L'oreal Youth Code BB vs. L'oreal Magic BB Review and Swatches

I was really excited to see some more BB Creams hit the drugstore, especially after Garnier's BB Cream was a miss for me. I've never tried one of the original BB Creams from Asia, but friends have told me that they are amazing skin perfectors.  So I was hoping that one of the new L'oreal versions would be a hit for my skin.  

So here's a quick comparison before I get into the specifics of each one.  

                                             

The Youth Code BB Cream Illuminator is a lot like the Garnier BB Cream.  It has a similar consistency and the same dewy finish.  It reminded me of a tinted moisturizer, with little to very sheer coverage (not enough for me).  It is supposed to improve the look of your skin over time (more on that later), but I haven't been using it that long, so it's hard to say whether it does or not.  

The Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream is way different than any I've seen so far.  In fact, I'm not even sure it's an actual BB cream, since the back of the tube says that BB stands for "Beautifying Beads".  This one comes out of the tube white and has tiny little beads that when rubbed into the skin, release the color.  It has a matte finish, which is nice for summertime, and smooths the skin nicely, although the coverage is pretty sheer on this one as well.  

So, on to the specifics...I'll start with Youth Code. 

The active ingredient is sunscreen, which is a good thing.  It has SPF 20.

Here, you can see the texture- it's very much like Garnier's BB Cream.  The Garnier version is a lot less expensive, than L'oreal's cream, which is around $17. Even though I chose the "Light" shade, it was a tiny bit darker than my normal skin color, but not as far off as Garnier's so in that aspect, I'd say light-skinned girls will find a better color match with the L'oreal Youth Code BB Cream.

As you can see, it does a decent job of evening out my skintone but it doesn't cover up much.  Don't expect it to cover any significant blemishes, undereye circles or redness.

On to the Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream:

This one starts out as a white lotion that's sort of runny in texture, and has tiny little beads inside it.

It stays white until almost completely rubbed in, when the color starts to come out.  I purchased this in "Light" but they do have a lighter shade called "fair" which is what I actually should have gotten.  The "light" shade comes out really dark on my skin and has a reddish-orange cast to it.  If you look closely at the last picture, you can see where it doesn't quite blend with my skin- the bottom half of my hand has an orangy cast to it.  While I like the matte finish of this one better, the color matching is not great.  I'd like to try the fair shade next and see if it's any better.  Still, this one does a pretty good job of making my skin look smooth and evened out, but again, doesn't cover up much.  I might consider using this as a primer under foundation.  This one costs quite a bit less than the Youth Code BB at around $10.  

What are your thoughts on these two creams? Have you tried one or both?  If not, are you likely to?