The BB Cream Craze

Hi everyone,

BB Cream has exploded onto the beauty scene in the last few months here in the states, but in Asia, it's been around for years. These products first became popular in Korea and Japan, but have become a huge hit elsewhere in the past year and their popularity only seems to be growing. A lot of you have been asking for my take on them, so I thought I’d cover the craze in today’s blog. : )

The “BB” in BB Cream can stand for either “Blemish Balm” or “Beauty Balm.” They are probably best thought of as a combination of tinted moisturizer, serum and primer; they offer the functionality of both a primer and a tinted moisturizer but also contain many of the benefits of a skin serum. Plus SPF! They became popular because a lot of stars in Asia used them to get that perfected skin.

There are so many BB Creams out there now, so if you’re looking to buy one, here are some things to keep in mind: A good BB Cream will be lightly tinted, have a satin finish and feel very clean. You don’t want the texture to be too pasty or the coverage to be too heavy. Also, the product should not feel sticky when applying; it should feel almost like water on your face. The downside to BB Creams is the color range. You might not have a lot of options to work with because the colors are usually light to medium. Because of all the beneficial ingredients like SPF, primer etc., BB Creams will usually have an ashy color to them. You have to really blend, so if you're looking for a product that will cover your imperfections, BB Creams may not be for you. You already have to have relatively good skin to use BB Creams because the coverage is very light.

I personally prefer to use foundation because it provides a cleaner finish and photographs better, but BB Cream is great for quick fixes. I think Missha BB and Lioelehave an amazing selection and Skin Fu is good too. You can also find a bunch of good products on Pretty & Cute.

I hope this helps!