Airbrushing in a tube

Taiwanese beauty and fashion programme 女人我最大's Kevin recently talked about BB Creams on the show, which prompted me to run out and get a tube of my own. Korean beauty stores here like The Face Shop, Skin Food and Missha have it.

BB Creams originated from Germany, where they were first used on post-laser surgery patients for care and coverage. It exploded into a huge beauty trend in Korea after celebs there started using it and all the beauty companies came up with their own versions.

BB Creams are essentially multi-functional creams that moisturise, provide coverage and soothe even sensitive skin. Personally, I'm not too sure about the sensitive skin bit because even though the initial creations were meant for delicate post-laser skin, the commercial versions may contain skin-irritants commonly found in skincare/ makeup.

Still for normal skin types, after trying it myself, I conclude that this is one justified craze.

I went for the Missha one because, well, I spent a long time observing the one Kevin was using the show (the show's website usually lists the products used in the show but for this episode, the listing is still not up and I could not wait). There are a few experts on rotation in the show but Kevin is the one I pay the most attention to because generally, he offers the most comprehensive tips and recommends the best products. Don't be afraid of the rich, thick cream texture or the dark colour. Squeeze a little out onto the back of hand and blend it for a few seconds till it's warmed up and more spread out - this trick really aids smooth application for items like liquid foundation and makeup base.

Pick up a dab and apply in a brisk tapping/smoothing motion over areas that need help. The colour will blend into the skin and you'll forget that it was such a rich consistency to begin with. Large pores suddenly look much less visible and redness gets zapped away. Suddenly, with much less work than it takes to apply foundation, you'll look like a digitally adjusted version of your real self.

A beauty writer told me I looked very radiant and for the first two days I wore it, I just could not stop looking into the mirror. My skin stayed pretty much flawless for the entire day and was even less shiny than usual, which makes sense if you consider that skin starts to secrete excess sebum in protest of its state of dehydration. So the moisturising properties in the Missha M BB Cream must have been doing their job. The even skintone mimicked what I managed to achieve a while back with the Clarins 21-day whitening programme.

On the whole, I am most pleased with this discovery. My biggest problems are enlarged pores and some redness. And I detest having to put on makeup because it takes a lot of work to do a naturally flawless base that does not deteriorate into an oily mess by the end of the day. With this BB Cream and Fasio mascaras, my life is so much simpler.

Of course, if you're looking for heavier coverage, this may not be for you. Although you can layer on some powder or go for the versions that offer more coverage instead. Still, the trend has been towards natural-looking skin for a while now. And even if it's not a trend issue, from an aesthetic point of view, revealing the best "real" skin you can achieve is much more attractive than a thickly powdered pancake face.