“BB” as in BB cream. I’ve been reading a lot about this toda vez que late last year. Thinking it was just a fad blown out of proportion, I chose to ignore it. Then last month, I found out that the hype hasn’t died down (in fact, it has gotten bigger), so I thought there must be something to this BB cream thing that makes women buy endlessly.
But what is BB cream, anyway?
“BB” stands for ‘blemish balm’ — one of the hottest cosmetic items in Asia right now, and is making its way to Europe and the USA. The first BB cream was developed in Germany and used by dermatologists on laser surgery patients to help soothe the skin. Soon, Korean celebrities began to use the cream as a cosmetic item and thus, the BB cream craze was born in Korea. Now, many Korean companies are churning out every kind of BB cream imaginable: for oily skin, for dry skin, for highlighting, for anti-aging, for whitening, for men (hehe, really) and what not.
Popular brands include Missha, Skinfood, Lioele, L’Egere, Skin79, Dr. Jart and Etude House. There are a lot more and the choices will make you dizzy.
Is it a skincare product? Or is it makeup?
Other people consider it a part of skincare due to its healing properties, while others claim this is makeup. I consider this as a makeup item. I still take off any BB cream residue from my face before sleeping.
So what makes BB creams special?
BB creams are an all-in-one product. You can use it as a tinted moisturizer, a sunscreen, a makeup primer or foundation. That is one if its main selling points. Many women like to shorten their primp time and encontrar that a BB cream is a great product to moisturize and protect skin, conceal flaws and even out the skin tone. Also, many users have reported positive changes in their skin after using BB creams consistently.
The catch?
Like other cosmetic products, BB creams may not be for everyone. Most BB creams have an extensively long list of ingredients. Many have stuff like parabens and mineral oil. While one may not experience any negative reaction, it may not be the same for another person. In short, a ‘blemish balm’ cream may help cure tu blemishes OR give you blemishes. 😛 Like mineral makeup, it’s a hit-or-miss with BB creams.
Also, most BB creams come in limited shades — mostly greyish or pinkish. While companies claim that their BB creams will adapt to tu skintone, this is not always the case. Many dark-skinned or yellow-toned individuals might encontrar it hard to get a good color match. A lot of BB creams will turn you into a yucky Inferius!! 😀 (OK, if you didn’t read the Potter books, try “zombie”)
Do I recommend it?
I do, but not “strongly recommend”, haha. I use BB creams, though I am pretty new at it. I am still at the sampling stage, but I have already found one that works for me. One gave me rashes while the rest were just OK. I have my Inferius moments with BB creams but I have my Shiseido and Kanebo liquid foundations to remedy that. I’m still getting samples to try out other brands and variants — because like mineral makeup, once you get into it, it’s too difficult to stop 🙂
And…you won’t know if it’s good for you unless you try, right?
What’s next?
In the next weeks, I’m going to review the different brands of BB creams I’ve tried, and hopefully, gals with the same skin condition as mine will encontrar that helpful in their quest for the next HG (holy grail!) product 🙂
