Face mask
You listened to me rant and rave about the Clarisonic, which I love. Well, I have discovered the cherry on top that certainly completes my skincare beauty routine! You may have heard of BB Cream, and if you haven’t, you’re in for a real treat!
BB creams (the double B’s stand for beauty balm) are essentially tinted moisturizers that are PACKED with beauty benefits. These benefits include (and are often not limited to) a daily dose of SPF, tinted moisturizer, wrinkle smoothers, primer, antioxidants, and ingredients that even out your skin tone. Pretty amazing, right?! I haven’t been using mine long enough to know the long term results of daily use. I can say, that in a week’s time, my skin looks so much brighter! I splurged and went with Hydroxatone brand per the recommendation of the Ulta lady (plus I like the consistency and scent). There are BB creams by more mainstream brands like Maybelline and Olay, with a much more reasonable price tag!
Part of my enthusiasm about this product comes from the fact that I’ve been able to cut out a certain brand of foundation that is great for coverage, but is not great for skin quality. My BB cream has enough color that it gives me an even base, which I then dust with a full coverage powder like this one:
This way my skin only soaks in the BB cream and gets a break from thick liquid foundation.
My new morning skincare routine:
Pretty simple, eh? I still use a concealer here and there, but finding that I need less and less the more I use my BB.
Some tips if you decide to try a BB cream:
-They usually only come in 3 shades: fair, medium, and dark. Just know that there are color match capabilities within these creams so they are more “one size fits all”. If all else fails, go a hue lighter rather than darker (says the Ulta lady).
-If you have dry skin, continue to use your moisturizer before applying the cream.
-Feel the different textures before you buy! Mine is much thicker than most because it has an SPF of 40. Others with less SPF tend to have a thinner consistency.
-It is okay to wear foundation over BB cream! Even though the cream is tinted, you can comfortably wear your daily foundation on top for more coverage.
-Apply in the AM to clean skin.
I hope this is a helpful guide if you decide to go and give BB a try!
If you’ve tried any particular brands, please share them below! It’s always helpful to read real experiences with different products J
Xo-Meg
Ps: Major shout out to Jacquelyn, Sarah, and Emily for giving the wreath DIY a try! Look how beautiful their wreaths turned out!
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I hadn’t heard of BB creams until I got a small sample of Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm in a subscription from Birchbox this summer. I fell in love with it, since it’s so light feeling and SPF-packed. I spent more than I ever have on a beauty product got the full size. I don’t regret it. I use a thin layer every day and a little goes a long way. Maybe I’ll look into the Hydroxatone kind next…
What brand is the BB cream? I might add this to my stocking stuffer list request 🙂
I got the Hydroxatone, but every brand makes their own version 🙂
I need this in my life. With all the lack of sleep I am getting with my new babe…sheesh, anything will help. The wreaths are super cute too. Gina, I’m FINALLY shooting you an email with the details in the next day or so about that business I mentioned in a comment a few months or so ago. Perhaps some kind of sponsorship/giveaway would work with all your cute Meg segments. 🙂 http://www.whiteplumboutique.com
I bought the Maybelline Beauty Balm on a whim at Ulta…save yourself the $7-8. 🙂 It provides very poor coverage, even for a lighter coverage product. I am looking for something better this week at Ulta’s Friday sale. 🙂
I went with a Korean BB cream. US BB creams are pretty much tinted moisturizers with a different name. Korean BB creams tend to have much more to them and better coverage. I have very dry skin and the BB I purchased has completely replace all my foundations.
I agree, the Korean ones are so much better! I bought one (pink bottle) off Amazon and it is amazing, so much better than the Maybelline version I also tried.
I use Smashbox BB cream and I love it! I think BB cream is amazing!
I started using a Korean BB cream (Missha) a few months ago and I LOVE it. I have gotten so many random compliments from people about my skin! It really is amazing and has been getting super popular in the last few months.
I have the BB cream by Garnier. It does provide coverage but it is a little thick and I LOVE my Cindy Crawford moisturizer. So I mix the two on the spot. I find that some days I don’t even need to put powder over it. Just the cream/moisturizer, mascara, and brow pencil. Viola! Great easy look! I would love to try other creams though! Thanks for the recommendations!
