BB Cream Swatches

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Holika Holika Peach Girl is the darkest and most grey looking, however when applied to the face it actually really brightens skin. It has a natural looking finish, but definitely needs to be set with powder. This one doesn't last quite as long as the others and doesn't control oil as well either.

Skin Food Red Bean is a favorite of mine, the color is slightly pink and it dries to a perfect natural finish. It is one of the best BB creams I have tried for covering pores.

Skin Food Good Afternoon Peach Green Tea is rhe same color as Red Bean but dries to a totally matte finish. It doesn't quite last as long as Red Bean but is better for my oily T-zone.

Missha M Perfect Cover in 21 is a good match for my arm but too dark for my face and has pink undertones. It's almost as dark as Peach Girl when swatched heavily. 13 on the other hand is very yellow and the palest BB cream I have. It does warm up a bit after it sets but tends to make me look sallow if I wear it alone. These ones give me the best oil control and have the best lasting power.

Heavy Red Vol. 2

The original "Heavy Red" look was bright red lips and dark blue eyeshadow (covered with pointed shades because the sun was trying very hard to scald my eyes to dust that day). This is a very similar look but I think it's a lot better, especially with the lips...

original

BB Cream VS Tinted Moisturizer

There is a big misconception in the beauty world that BB creams are just over-hyped tinted moisturizers. This may be true for Western BBs like Garnier's and Maybelline's but it's not true for the majority of Asian BBs.

I'm really not sure why Western BB creams are so sheer and so poorly representative of BB creams as a whole. Garnier's especially is an epic fail of a BB cream and really shouldn't be called one. It's a tinted moisturizer through and through and it seems like BB cream was tacked on just because it's a big buzz word at the moment.

BB creams are designed to be multi-purpose products that leave the skin with a flawless finish and are supposed to help improve the condition of skin over time. In general BB creams are supposed to take the place of moisturizer, primer, foundation and for most creams sunscreen as well. Many also provide other benefits such as lightening, brightening, blemish control and anti-aging.

Tinted moisturizers, on the other hand, are just that. Moisturizer with a hint of color. BB creams from Asian companies tend to have much more coverage, I have tried a few such as Skin Food Red Bean, Skin Food Good Afternoon Peach Green Tea, Skin79 Hot Pink and Skin79 Dream Girls. All of them have been medium to full coverage, not at all like what you would get from a TM. TMs are sheer and designed to give just a hint of color to even out skin tone. While there are some sheerer BBs, most aim to cover up flaws are reduce the need for concealer.

I used the two previously mentioned Skin Food BB creams on a near daily basis. When I use them I do not apply any moisturizer, primer, sunscreen or concealer (except on my eyelids). Red Bean is a moisturizing cream which DOES moisturize much how a TM would but it provides quite heavy coverage that makes my rosacea all but completely disappear. GAPGT is for oil control and is applied to my T-zone, an area where a tinted moisturizer certainly could not be applied. It has a matte finish and helps control shine for a few hours. I has reduced my use of blotting papers a bit. The use of these products has seemed to improve my skin just a bit, it's less dry and I have just slightly less obnoxious monthly break outs. But most of all when I wear them my face looks amazing, pores vanish and imperfections are covered up and my skin looks like skin, not a mask.

I have used tinted moisturizers in the past and they are just not for me, unfortunately I was not blessed with nice skin and need full coverage foundations.

Any way, if you have tried Western BBs and were left feeling disappointed don't write off BB creams as a whole! Get one from a Korean company and experience what these products are really supposed to be.

Heavy Red

It's not often I wear red lipstick, I just don't care much for the color on me. This is Revlon Love That Red Lipstick with Milani 3D Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Fashion Diva.

 

Eyes are Black Rose Mineral Nobodies, Larkspur and Meow Cosmetics Telepathy
Face is Skin Food Red Bean BB Cream in shade #1, Meow Cosmetics foundation in Himalayan, My Pretty Zombie MDMA blush

BB Cream Update

Update for this review

After using it since the beginning of February here's what I feel it has done for my skin:
+ My skin is less dry, most of my dry patches are gone
+ It covers my pores really well
- It doesn't do anything for pimples
- It doesn't really help my oily forehead

Skin Food Red Bean BB Cream Review

I have been wanting to try a BB cream for years but I could not find one close to my skin tone. My skin is very pale and pink, most BB creams tend to be too dark and either too yellow or too grey. I looked for ages, read lots of reviews, looked at lots of swatches and then gave up. It wasn't until last month that I started looking again and found one that might just look passable on my face!

Pretty much everyone already knows what BB cream is, but for the people that don't it's kind of supposed to be a miracle product. Face makeup that multitasks and saves time but also improves skin condition. LOL YEAH RIGHT... I know, it sounds crazy.  BB stands for blemish balm (or "beblesh" balm in the case of Skin79), basically it's supposed to help get rid of blemishes. BB cream is supposed to also take the place of moisturizer, primer, sunscreen and foundation. Some do other things such as skin lightening, anti-aging, etc. Basically it's supposed to be awesomesauce for your face.

I bought my Skin Food Red Bean BB Cream off Ebay from a Korean seller for about $20 and paid only $2 for shipping. The bottle is 45 ml so it's a pretty good price. The front sticker is completely in English and gives the product name and SPF 20 PA+. The back sticker gives a small blurb in English that says the shade (mine is #1, it only comes in two) and explains what kind of BB cream it is. Red Bean is supposed to be moisturizing with buildable coverage. The rest of the back is all in Korean and I have no idea what it says. I looked around for a translation but couldn't find one. All I can gather is it has some kind of red bean extract among countless other ingredients.