BB Cream or Mineral Makeup?
Most of you might have realized by today that the one of the 2 biggest beauty craze that has taken Singapore (and Asia) by storm are, BB Cream aka Blemish Balm Cream and Mineral Makeup.
And, majority of you would have started reading this journal because I was one of the earliest blogger who has done reviews of a rather wide variety of BB Creams way before the hype. Which my reviews started making its way to local and even international beauty forums, personal blogs, etc. No doubt that it felt great when readers trusts your reviews and starts to quote you, "According to Kimoko..; Kimoko recommends..; Kimoko mentioned..."
Soon after, you would have read about how I started getting addicted to mineral makeup, just because that was the next 'IN' beauty product.
And because of that, I have been asked a zillion times on the same set of questions so I'm gonna sorta break it down and do a FAQ on BB Creams and Mineral Makeup:
BB Cream
1) What is a BB Cream?
B.B Cream, aka Blemish Balm Cream started off as a soothing treatment balm that dermatologists use on patients who have underwent laser skin treatment. BB Cream can help to shield, protect and regenerate delicate skin. Soon after, Korean actresses and celebrities started using this cream which sparked off a craze of this cream in Korea because of its excellent results.
And because of that, Korean beauty brands started formulating and developing BB Creams that was suitable for the everyday use on Asian skin. If you have noticed, there's quite a huge variety of BB Creams with various skin care properties in the market today.
2) So, what actually is a BB Cream?
BB Cream is a tinted skin care product that soothes and regenerates the skin. The degree of the coverage varies from one brand to another. Not every brand / type of BB Cream provides excellent coverage but most of the BB Creams are tinted that provides at least a sheer coverage. Depending on the brand / type of BB Cream, it can conceal dark eye rings, acne scar, evens out your skin tone, giving your skin a nautral glow and an oil control that does not comprise your skin's mosture level. Sounds like a liquid foundation yes? Well, yes, in my personal opinion, a BB Cream is a liquid foundation that has skin care properties.
3) Is it safe for acne-prone skin? *i get this question all the time!
Well, if a Blemish Balm cream is not for acne aka blemish. I really have no idea why its named a Blemish Balm Cream.
4) How did it work for me?
You would have read that BB Cream has improved my complexion without having to see a dermatologist. Prior switching over to BB Cream, I was seeing a dermatologist and was on the oral antibiotic, oratane which is a generic dupe for Roaccutane for my cystic acne problem. I was spending hundreds of dollars a month for the medication and consultation which left me with my nose bleeding every single day because it was too dry for me. Since the switch to BB Cream, I've been cured of my cystic acne without oral antibiotics or visits to the derm!
5) 'I've been using BB Cream for a week and there's no improvement! '
BB Creams are not miracle products! They do not work over night! If it was, would you think for the amount you have paid would be justifiable? Depending on your skin's reaction, the 'waiting time' varies. I personally started to notice visible improvement within the first month of using BB Creams. Only because I was extremely consistent with the application. I only wore BB Cream and a translucent powder to set it, every single day, including weekends! Everyone around me started noticing it too and I had a slight glow to my complexion.
6) 'There are so many brands of BB Creams in the market! Where do I begin?'
Well, fortunately for the internet, there are tons of reviews of BB Creams today. When I started in August 2006, there was hardly reviews that I could refer to. What you can do is to search for reviews and depending on your skin type and requirement, select the one that seems most suitable for you. Its all about trial & error!
7) 'I am so lazy to search and read through your reviews. Could you recommend me one for my XXX skin type, with XXX problem which has XXX property and YYY property.'
Honestly speaking, only you know your skin type the best. Yes, I could help by narrowing down a few but, my reviews are based on my skin type and what might work for me might not work for you. What you can do is to compare reviews done by different reviewers.
8) 'How should I apply BB Cream?'
In the art of makeup, there isn't a right or wrong way of application but here's my method:
Cleansing
Toning
Serum
Eye Cream
Moisturizer
BB Cream (if the BB Cream that I'm using for the day that does not have SPF, I'll apply my sunblock after my moisturizer, before the BB Cream)
Concealer
Loose Powder
9) Do we apply it with a sponge or Brush?
Again, there's no right or wrong method for this. Personally, for any liquid foundation, in the past, I prefer to use my fingers. I can't get the hang of using a cosmetic wedge or foundation brush. My fingers seems to be able to spread out the BB Cream evenly. Today, I am using the MAC 187 duo optic brush which creates an airbrushed complexion.
10) What is your top 10 favourite?
Again, this is very subjective. Each BB Cream has a different property so I can't really give you my top favourite in rank. I may like this BB Cream for its oil control but I hate its coverage or I may like its coverage but it has absolute zero control. There isn't one BB Cream that has the best of everything and what may seem good for me may not be to you.
