Review: Etude House BB Magic Cream with SPF 30

Like many beauty aficionados, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a bottle of Korea’s latest cosmetic import – the funny-sounding BB cream (blemish balm cream). Once the exclusive secret of Korean celebrities, BB cream is now taking the world by storm with promises of providing moisture, fewer blemishes, longer-staying makeup, and brighter-looking skin. It’s essentially a tinted moisturizer that also works as a makeup base, sunscreen, concealer, anti-pimple product, etc, enabling you to skip several steps of your pre-makeup beauty routine. (The features of BB creams vary according to brand.) Unfortunately, I won’t be riding the BB cream bandwagon for very long. A few weeks ago I purchased a bottle of BB Magic Cream with SPF 30 from Etude House, excited about how this product will transform my face. After road testing it for several weeks, I still wasn’t thrilled about its performance and decided to sell it on eBay for P450. The BB cream didn’t make me break out or anything like that, but I didn’t like how it has zero oil control, not to mention that the color is a tad bit light. Maybe I just got the wrong BB cream for my skin type, but I have the feeling that BB creams in general aren’t suited for morena-ish girls with combination/oily skin, who happen to live in a humid tropical country.

BB creams are applied much like liquid foundation – place a few tiny dots on strategic locations, then blend blend blend into your skin using your fingers. Give it a few minutes to set, then apply your foundation as normal. It’s important that the dots be very tiny if you have dark-ish skin like mine and want to avoid looking like espasol. (For foreign readers of this blog, espasol is a Filipino pastry covered in white powder, but the term also refers to a girl whose foundation is too pale for her skin tone.) The first time I put the BB cream on, I panicked because it looked way too white on me (see the photo under the cut). I know the product is supposed to make you look slightly pale at first, but I didn’t see any perceptible changes after a few minutes passed. I removed everything and reapplied the BB cream, this time using a pea-sized amount. I no longer looked as white as I did the first time, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that this product would look far more flattering on someone with a lighter skin tone. Despite these setbacks, the Etude BB Magic Cream did provide a few perks.

DO LIKE

* Brighter, smoother-looking skin. I love how flawless my skin looks with the BB cream underneath my makeup! I don’t know what the active ingredients of this product are but whatever it is, thank you for minimizing my pores and giving my skin a nice ethereal glow.
* Moisturizes well. My cheeks and jawline are normally very dry, but I no longer need moisturizer when I use this product. This is very useful because my Clinique moisturizer samples just ran out and I’m still shopping for an inexpensive replacement.
* Gives my mineral makeup better staying power. As a makeup primer, BB Magic Cream is very effective – it keeps my mineral foundation in place after hours of wear.
* The price tag. Etude House BB creams are probably the most inexpensive out there. The BB Magic Cream with SPF 30 only cost me P598.

As you can see, the BB cream does not match my skin tone

DO NOT LIKE

* Horrible oil control. The biggest con of this product is that it seems to cancel out whatever oil-absorbing properties my mineral foundation has. After two hours or so, my forehead and nose become shiny enough to serve as someone else’s mirror, which never happens when I skip the BB cream. My sister tried it too and didn’t like how greasy it eventually felt on her skin.
* Comes in one shade. Clearly, this BB cream was made for someone who never sees the sunlight. As I mentioned earlier it’s waaaay too light for my skin tone, but it works if I apply a very small, very thin amount. This probably means I don’t get the full benefit of the BB cream’s SPF 30 when I wear it during the day.
* Too sheer to wear alone. Applying very thin amounts of the BB cream makes it way too sheer to wear alone. I still need to dab concealer on darker blemishes.
* Not for evening wear. I had no idea that BB creams/primers with SPF place a white cast over your face, which looks a little unflattering in nighttime photos taken with flash. Unless you’re sure that no one will take pictures of you, this particular BB cream should not be worn at night. For your reference, below is a photo of me during a night out with my boyfriend’s friends, with the BB cream under my makeup. I love how smooth my skin looks, but I dislike how pale it makes me seem. I’m proud of my tanned skin, I detest skin lightening products, and I don’t want to look any paler than I really am.

The pogi, pervy-looking guy to my right is my boyfriend.
No, I was not sober when this picture was taken.

CONCLUSION

If you’re really curious about the benefits of BB cream, buy from Etude House because they have the most affordable ones out there. But don’t expect too much out of it in terms of oil control, especially if you have combination/oily skin. Remember, BB creams are essentially made for pale-skinned Korean girls who live in cold, skin-drying climes; what works for them might not work for you! I do appreciate the fact that I didn’t need a moisturizer when I used the Etude BB Magic Cream, and I love how it makes my skin glow underneath my makeup. But I don’t mind spending a little more time to moisturize in front of a mirror if it means using a primer with better oil control.

Another thing I didn’t like about this BB cream is the SPF 30. I thought it would come in handy, but then it occurred to me that I only ever go out at night. The SPF feature is not only useless to me, but it also creates a white cast in night-time pictures. Bleh.

WILL I REPURCHASE?

I’d like to give BB cream a second chance but I’m not buying this particular one again, for the reasons stated above. I just bought a Smashbox Photo Finish Primer and Skin Hour Mattifying Day Cream in its place – give me a couple weeks to road test and review!

I’m currently selling the Etude House BB cream on eBay for just P450, feel free to check it out and pass on to any interested friends. :)

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