Smashbox Camera Ready Bb Cream Eyes is "a 5-in-1 beauty balm that: hydrates, protects, perfects, corrects, and illuminates the under-eye area while instantly reducing the appearance of dark circles instantly and over time." This all sounds perfect, right!? It sounded very ideal to me, and after seeing a few positive reviews on it I decided to pick one up for a pricey $29 cad for 3.5 ml.
It comes in 5 shades; fair, light, light/medium, medium, and dark. I chose the shade 'light' although it still seemed slightly too dark for my fair skin tone, however, 'fair' was too light and the pink undertones seemed too strong. The bb eye cream also claims to "reduce the appearance of puffiness, visibly smooth fine lines and wrinkles, and improve firmness."
Now, the BB Eyes is actually listed as a primer on the Smashbox website, although it is pigmented enough to use it as a daily concealer for those who want a natural look, or don't have terrible dark circles. I personally haven't really had luck in the past with under-eye specific concealers. Sure, they all do the job but typically are either too cakey, not the right shade, or dry too fast.
Click photo to enlarge, (photos are unedited)
But.. I do like the Smashbox Bb Eyes even though it has its flaws. It is thick enough to conceal dark circles, but doesn't dry super instantly so you have time to blend it in without feeling like you are damaging the eye area. It works well with or without primer, doesn't look cakey, and easily hides my imperfections and pores along the sides of my nose as well. But it CAN be cakey if you have a very dry under-eye area. I have to rephrase that, it is not cakey at all, but it does sometimes accentuate my fine lines once dried. I did notice a slight reduction in puffiness but it is not effective enough to significantly reduce puffiness, only to hide it. I didn't notice any hydration, but I do typically use an eye cream/primer underneath so I wasn't worried about that. It also has an SPF of 15, which is great for those of you who forget to wear facial sunscreen (myself included). The lack of shades might be a problem for those in between colours, but although 'light' was a bit too dark for me when swatched, after applying it it blended nicely with my skin tone and reduced dark circles and redness as well. I love how well it neutralizes my redness and any dark circles. It also helps to make my nose appear smaller when I extend the application towards my nose.
It can easily be applied with a finger, brush, or sponge applicator. My favourite way is to use a sponge applicator just because it is clean and fast. I also use a buffing brush if I don't need too much coverage. Sometimes going in with a finger afterwards is helpful however. It blends well with all of the foundations I have tried with it, and I've even used it to concealer redness on my nose and forehead.
However a huge dislike I have is the click-pen applicator. It isn't anything new in the cosmetic world but I have never been a fan. It is prone to breakage (at least when I use them :p) and I never know how much product I have left and it is hard to control how much product you are dispensing out. Ok, I don't hate it that much, but everytime it clicks, I can't help but think "oh god, more product wasted"! Also in regards to fine lines and wrinkles, I found that it did accentuate them once dried (but this only happened sometimes.. I don't know why). I compensated for this by just blending out the product whenever I noticed it creasing there once dried. It wasn't a noticeable problem for me in comparison to some other concealers I have tried, however, it might not be ideal for those with a very dry under-eye area.
Smashbox BB Eyes with finished face
Overall, despite a few flaws mentioned above, I have been enjoying the Smashbox Bb Eyes and may think about repurchasing if I have not yet found a cheaper drugstore dupe. I love how well it neutralizes redness with it's yellow undertones. Most people are much of a fan of the click-pen, so hopefully they will think about changing that in the future.
What do you think about the Smashbox Bb Cream Eyes, would you try it? Do you dislike click-pens as much as I do?
