I think it might suit paler skintypes, really isn't as dark at all once you blend it :) x

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  2. Wow. I would never have thought of trying witch's bb cream, but that shade seems perfect for me. Definetly something I will check out. Great review as always :)

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  3. The Dr Dennis one sounds amazing, shading has been mainly an issue with me with bb creams. I love the Dior Nude skin bb cream though it covers like a foundation but feels bare, xoxo.

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    1. I really want to try the Dior Nude, sounds exactly like the Dennis Gross! xx

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  4. As you know I'm interesting in Lavera but one thing I noticed is no SPF. I feel like that would be a nice added bonus to the product :)

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    1. Completely agree, I always think it's strange when BBs & tinted moisturisers don't come with SPF :(

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  5. Thanks for sharing. I'm a huge bb cream/tinted moisturizer girl and I'm always on the hunt for new ones to try. Started following xx

    http://bigbeautybag.blogspot.com/
    New huge Sephora haul ♥

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  6. These look interesting. I'm currently loving REN. x

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