All about the BB Creams

Pre-post babble: so this is my 3rd attempt at this post. The first 2 failed because after I typed out the long BB cream reviews, I accidentally lost them due to my own stupidity (let's not talk about how stupid I am...) hopefully this will be my last attempt (actually not planning to post anymore if this one fails too). Here goes nothing (yet again!)
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After discovering the wonderfulness that is BB cream, I am hooked!

First, let's start off with some background. BB cream stands for Blemish Balm cream. It's originally formulated for post-laser surgeries to help heal and cover up scars or other blemishes on sensitive skin. It is widely used in Asian countries such as Japan and Korea, and is growing in popularity in Taiwan.

Now some background for me and base make up. I've never liked using foundation or any sorts of base make up, for the longest time I've only used concealer to conceal things I do not like on my face. I've tried tinted moisturizer from Marcel, which did not work for me (not enough coverage). Then I went back to concealer only, but I was pretty much putting concealer all over my face, and it was getting annoying trying to dab on every blemish I have. Then I tried mineral foundation from Everyday Minerals. I liked it until winter hit, and my skin started drying up and flaking. So last year in Dec I finally gave in to liquid foundation and purchased Make-up Forever's Face & Body foundation. It was hella expensive at $42 per bottle, good thing I had a $20 coupon from Sephora, so I only paid $22. I loved the foundation and all, but the Face&Body was quite thin and did not do much coverage of blemishes, it did however, even out my skin tone. Another con was that it floated by the end of the day, on my forehead and where the nose piece of my glasses sits. And so comes the BB cream. I always wondered about BB creams, but never knew where to get them. They aren't very easily available. And BB cream was actually the reason that I got in to internet shopping....so I ordered my first BB cream (L'egere White Multi) from imomoko.com

After discovering BB cream and all it's wonderfulness, I've been venturing out to try different brands. So my newly obtained BB cream is from Skin Food Mushroom Multi.

I won't go into too much about this bb cream, I'll be comparing all of them later on in the post.

suppose it's got 3 different functions: whitening, anti-ageing and sun protection (SPF 20). I don't know about the whitening and anti-ageing functions..it's only been a few weeks.

wish I can read Korean!

sealed up tight, pretty hygienic!

Anyways! on to the topic at hand (after so much bs)...LOL
So these are all the BB creams I own.

It may look like I have 7 different kinds, I actually only have 6. There's a duplicate in there that I did not realize until I started typing up the names of the BB cream (they really need to make the packaging the same...it's all very confusing). The duplicate one is the silver tube and white tube, they are both L'egere White Multi.

Enough with the babbling, here's the list of the bb creams, and my initial (or not so initial) feelings about them.
From left to right, and back row then front row:

1. Skin Food Mushroom Multi
Price: I got this one on Ebay for $13 almost $14, there are also other sellers, the prices are between $13 to $15, the one I saw was the cheapest
volume: 50g
SPF 20
This is the cheapest bb cream I own and my current favourite. The consistency is a bit creamy, but not thick like the L'egere White Multi. It covers pretty well, covering most blemishes, but can't cover big pimples. It's got a pretty noticeable pink undertone to it, which is perfectly fine for me, although I do have a yellow undertone, but since this one is not thick the colour difference is not that big. The only thing that might bother people is the smell of this cream. It's a pretty strong grassy smell, it doesn't bother me that much, but it might bother people who don't like scents. The one I got is shade 2, and I am actually curious about shade 1, suppose it's got a yellow under tone to it, so it might be better for me. But I will resist until I finish most of my bb creams.

