Why We Care About BB Cream

Wearing makeup every day is time-consuming and sometimes you just want to give your skin a bit of a break from all of the foundation and powders. But very few of us are brave enough to go totally au naturel. BB Creams are a great way to let your skin take five while still giving you coverage (and confidence!).

Because it is a multi-tasking product, using a BB Cream could save you precious minutes in the morning (think of all the snoozing that could be done with those) as well as money. Instead of buying a moisturiser, a foundation and a sun cream you can just use one product. Some women don’t find the moisturising properties sufficient, however, and like to use their moisturiser underneath a BB Cream too.

The ultra contoured, air-brushed skin look is starting to look dated now, and we are so ready for more of the natural trend. The barely-there glowing look is something that suits literally everyone. It makes you look younger, healthier and like you’ve barely spent any time on your look; effortlessly beautiful!

What Exactly Is A BB Cream?

BB Cream has been around for nearly ten years, yet ‘what is BB cream’ is still constantly being searched on Google. BB cream is also known as beauty balm, blemish balm or blemish base. It was developed in Germany (not Korea, although that was where it rose to fame) by a doctor who knew her patients wanted to use something to cover up after treatments like chemical peels but didn’t want them slathering on thick foundation. She developed BB cream, which is known for its antioxidant properties and light consistency.

In short a BB cream is a multi-tasking product. BB cream ingredients vary but in general you will find they act as a moisturiser, contain an SPF to protect you from the sun, even-out your skin tone, cover blemishes and act as a make up primer. A lot of them contain antioxidants and peptides too, making them part-make up and part-skincare.

And if you’re wondering about the difference between a BB and CC cream, in our experience it’s not much. In theory a CC cream is supposed to also be a colour corrector designed to minimise redness or sallowness. So it would generally be slighter thicker and could also include light reflecting particles to help even out the skin tone. But there is so much blurring between the two, it’s best to check out the texture and finish you want across both options before you buy.

So, Isn’t This Just a Tinted Moisturiser?

Not quite. There’s a reason why BB cream sales have soared while the demand for tinted moisturisers has lessened. Firstly the coverage is fuller than a tinted moisturiser, meaning your imperfections are covered up more. Also the SPF in a BB cream is usually higher, and we all know how important including SPF in your daily routine is. 

Before you grab a BB cream and get slathering, know that it’s going to take a little more time and effort to get the perfect natural and glowy face you so desire. First things first: start with your canvas.

To Get Perfect Skin, Start with Your Skincare Routine

You need to remove all dirt, pollution and make up from your skin daily.  If you haven’t gotten into the habit of religiously cleansing your face morning and night, do it now. Putting makeup on dry and flaky or oily and pimply skin is just never going to look good. Unless you’re happy to cake on tons of foundation and concealer, and that’s so not what this natural and glowing face trend is about. 
If you suffer from uneven skin tone and hyper-pigmentation it’s tempting to just stick to layering on the foundation to hide it. But you can fix these issues at the source. Look for words like ‘brightening’ and ‘illuminating’ on skincare products to help with getting a more even skin tone. Skin Republic Brightening Vitamin C Mask is a wonderful skin pick-me-up.

Most importantly you need to stay hydrated. This is achieved by drinking your 8 glasses of water a day, as well as using a hydrating moisturiser twice daily. If you’ve got oily skin you may think you don’t need any more moisture on your face but you’re wrong. If you don’t provide hydration your sebaceous glands will freak out and over compensate, resulting in even more oil.

Read More. How to Seriously Improve Your Skincare Routine in a Few Easy Steps

Next, Choose the Perfect BB Cream

Note that most brands only offer BB Creams in 2 to 6 different shades. Although they say that one shade will suit most you will need to do a bit of experimenting before committing to one brand. 

Lots of women use a BB Cream to save them time in the morning. No more applying moisturiser and sun cream and foundation and setting powder. However, if you’re going to spend a long time in the sun it’s advisable to wear your sun cream underneath your BB cream as well, like you would with your foundation. 

After some shopping around, you should be able to find a BB Cream suited to your skin tone and specifications, from oily to dry.

Our product picks: Garnier BB Cream for Combo Oily Skin, Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream SPF25, LA Girl Pro HD BB Cream, Olay Total Effect BB Cream SPF15 and
Almay Smart Shade Skintone Matching Makeup.

Read More. All You Need to Know About Choosing the Best Foundation for You

How Do You Apply BB Cream Perfectly Every Time?

Because it’s part moisturiser it’s tempting to squirt some in your hands, rub them together and apply it straight to your face like you would any other cream.
 
In fact, a BB Cream is best applied with a foundation brush or a beauty blender sponge like the ones from Cala or Essence. Remember that it is still a colour, even if it’s light, and you need to blend it well to keep your look natural. Once you’ve applied to your whole face you might still need to dot some concealer in areas like under your eyes or on stubborn pimples. Keep it light by not setting the look with powder.
 
BB cream is pretty long lasting, and because it’s so lightweight you can easily apply it on the go throughout the day if you need to.
 
Read More. No-Makeup Makeup. How to Look Naturally Beautiful

What Other Makeup Do You Need for a Glowy Look?

This look is popular in Spring/Summer collections because it looks so easy, just like summery days ought to be. After applying your moisturiser wait a few moments for it to dry before adding a thin layer of BB Cream. 

The trick with concealer is to only apply it where totally necessary. If your face looks bright with just BB Cream then leave it at that. Otherwise apply concealer where needed, like the inner corners of eyes or on any pimples. Our faves are LA Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer and Revlon Youth FX Fill & Blur Concealer 

Keep the look light by using a lengthening, not volumising, mascara, like Rimmel Wonder'full. This will add colour to your lashes without weighing them down. Brows are still having a huge moment so make sure they’re well groomed. Then take a tinted brow gel (like the one from Essence) and gently sweep over your eyebrows until they are coated in colour but not unnatural looking.

The look is done at this stage, but if you want to look more dolled up you can keep going. Use a tinted lip balm instead of lipstick in a one shade darker than your actual lip colour. This will create the illusion of your lips just naturally looking this kissable. Try the divine kiss balms from Revlon, available in a wide variety of shades.

A touch of blush will liven up your face too, which is a blessing when you’re running on barely any sleep or are sick. Use a natural tone like this soft peach from Palladio that will leave you looking like you’ve just gone for a brisk walk.

View Video. Easy Makeup using BB Cream

And When You’re Just Having a Terrible Skin Day...

Even if you’re religious about drinking enough water and taking care of your skin, hormones, lack of sleep and/or stress are a thing and break outs happen to the best of us. When your skin looks bad it can make you feel really self-conscious and have a negative knock-on effect for the rest of your day. Accept that bad skin days happen to everyone and learn how to deal with them, without having to put on layers and layers of foundation.
 
You just need a few essentials to help you deal with emergencies. A creamy concealer is your best friend in the battle against pimples, dark spots and dark circles under your eyes. Blotting paper is best for combating sudden bouts of oiliness, and a good mud mask is a good way to quickly insert some moisture into your skin. Try Mineral Line’s Dead Sea Facial Mud Mask with Aloe Vera.
 
Read More. Valuable Tips on How to Use Concealers to Really Conceal