I don’t really do makeup. But I was looking at the pics in the “dudes wearing makeup” thread today, and wow! If tinted moisturizer can do that, I wanna start wearing it. But how do I pick a color? A brand? I don’t have chronic acne or anything too terrible, but I’d like to even out my complexion, look more polished, and all that jazz. I have some non-tinted clinique moisturizer, and I like the way it makes my face feel, but christ on a cracker that shit was expensive.
And what the hell is this BB cream stuff? How is it different from tinted moisturizer? I read a thread about it on here awhile back and apparently a lot of “BB cream” being produced by mainstream US cosmetic companies is crap and doesn’t work like the original Korean(?) stuff. How would a stupid consumer (i.e. me) tell the difference between the good stuff and the dregs?
I just started using Garnier BB cream, and it’s fine. Surely not as good as some spendy froufrou stuff, but that’s okay. I like it because I don’t have to apply sunscreen and wrinkle cream and whatever and whatever all separately. I do still apply moisturizer first, even though it does contain moisturizer, because my skin gets too dry if I don’t. And I do pat a little powder on top of the BB cream, because I don’t like a liquid-y appearance to my skin. But it’s fine. I’m not picky. It’s like 8 bucks.
You just have to try it yourself. Good BB cream evens out your skin tone and doesn’t give you that caked look. Missha is the most popular brand in Korea (link to US site). I used to use The Body Shop’s BB cream but it’s too pale for me most of the year.
One tip if you do end up buying the pricey stuff and you want it to last a lot longer- get out a dot of it, put it on the fingertips of one hand, and dot it all over your face, and then blend it in from there. Creams and lotions go a lot farther when you do it like that than if you just apply it like regular.
I use a regular foundation in the winter, but in the summer when my face gets some sun and doesn’t need quite as much evening-out, I like covergirl tinted moisturizer. The fair/medium is just enough coverage to blend everything into a more uniform tone for me.
I didn’t love the drugstore BB cream; I found it too heavy for what I need this time of year. Definitely recommend the tinted moisturizer.
It’s BB cream? I’ve been thinking it was “Beauty” cream. 
I’m not sure what bb stands for in bb cream but I wear tinted moisturizer. I like Nars tinted moisturizer because it gives nice coverage and feels great. Before that I used to wear the philosophy brand which was good too. These are all from Sephora
After the BB cream thread I started, I ordered some from Missha. It is really nice, sits lightly on the face and does great things for appearances. The US website holds sales on the typical holiday-sale weekends, and the discount is significant. Also first-time customers get a free sample of the most popular shade of their BB cream, so you can order a second shade and get that one to try for free.
I have two kinds of BB cream. One is lightly tinted, made by L’Oreal, a name I usually trust. It has a sunscreen (30SPF) and a light, almost translucent tint. It’s also supposedly a moisturizer and full of Vitamin A and I don’t know what-all, but I really like it. Only downside is its fragrance. Not a bad fragrance but this particular goes to war with some other fragrances I like to wear. I would prefer that what I put on my face have no scent at all.
The other one is Clinique BB cream, also 30SPF, no scent. It looks like, and goes on like, regular foundation makeup, and does all the other stuff–moisturizes, protects, magic etc. etc.
Neither one of them gives me a caked look. In fact the L’Oreal just completely disappears, but it makes my skin feel a lot better, and if I wanted to put some powder or bronzer on top it helps it stay better. The Clinique doesn’t seem to moisturize quite as well, but on the plus side it doesn’t smell.
(As an aside, I have always wondered why the manufacturers don’t add sunscreen that fits with the color. I have bought foundation that is an SPF 8, which might be fine if it was a medium or dark shade, but it’s the lightest shade possible. Anyone wearing that shade needs more than an 8 if they’re going to wear sunscreen at all–and if they don’t need the sunscreen why would they buy it? But only once have I seen a makeup that had the SPF calibrated with the tone, and it didnt’ last long, so apparently I’m the only one who likes this.)
I am now seeing ads for CC cream. I guess by the time I have used up these two tubes of BB cream we’ll be onto DD cream which will do even more great stuff.
BB cream stands for blemish balm, blemish base, beauty balm or beblesh balm (apparently because of a trademark in Korea on the word “blemish”)
CC cream, also known as Color Control cream, is a refined blemish balm cream or Beauty Balm created and developed in Korea
Thanks Wikipedia
I have really oily skin and have stayed away from liquid foundations forever. I decided after reading about some BB creams to give one a try. I’m older, sunscreen would be good, these sounded lighter than “foundation” and I had a couple extra bucks so thought I’d give one a try.