I’ve tried Clinique’s BB and a deluxe-sized sample of Boscia’s BB cream that I got at Sephora. They are very different from each other and I like them both. The Clinique has a thicker consistency and is a little harder to blend, but once blended it actually provides quite a bit of coverage. The Boscia BB is quite a bit lighter and easier to blend – I like it for every day use. I’d recommend to anyone that they try samples first before buying any full-size products because they can differ so much from brand to brand.
Hey Meg! Um, can you start your own blog?! This is probably my favorite page on the whole site (please don’t hate me Gina!) and I love seeing all the awesome things you come up with 🙂
My mother says that BB cream is not for young ladies (I’m a teen), regardless of what the ULTA lady says. *sigh* Though I DO think that I convinced her to get me a Clarisonic for Christmas…
meg has two blogs: http://withasentimentalheart.blogspot.com/
http://tyingthenott.blogspot.com/
I bought the Garnier BB cream and I’ve really enjoyed it!! My skin does not do well with thick, heavy foundations, but the BB is perfect.
Thank you so much for this! I had no idea what was so exciting about BB cream! But now, that I know I am running to my nearest Ulta for some!
I use to swear by the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer but after making the awitch to BB cream approx 2 years ago, i never looked back! I use the Missha Signature Real Complete Bb cream. it is also a Korean brand but i believe they have about 4-5 diff shades you can choose from. Korean bb cream is gaining a lot of popularity and can be purchased online (eg, Amazon, Ebay) but a worr of asvice – be wary if the price seems too good to be true!!! there are a lot or sellers who sell knock offs and who knows what they really put in their products… i would try to go to the brand’s retaul website to see how much they are selling it for so you can determine if a price on another website sounds shady. for example, the missha bb cream i use retails in Korea for approx $25, is sold for $45 on their US website, and prices on Amazon range from $10-$45. since we are talking about a face product, id exercise some extra due diligence – read reviews by other customers, check out the seller reviews, maybe do some google research of the seller, etc before you decide to buy a bb cream that is heavily discounted from the originoal price.
my sis loves the dr jart bb cream, also Korean, but this one is actually available at Sephora. the thing w a lot of BB creams (and especially korean ones) – it may appear to have a grayish hue and might make your face look whiter/paler than it is after you apply… but give it 5-10 minutes… once the BB cream oxidizes, it should start to blend into your skin tone!
There is no one magical Bb cream that will fit everyone – depending on how much coverage you want, your skin color, skin tone, oiliness, it will all be different. Just be patient and take advantage of Sephora and their free samples to test out diff BB creams to see which one you may like the best!
But most importantly, remember that it’s never too early to practice a good skincare regemin! I follow the 5-step process in the link below and while it may take some extra time, my skin is softer than ever and I am constantly mistaken to be a lot younger than what I really am!! 🙂
http://girlinpinkstilettos.blogspot.com/2012/05/skin-care-routine-korean-way.html?m=1
so helpful! THANK YOU!
I use bare minerals powder and tend to get dry skin in the winter so BB Cream has been a huge saviour. I’ve also noticed that its a great base to help my bare minerals last longer. I am so excited about it….i own the maybelline one that i bought from duane reade. I have nothing to compare it to but look foward to reading the difference between this and a more expensive one!
I switched from Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer (that I used for years and thought was ~perfect~) to Garnier’s BB cream! I will never go back. I need light coverage, have dry skin and just a bit of redness around my nose so it was the perfect thickness and sheen. Love love love.
I’ve been using that Hydroxatone BB cream for about a month and I love it. But yeah, wow, the price. It was 20% off when I bought it at least.
I tried the Maybelline and it’s junk. I read reviews of the Korean ones (missha, et al) on Amazon and a lot say they’re knock-offs so I’m not going to bite.
I like your lip stain/balm rec too so I will try your powder rec as well, if you like the brand pictured above. I’m guessing it’s at Ulta? CoverFX at Sephora is nice but pricey and the puff is too cheap.
The nice thing about that BB cream is it has non-chemical sunscreen.
I read BB is for ‘blemish balm’ and it was originally made for post-plastic-surgery patients.
Beblesh Balm.