GREETINGS, it is indeed quite a dark time for our country, isn’t it?
The death of our President Michael Chilufya Sata is definitely a sad moment in our nation.
My condolences to the Sata family and indeed fellow Zambians.
I know last week I had promised a special Jubilee Fashion segment but I had deferred that to next week in light of our President’s death.
So this week I will tackle the topic of BB creams and also dedicate this column to answering your questions.
Many cosmetics lines now have BB cream products and for many, it is easy to misinterpret these for Foundation or Concealer but there is a distinct difference.
BB cream stands for blemish balm, blemish base, beblesh balm, (yes this is not a typo) and in Western markets, beauty balm.
Of course most products now just label it as BB cream.
It is widely sold in Asian markets with South Korea leading the purchasing figures, however, many large beauty brands now have BB creams, and it is gaining momentum globally.
BB creams are promoted as an all-in-one facial cosmetic product to replace serum, moisturiser, primer, foundation and sun screen.
It can be worn alone as a tinted moisturiser, over serum and moisturiser as a regular foundation, and under powder, but all this depends on the amount of coverage you want.
According to Wikipedia: What became BB cream was originally formulated in the 1960’s in Germany.
Dermatologist Dr Christine Schrammek developed it to protect her patients’ skin after facial peels and surgery.
Introduced to South Korea and Japan in 1985 – where healthy-looking, porcelain skin is heavily prized – the cream was hailed as “the secret of Korean actresses,” and was heavily endorsed by Korean celebrities.
The reason BB creams are all the rage these days is that after using them for some time, you do notice a marked improvement on your face.
According to webmd.com : When it comes to skin treatment, you can find BB creams that contain: Anti-aging components, including peptides and antioxidants such as vitamins A, E, and C you also find moisturising workhorses like hyaluronic acid and glycerine.
Other ingredients such as licorice and arbutin help even out skin tone and a light-reflecting mica gives your skin a luminous finish.
Silicone-based ingredients, such as dimethicone, that help smooth the skin, acting much like a foundation primer does.
It’s basically a product that prevents you from buying seven others.
Of course it does have its limitations, with many calling it a jack of all trades and a master at none.
Even though they provide excellent SPF protection and provide good color coverage, they are not that effective at moisturising
WebMd says : Also, it’s very difficult to load all that functionality into a single product and end up with a light texture. Women will find that BB creams tend to be a bit thicker than their tinted moisturisers.”
Finding a BB cream that matches the color of your skin perfectly can also be a challenge. BB creams tend to come in a small range of shades — usually three to five fair to medium-dark hues — or in a single shade that blends with all skin tones.”
It is also hard to find shades that are dark enough as most of the shades available are too light actually the darkest shades in a BB cream are like the medium shades in most of our foundation or concealer.
Another limitation is that you won’t find a BB cream — or, for that matter, a tinted sunscreen — that has acne-fighting ingredients.
American regulations don’t allow acne ingredients and SPF to be combined in a single product, If you have skin care issues that you’re addressing with a targeted treatment product, you can’t expect to get the same results by replacing that with a BB cream.” Webmd.com
So the best candidates are usually those with normal to oily skin and light to medium skin tone, and who don’t need heavy moisturisers or anti-acne products.
However, if you’re not necessarily looking for an acne product and don’t mind, need that much coverage then try it.
That’s it for this week please do email me in my divadiarys@gmail.com mail box or go to my blog divadiarys.blogspot.com .
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Have a beautifully healthy week and stay safe.