Wonders of bb cream - my ramblings

[click image to enlarge] my bare skin vs. etude shini star bb lotion 

Blemish Balm (BB) cream is described as a multi purpose product which claims to be have skincare properties while being a cosmetic product. You can read more about it here in Labmuffin's post.

My BB cream life story...
I started using BB cream about three years ago when it was all the rage on the Asian forums. It initially started out in the eastern market where the ideal is to have baby smooth, fair, flawless skin. Asian bb creams are usually very light in shades or have whitening properties because these characteristics have been deemed desirable. It has exploded onto the western market now but I don't think the same formulas or image applies. I've tried Garnier BB cream and it is a yellow toned tinted moisturiser. Asian bb creams look pale on skin initially but usually adapt or oxidise to skin tone.

I'll tell you a bit about my skin and why I choose to use bb cream. I have dry to normal skin with rare pimple attacks. I use bb cream because I don't believe I need thick coverage plus it has spf. I'm a lazy person ok? One step less, the better.

As you can see from the picture above it has lightened my freckles and redness while covering my pores and bumps. I like the natural look where it makes my problem areas less noticeable but not make me look caked in foundation. BB cream is buildable and can be used as an concealer if you want to hide areas. This particular bb cream is quite sheer while other formulas can have higher coverage. I use bb cream as my foundation and have thrown away my liquid foundation.

Skincare properties? In my opinion, not really. You should be removing your bb cream off like any other make up product. People have said bb cream has made their skin better in the long run. I haven't used it consistently enough to say so but it maybe byproduct of continually using something with spf or oil control in it.

Don't forget about your man! Korean bb cream brands such as skin79 and L'erge also market bb cream for men.

Accessible bb creams in Australia are from the face shop or missha. Ebay is usually a good source to get cheap bb cream. Try big name brands such as hanskin, tonymoly, etude house, dollywink. etc Still there are fake bb cream stories so keep an eye out on feedback.

If you have any questions about bb cream, pop a comment below.

Etude House Shini Star BB lotion review coming soon! 

xoxo
BBy at heart,
nana