If you haven’t already, you can view BB Craze Part I here

What Makes a Blemish Balm (BB) Cream a BB Cream?

What kind of cream is this that it has captured many women’s hearts? Once upon a time–again, I couldn’t find a valid source–BB Cream was “invented” for the first time in Germany, instead of Korea like most of us assume. They are used mainly for patients who undergo office treatment such as peeling and laser treatments, where BB Cream helps the natural process of healing of the skin, whilst offering a nice concealing and coverage.

BB Cream also promises to heal irritated and blemished skin, thanks to various kinds of glorified herbs in their concoction. Moisturizing, whitening agents (big deal!), and sun protection are included.  It sounds like the final of all skincare promises, and the end of a search of a go-to makeup.

But, continuing my rant from BB Cream Part I, there is no study or proof that confirm the magical promise of BB Cream. Some does tell us the ingredients they use, but most do not. Even if they do, is it enough to make it work? Is it even tested? Biq question mark.

And I don’t know how “balm” and “cream” can go side by side; they are two different textures!

The Industry

And then there was the missing link of how Koreans picked up the cream and made it even bigger in their own country. All we know now is Korean celebrities appear flawless in public and claim that it’s in the BB Cream. Sure enough, it now creates an epidemic of the magic cream. Hanskin likes to add on the word “magic” in their BB Cream products and Skin79 uses pink packaging, tickling the little princesses in all of us.

Some 97% of BB Cream makers are from Korea, while the rest are from Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand, even the USA. Mostly Asians use it, and it has yet hit the US or European markets like it has Asia.

The excitement of the market is so tantalizing that many BB Cream makers create all range of skincare “induced” with BB Cream: primer, concealer, night cream, face powder, untinted moisturizer, facial mist, mask, cleanser, peeling gel, even body bronzer and legs foundation!

All of them bear the name “BB” and that is just irresponsible. They take advantage of the wild enthusiasm and put “BB” in random products. Oh, oh, there are also BB Cream products addressed specifically for men!

I will review all of them in the coming future, but please be patient (PR abis buat gw… )

Overall Impression

Before I review individual products, let me just start with overall impression I got from trying 40-something products: that most of them has beige grayish shade, too pale or too light, and only a couple of brands have actually shade choices, although they are limited to two!

I’m not a big fan of beige shade because it can look dull, but gray(-ish) is definitely a no-no for me. It has that pesky bluish tint to it and it just looks off.

But, probably here’s why they call themselves “magic”, some BB Creams actually have the ability to adjust to users’ skin tone. I was amazed myself at how some products that look light out of the tube can transform to match my MAC NC37 shade.

In terms of result, I can’t really tell. I have never had bad experiences with BB Cream in any way, but I don’t see that it improves my skin either. But that’s a common behavior that people use some products just because it has an array of good stuff for your face, so you feel you do the right thing eventho you don’t see a clear before-and-after.

Learn the Lingo

This is just an intermezzo, but I thought I was learning some Korean language that “beblesh” (used in Skin79 Beblesh Balm) meant “blemish”, but a Korean friend frowned and said no! She said the word didn’t even exist! So funny.