Kanebo Freshel MoistLift BB cream Medium Beige vs Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB in Light

Today I will do a 'battle of the BB creams' in a kind of West-or-East idea.

Or, not really like that ;),

I only like to compare my personal prefered Asian BB cream against the 1st BB cream I have seen in Holland for a Caucasian market.

 Knowing BB-creams for a couple of years I have been delighted to see it launching for a Western public as well.

But I have been reading some information about the newer generation of BB creams formulated for a non-Asian public (or the Caucasians among us, I haven't seen that much BB creams for Afro-heritage people yet). Most of them claim that the lack of grey colour (often seen in the Asian varieties) work better for the Caucasians among us. That might be true, but I would like to see the Garnier BB in light will be a better match for me than my latest favourite: the Kanebo Freshel MoistLift BB in Medium Beige.

The packaging:

The first verdict: Kanebo Freshel wins on style points: I really like their bronze brown, graduated packaging with golden letters. It looks more expensive than it actually is.

Garnier has to stick to their recognizable formula, the oatmeal colour with thier silvery letters. Still, for a cheaper cosmetic brand I find their packaging quite lovely.

Kanebo Freshel has a twist-off tube. Garnier has a click-open bottle. You have to decide which one you prefer, but as messy as I am I would prefer a twist-open tube, because Garnier click-open could spill in your bag when travelling.

To the colours:

Kanebo Freshel Moistlift BB is my favourite Asian BB cream for a while, after trying a whole lot of Korean ones, and later some Japanese ones (Kanebo is Japanese as well). What works for me is their colour: it is not too light and does NOT have that grey tone I hear some people complain about (to cancel out redness and yellowness?).

You have to consider why they made BB creams in the first place: to cover up those post-(plastic)surgery or laser-people with red or peeling skin that both covered and healed their fragile skin. So that bit of grey was a good thing for the aim it was made.

Back to the swatches:

Kanebo Freshel Moistlift looks like a light neutral colour (NW 20/25) whereas Garnier Miracle lift has some pink tones in it (NC 20/25). They look similar in colour dept, only:

Verdict: Kanebo Freshel is more yellow toned and Garnier Miracle is more pink toned.

On the skin:

Texture:
They both spread out in a similar matter: they start out in a creamy way which makes them suitable for normal to dryer/dehydrated skins.
Scent:
Kanebo Freshel is as good as without scent. That is a positive for me. Garnier Miracle BB has that typical (over)scented trademark scent that will dissapear after a while (or after spraying some moisture spray on top of it).
Skinmatch:
Actually, the Garnier matches my skin a bit better. However, because of some redness (also visible on the arm) I prefer the Kanebo Freshel for toning down a bit of redness, especially in the winter times.

Better picture of the difference in yellowness/pinkness

Almost blended (click on the picture for a bigger view):

When blended, the yellowness of Kanebo Freshel is not too obvious and it becomes a good match. Similar to Garnier Miracle BB.

Texture on skin:
I think that Kanebo Freshel makes my skin look more airbrushed and diffused. So it looks a bit better.

 Cover:
Both are BB creams which have a similar degree of cover to tinted moisturizer. Actually, that phrase and conclusion is a bit of a dud as well, because every brand has a different level of coverage when releasing their tinted-moisturizer, similar as the BB's.

They have similar coverage, quite light. Only the Kanebo Freshel looks more polished on the skin. They both feel really light and almost weightless on the skin. Something not every BB cream in the past has felt like (some felt like a suffocating blanket).

Price:
The Garnier is approximately 16 euro, but I bought it with a discount for 11 euro. I bought Kanebo Freshel on adambeauty for $15 (add $2 for shipping). Concluding that the Kanebo Freshel would be the cheaper version if I didn't have the Garnier discount.

Availablity:
Garnier wins this one. Easy to get in lots of drugstores these days. Although Adambeauty often delivers within two weeks.

Long term effect:
I cannot say anything about the long term effect, especially when comparing the two. I could do that wearing both for at least 3 months on each side of the face, but I wouldn't have the patience to do that.

Final Verdict:

Kanebo Freshel Moistlift wins! But I still find the Garnier version to be quite good for one of their first versions. I mean, before finding my close to HG Kanebo Freshel I have gone through at least 20 brands from 20 different companies (more or less). In that field I believe that Garnier is still quite do-able and I would reach for that one if I were on holiday and wanted a BB cream for temporary and light cover.