2. Skin79 Super+
SPF 25
Price: Again I got this on ebay, I believe almost $15...I don't recall the other seller's prices but definitely nothing over $20
volume: 40g
I got this because my friend, who had purchased the gold label one, told me she liked it. I also saw Jen from from-head-to-toe used it. It was a BIG disappointment! It was soooo grey, I could not use it. It accentuated all my darker areas, like my under eye circle, I looked like crap. I looked like I had used ash to powder my face...it was insane. In the end I was only able to use this product when I mix it with the L'egere White Multi (which has a red undertone), to make a beige colour, that I could finally use. The consistency of this is slightly more watery then the Skinfood or L'egere. The coverage is minimal

3. L'egere White Multi
Price: $19.99USD @ imomoko.com
Volume: 50g
SPF unknown, but sun protection is listed on the bottle as one of the properties
This was my first bb cream I've ever tried. I loved it when I tried it, then as the day got hotter, I felt it was a bit thick..and really it's very white. I feel like a mime sometimes using this product. Straight out of the tube it actually looks dark, but it's not, it's one of the lightest bb creams I own. The coverage is pretty decent, but again it's quit thick. My skin feels uncomfortable under the hot sun.

4. Skin79 Diamond Prestige (1st little jar from the left)
Price: this is not one I purchased, so I am not sure...
Volume: 40g
SPF 25
My friend gave me some of hers to try out. I only used it once, so this is very initial feeling about this product. The consistency is very watery, and there's no much coverage. However, there's also no colour difference that I can see either. If I hadn't tried the Skinfood first, this would have been my next choice. It evens out skin tone, but cant really cover much of anything, which is a problem for me (too many blemishes on my face). It definitely feels the most like a tinted moisturizer.


5. Skin79 Diamond Absolute Total (2nd little jar)
Price: again not one I bought
Volume: 40g
SPF 37
This is another one that my friend gave me, I only used it once too. The consistency is also watery and very very minimal coverage. It's got a slight grey tone to it, but not as bad as the Super+. I don't know if it's because it's so light or because I used so little, there's not much colour difference when I use this. But just with the amount of coverage, I would not pick this one. The only pro for this one I guess would be the high SPF... but that's never a concern for me, as long as it's over 15 I am fine.

6. L'egere Water Drop Shiny Pearl
Price: $19.99USD @ imomoko.com
Volume: 50g
SPF unknown, but sun protection is listed as a property
This one I got from my friend, she got it as a sample from one of her imomoko orders, but didn't want to try it because she didn't like the White Multi. I was also iffy to try this one because of the colour difference for the White Multi, but I was pleasantly surprised. The consistency is watery, and it was pretty easy to blend. It even out the skin tone, with minimal coverage. The only thing I would be worried about is the shimmeriness of this bb cream, I am not one for glowy looking face.

Now that the reviews are all done and over with, on with the pictures!

I compared my bb creams to my Make up Forever Face and Body foundation. The colour is #20 (Ivory) which is my perfect fit, it's slightly slightly pinkish and has a yellow undertone, which is what I have basically.

let's start with straight out of the tube...

I don't know why I decided to squeeze them out so close together...I hope no one is confused with the names lol. And there's one that's not label (the one on the very top right) that's the L'egere White Multi..so please just ignore it =p

this one you can see the shimmers in the L'egere Water Drop, and because they are touching, it looks like the White Multi also has a bit of shimmer, I assure you it doesn't

and at a different angle....the Super+ looks really grey in this picture...why did I even buy it T_T


here they are slightly blended out, you can see the colours better in these

close up


and here they are blended out.

I've circled and label each spot. The top row first

now bottom row. It may seem like the Super+ suits me best, but my arm does not have any dark circles, and it's about 2 shades lighter then my face...so never trust swatches on the arm or hand! always swatch at the jaw line, and you want to match the neck more so then the face. That being said, my neck is SUPER yellow, so I actually try to be one shade lighter than my neck...I don't want to have a yellow face.

And lastly...

here they are on a sheet of blotting paper, to see how much oil each cream has.
from looking with the naked eye, Skin Food and the Super+ seems to be the most oily.

close up. It's amazing how the MUF has NO oil AT ALL!!.

Well! that's it!

