Pros: Satin finish, sheer to medium coverage
Cons: No SPF protection, small tube, pricey, not enough shades, yellowish undertones

For a product that sold out on its first release, there sure is a dearth of reviews for the Lavera Beauty Balm.

I have wanted to try a BB cream but put it off because I have two major factors in determining which one is most suitable for me. Besides the vegan issue, I have super dry skin. I’m in a bad place after realizing last year that I need to wear something to even out my complexion (heh, not bad for a 34 year-old). However, foundation and even tinted moisturizer-—despite the name—dry out my skin something fierce. Add powder to the mix and I’m in agony the entire day. I usually moisturize twice on days I wear foundation. I apply moisturizer after I wash my face, then add a few drops of foundation to more moisturizer when I’m ready to apply makeup. Finding a product that won’t dry out my face is paramount.

Of all the bb creams I considered, the Lavera BB cream was on the short list. It was a close running between derma e Evenly Radiant BB Creme, Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm, Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm, one of tarte’s BB creams, and of course, Lavera Beauty Balm. Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Beauty Balm was tempting since comes in a good half-size for fourteen bucks, but doesn’t sound like it provides much coverage—plus the reviews are all over the place. I seriously considered tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer (review here), but didn’t like the idea of purchasing a tinted moisturizer that had been renamed in response to the BB cream fad. While I still want to try these other BB creams, I went with Lavera because I had seen it mentioned in a forum thread, seemed like it had decent coverage and I ultimately got a 15% off coupon code for loveTrueNatural in my recent True Beauty Box.

After months and months of dying to try a BB cream, I finally made the decision to purchase the Lavera Beauty Balm.

Lavera Beauty Balm 6 in 1 Tinted Moisturiser

Rating: B-
Price: $32 USD
Shades: 1
Weight: 1 fl oz
Where to Purchase: loveTrueNatural

Packaging

The Lavera Beauty Balm comes in a small, satin finish tube. I prefer pump dispensers for my face makeup, but the packaging is typical of BB creams.

The box itself contains the ingredients listing (it’s super long).

Lavera Beauty Balm box packaging.

At only 1 oz, the tube is very small, easily fitting into my small hand. Should definitely be TSA allowed. Actually all BB creams should be TSA approved because I’ve only seen 1.7 oz and 1.0 oz bottles.

Kinda small…

Given everything about the product, I think the price is on the high side. Then again, I would say that about a lot of Lavera products. Probably related to branding and importing.

Product

The Lavera Beauty Balm claims to be a six in one tinted moisturizer. From the box:

• Even, glowing complexion
• Provides 24h moisturisation
• Smoothes [sic] imperfections
• Refines pores
• Ensures a matt [sic] complexion
• Protects the skin against free radicals

Available Shades

The Lavera Beauty Balm is only available in one, yellowish shade. Though the label claims the product works for all skin tones, right out of the box it’s a couple of shades darker than my skin tone. Kinda surprising given that Lavera is a German company and most European face products I’ve seen are near white.

The photo on the right shows the Lavera Beauty Balm rubbed into the skin.
I know the photo doesn’t show it, but the product doesn’t completely match my skin tone.

I’ve tried to keep an open mind, but I’m convinced it’s slightly darkening my skin. It sort of bronzes me.

The Lavera Beauty Balm is probably best suited for those with light to medium skin tones and warm undertones.

Coverage

I would say this has medium coverage, as compared to other tinted moisturizers. It would still be considered sheer coverage compared to foundation, though I’ve had no problems layering it for more coverage. If you have more than light blemishes, you’ll need to apply additional concealer.

The Lavera Beauty Balm dries down quickly to a dewy-ish matte finish, more like a satin finish than a true matte. So far I have only used the BB cream without finishing powder. You’ll probably get more of a matte finish that way. But even without finishing dust, the product dries enough that I feel okay not adding an additional layer to aggravate my super dry skin.

Despite the drawbacks to the product, I’m most pleased with the coverage and finish. I strongly dislike the heavy feel of foundation, not to mention that foundation and powder are way too drying for my skin. So far I’ve only used one layer of moisturizer with this product. By no stretch can I wear this product alone, but it’s no worse than anything else I own.

If you have normal to oily skin, you should be able to wear it alone. The box says to use it in place of moisturizer.

Since I use the Lavera Beauty Balm as my “foundation”, I have not used it as a primer for other face products so I can’t say how well it works as such.

Sun Protection

The hands down major problem with the Lavera Beauty Balm is the lack of sunscreen protection. I thought SPF was one of the prerequisites to being a BB cream. I think I have found the only BB cream that doesn’t have sunscreen. The Lavera Beauty Balm has such a long ingredient list that it’s incredulous there isn’t any sun protection included.

The label calls the product a “6 in 1 Tinted Moisturiser”, but I was also under the impression that tinted moisturizers had SPF protection as part of their shtick.

I’m baffled as to why Lavera decided to make a BB cream tinted moisturizer product without sun protection. I just don’t get it.

Images

Final Thoughts

The Lavera Beauty Balm has great coverage for a tinted moisturizer/BB Cream–enough coverage to conceal light blemishes, but sheer enough to not feel heavy like foundation. I think the satin finish is one of the best aspects of the product.

Unfortunately, I don’t feel the product is suitable for all skin tones. At the very least, I don’t think it works for those of us on the light end of the spectrum. It most likely won’t work for those on the other end either.

The biggest drawback remains the lack of sun protection. BB creams are supposed to be an all-in-one product and one of those is supposed to be sun protection. Not having it takes away a significant part of the BB creams.

Due to these issues, I don’t think I can recommend this product as a BB cream product. Maybe as a foundation alternative.

It’s such a shame. The Lavera Beauty Balm is a good product for those of us who don’t want to wear foundation, but still want some coverage to conceal minor blemishes. It just needs a couple more shades and sunscreen protection.

If Lavera would address these issues, I think this would be a great product.