BB cream seems to me like a light foundation that’s maybe fortified with some extra ingredients. It’s more pigmented than a tinted moisturizer, I think, and has less coverage than a regular foundation. So it’s a nice in-between. With the oil on my face, I certainly don’t need a moisturizer even though beauty experts keep saying to use it anyway. I’m also a cheapskate and so was looking at what was on sale and cheapest per ounce. I tried two. The L’Oreal mentioned by Hilarity is good. It has a kind of mousse-like consistency, goes on smoothly, and settles nicely. It does indeed have a scent. It’s not an unpleasant scent, but seems odd to me to smell my face all day. The second one I tried was one formulated for oily skin by Garnier. It’s much more watery in consistency out of the tube, spreads well and smoothly, and kind of dries onto my skin, which also seems to leave a matte finish and is great for my shiny, oily skin. No scent on that one, and it’s the one I’ve been sticking with. I still may use the L’Oreal after the Garnier stuff is gone, but that depends on how long I get out of a tube.
The other plus of the BB cream is that it comes in a substantially larger quantity than the foundation-type stuff and so seems to give me much more for my money. I do finish the application with a little mineral powder.
For those that care, I contacted Physician’s Formula to see if their products (including a new line of BB creams) were tested on animals and they said they are cruelty-free.
StG
All that means is that the ingredients in that combination had already been tested and approved on animals or more likely it was tested on animals in a different country where laws are different. There are very, very few beauty products for sale in this country that have not been safety tested in some way (thank god).
WTH is vibrating mascara?
Animal testing bothers me less than the alternative (human testing). I don’t use it as a criterion when choosing cosmetics. I am much more concerned with price and performance.
Thanks for the tips so far! I am thinking tinted moisturizer would be better for the summer months, so I’ll give that a whirl.
I bought a tube of Maybelline’s BB cream (the only one I’ve seen that has a shade even close to mine) to try as light makeup on vacation.
It’s kind of tinted (but nowhere near the coverage of a good liquid foundation) and less moisturizing than Oil of Olay (my normal moisturizer). And it makes my skin look kind of slightly ashy at the beginning of the day which tones down as the day goes on. But it was relatively cheap and it claims to have SPF-something-or-other.
Not bad, but nothing to write home about, either.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who saw a noticeable difference in the pictures of those dudes. 
I make no bones about the fact that I like to wear a lot of makeup sometimes, but on the day to day, I usually don’t wear anything. That said, my usual foundation is some of the hardcore stuff, but during the summer, I like to lighten up. Usually, this has been via tinted moisturizer, but I’ve been experimenting with BB Creams.
My tinted moisturizer is by Laura Mercier. I really like the product- it’s very light, doesn’t crease, evens my skin tone nicely. It’s just expensive. And the tube isn’t very big. So, I’m looking for alternatives, but until I find a cheaper one, this is my go to.
As far as BB cream, I’ve yet to find anything I’m wowed by. Maybe I’ll try the Missha kind-- does it have skin whitners in it? I know that’s the big issue with ordering Asian BB creams, that they tend to have hidden bleach products in 'em. In the mean time, I’ve been using L’oreal’s BB Cream. I’m olive complected and on its own, it kind of makes me look grey. Not a good look. So, I mostly only use it as a primer under my real foundation now.
I bought Almay’s BB cream. It comes out of the tube white, and then changes to a tan color (kind of like their Smart Shade makeup, the one Kate Hudson used to endorse). I think it comes in Light, Light/Medium, and Medium/Dark tones. It is not bad, doesn’t really offer much coverage but does smooth things out a bit. It’s under $10. Not bad for casual use (I wouldn’t use it if I was getting dolled up).
You can go to Sephora and try all the different stuff. I highly recommend that. In my experience, the more expensive foundations are worth it (to a point). They go on easier, the color is better, they cause less breakouts, and they last longer. Since I’ve started buying better makeup, I’ve discovered I actually spend less over time, because the product lasts so much longer.
Anyway, everyone’s skin is different, so I think the only real way to find what works for you is to try it. And if you go to Sephora, you can try everything they carry.
Sephora will also give you healthy samples if you don’t ask. Like, enough to use it every day for at least a week.