Korean BB Creams


By now, I'm sure you've heard all the talk about BB creams. For those of you who don't know what they are, here's the simplified version: BB creams are multi-tasking facial creams that serve as foundation, moisturizer, sunscreen, primer, and also have anti-wrinkle, anti-inflammatory, and sometimes whitening ingredients.

But...as with most things, all BB creams are not the same.

Most creams made in the US are more of a tinted moisturizer. They don't always offer all of the benefits of a true BB cream - and if they do, the coverage is usually very sheer - and the price very high.

The BB creams from Asia (specifically Korea) are much different. They are more like a foundation that can be layered for more coverage, yet remain as lightweight as a tinted moisturizer. Plus they usually offer all the benefits of a true BB cream. The drawback is that the color selection is limited, and they're all fairly light shades.

I desperately wanted to try the Korean BB creams, so I went to eBay to find some samples. I did a lot of reading and searching, and finally decided to try Skin79 and ElishaCoy. Each of these companies has a lot of different types of BB creams, but I ended up with:






As you can see, the shades are fairly light, and these are pretty much as dark as they get. Since I haven't been self-tanning much lately, I haven't tried them with a "tan", but I've heard that they will "adjust" to a certain extent to match your skin. I imagine that topping with a slightly darker powder or bronzer would also deepen the color a bit. But if your skin tone is pretty dark, I don't think these would work for you.


In this picture, I've smoothed them out just a bit. If you've used American BB creams, you can see right away that these have a creamier consistency, and they also are more opaque. I love the consistency! And even though they're creamy, they're very lightweight.


I've smoothed them out almost completely in this picture. You can see that they've almost disappeared.


In this picture, they're completely blended into my skin. My skin still looks natural - you can't see makeup at all - but the skin tone is a bit more even.


In this one, you can see before and after. The veins in my hand are a little less noticeable, and the skin tone is definitely more even. NOTE: I have just realized that on this monitor, the color is really off in a couple of the pictures. I have no idea why! They looked fine on my other monitor - my apologies!!

Of the three BB creams I sampled, I think my favorite is the Skin79 Super Plus BB Hot Pink. It's geared more toward oily, blemish-prone skin, and contains ingredients for oil-control. The VIP Gold is very similar, but it is geared more towards those who need more moisture, and contains more moisturizing ingredients. Both Skin79 products contain 25 SPF, along with whitening and anti-wrinkle ingredients.

Compared to their US counterparts, well, there is no comparison. The Korean products are superior in every way, in my opinion. The prices are much more reasonable as well.

The ElishaCoy product is nice as well, but it doesn't contain any SPF or whitening ingredients.

Skin79 USA has a great deal on a 4 pack of samples for $5 - you get one each of the Super Plus BB Hot Pink, Super Plus BB VIP Gold, Super Plus Vita Cream BB, and the Snail Nutrition BB Cream in 2g packs. Free shipping, and you get a $5 voucher for your next purchase. (and 500 bonus points - they have a points reward thing just like everyone else)

With my eBay purchase, I received a few free samples of the ElishaCoy All-in-One Cleanser. I liked that it made my skin really soft and did a good job of cleansing, but it had a very strong old-lady perfume smell and after a week of using it, I ended up with a lot of clogged pores and a few breakouts.


I also received a free sample of the ElishaCoy Skin Repairing Snail Cream. It sounds totally gross, but I gave it a try. I actually liked it, LOL! I don't know if I would purchase it, but I'd definitely consider giving it a try in the future.


I bought all of my samples on eBay from Korean seller, cosmeticmarket2012. I received free shipping, free samples, and the shipping was very quick considering it came from Korea. I was pleased with the transaction.

A caution: if you decide to purchase a Korean brand, either buy from an American distributor, or make sure that your seller (on eBay) is legitimate.

Have you tried any of the Korean BB creams? If you have, I would love to hear about your experience!
Kim
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