A brief overview of BB creams. The “BB” in BB creams stands for Blemish Balm. Supposedly they came or were developed in Germany as after-laser surgery treatment for some celebrities. However, it is the Korean celebrities who made BB creams popular what with their enviably flawless complexions. BB creams are considered more as makeup than skin care products, but unlike traditional makeup they contain certain ingredients for any or all of the following functions: whitening, anti-aging, SPF protection, anti-acne or anti-blemish, skin tone correction, and can act as makeup primer or foundation. I have no interest in it as makeup per se, but the other functions sound pretty good especially for just one product.
So. After reading quite a bit about BB creams on GT forum, I got carried away by the hype (yet again) and decided to try it out for myself. I got four samplers from eBay: Skin79 VIP Gold, Skin79 Hot Pink, Missha M Perfect Cover in shade no. 23 and SkinFood Mushroom Multi-Care in shade no. 2.
So far I have only tried the Skin79 VIP Gold and the SkinFood (as you can see in the picture). They both have a whitish cast when applied, but settles into the skin eventually and leaves a smooth-looking finish. However, the VIP Gold has an obvious grayish undertone (most BB creams apparently do) while the SkinFood has very minimal grayish undertone, if at all. Since I do not like the Skin79’s gray undertone, I’ll just be discussing the SkinFood Mushroom Multi-Care BB Cream which I like better.
Application was a bit of a hit-and-miss for me the first time. It dried up a bit fast so blending was a bit hard initially. However, I found that blending was a lot easier when I used moisturizer (I use Cyleina Grapeseed Oil–it’s not greasy even on the face) before applying the BB cream. It also made my skin a bit dewy and more natural-looking compared to when I use the BB cream alone (gave for a more made-up look which I do not like at all).
As for coverage, I have a somewhat severe case of acne and as expected the zits did not get completely covered up. However, some of the redness around my nose were minimized as well as the darker yellowish tone around my mouth and on my temples. My dark eye bags looked a little less dark too. The result is a more even-looking skin tone, a trick that made my skin appear smoother than it actually is. =P
Here are a few pictures of me this morning (I look horrible, I know). I used SkinFood Mushroom Multi-Care BB Cream. Zits are still visible (not that I really mind) but my skin tone looks more even (here’s a picture for comparison where I’m bare-faced from an earlier post). Pictures taken under natural lighting with my mobile phone.
So. Does it match my skin tone as well as I think it does? What do you think?
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