Monday, March 15, 2010

The one with the Missha M BB Cream review

I wanted to be cool like all the other Asian blogger girls out there so I jumped onto the whole BB Cream thing.
For some UNKNOWN reason, despite it being the "Hong Kong across the Pacific", I wasn't able to locate BB Cream anywhere in Vancouver. Ok, it might exist somewhere in an obscure shop in Richmond, but I avoid Richmond like the plague unless I'm on the hunt for food, and I have this abhorrence of Evil Bay T.T
Aaaanyways, I managed to snag myself a tube of the Missha M B.B. Cream from Daituf's bwogsale a while back and I'm ready to give my thoughts.

BB Cream 101:

What is a BB Cream? BB stands for "Blemish Balm", and its main point of differentiation from mainstream foundation is that it contains ingredients which supposedly treats your skin in addition to its usual foundation duties.


What it says:

"MISSHA M BB Cream contains natural ingredients that do not damage or irritate the skin. With continuous use, your sensitive skin will be calm, protected from redness and keep its health."

What I say:

Do they breed them differently in Korea? The colour that I got can only possibly be matched by a human alien hybrid. Seriously! it's the oddest shade of pink-grey! and it's the only colour that it comes it! According to the ever knowledgeable Alienman, they like their women really pale in Korea, like this ideally:


Swatches:


It has a thicker, almost cream like texture compared to my trusty Studio Fix fluid. Coverage is medium and buildable, however, I find that the thicker you apply it, the more it settles into fine lines. It also tends to set REALLY fast, and once it's set it won't budge so I'll recommend applying it immediately after moisturiser when your face is little damp.
Finish is matte once set, however I did find that my face got oiler a lot faster than usual.
I'm currently a NC15-20, and this BB cream was definitely NOT a colour match for me, it washes me out and leaves me an odd shade of whitish pink T.T. Although it doesn't really show up on camera, I could see an obvious line of colour difference between my face and my neck.
So what's a girl to do? I hate waste but mask face is so last season, so I set out looking for new ways to use it.
Now would be a good time to tell you guys all about how pigmentation has been leeching out of my skin lately, my face has whitened so much as a result of all the face masks that I've been using, that foundation I bought a month ago has become too dark for me. Being typically me, I thought about how soon Spring and Summer would be arriving, how I'll get all tanned and then the lighter foundation wouldn't match...so I've been too cheap to buy new foundation to match xD
Meaning I now had a too light BB Cream and a too dark foundation...hmmm...what to do...
Why mix them of course xD

Left: MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC20, Middle: Missha M BB Cream, Right: Mixture

Blended

See how the NC20 is slightly too dark for me? See how grey the BB Cream is? See how perfectly the mixture matches? xD

I just use a half to half ratio and the colour match is pretty much perfect for me. The coverage is good, the pink actually neutralises my yellow undertones and it feels much lighter than wearing the BB Cream alone. The addition of the Studio Fix makes the mixture much more spreadable, and I've found that it's best to spread it using my fingers and then have a quick once over with a stippling brush.
I feel clever now.
Hee!

6 comments:

  1. Clever indeed! I'm LMAO at that pic of the Star Wars dude. :P "Hong Kong across the Pacific", huh? I had no clue. XD

    ReplyDelete
  2. bb cream is too heavy to wear alone for me!! i have to mix it with lots of moisurizer/, otherwise it will just not spread =/ but i do find that after a while it settles and it doesnt feel heavy or sticky (like it did when it's first applied).

    ReplyDelete
  3. "BB" stands for "beblesh balm", not "blemish balm" as you claimed. I swear it wrote that way in one of the BB cream bottles I saw at the Muse's blog.

    Maybe you need to apply it and spray Fix+ on top to blend? Or maybe you need your own airbrush gun since airbrush foundations are thicker? I'm just giving you ideas and entice you to buy more stuff :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. soooo true!!!!! i've been wanting a BB cream (just to try it out bc of all the raves) but i'm so glad i didn't order one. i found this store that had tester BB creams on their shelf and OMG the pinkish grey shade is horrible!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. dao: This type of product is widely known as "blemish balm". Skin79 uniquely label theirs "beblesh balm". There is no such word as beblesh in any English dictionary and it's certainly not a Korean word. I don't know what they were smoking when they pulled that word out of their ass.

    IMO I think bb cream is just overrated in general. I've yet to hear of one that has actually helped anyone's skin get better (I've heard some claims it might be working but nothing strongly convincing) and, yes, they are WAY too pale even for the masses of korean girls who use them. If you watch Korean dramas, one of the things you notice is that their faces are milk-white but their necks are yellow.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hahaha! I agree! I have the BRTC bb cream but it's just sitting in my drawer since it creates this weird grey cast all over my face. Jeeze who really is that pale anyway?

    ReplyDelete