This, I did not expect. It wasn’t until I was handed a bottle of the Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water just before Christmas that I found out this was going to be made available at Sephora. I would expect this to take longer to reach us but nope. It came far more earlier than I predicted.

The Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water has been one of the most highly raved product when it was launched in the U.S. It is a BB (Blemish Balm) water aka foundation-like that has built-in primer water technology. If you are a fan of the Primer water, you know this is going to be your next favourite product. Smashbox said the technological feature is their breakthrough system that suspends pigments in H2O. This means, you get a BB that gives you a demi-matte finishing that hydrates your skin throughout the day, thanks to Photoset Polymers, taken from medical grade liquid bandage technology. Now, I do not know about you but all this sounds too techie for a beauty freak like me lol.

The BB Water comes in a glass bottle with a pipette dropper. It has to come with a dropper like this due to its watery consistency. The bottle top opening is quite small, just a slight bigger than the pipette.

I don’t treat the BB Water as a BB Cream per se as nothing of that reminds me of BB Cream except for the name printed on the bottle label. In fact this Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water is alcohol-free and oil-free. And because of the water-like consistency, I have a problem with dispensing the product out. It is just too liquidy. Do not expect this to give you a full coverage like foundation. It is meant to give you a sheer, radiant finish. I find that using my normal flat top kabuki brush is an issue with this type of consistency. It just do not adhere well onto my skin. And it is a tad bit streaky too. But when I got the Missha Professional Oval Makeup Brush, it changes everything.

I have to admit I do not like this at first. I do have high hopes on this based on all the glowing reviews online. On me it is just blah. The application was blah, the finishing on me was blah, everything was blah. On me. But when I changed the brush, I started to use this BB Water more and more and by the time I know it, I like it very much!

First of all, I prefer medium to full coverage type of base makeup. This Smashbox Camera Ready BB Water only gives a sheer coverage. It does not covers blemishes I had on my face. The coverage is buildable alright but it would get so cakey by mid day. The Missha brush solves all that for me. For some reason I get a fuller coverage when I used the brush. I am also able to dab more onto problematic areas to cover up more. This way, my face do not get cakey by mid day. The shade I had is Fair/Light (the second lightest shade), which is just nice for me.

I did not know this at all until I looked back at the batches of photos I have taken after applying this BB Water. It is slightly greyish on me at first (not long after application) but everything sets to normal just like a foundation. I am not surprised as this is a BB after all. Just like every other BB, my face gets oilier on a faster rate. When my face starts to secrete some sebum say after 2 hours, I actually like how radiant and dewy my skin are. After that I have to blot 😛

Here is how the BB Water looks like on me after I finish all my makeup. It looked just like normal foundation. No more greyish cast or whatsoever. It is demi-matte alright, but turned oily on me after a few hours. I usually amplified the coverage with my trusty Catrice All Matt Powder. I like that the BB Water does not contain any funky smell. It is very pleasant on the skin. It certainly does not feels heavy or sticky at all. For me, it is not love at first sight. I have to used it continuously, finding ways how to make it work for my preference and skin, until I like it 😀

Have you got onto the BB Water bandwagon yet? It is now available at all Sephora stores!

Disclaimer: Product was sent to me for review consideration. This doesn’t affect my judgement in the review in any way.