BB cream?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’d been hearing the term “bb cream” recently and even, during my very first facial ever this fall, asked the girl doing it what a bb cream was. She’d heard of them but didn’t know what they were, either.

So I finally looked it up just now and they sound GREAT. Toner, moisturizer, spot correction, foundation, sunscreen and who knows what else all in one. Sign me up for some of that.

I’m 32, medium-light skinned, a little dry on the cheeks, and have a hyperpigmentation spot on my jaw. Looks like Garnier makes a bb cream that is cheap (yay) and might suit me. Probably won’t do much for the hyperpigmentation, but nothing cheap does.

Thoughts? DiosaBellisima? Bueller?

2

I like Lancome Visionanaire. I don’t know if it is a true BB cream, but it is really nice.

3

BB CREAMS ARE FUCKING AMAZING.
Ahem.
But really, they are. But!!! This is super important: **The vast majority of US brand bb creams are NOT actually bb creams. They saw the growing trend and got into the market but most of them are closer to tinted moisturizers. ** I’m sure there are some good ones out there, but I’ll leave that to others who have more experience with western brands.

Bb creams were developed in Germany decades ago. They’ve been insanely popular in east Asia (especially South Korea) because they are a great multitasking tool to get that porcelain look. They usually only come in one, maaaaybe two, shades, because they’re designed to oxidize on your skin. They’re supposed to work as a light moisturizer, sunblock, even skin tone, do light concealing and be a light-to-medium coverage foundation. However, there are some potential limitations/issues:

[ul]
[li] Asian bb creams are going to be formulated for common/desired Asian skin tones. If you have a deeper/darker skin tone, they probably don’t make one that will work for you. Some white people may find the shades to be a bit too greyish or golden. [/li][li] Some will contain “brightening” agents, which can lighten your skin a bit. Some people are concerned about this potential issue, others don’t care, and others have used brightening bb creams for ages and haven’t noticed their skin getting paler. [/li][li] There can be risks of getting counterfeit product if you don’t find a trusted seller. [/li][/ul]

Some popular Korean bb cream brands are:
[ul]
[li]Skin79[/li][li]Étude House[/li][li]Missha[/li][li]Lioele Dollish[/li][/ul]

I have and love Missha M Perfect Cover. They have their own US web store (so you don’t need to worry about shady sellers) and they have 5 different shades. If you speak MAC ;), the darkest one is roughly NC 35-40. It still won’t be dark enough for a lot of people, but it’s at least a bit wider of a range. I use the lightest shade (13*) which would be close to NC/NW 10 if MAC made one that light. **

Here’s why I love it:
[ul]
[li] it has SPF 42 in it so I can skip applying separate sunblock for normal days. [/li][li] IT’S ACTUALLY LIGHT ENOUGH FOR MY HONKY MCCRACKERSON SKIN. [/li][li] I have incredibly dry skin and this is the first foundation-y product I’ve ever been able to use that doesn’t make my skin immediately flake up. My skin is too dry to use just the bb cream as a moisturizer but I don’t even care. ***[/li][li] it somehow magically just evens my skin out. It looks SO natural and healthy. [/li][li] after it sets/oxidizes, you CAN use powder on top, but it’s not a must. [/li][/ul]

It’s not full coverage, though. So if I have some stupid breakout that is RED-red (which can easily happen on skin as light as mine), I’ll still need to use some concealer underneath. But it does a great job hiding the concealer afterwards.

  • The shade numbers make NO sense to me. 13, 21, 23, 27, and 31. Wtf?

** They used to, but stopped. But I believe they’re actually bringing back NW10 this spring.

*** I went to a Sephora counter once on a quest for foundation that’d work with my dry, pale skin. A couple hours earlier, I had cleansed, exfoliated and done my Heavy Duty moisturizing and didn’t put any makeup on. The makeup artist tries two foundations on my face (one on the left half and other the right). She gently begins blending the liquid foundation with a brush… And my skin instantly flakes up. Just like I told her it would.

4

Well, crap on what’s available in the US, then. Grrrrrr. Of course we aren’t getting the real thing, right?

I’ll look into the brands you mentioned. I have never worn foundation so I have no idea what would be right for me. I’m a white girl who hasn’t gotten any sun in while, but not a super pale white girl.

5

Wow zweis, you oughtta work for those guys! I’ve been real curious about Asian bb creams myself, but you’ve pretty much answered every question I had and now I really want to try it. Let’s just hope honey beige is dark enough for me…

6

Missha is supposed to be “the” original BB cream in Korea. I’ve never used it, but I’ve heard lots of good things about it.

I used to use The Body Shop BB cream. It was too pale for me, but I’m slightly darker than most Korean girls.

Lately I’ve been extremely lazy and just thinning out my foundation with a bit of moisturizer (I used to save my foundation for “fancy” days and use bb cream for everyday purposes).

7

Ok, I am going to try this stuff. It sounds awesome!

8

I have to see if I can find this in person at some point. I’m pale enough that I’m the lightest color in most makeup lines (if they carry a color light enough for me at all), and I’m usually on the “warm” end of things. (I’m a W1 in the L’Oreal True Match line, which is a pain in the butt to find in this area, as err’body wants to be tan.)

Thanks for all the information!

