What's Korean Beauty Without BB Creams?! (Korean Beauty Haul #2)

Thought I'd give you a view of the NYC skyline! :)

What's a Korean Beauty Haul without BB creams, right? I think I'm doing these Korean Beauty Haul posts in order of how much I love them. The first post was on the CathyCat liquid eyeliner and I gave a good thought and I thought it had to be the BB cream this time around.

I went for just two. It was hard because BB creams are everywhere. You are easily left with choosing amongst 20 different kinds of BB cream, even within a single brand. I narrowed down to these two and I absolutely love them. It's the Missha Signature BB cream and the Dr. Jart Ctrl-A BB cream.

Just to give a brief history: I used to wear BB creams all the time, however rarely on its own. I suffered from severe acne and so I would never wear BB creams on its own. So, I would wear it as a base to my foundation. Most of the BB creams I had were not pigmented like foundations and so they were more of a tinted moisturizer. Since BB creams are ideal for "blemished" skin and acne skin, I thought I could cover and heal my scars at the same time. However, once my skin started to improve, I decided to take a layer off my face and just stick to foundation only. It's been years since I've bought BB creams.

Since my skin has improved so much, I can now wear the BB creams on their own. So, these are ideal for days when I want to go out, just to the grocery or just somewhere quick. No need for foundation and brushes. This is like an extra step to a skincare because you can take a pump, spread it with your fingers and apply easily all over the face. Then you get all of the SPF + blemish balm + coverage all at once.

The Missha Signature BB cream has won so many awards. After trying it on in the store and finding it had such a smooth finish with really good coverage, I decided to give it a go. It was also 1 + 1, so buy one get one free. Usually BB creams don't come in any shades, but this one came in two. One regular light shade, and one a bit darker. Because BB creams blend in really well, you don't need it to be an exact fit. Because I am much tanner than the majority population of Koreans (seriously, they are all so fair!) I bought the bit darker one.

the one on the left is Missha, right Dr. Jart. The Missha has a white and tan swirl!

This Missha Signature has really good coverage I realized. It is no foundation, but it can easily be one of those lightweight foundations. It has a really light and natural finish, and it just feels so easy on the skin! If you look carefully, there is a swirl of a white/whitening cream + the foundation-color. I didn't realize until I took pictures to blog! You can see that when it pumps there is white and skin-color mixed together. Of course, they blend together as you apply on the face! Like all BB creams, there's SPF, and that's perfect for the summer. The whitening helps the skin look more radiant as well.

The Dr. Jart Ctrl-A is a BB cream specifically targeted for acne skin. Although I don't suffer from severe acne anymore, it is a good feeling to know what you put on your face is not only covering but also healing at the same time. It is oil-free and really, super lightweight. It feels like you are applying water on the skin. Unlike Missha, it only has one shade. That is the way BB creams normally are. But, even if it is one shade, somehow it adapts to your skin tone. At first it may apply slightly white/ashy but blend it in and you get coverage and the brightening effect! Surprisingly, even though it is super lightweight and watery, there is actually really good coverage. I would hate to make my face look like I have something on, but without any productive effect to it. This gives just that natural amount of coverage that makes my skin look clearer but also natural and radiant! Love!

So these two are my favorite BB creams and I highly recommend them to those who want oil-free, light-weight, natural finish that also gives really good coverage. No one does BB creams as well as Korean beauty products do! :)