Battle of the Week: Kiehl's & L'Occitane BB Creams Put to the Test

The BB cream bandwagon was not one that I hopped on immediately, mostly because I was very, very happy with the tinted moisturizer from Laura Mercier that I was already using. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

But last month, I managed to get my paws on BB creams from two celebrated names in the skincare industry: thanks to DesZell and Affi respectively, I got to play around with the Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream from Kiehl’s and the Sublime Beauty Cream from L’Occitane. I remember first running into the Kiehl’s product when I was covering Todd Anthony Tyler’s visit to Jakarta, and could not wait to pit New York’s finest against its Provenc.

Here’s a swatch of the product on the back of my hand; the Kiehl’s product (left) came in a shade called Natural, while the L’Occitane came in one called Light. I put both to the test, and just how did they fare on me?

Texture

I knew I was going to have issues with the Kiehl’s product the moment it came out of the bottle: the product was a little thicker than the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer I was accustomed to, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me from slathering it all over my mug. It did take a little bit of rubbing in before it settled into my skin, unlike the L’Occitane product which sunk in almost immediately.
The only problem with the L’Occitane BB Cream was how it looked when I first squeezed it out of the bottle: it seemed to have separated from its oils, but this problem was easily avoided once I shook the bottle before squeezing some of the product out.

Winner: L’Occitane Sublime Beauty Cream. Lighter, more blendable, more translucent.

SPF

The L’Occitane Sublime Beauty Cream clocked in at SPF 30, and instructions on the back of the packaging recommended that you reapply every two to three hours, or after plenty of sweating. The Kiehl’s product, however, clocked in at a whopping SPF 50 PA+++! This is really good for a product that does double duty as makeup and skincare product. This means I can stay out in the sun longer without needing to reapply.

Winner: Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying Cream.

Scent

The L’Occitane Sublime Beauty Cream came with a very airy floral scent, while the Kiehl’s product was almost odorless–but if I had to describe its scent, it would probably be “earthy.”

Winner: Tie. I’m not overly picky about fragrances in makeup, so I could go either way.

Lasting Power

I noticed that on days that I wore the Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying Cream, I had to mattify my face with powder more frequently. The oil glands on my face went to town whenever I wore it, leaving me shinier than a fried egg doused in baby oil. I was much happier with the results from the L’Occitane sublime cream, which did really well despite being set with nothing more than a single morning application of loose powder.

Winner: L’Occitane Sublime Beauty Cream. Less oily, did not oxidise as much.

Kiehls’s (left) vs L’Occitane (right)

Overall winner: Between these two products, I would go with the L’Occitane Sublime Beauty Cream. It felt so much lighter on my skin overall, despite the shade of the Kiehl’s product worked better on my skin–but that’s only because beggars can’t be choosers! These were the shades that fell into my lap, and these were the ones I used. Maybe the Kiehl’s Actively Correcting & Beautifying BB Cream will be more beneficial to people with drier complexions (I have combination skin), and if you’ve tried these products or are using them, let us know how they’re working out for you!