1. Look Great
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HELP ME, RHONDA! QI’ve been seeing something new at the cosmetic
counters lately called BB creams. What are they?
BB STANDS FOR BEAUTY BALM. These
creams are like tinted moisturizers or light-coverage
foundations—but not quite the
same thing. If you believe the skincare com-panies,
they’re the ultimate multi-tasker.
They address skin’s health with antioxidants
(such as vitamin C), but each brand is a bit
different. Some are a little pearlescent; some
have anti-aging collagen-boosting ingredi-ents;
some have UV protection.
And suddenly, they’ve been appearing on
drugstore and department store cosmetic
and skincare product shelves,
with brands such as Garnier,
Clinique, Vichy, Marcelle
and others jumping on
the BB bandwagon.
It’s no coincidence that I first heard about
BB creams long before they hit North Amer-ica:
Stephanie Han, our art director, who is of
Korean heritage, told me about them. Accord-ing
to the beauty brands, Korea is credited
with starting the trend, which then spread
throughout Japan, China and Southeast Asia.
Korean actresses, known for their porcelain
complexions, were early adapters, says Jean-
Daniel Labbé, Montreal-based marketing
manager for Garnier. In Asia (where BB stands
for blemish balm), “BB creams have a huge
following,” says Sarah Haynes Heath, a spokes-person
for Boscia, a brand that originated in
Japan and whose BB cream will be available
at Sephora in May.
In Asia, where there are many brands to
choose from, BB creams often aim to reduce
acne and lighten skin tone, which drives a
big part of the skincare industry in Asia. Says
Labbé: “Asian culture promotes the whitest
skin possible via use of acid peels, no sun
exposure, etc.”
“I buy mine in the beauty aisles of the Asian
grocery stores,” Stephanie tells me. “I use
Missha, and Dr. Jart+, which is oil-free and
has a high SPF.” Her observation is that these
have a grey undertone and provide heavier
coverage than the newer North American
versions. Labbé says Garnier’s BB cream
(introduced last year in Europe, and which he
says is “oriented to hydration, skin tone evening
and skin brightening”) focuses “less on the
grey undertones that offset yellowish tones
that Asians might experience, and more on
the beige undertones to correct redness and
dullness in Caucasian skin.”
To me, these new products at first look and
feel like tinted moisturizers, but Labbé is ada-mant
that they’re different. “Tinted moistur-izer
has a heavier appearance. BBs have a
quick-breaking texture and glide on easily.”
Typically, they don’t come in a wide range
of shades. For example, Garnier has Light/
Medium and Medium/Dark. Garnier says
another BB cream for oily skin is in the
works, and a shade for darker skin may be
launched in future. Smashbox’s Camera-
Ready 5-in-1 Beauty Balm, with SPF 35,
comes in Fair, Medium and Dark.
There’s an odd blip to the BB cream back
story. Their invention is repeatedly credited
by the beauty industry to a German derma-tologist,
Dr. Christine Schrammek-Druiso,
who developed a blemish balm product in
the 1960s to soothe and cover skin redness
after treatments such as facial peels. The
more-than-40-year gap, from Germany to a
global phenomenon, puzzled me, so I con-tacted
Schrammek-Druiso’s clinic in Essen,
Germany, where marketing manager Claudia
Dellenbush said the doctor had invented it in
1967, but export to Korea started later.
Well, does it really matter how or when
BB creams leapt across the continents?
They’re here, and you can expect to see
more companies putting their spin on them.
And if they live up to their multi-tasking
promise of treating and moisturizing your
skin, and perfecting
its appearance,
they might even
save you time
and money.
OUR BEAUTY EDITOR, RHONDA ROVAN,
FINDS THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
What are you curious about? Send me your beauty questions at
besthealthmag.ca/askRhonda or @RhondaRovan on Twitter.
52 BESTHEALTH www.besthealthmag.ca
PHOTO: MY YEN TRUNG. ILLUSTRATION: ANNE CRESCI/COLAGENE.COM
Dr. Jart+ BB Silver
Label Rejuvenating Blemish
Base SPF 35 ($33, 50 mL) and
Missha M Signature Real Complete B.B.
Cream SPF 25 ($29, 45 g), which we found at an
Asian supermarket, have inspired other BB creams:
Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector B.B.
Cream ($20, 75 mL); Estée Lauder Day Wear B.B
Multi-Perfecting Beauty Benefit Creme SPF 35
($51, 30 mL); Vichy BB Cream NeoVadiol Lumiere
Densifying Complexion Enhancing Care ($44, 40
mL); and Boscia B.B. Cream SPF 27 ($38, 50 mL).
For
where
to buy,
see
page
114.