“BB” stands for Blemish Balm, but you don’t have to have a single blemish on your skin to use and love BB Cream. BB cream is great for anyone with any skin color or any skin type. Here is more on where it came from, how you use it, who it’s best for and where you can buy it.
Where did BB Cream originate: BB Cream was created more than 50 years ago by German Doctor, Dr. Christine Schrammek. It was initially created to be used to help heal skin after skin peels as well as hide any scars and redness post peel treatment. It was later introduced in Asia, specifically South Korea where K-pop stars and K-drama stars made note of its ability to transform skin. With several big-name stars endorsing it in South Korea, consumers went wild for it.
BB Cream is known by everyone in South Korea. We found it everywhere, from outdoor markets to malls. It will be that way in the United States soon. It’s thee hot product right now.
What does it do: Blemish Balm or BB Cream is a multi-tasking skin product that truly can be the one product your skin needs. It’s said to be able to moisturize, protect against the sun, soothe skin, prime skin and give full coverage, depending on the brand. (Though, in our experience, our skin needed a real moisturizer applied under. In doing so, the BB cream went on easier and looked more natural.)
Isn’t this Just a Foundation? Well, yes and no. It’s more like a tinted moisturizer, but with more coverage and many times an amazing SPF level. Each brand is different in its ability to cover blemishes and skin imperfections. While in South Korea, we purchased Tony Moly Intense Repair Snail Therapy BB Cream and it gives full coverage and literally erases any skin issues, but not all of them have such full coverage.
All BB creams vary in coverage, color, matte vs. dewy, SPF level, etc… It’s definitely a product you should experiment until you find the one best suited for you. If you don’t like a heavy foundation but still want coverage, BB cream is for you. It can also be used as a concealer or highlighter, too!
Who is it Best Suited For: Most people with medium to light skin tone; women and men, actually. But note that the BB cream might have to be mixed with foundation if you have dark skin tone. Unlike foundations, there is typically just one shade (or sometimes a couple shades) of BB cream. This is why it is considered a unisex product. (However, there were BB Creams in South Korea marketed just for men, so we’re waiting on that in the US, too.)
If you have darker skin, you can mix a bit of your foundation to make it match your skin better, but the US lines are doing a better job at offering better options for darker skin tones. When I purchased mine in South Korea, I specifically asked the woman if it would be OK for my skin and she said, “Yes, any skin!” She was right for my skin! I love my BB cream!
Where Can You Buy it: Skin care and makeup lines in the US are a hopping on the BB Cream train as we speak. Companies like Garnier, Clinique, Smashbox and Too Faced are some of the first to offer a BB Cream in the US. (We saw Garnier’s advertised all over in Seoul, too!) More lines are being developed as you read this and we’re certain that the US is going to have a BB cream explosion.
As for us, we’re going to try some of these, but if we can’t find what we want, we’re going to try to buy our beloved Tony Moly online. Thank you Amazon!