Monday, October 1, 2012

The Buzz on BB

Happy October, Good Clean Skin Lovers!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock these last few months, by now you've heard of BB Cream. Actually, this post has been a long time coming, as I had been planning on trying some BB Creams all summer, and then time got away from me.You may not have tried it yet (it took me a while to come around to the idea, myself) but you've at least seen the ads and commercials. So, what's the buzz?

BB Cream (which stands for beauty balm here in the Western part of the world) is a recent import to the beauty market from our Eastern friends and is touted as an "all-in-one" miracle cream claiming to be the replacement for moisturizer, make up primer, sunblock, and foundation. In other words, it's tinted moisturizer on steroids. Now, this may seem like a super new idea, but the concept actually dates back to a 1960s German dermatologist who was seeking a healing balm for her patients after mild surgical procedures. Of course, it's been perfected over the last several decades, and now wham! Thank you 2012, BB Cream has made it to America, and in a big way.

Almost every tried and true skin care and cosmetics brand has got a BB Cream by now, and the drug store brands weren't far behind (though I haven't tried it, I've seen the ads for Garnier's BB Cream, and the price tag is great!).

So- should you put a BB Cream in your make up bag? The answer is yes. For all you 5 am morning gym goers, busy moms on the go, working girls who skip lunch breaks to run errands-- this beauty product is for you. It's the busy woman's make up... and I've yet to meet a woman who isn't busy! I wear it alone on a day-to-day basis, or you can also use it as a primer for other make up if you're getting a bit more dolled up.

Now, which ones to try? Here are my current favorites, but I can't claim to have tried every BB Cream out there, so please post suggestions!

1. boscia's BB Cream SPF 27 PA++- This might be my favorite, but I'm also a tad partial to boscia's products because they paraben, sulfate, dyes and fragrance free, etc. Aka- they leave out all the things I can't pronounce, and that seems to make good clean sense! This BB Cream seems to give me a really nice natural look, which I like. And, for $38, this isn't a bank breaker, either.
2. stila's Stay All Day 10-In-1 HD Beauty Balm- Maybe it's because I came of age in the 90s, but stila has always been a favorite beauty line for me, and I love being able to find them at Sephora. stila's BB cream is great, and it's light weight, and it comes in a pretty tube. Like boscia's cream, this too is free of all things hard to pronounce, and it's $38 a tube. It seems to give me a little more "glow" than the boscia cream, and has a great light reflecting quality on my skin.

3. Dr. Jart's Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA++- I haven't tried this one yet, but it's next on my list because I've been reading all good things. It was a totalbeauty.com winner for 2012, and has gotten other great reviews, too. Apparently this is good for those of us drier-skin gals, and I like the added SPF, too! A great plus for those of us with fair skin. (When I do try it, I'll make sure to post!) This is $39, so like the others, right in that $40 range, which isn't too bad!

Have you tried any of these? Good results? Great results from some other BB Cream? Let me know!