Read ALL about my review process including how I take swatches, photos, and more here.
Heyyy you guuuuuys! OK, it’s been a little bit since I last did a TSABD Edit post (and I typically post these on Tuesdays) but I’ve been insanely busy with projects and new gigs and product trial sort of fell by the wayside. But I’m back like I never left with the tea on BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer and swatches of the BECCA Ultimate Coverage Foundation.
So BECCA launched the BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer a few months ago and sent me product for review consideration. BECCA is a brand known for perfecting the way skin looks and being one of the few brands to start out with a wide range of inclusive shades. The BECCA look was not about how many products you can layer on until your skin looked like it had ZERO pores and every imperfection was beat to oblivion. NOPE. BECCA’s aesthetic is more like that “omg her skin looks so amazing meanwhile it doesn’t look like she’s wearing much makeup if any at all” type of look.
Now I say all this to say, it’s rare for me to not really be feeling a BECCA complexion product. And I wouldn’t say I’m not feeling the BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer, but maybe it wasn’t made with me in mind perhaps.
Official description:
Which skin type is it good for?
* Normal
* Oily
* Combination
* Dry
* SensitiveWhat it is:
A liquid-to-powder blurring primer that instantly diminishes the appearance of pores, fine lines, and imperfections to leave skin porcelain smooth with an airbrushed finish.Solutions for:
– Pores
– Dullness and uneven textureIf you want to know more…
This is the ultimate primer for a long-lasting, airbrushed complexion. The brightening, feather-light, apricot-hued formula is infused with pore-blurring powders that float over skin to diffuse light for a velvety smooth, soft focus finish. Oil-free yet hydrating, the primer helps absorb the appearance of excess oil and extend the wear of makeup, keeping your look fresh and flawless throughout the day. This formula turns from lightweight liquid to powdered perfection in seconds.Suggested Usage:
-Shake well before use.
-Apply to clean dry skin as a primer or wear alone as a complexion blurring perfector.
-If applying after moisturizer, wait for moisturizer to fully absorb before applying the primer.
So after trying this a bunch of times to see how I liked it and which application methods worked best, I’ve decided that I find this primer to be just okay. It has a liquid to powder finish and when I applied with my fingers like I usually apply primer, I found that it gave me an ashy type of look to my skin. Now this wouldn’t be a big deal because I’d be putting foundation on next, but I don’t want something on my skin that makes me look ashy even if I’m putting something else on. Who knows how wonky that might look under certain lighting (and for me I do work that can have me on video or even TV). (Side note: I don’t use flash when I take pictures so I will almost never know about flashback with products—except that usually anything containing titanium dioxide might make you look ashy when the flash hits it. I almost always take pics in natural light—my clubbing days have long gone and when I go out at night I’m usually not taking pics either…lol)
So yeah, it looked ashy when I applied with my fingers but I decided to give it another chance. This time I used my damp beautyblender and got a MUCH better result. I loved the luminous glow it gave my skin but since it dried down to a powder, I didn’t look “wet.” I have oily skin, I can’t have things making me look wet on top of that…lol. But what I didn’t see a ton of was blurring. Now maybe my expectations of blurring are distorted because two of my favorite blurring products REALLY give me a blurred look: Olay Luminous Whip (that’s the top secret moisturizer I’ve been trying and teasing about on my social media—find out more about it here) and Murad Invisiblur (this is NOT a moisturizer—you can use it with your moisturizer but you MUST use moisturizer when using this—I mean you should be wearing moisturizer anyway regardless of your skin type—find out more about that here). Now THOSE are some blurring products. I would much rather use either one to get the blurring look than this BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer. I’d say yes, I definitely noticed that it brightened but I didn’t see much, if any, blurring. And I don’t have a ton of visible pores either so I would imagine this wouldn’t be the best primer for those who do have visible pores they’re looking to blur.
I also tried BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer OVER my makeup using my dampened beautyblender and liked the look as well, but I have other illuminating primers (namely Estee Lauder The Illuminator) that I prefer for that type of look.
Now, this doesn’t mean BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer is a bad product. I’m sure it works amazingly for some people–shoot, it has pretty good reviews on sephora.com. If it sounds like something that would be nice to try for your routine, definitely get a sample to try before you buy a full bottle.
It’s very hard to photograph the swatch of the BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer (I tried and you can’t really see anything) so make sure you check out the demo video below.
BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer Video Demo:
(there’s no sound so feel free to watch from almost anywhere)
BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer Demo Dark Skin from Danielle Gray on Vimeo.
BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer before and afters from the BECCA site:
Estee Lauder The Illuminator Primer Video Demo:
(there’s no sound so feel free to watch from almost anywhere)
Though these don’t do exactly the same things, I much prefer Estee Lauder The Illuminator to brighten over the BECCA Velvet Blurring Primer and like I mentioned earlier in this post, Murad Invisiblur and the new Olay Luminous Whip moisturizer (there is also an Olay Regenerist Whip and Olay Total Effects Whip—go here for more info) for blurring.
Estee Lauder The Illuminator Demo from Danielle Gray on Vimeo.
Price and where to buy: $38 at Sephora (plus 3% cash back when you use eBates) ULTA (plus 6% cash back when you use eBates), and beccacosmetics.com.
BECCA Ultimate Coverage Foundation
BECCA also sent over the deepest shades in their full coverage BECCA Ultimate Coverage Foundation along with the Velvet Blurring Primer because they can work amazingly together (if you like the primer that is). I’ve already reviewed BECCA Ultimate Coverage Foundation and although it’s not something I use regularly (just my preference to use Cover FX Total Cover Cream and right now I’ve started using the Cover FX Custom Cover Drops again) it IS an amazing full coverage foundation. What’s great about it is that it gives FULL coverage and still looks and feels lightweight. A little goes a long way with it, too so you may only need a few drops to cover your entire face. Make sure you read my full review here.
But here are swatches of the deepest shades along with a video demo. I tried these on as part of my “Are You Wearing the Wrong Foundation?” video and figured I might as well use them for this post as well, too. I don’t have Cacao swatched in this video since that shade is more of a contour shade for me and obviously too deep for my skintone. The other shades in swatches and in the video can look somewhat similar so make sure you pay attention to the undertone descriptions. When I first tried this foundation, Sandalwood was a good match for me as I had spent two weeks in the Caribbean and had a rich tan—when I tan I may not always get darker but my undertones were definitely way more red with that tan. After the tan wore off, I matched closer to Mahogany though it’s not a perfect match since it’s for warmer undertones (mine are neutral).
SIENNA: warm brown, neutral undertones
ESPRESSO: (previously Mink) – chocolate brown, neutral to cool undertones
SANDALWOOD: (previously Mink) – chocolate brown, neutral to cool undertones
MAHOGANY: bronze chocolate, warm undertones
CACAO: deep chocolate, neutral undertones
BECCA Ultimate Coverage Foundation Demo:
(there’s no sound so feel free to watch from almost anywhere)
BECCA Ultimate Coverage Foundation Swatches Dark Skin from Danielle Gray on Vimeo.
Bottom line: if you can find a great shade match and are looking for a full coverage foundation that doesn’t look or feel heavy, this might be right up your alley.
Price and where to buy: $44 at Sephora (plus 3% cash back when you use eBates) ULTA (plus 6% cash back when you use eBates), and beccacosmetics.com.