This took me a while to post, I was planning to post this last week, but after typing up half of the post and then loosing it...I cried and got lazy..haha. But better late than never right? Enjoy! and I hope this helped you in finding the right BB cream for you :)

until next time, live well and shop LOTS!!

Bleeding Wallet AKA Skin Care Haul

as promised, my major skin care haul! I don't want to talk about how much I spent, because currently I am still not feeling guilty, because I don't know the total amount of this haul. And I want to be in denial (haha). The following post is pic heavy, not much explanation because I haven't tried all of them yet.

Starting with imomoko,com

The 3 boxes in the back are DHC's original cleansing oil, my pink one is half gone already, so decided to order some more. They were cheaper if I buy in bulk, so I got the 3 for $65 set. The small tube is the previously mentioned DHC acne spot treatment (I love this stuff), it also works for my brother (who has pretty bad acne problem). I also got him the face milk (lotion) from the same DHC line, he's been using it for a week now (I think), he didn't give me any reports yet..hahaha


This was something I got cuz of the crazy looking reviews (unfortunately they are all in Chinese, so I won't bother posting the links). I have pretty thick skin on the bottom of my feet for years. We've tried everything, including going to the doctors to get it frozen and cut off, it just continues to grow and grow and grow. And then few years back I tried this foot bath thing that is suppose to help the feet stop sweating and hence not as stinky, BIG mistake. I should have known nothing good can come from China products. It basically started peeling my entire feet, and I ended up with really thick skin on my heel too (didn't use to have that). I kind of gave up on my feet, now and then I'd use those foot stone thingys to try to remove the rough layer of the skin, but it;s still pretty thick. So after reading all the amazing reviews, I decided to give this a try.


The pictures on the back of the box look pretty amazing (and gross at the same time). I am hoping it works, other wise it's a lot of money for nothing (it's $18.99). I just tried this thing on couple days ago, the review and instruction says nothing will happen until the 3 day, so I am waiting for a miracle!


These are products my friends bought. The Queen's magazine, and 2 peeling gels, I also got the Legere one (purple box). And Ethan Ruan is sooooooo hot!!!!


These are the samples I got. The 2 green packets are the DHC oil cleanser, I am not sure why they gave me this when I ordered 3 bottles of it...obviously I like it, so I gave it to one of my friend that hasn't tried it yet. The pink tube is a hand cream, I have yet to try. And the white tube is another Legere  bb cream that I asked a sample for, I have yet to try it yet.


few more shots of Ethan..damn he's so cuttee XD

and I love this picture of him! Wish I would have been able to open the wrapping and look inside, god damn it why is he taken! lol


So as mentioned previously, I also got a Legere peeling gel. This was also one product that i saw amazing reviews for, and decided to get it.


The packaging is unimpressive, but for skin care I generally don't care much for the packaging as long as the product works


List of ingredients


It's a jelly consistency, but when rubbed, it kinda melts and turns into a watery consistency, the smell is not very pleasant, but it's bearable
 



Even though the bottle says facial peeling gel, on the side of the box it actually says you can also use it on your knee, elbow, feet and other parts of the body. So I tried it on my knee, you can see the little white stuff coming off, suppose that's the dead skin cell being removed, my knee did feel smoother and less grey after I used it. But it is very drying, so you'll have to put on lotion right away.

next is the HaulteLook order

It's all Biotherm stuff. These are about half the price of how much they are sold at counters. This is my part of the order, the Age Fitness 2 line, of course! This set was $38, normally the cream would cost $62. I thought I bought the night cream, but turns out the cream was the day cream (hence the white cap). But I don't think it will matter, since Biotherm day cream doesn't have SPF anyways. The bottle is body lotion, and the tube is shower gel


This is the consistency of the shower gel. It's fairly watery, and has a citrus smell

After foaming it up, it's still pretty watery, I am not sure how I like the smell of it though.