9

I use Missha Perfect Cover (#21) and Missha Cho Bo Yang (the lighter shade of the two shades), and ordered them from their US website. If you lurk there for awhile, you’ll probably catch one of their brands on sale. IIRC, I got the Perfect Cover during a promotion where it cost $3 if you bought the Cho Bo Yang for $18 or something like that.

I prefer the Perfect Cover in the winter, because it’s thicker and more moisturizing than the Cho Bo Yang.

I think I’m a NW15 in MAC (I wear 1.0 in their Matchmaster foundation), and Perfect Cover in #21 is a pretty good match. It tends to look grey when you first apply it and then disappears into your skin.

10

gallows fodder, which would you say is better for oily skin? You mentioned the Perfect Cover is thicker and more moisturizing, I am wondering if that will be too heavy for daily wear for someone with combination/oily skin who lives in Florida.

11

Is this stuff fragrance-free?

12

Both of the Missha BB creams I use have fragrance.

ladyfoxfyre, I would say the Perfect Cover is too heavy for oily skin, and the Cho Bo Yang probably is, too. I tend to have normal-to-dry skin, and this stuff sometimes makes my skin oily in the summer. (Actually, now that I think about it, I think I use Perfect Cover in the winter only because it’s slightly lighter in shade than the other one – it might actually be less moisturizing and better suited to the summer in terms of texture.)

The Missha website has a little chart to see which cream is right for you, and they say the Swirl line is best for oily skin. I’ve never tried this kind, and as you can see, the shades are limited to two choices, so I hope you’re on the pale side. :slight_smile:

There are a number of blogs that review BB creams of all types and provide swatches, and they’re pretty thorough and handy. Here are some good ones that are pretty comprehensive and give a good overview of the brands available:

One important thing to consider is that if you want an Asian BB cream, buy it directly from the brand’s website if possible, and not from Amazon or ebay, because the products are sometimes counterfeited and have terrible ingredients added to them. Those blogs should have links to all the official websites – two official retailers that carry a variety of brands are Pretty and Cute and Sasa.

I hear a lot of good things about Skin79 BB creams, too.

13

When I was ordering the small sizes of Missha Perfect Cover, by the way, at checkout they gave me a free sample of Light Beige #21. Since I was buying that and #23 to find the right shade, I just took #21 out of basket and am getting it for free.

14

Are any of these animal-friendly? I need “deathly pale” shade and no animal testing.

StG

15

Speaking of MAC, they do make a beauty balm that I use and like a lot, though I don’t know if it’s a “true” BB. It has SPF 35, and does moisturize somewhat, I think, although I also have *exceedingly *dry skin, so I always slather on a layer of cocoa butter first. I have rosacea, and it really helps with that. I use a separate concealer stick for the “pimples” afterward, but it hides most of the redness, in a really natural-looking, non-cakey way. Whenever I use regular foundations, they tend to look powdery (perhaps this is the “flakey” look zweisamkeit describes), or if they stay moist, they look like a layer of clay or paint (and of course, you’re supposed to put powder on top of those). The second I move my face, any lines or creases make cracks in the foundation. The BB doesn’t do this at all.

I discovered it when went on a hunt for foundation with my friend, who has much darker skin, a deep caramel color. She uses MAC foundation and her skin always looks fantastic; you can’t even tell she has makeup on. So I tried the same makeup in my shade, and… again, it looked like paint. I came to the conclusion that my problem is that because I have so much less pigment than my friend does, my skin is much more translucent than hers. You can actually see through the surface layers a bit. But that’s not readily apparent until there’s a solid layer of color on top of my skin. Then it’s obviously very unnatural looking. The beauty balm works for me because it’s translucent, so you can still see natural variation in color and texture, and depth. I put it on and really liked how it looked in the store, but the clincher was when I came home and my husband saw me. He’s never once commented on my skin or makeup before, but when I told him I had bought some new makeup, he said, “Are you wearing it now? Because it looks really good. It doesn’t even look like you’re wearing makeup; it just looks like your skin, but really smooth and nice.” Score.

16

I was about to say, “Oh, MAC is totally animal-friendly!” But I checked just to be sure, and… uh-oh. And that goes for all Estee Lauder brands, apparently, including Origins, Prescriptives, and Smashbox. Bummer.

17

I just got my Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream and I love it! I am pale and have rosacea, and 21 is the perfect shade and covers better than anything I have ever tried. I ordered one and got one free, so I am thrilled. Thanks, zeisamkeit and gallows fodder.

18

Every single one I have tried made me look like I had kabuki makeup on for around thirty minutes til it absorbed, that’s too long for me to wait, personally. I mixed the Clinique one with foundation and that was a little better but ended up giving every tube I tried away. I am a white girl without a tan,not really fair skinned. Korean friends swear by them, though.

19

I got my Missha Perfect Cover, too. I ordered the sampler of 23 and got a free tube of 21 for being a new customer. I’m of Dutch and Celtic extraction and it’s February… but 23 is the right color for me. 21 gave me a kind of pearly pallor.

I don’t know if it’s the BB cream, or if it’s because I now wash and moisturize my face at bedtime (before, with nothing on my face, there was no reason to), but my bare skin is looking really good after just a few days.

I also splurged on a pan of Nars Orgasm blush, just to bring some color back to me over the BB cream.

20

I use the Clinique BB cream, and I buy it through Strawberrynet. I’m very pale, and I live in the tropics, so I still wear SPF 30 underneath, but I’m really happy with it. My skin is oily, and by itself it can be very drying, but the sunscreen helps with that.