Sooooo… BB Creams. Not well known in the US by any stretch of the imagination. Some of the more makeup savvy might know what they are, but really I only heard the name BB Cream about 6 weeks ago. In truth, these are amped up tinted moisturizers.
Basically, think of this as an all inclusive skincare/makeup product. It is meant to take the place of your moisturizer, skin care treatment products (they often include ingredients that are anti-aging and acne fighting), sunscreen, primer, foundation and concealer. All there. In one big time saving step. You’d think with a blog called “15 Minute Beauty Fanatic” that I’d be all over that like white on rice. Right?
Well…. there are some problems with the BB Cream craze. Really, they all center around the one size fits all aspect of these products. Personally, my skin changes quite a bit as the seasons change. My combinations skin is more oily in the summer and dry in the winter. While I’ve largely embraced the pale and wear a ton of sunscreen, even my skin does change a little bit in color during the summer. And since they typically only come in one or two shades, which are usually a bland beige, the chances of it flattering your skin… yeah, a bit slim to none. So, I tend to not pay a lot of attention to these products.
But, as they cross the Pacific, BB Creams seem to be changing their tune a little bit, attempting to make themselves more appealing for the US market.
First, there are 2 different Dr. Jart BB Creams, so we’ll talk about each of them on their own. You can see the swatch above, each product only comes in 1 shade, and they are pretty pale. I can wear both, though Premium is a slightly better match for my skin right now. The coverage is heavier than a tinted moisturizer but lighter than most foundations.
The coverage lasts most of the day, looks very natural and definitely helps to minimize the appearance of pores or uneven skin tone. I do wish that it contained ingredients to help fight shine, but a girl can’t have everything in 1 product, right?
Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm
If your skin is dry, definitely pick this one. The consistency is like a thick lotion, though with a bit of sponginess. The formula does minimize my pores and can be used either as a lighter coverage foundation or a primer for more foundation. It also includes Aloe to help soothe and decrease redness.
SPF 25
Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm
Premium is closer to a typical tinted moisturizer in consistency, though still with the fuller light foundation coverage. This formulation includes a few more ingredients to help fight aging as well as a higher SPF.
SPF 45
So, which formulation do I prefer? I can wear both since they both match me, I don’t think that anyone other than me can notice that the Premium is a slightly better match for my skin. I like that Premium has a higher SPF and peptides to help fight aging. But, since I have combination skin, I have days that my skin feels drier. On those days I prefer Water Fuse. So, I go back and forth. I’d pick a formula based on needing more moisture, the SPF value or whether you want the added peptides.
If your skin tone is more than 2 or 3 shades darker than mine, I’d skip these products altogether. The coverage is too thick to be able to easily compensate with a darker foundation over it. Hopefully as Dr. Jart+ becomes more popular in the US they’ll branch out into other color ranges.
I’m a doctor, a mommy and a bit of a beauty addict. If you let me, I can take 2 hours to get ready in the morning. Really. I'm on a quest for faster beauty that works!
I would be interested in trying it out, but my skin color is actually between Fair and Medium and is oily. During the Summer it tends to be more oily and in the Winter it does get dry, but not that much.
I might try it if it was in a sample size.
Oh the saga of BB creams…..I was so excited when Dr Jart released here. I rushed out and got the Premium. It was (for me) ghastly. It was greasy and left me with a strange gray cast on my face. My usually clueless husband even asked me what was on my face. And trust me, for him to notice, something really has to be off. Because of the price, I decided to stick with it a while and it just never got better. But I was determined. So off to Imomoko.com I went. I figured since BB creams were so popular in Asian markets there had to be something better. And there is!! I ordered 2 BB creams from Missha. I got the Perfect Cover BB Cream in Natural Beige and Light Beige. I was concerned about the color and since they are only $12.99 each, I got them both. And as I suspected, I was right between the two in shade match. I mix them together and….perfection. In SPF 42 no less. My main interest in BB creams was the promise of a dual moisturizer and SPF. The added color and coverage was, for me, just a bonus. The reason these creams have it all over tinted moisturizers is the wear time, ease of application, and they never got greasy after all day wear.
It is so worth it to shop around a little. Not only for the price but the variety. Sites like Imomoko carry dozens of BB creams with all different prices, SPF factors, and quite a few have a larger shade range available. In my humble opinion, if you are at all interested it is best to look outside of the US market at this time.
Both of them look pretty dark for my skin but normally if something works for you, it'll work for me. I definitely have to try out BB Creams, they sound pretty great to me. I don't use tinted moisturizer because the coverage is too light for me.
Deb you're likely right, for much selection it is best to look outside of the US for now. I have been using the Dr. Jart creams pretty often, but I think i lucked out in finding a good match right off the bat. They both are very close to my skin once applied and blended in.
Having just returned from traveling I can see a single product skin care regimen as a great way to pack light. In general though, a 'one size fits all' skin care product really can't give the amazing results that are available from today's 'state of the art' skin care products. Even a person's own face has varying regions that will look better and be healthier with regional variations in the products that are applied. The T zone is the classic example. Many people's T-zone needs oil absorbing, pore cleaning anti-acne products. Compare that to the sides of the face and cheeks which usually need more moisturizing and, in California, they also may need ingredients to treat uneven pigment from sun damage. On top of all this there's sun protection, which should always be the best available and there should never be any compromise; sun protection is the single most important aspect of anti aging skin care.
http://www.drbaileyskincare.com/skin-care-tips.shtml