Mineral Makeup
1) What is Mineral Makeup?
Mineral makeup is a hypoallergenic loose powder that naturally nourishes the skin, that does not contain fragrance, talc (well, its supposely not to contain talc but some brands do have talc in their mineral makeup), alcohol, dyes, mineral oil, binders, fillers or preservatives. So, basically, its a makeup product that contains natural ingredients without the chemicals which is benefical to the skin. Minerals are the natural choice to calm and soothe red, bruised, itchy, inflamed and flaking skin.
Mineral Makeup contains zinc oxide / titanium oxide can be very beneficial to the skin because it can calm irritations, and it may help with conditions like rosacea. Zinc oxide offers natural UVA-UVB protection too.
2) Why should I love mineral makeup?
Mineral makeup is not comedogenic (mineral makeup being finely milled will not look cakey on your skin if you apply it correctly. It would look as natural as possible, even with coverage. Mineral makeup does not have ingredients that would clog your pores such as traditional cosmetics do), and is all-natural, so it won’t irritate or aggravate present skin problems such as acne, rosacea, or skin allergies. It allows the skin to breathe without clogging your pores.
3) So mineral makeup can cure my acne problem?
Though some users of mineral makeup claim that mineral makeup helped heal their acne condition but its not proven. The nature of the natural ingredients helps to calm the skin without irritating or aggravating present skin problem. So, while you are targeting your acne problem with your skin care routine, mineral makeup just does not aggravate and worsen your condition.
4) Mineral Makeup is da bomb?
Not all mineral makeups are equivalent, and some may use minerals that are chemically produced rather than present in the earth. Moreover the minerals in the makeup are usually composed of very tiny powder fine flakes of minerals, and in this form, it’s not scientifically proven that they’re any safer to use than liquid forms of makeup.
5) There are so many brands out there! Where do I begin?
I can't stress more on the fact that while one product might work for you, it might not work for me. Unlike BB Creams which has varies properties, mineral makeup are supposely basically the same with a few ingredients being different. My best suggestion is to get hold of samples (most online merchant offers sample sizes for a minimal fee) and try out prior committing.
6) Can you recommend me one brand?
I would love to but what works for me might not work for you. Or, what works for everyone else does not work for me. I personally can't use Everyday Minerals. There is an ingredient that my skin hates (which I don't know which) so yea, as much as Everyday Minerals seems to be extremely popular, it does not work for me. What I have in my makeup stash is Melange Cosmetics and Pure Luxe. I have since sold my Everyday Minerals that could not work for me.
7) How do I apply Mineral Makeup?
As per normal foundation application, its applied after your moisturizer.
As you have noticed, most mineral makeup (there are some companies who have started formulating liquid / creme versions) are in the form of loose powder but unlike loose powder, you do not use a powder puff to put on your foundation. The most common and primative method of wearing mineral makeup is by buffing with a brush. Buffing is the rubbing of your brush in circulation motions on your facial area. The more product you buff on, the thicker the coverage you'll achieve.
Other new age methods include; applying it wet by spraying a liquid base product (like a makeup fixer, facial spray) onto your brush prior picking up the product or mixing in your un-tinted facial moisturizer and apply it like any liquid foundation.
Like what I've mentioned above, in the world of makeup, there's isnt a right or wrong way of application.
8) Will you recommend Mineral Makeup?
I honestly love the feeling of wearing mineral makeup. Its so light-weight that you do not feel like you're wearing makeup. If I have to make a recommendation, I would recommend mineral makeup especially if you have sensitive skin and/or if you are under going some sorta skin treatment for your skin problems (be it a home treatment or seeking a professional's help).
BB Cream & Mineral Makeup
1) Are they similar?
After lengthy explanation of both, do you think they are similar? Well, actually no. One is a makeup with skin healing properties that actually does the job of healing the skin while the other is basically a makeup that is made of natural ingredients that does not aggravate the skin.
2) If I suffer from acne, should I use BB Cream or Mineral Makeup?
As mentioned above (#3 of Mineral Makeup), Mineral Makeup is not proven to be able to cure / treat acne. It basically will not aggrevate your skin condition while you seek other treatment for your acne. So, theoratically, if you suffer from acne, your best bet is the BB Cream.
3) So you do prefer the BB Cream or Mineral Makeup?
After being faithful to BB Cream for over a year, I want to try out something different to prevent my skin from being immued to BB Creams as most of you know that a prolong usage of a certain product will cause immunity to your skin. So I'm rotating between my Mineral Makeup and BB Cream though I have to admit that I tend to reach out for my BB Cream more often because it helps tide me through the week before, during and after my period. To prevent breakout during that time of the month of course. So that leaves me with just a week to use Mineral Makeup.
So have I answered the majority of your queries? I'll add on more when I receive more questions.
You girls and boys have no idea how long I took to write this entry so credit me!