By now some of you beauty Maniacs may have heard about a new phenomenon called “BB cream” and wondered what, exactly, it is. I’m here to spill the deets. BB Cream (“Blemish Balm, Beauty Benefit, Beblesh Balm or Blemish Base cream) is a multi-tasking skin care and makeup product; it’s like a tinted moisturizer on steroids. The formula originated in the late 1960s in Germany by a doctor and was initially used by dermatologists on patients’ post-laser surgery faces. The cream was intended to give protection, natural looking tinted coverage and moisture to the skin, all the while encouraging cell regeneration.
BB cream was first popularized in Korea by soap opera actresses who were thrilled with the cream’s effects on their complexions and began to spread the word to the public. BB cream soon garnered widespread attention amidst Asian consumers and has now spread to the European and American markets. Although Asian brands such as Skin Food, Missha and SKIN79 were forerunners in the BB cream movement, European and American brands such as Garnier, Clinique, Estee Lauder and MAC have recently followed suit.
Each BB cream offers different variations of a makeup and skincare product – most are tinted for moderate coverage, and include numerous properties such as oil control, acne prevention or treatment, wrinkle prevention or reduction, sun protection, skin brightening, pore minimization, antioxidant protection and hydration. It’s a great all-in-one alternative to using a multitude of separate products.
~~ By Katherine Reel