Garnier BB Cream Vs Ponds BB Cream : Photos, Swatches and Comparison

Though not as furious as summers, Chennai is still hot with the monsoon humidity! I am lusting over cold smoothies and brownies these days ditching my usual ‘spicy food-cravings’. I am almost living without makeup lately, limiting it only to eyeliner and soft lipsticks. All I use are cleansers, moisturizers and a bit of compact when I get the need to step out! I still see no rains here, but the weather.. it kills. Alright that’s when I got these 2 BB creams from 2 popular brands in India – Garnier and Pond’s. I’ve been trying them out for a few days now. Here comes a quick comparison post!

I’ve never really used Garnier skin care products much (Except for some orange flavored cleanser I loved) so I didn’t have a clue about how their BB cream would fare. With Pond’s, I’ve had a love-hate relationship. I like their cold cream but I hated ALL their day creams due to the talc-y, fake floral fragrance. My sister was a religious Pond’s user but then she stopped one day after I pointed out the white cast. Summing up all this, I wished the BB cream to be without such irritating fragrance and texture. Let’s see what these BB creams are good in and what they lack!

Pond’s BB Cream:

Price : Rs.75 for 9 g

Claims: Pond’s calls it a ‘BB+ fairness cream with SPF 30A++. It claims to lighten skin without clogging pores, with a light texture.

My views:

It comes in a sleek white tube which is neatly packed inside a pink carton. The cap has a silvery finish to it and the nozzle dispenses right amount of product. For the price, the tube looks neat and decent.

This BB cream has a thick, well pigmented texture – more like a foundation. When I swatch-ed in on my hand, it appeared to be yellow-based (for warm skin tones) but unfortunately, it showed up all ‘white’ on my dusky skin! The finish was not warm as I expected it to be. Instead, it was with a plain white cast. I waited for it to settle a bit. It did. But not to the extent of ‘looking natural’. The fragrance is the same boring ‘ponds fairness cream’ kind – a huge disappointment for me. However, the pigmentation is decent. It did not leave my skin greasy/oily and it of course settled into a matte finish. If you have a light skin and loved Pond’s creams in the past, you might like this. But this product is definitely not something I’ll put on my face. Though it blends quite easily compared to some horror BB creams (that settle into patches) I am totally disappointed with the white cast and fragrance. I also felt like I sweat a tad more after application (due to SPF may be?).

So finally, though the cream settled a bit, it is not at all my kind of shade or texture. I am not getting this again for the same reason why I hate the fairness creams from their range. Only if they had not included the ‘fairness’ tag to this BB cream, it would have fared better for me. As the pigmentation and coverage are quite good, the shade will definitely show up on your face ‘not so natural’ if you don’t match the exact shade. (This comes only in a single shade!). I do not recommend this product for flash photography as well.

Application tip: Except very oily skin types, everyone will need to use a separate moisturizer with this BB cream as it is thick and quite drying in nature. On the other hand, it doesn’t provide oil control and hence, makes your T zone oily in 2-3 hours. A compact on top might help with it. If you are scared of the white cast, use only a little and blend it well. I suppose dusky-deep skin tones will never find it good.

Garnier BB Cream:

Price : Rs.99 for 18 g

Claims: It claims to even out skin tone and providing a healthy glow and 8 hours moisturization with SPF 24. Garnier says it is ‘an all in one moisturizer’.

My views:

As you see, this one is affordable compared to the former! It reminds me of the Maybelline BB cream in terms of packaging. It comes in a small, beige colored flat tube that has a white colored cap. Packaging is good for the very affordable price tag. It fits into my hand bad easily and it doesn’t look cheap at all!

Soon after I opened the cap and squeezed out some product on my hand, I sniffed ‘lime’! Yes. It does smell very refreshing with a hint of lemon. Thankfully, not the chalk-ish, boring smell. Hence, it didn’t disappoint me with the fragrance part. I would call it one of the best smelling BB creams in India. The smell however fades off in few minutes after the application.

The cream is not as thick as the Ponds BB cream but it is not very light either. Though not as a foundation, it has a texture similar to that of a ‘tinted moisturizer’ – which I prefer, personally. The consistency is normal; it spreads smoothly and blends in a jiffy. I suppose the undertone is neutral. I use my finger tips to blend the product and it is done in a minute or two. After 2-3 minutes of application, it settles very natural on my facial skin and brings out a semi matte glow. The finish is NOT matte, it is in between dewy and matte semi matte. Though the cream doesn’t provide a matte finish, surprisingly it kept my T zone oil free for more than 3 hours. If I step out, I’ll just need a touch of compact over it and I am all set with the natural look.

Pigmentation wise, it scores average but manages to even out my skin covering minor imperfections. After all it looks natural, almost like a second skin and that’s what I really need. The monsoon humidity makes me feel like washing my face soon after I apply something heavy that ‘feels on the skin’. However, this BB cream feels light, comfortable and natural on my skin providing a subtle glow throughout the day. I wonder how it would fare in hot boiling Chennai summers. My only disappointment with this product cream is that, it comes in one shade, too! But it isn’t a big issue as the coverage is sheer and the single shade can be worked out on most of the Indian skin tones, unless you are too pale or too deep.

Application tip: Apply only a little bit if you are not into ‘dewy finish’. A little makes your skin supple, moisturized and glowy. Dust some loose powder or compact to make it stay longer. If you have a very dry skin type, prior moisturization may be required.

Swatches:

Overall Verdict:

Personally, I loved the Garnier one more for the natural finish and fragrance. It also manages to keep my skin smooth for a long time after application. Though not fully matte, the glowy effect works perfectly especially for regular office/college wears.  Pond’s wins only in terms of better coverage but then the shade selection and the ‘white caste’ factor makes it hard for me to go for it. I am sticking to the Garnier BB cream for now!

So which one is your favorite? Share your opinions and comments below!