Sooo, the Asian world’s beauty secret has finally been revealed to the world. The explosion of BB cream (not literally; that would be messy) all over the world has led to a bewildering number of beauty brands jumping onto the BBandwagon and pushing out their own variety. Now, BB cream has been around long enough for most of us to get the general grasp of what it is, but just in case, here’s a quick one-sentence recap. BB (blemish balm) cream was formulated by a doctor for the use of burn victims – the cream provides coverage for scars and blemishes, while also packing a medicinal punch to soothe and heal the skin.
The hero of the hour
Naturally, the world of cosmetics wanted a piece of the action and now BB creams are a legitimate foundation alternative, especially because they are inherently good for your skin. That’s why you’ll often see BB cream brands being prefaced with a ‘Dr’ – whether there is a real doctor behind the marketing we’ll never know, but the word is there to imply scientific knowhow and medicinal benefits.
On to the real purpose of today’s post, which is a review of one of the most popular BB creams out there: Dr Jart+. A couple of weeks ago I picked up the Most Moist BB cream (from RM59 at SaSa), and there’s a complicated backstory here but suffice it to say, even though I don’t have major skin problems, sometimes I too, would like to look airbrushed.
A drop of the magical cream
Coverage Now, given that I was on the hunt to look airbrushed (now there’s a strange sentence), this wasn’t the right BB cream for the task. I don’t wear foundation like, ever, so I was fully expecting this BB cream to turn my face into a magical mask of good skin. It didn’t – it’s a super sheer formulation with hardly any coverage in it. But this transpired to be a good thing. Admittedly the first time I put it on I was fairly nonplussed and turned away from my mirror fairly dramatically. But I came around, did some research and tried it again.
The Dr Jart+ BB cream isn’t meant to provide flawless coverage (unlike say the Gowoonsesang BB cream, which I have also tried, and is much thicker and cakier). It evens out your complexion, and provides a kind of sheer natural second skin. I’m not explaining this very well, but it makes your skin look like your skin – but better. So you won’t get that airbrushed look, but you will still look human.
All blended in
Staying power Average. I’d powdered it lightly and it lasted me a day of work, but if you’re running around doing errands or sweating, I don’t think it’ll last very long.
Finish The Dr Jart+ BB cream has quite a dewy finish, which I’m not a huge fan of – my skin will easily get to dewy by itself without external aid – so I generally powder it, also to get it to last a bit longer.
Also, it’s only available in the one shade; now, the sales assistant at SaSa assured me that it would adapt to the skintone of the wearer and while this sounds like witchcraft, it was true in my case. It’s a little too dark for my face but after five minutes, I couldn’t tell the difference. However I think it can only ‘adapt’ within a few shades, so if you’re of a darker skin tone, don’t think this would be great. (But I could be wrong, having yet to test it out.)
All the other benefits My skin has absolutely loved it. Generally I slap on moisturiser and sunscreen on in the morning and that’s it; since the BB cream is meant to be so rich in good stuff, I didn’t want to overdo it. So I replaced the sunscreen with the BB cream and life has been good. My skin is super soft and very bright now – this is because (let me just read the packaging) of the hyaluronic acid, which we’ve explained briefly here; Portulaca Oleracea extract, which I genuinely have no understanding of; aloe vera and vitamin E. There’s also inbuilt SPF27/PA++. Oh, and it literally has no smell whatsoever. Which is good thing.
Overall ranking
8/10
