Blemish Balm | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Aug 22, 2010

Finding The Best BB Cream

August 22, 2010 By Carleenp 1 Comment

If you aren’t familiar with it, BB cream,which also known as blemish balm, is pretty neat stuff. BB creams are truly multifunctional , acting as a primer, a light concealer, and often also treating various skin conditions. Most toss in sun protection and nourish the skin, and a few act as a replacement for foundation. BB creams originated in South Korea, and most brands are still from there. The main downside to BB creams, however, is that they tend to be formulated with lighter skin in mind. Finding one for darker skin is next to impossible at times (if anyone knows of one let me know!).

There are multiple brands of BB creams, but most are in Asia. That doesn’t mean people outside of Asia are out of luck though. Many BB creams can be purchased at my favorite shopping source for all things in Asia beauty and fashion: YesStyle. YesStyle has reliable shipping to the United States, Canada, Europe, and other areas.

Finding the best BB cream can depend on what you are looking for. Some address melasma and hyperpigmentation, others address acne. Still more seek to provide anti-again treatments—all while also acting as a sunscreen and primer. There are numerous BB cream brands available.

So far, I have used Etude House BB Cream and Skin79. One neat way to try different creams, albeit all from the same brand, is to buy the Skin 79 sample pack.

If you want to learn more about BB Cream, see products and BB cream reviews of multiple blemish balm brands, and read an extensive BB cream FAQ, visit BB Cream Beauty, a new and growing site about finding the best BB cream.

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Filed Under: Skin Care, Uncategorized Tagged With: BB Cream, Blemish Balm, Etude House, Skin 79, Skin Care

Jun 29, 2009

Etude House USA

June 29, 2009 By Carleenp 1 Comment

Update: Etude House USA has closed. Read on for links to other sources for buying Etude House cosmetics.

Etude House is a Korean cosmetics company that has a number of lovely products, including a good blemish balm (read review). For the longest time, it was difficult to obtain their products in the United States. The company did not retail in the U.S. and was limited to a few Asian markets. I used to buy the products on Ebay. I love their products.

Now there is are some online retailers selling in the U.S.: My favorite is YesStyle.com which not only carries Etude House, but also carries a ton of other asian cosmetics brands, along with clothing and some really great handbags at excellent prices. There is also COSME-DE.COM (who also usually has free shipping). It too carries some Etude House items, along with a great selection of other Asian brands. Both of these ship from asia, but I have had no problems ordering from them and shipping was either reasonably priced or often free in the case of YesStyle, which also seems to ship a little faster.

Then, there is EtudeHouseUSA.com. A note on the site does say that orders are currently a bit delayed because of overwhelming response.

Filed Under: Makeup, Promotions, Sale or Promotion Notices, Skin Care Tagged With: Blemish Balm, Etude House, Makeup, Skin Care

Jan 28, 2009

Etude House BB Magic Cream SPF 30 and Foundation Review

January 28, 2009 By Carleenp 27 Comments

Update! Look for Etude House, especially the BB Magic Cream at YesStyle.com or on COSME-DE.COM. YesStyle is my preferred source for Asian items. It is a great online store!

Etude House is a South Korean cosmetics brand that sells out of stores fashioned as adorable princess type houses. If you are able to get it at regular price, the Etude House line is one of the best bets out there for very affordable quality.

I recently gave a number of Etude House items a try. Today’s review looks at the popular Etude House BB Magic Cream and their foundation.

Etude House Magic Cream is essentially a makeup primer. The BB in Magic Cream stands for blemish balm, which is meant as a soothing treatment balm that also covers redness and blemishes, but it is not really an acne treatment. The Blemish Balm is lightly tinted so as to provide a bit of coverage and evening of the skin tone, but it also provides a good base for foundation. Overall, this is one of the better and more interesting makeup primers that I have used. I provides a nice base, and I particularly find that it works well as a light primer for mineral makeup or powder foundations. Between the tint in the blemish balm and that in the makeup, it covers my areas of redness and melasma very well without making me look way too overly made up.

Etude House’s regular Blemish Balm formulation is a bit on the oily side. I have had no problems with it breaking me out, but if you have oily skin, you might prefer one of their formulations for that skin type. The added SPF 30 to the product is a big bonus, and actually is what I think makes it seem initially oily because the oily feeling goes away after it absorbs.

There are a couple of downsides to the Etude House Magic Cream. First, it has a pump tube, which I really don’t care for all that much. Those tend to either break or they leave too much unused product when the tube gets low. Second, although labeled as a blemish balm, Magic Cream doesn’t really conceal quite enough to be used alone. It is better as an overall tinted base for foundation or powder unless you want particularly sheer coverage. Etude House does make a heavier blemish balm though that covers more.

Etude House Dream On Foundation is wonderful stuff and is my new favorite in the area of liquid foundations. Etude House foundation has a moisturizing feel to it, but it is not at all oily. I wear it just fine on my currently oily skin. It sits on the skin quite well, without sinking into pores, which makes me wonder if it has some silicone in it—something that I love in a foundation. Because they are in Korean, I can’t read the ingredients to tell, but it feels like it does. Coverage is sheer-medium. Use the blemish balm under it, or a mineral powder over it for a bit more coverage. Use it alone for the most natural look if you are lucky (I’m not so lucky) and don’t have pigmentation to cover.

I will be reviewing more Etude House makeup items in the future as I purchased quite a bit in order to maximize on shipping costs. So far, I love everything that I have ordered!

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