Consistency of the lotion, again watery and citrus smell. I don't like the smell of the lotion for sure, normally I like citrus smells, but this is a bit too strong for my liking


The other part of the order is this set of Skin Vivo. This is for my mom. The day and night set came to 68 dollars, which is the normal price for ONE cream. I also saw this set at the counter, and they were selling it for 98 dollars. I gave my mom a sample of this when I got it as a gift with purchase, and she really liked it, so I got her the set.

And up next, the sasa.com order.

Beauty DIY is a brand from this skin care guru in Taiwan. Since the Kiehl's calendula toner, I've been looking everywhere to find a replacement, so far I only found the PRE chrysanthemum, which doesn't work as well as the calendula toner, and I am not totally happy about the smell (and it also stings my eyes a bit). So when I saw this on sasa I had to get it, it was $12 for 140ml, still not cheap, but definitely cheaper than Kiehl's $52 for 250ml


The mouth has a cap to prevent leaking. I like the bottle it's very much my style haha


Ingredient list
I just used this last night with a sheet mask, my redness and irritation from the extraction of my whiteheads went down a lot! The smell also is exactly the same as Kiehl's, except it doesnt have the flower bits in it, but I don't really care for the bits haha.


The other 2 items, one is hair treatment oil from Beauty DIY again, and the other is the strawberry yogurt mask from Laneige, which I heard good things about.


I know I said I don't really care for packaging when it comes to skin care, but nice packaging is always a plus! This strawberry yogurt mask's packaging is very pink and cute.


There's bits in the product makes it look like strawberry seeds, it also does indeed smell like strawberry yogurt,..haha I haven't tried this, but will do up a blog once I try it.


And this hair oil treatment was reviewed by Fuzkittie, and she made me want it!! My hair has been having crazy split ends (if I can take pictures next time I find some split ends I will), and it's been really dry and fuzzy at the ends, so I thought I'd try this out.


The bottle only shows one way of using the product: few drops of the oil and rub in the ends of the hair with tip of finger after shampoo


But the box shows other ways of using it.
1. After shampoo, rub a few drops in the ends of the hair, where split end shows with tip of finger
2. use as hair oil treatment, prior to shampooing, rub about 5ml of oil all over hair and wrap up with shower cap or plastic wrap, leave for 10 to 15 mins than wash off with shampoo
3. add a few drops in to shampoo and use as normal
4. add a few drops into conditioner and use as normal


you get the oil out with a pipette like thing, that's attached to the head of the bottle, it's very well made I must say. And this bottle wasn't too pricy either.



Sasa also included some cotton pads for free. I don't use cotton pads, so I am giving it to my friend.


This is what she ordered from the same order. So she's got the hair oil treatment and the strawberry yogurt mask like me. And she also got a Laneige hydrating emulsion thing.

Lastly...on this very long post...my order from ebay, just one item.

Skin 79 bb cream. I got this because a friend told me she really like it, and it had less discolouration compared to the Legere one I use (she also tried it). The Legere one has a reddish undertone, and shows up wayy too white on my face, the coverage is fair, but it also feels fairly thick, especially now that it's summer. So I've been looking for a thinner bb cream, and my friend suggested this brand. I also saw this brand on from head to toe, as well as the Taiwanese beauty show (Queen), and it looked good. I am disappointed though. It's very grey in colour, and though it's thinner so it doesn't make my face pale white, but the grey colour makes the darker areas on my face (i.e. under eye circle and around the mouth) look darker and greyish. It looks fine under yellow light, but under white light I look almost ashy. I tried it with a pink make up base I have, and it only helped slightly, I will have to figure out a way to better use this bb cream or I will have to throw it out. Maybe I can try mixing it with the Legere...I will do some experimenting for sure. The skin 79 bb cream does not have a lot of coverage, I don't know about the other benefits as I haven't tried it enough yet. But I suspect I will have to be trying other brands of BB cream again...


Well! that's it for now, until next time, live well and shop LOTS! :)

Preview of up coming post

Not really a preview, more of a pre-post, because I still don't have any pictures.

