Glam Gams: Jergens BB Body Skin Perfecting Cream Review

If you've been following along lately, then you know that I'm currently living in squalor renovating my sunroom, and that it hasn't been going exactly according to plan. This has, unfortunately, cut into my blogging time, and for that, I offer my sincerest apologies to all four of you.

In all honesty, I have more pictures than I care to count, ready and waiting to be pasted into a post. I would really like to get them off of my phone at some point in the near future.

That day is not today.

Anyhoo, in the .7 seconds I have to write this, I wanted to pop in and tell you about a new(-ish) product that I am really excited about: Jergens BB Body Skin Perfecting Cream. (Oh--incidentally, after months of not being able to click inside the "compose" box on Blogger, I can finally link, highlight, and basically function again. Miraculously. Things should be a lot different from here on. Thank God.)

Believe it or not, sundress season is around the corner. Heck, I wore one Tuesday. I also wore a heavy sweatshirt on Wednesday. Mother Nature is having hot flashes, but I digress. Sundress season is around the corner, and that means bare legs and arms and whatnot, and I'm not ready for that. In the past, I made up for my pale, patchy legs by slathering on this stuff from Super by Perricone, Supermodel Legs, which is, basically, tinted body lotion that's infused with capsacin to temporarily tighten up the calves. It's magic, and I love it, and it has been woefully discontinued. Of course, it has.

When I heard about the Jergens and its claims, I had to test it out, so I picked up a travel size for about three bucks at Walgreens. They only had the light skin tone version, so that's what I went with. In case you're wondering, here's what it's supposed to do (from the Walgreen's website):

Instantly:

• Hydrates & Smoothes
• Illuminates & Brightens

In 5 Days:

• Evens Skin Tone
• Visibly Firms Skin
• Helps Reduce the Appearance of Imperfections

I started using the cream last Saturday, so six days have passed. Did it work? Yeah, I kind of think so. Let's break it down:

The Good
The first thing I noticed (okay, second, but I'll get to that in a bit) was that this stuff is thick. It's not an opaque leg makeup, but it does make me think a lot of Too Faced Primed and Poreless face primer, as far as color and texture go. The product blurs, but does not cover imperfections, and isn't sparkly or shimmery. You won't look like a Cullen. The most impressive result of using this, however, was that I was legitimately taken aback this morning when I looked in the mirror and noticed that my cottage cheese thighs appeared smoother. Don't get me wrong, there's still some serious cellulite going on, but there's definitely been some improvement. I would say that it's just wishful thinking on my part, except that I didn't realize that was one of the claims until I started writing this review. I'd misread the package, and only expected temporary results, like I saw with the Perricone. Surprise!

The Bad
The price. It's up there. A full-sized tube runs anywhere from $10-$13 (or $23, if you're nuts. Thanks, ebay!), depending on where you buy it. That's a bit much for a drugstore lotion, especially considering how often you're going to have to repurchase. See, since this is such a thick lotion, you have to use a pretty generous amount each time you apply. My travel-size tube will have lasted a week, if I can eke out enough for tomorrow, and I only use it on my legs, arms, and occasionally my chest. Full-body, this might have lasted three days, at best. To put this into perspective, in my entire adult life (no exaggeration), I think I've finished one full-sized and two travel-sized lotions, and it took months each time. Heck, I think the full-sized might have taken a year. Normally, my lotion expires before I finish the bottle.

And the More You Know
Here's the real first thing I noticed, and depending on how you feel about scents, this could go either way: bottom line, it smells exactly like Bath and Body Works' Twilight Woods. When I say "exact", I mean, I used the Jergens and then used the BBW hand sanitizer and could not tell a difference. It is spot. on. Now, Twilight Woods is a favorite of mine, so I'm absolutely OK with the fragrance, but take heed if you're not a fan of the BBW version, or of scents in general. I will say that I don't find it to be overpowering, and it doesn't seem to linger. Okay, now here's the part where I say, "and if you do like Twilight Woods, you might be able to save some cash by buying this at the drugstore!" No, wait--nope. You can't. The BBW version is $12.50. It's entirely possible that you might spend more on the drugstore "dupe". It won't have the same skin-enhancement properties, but if you're only after moisture and a nice fragrance, you can save money by going to the specialty store in the mall. For once. Wow...

Final Verdict: 8.3 out of 10. Absolutely does what it claims. I just wish it were more affordable.