My next post will be on my haul of skin care from sasa.com, imomoko.com, HauteLook, and a BB cream from ebay (skin 79). It's quite a big haul, I am feeling guilty with such major spending, but I figure it's my birth month, I'll categorize it as my birthday present to myself (Haha). I have really been on a rampage with shopping. Aside from the skin care haul, I also got some jeans and tops, and sooo very tempted by shoes (I *heart* shoessssss).

These Christian Diors (but in black) have been on my mind for a while now...if only the price is more affordable. I saw them at Holt Renfew on sale for $500....oh Christian Dior! WHYYY must you taunt me soooo???

Dang...


Anyways! that's it for now. Awaiting my orders to arrive :)

My goto make up items

Recently I have been sticking to a few make up items. They are really my go-to items, not because I love them, but because they are soooo easy and fast! (and I am majorly lazy! lol)

For base make up I have been reaching for my Leger BB cream. I have recently discovered the amazing and wonderful result that is BB cream. It's extremely easy to apply with decent coverage, and if all those benefits it claims to have are true, it's a wonderful make up item to own. I use about the size of a pea and that's enough to cover my whole face, with a bit left over to strengthen coverage where I need it.

If you don't know what BB creams are: BB stands for Blemish Balm. It originated in Korea (I think) by a dermatologist (that or a plastic surgeon) who deals with patients with facial scars from surgery. He/she wanted to make a skin care item that would be able to help cover those scars while it's healing. So BB cream basically has scar healing powers, is moisturizing, at the same time has good coverage to cover up scars. Nowadays, the more popular BB creams also have whitening and moisturizing properties that attracts more girls (especially Asians). Think of it as a tinted moisturizer, but much creamier in consistency, and has more skin care properties. The only bad thing about BB cream is the colour selection, usually for one brand there's only one colour. This particular Leger one is a bit white on me, I have to apply bronzer to tone it down to my natural skin tone.

For setting the face make up, I use the same brand BB powder. I actually don't like this powder very much. it's very cakey and I am not a fan of the smell (kinda smells like baby powder). But right now it's the only loose powder I have. sometimes I use my too face pressed powder instead, but I want to use this up to free up some space in my make up box.

Here are my other face products. The brown/bronze colour one in the back is my Clinque bronzer in sun kissed. I used to use NARS in Laguna, it's wayy too dark so after I finished it (it was actually before) I got the Clinque. I had used their bronzer and blush duo once before, when I received it as a gift with purchase, and I've liked the colour so this time I got the full size, I really like the colour too :).

The NARS is my newest purchase Mata Hari, and the white round thing with the bow is Kevin Beauty Maker's blush in pink. They are actually pretty similar in colour, but I think NARS is slightly warmer than the BK one.

Here they are again opened up.

On to the more exciting (not really) eye make up. The eyeshadows are used together, the eyeliner is for when I am REALLY lazy (or running late for work). The mascara is the recently beloved Cover Girl Lash Exact (purple tube), and Kiss Me long and curl (red tube). I love both of these mascaras, the CG one has decent lengthening and volumizing abilities, and is easily removed. The KM brand has amazing results (lengthening and volumizing), but sooo freaking hard to remove. Thank goodness for DHC!
Here are the eyeshadows and liner. Liner is Makeup Forever's Aqua Eyes in 2L (brown). The eyeshadows from left to right: stila's kitten, NARS's night breed and MAC's sable. NARS's night breed is seriously my go to eyeshadow. I usually use it as a liner. As you may be able to tell from the picture, I have hit pan on it. It's my very first dark shadow (not overall) but it's the only shadow I have hit pan on.
And here are some pictures of the eye look with the 3 eye shadows and Kiss Me mascara.
It's actually a very nude look, which is what I usually go for when I am on the run. Much easier and faster since I wont have to worry about fall outs and blocky colours.

Here is a closer look of the mascaras. Nothing really interesting haha.
OKAY! DONE! hope that didn't bore too many of ya'll.