With a simple push of the pump on the 50-milliliter bright red tube of Missha BB cream, Monserrat Martinez, 24, begins deliberately dabbing the thick, gooey liquid all over her tan face.
“BB cream is a miracle sent from the cosmetic gods,” Martinez jokes. “I don’t know why it took me this long to discover this amazing product.”
Hailing from Houston, Texas, it would be difficult for anyone in the state, probably in the whole country to find BB cream since most of the products are sold exclusively in Asia. “I had to buy my BB cream off of eBay,” Martinez admits. “Although it costs more than its regular price, it’s the best purchase I’ve ever made.”
And in seconds, Martinez is done applying her make-up for the day. "I prefer the natural look and BB cream is really great at giving it to me," Martinez continues, "Its a 4-in-1 wonder cream."
In the past, Martinez had gone through ten maybe twenty something bottles of foundations, moisturizers, and concealers but was never able to find the right shade for her dry, acne-prone skin. In the end, she would find herself mixing shades together and experimenting with many cosmetic brands until she was satisfied with what goes on her face. "It was such a hassle, I think it took me about four years until I found the right stuff," Martinez reveals.
But Martinez said the worse part about putting on her daily make-up routine, "Its way too time consuming."
"Before using BB cream, it seriously took me anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes to put on my make-up," Martinez continues, "Its such a tedious job."
It was not until this past year that Martinez found a better solution to all her struggles. Randomly reading through forums on Asian cosmetic products, Martinez kept running into BB cream, an unheard of cosmetic item to most Americans. After spending hours and hours researching and reading product reviews, Martinez decided to take it upon herself and try one out.
"There are loads of websites that let you buy trial packs of different BB creams, but unfortunately you have to live in South Korea or Singapore so I took the chance and ordered one," Martinez said. "It was so worth it."
So what exactly is BB cream? When you enter “BB cream” in Google’s search engine, about 3,420,000 results pop up, varying from basic information, cosmetic brand websites, tutorial videos, but most of them all, products reviews from everyday people all over the world. This just shows how much of a phenomenon BB cream has become.
Many consumers have given BB cream different terms like “wonder cream,” “special magic cream,” and “miracle cream.” What it really stands for is blemish balm or blemish base cream, but for short, BB cream.
Initially, it was used by dermatologists in Germany to help laser surgery patients protect, soothe, and refine highly sensitive skin while providing light coverage for post-laser scars, acne, and redness. BB cream is a cosmetic item that first began being sold and used in South Korea.
The craze first began when South Korean celebrities started using this wonder cream (assuming that they discovered this after getting surgery). When cosmetic companies discovered this, they saw the business potential, adapting the technology and creating their own formula, making t available to the public. Song Hye Kyo, a popular South Korean actress and model, was the first to reveal that she uses the cosmetic product and as a result, started to gain popularity spreading from South Korea to Japan and Hong Kong. In recent years, BB cream has gained a huge following for its skin-regenerating properties outside of said countries and is now widely used in most Asian countries to provide natural-looking skin coverage. BB cream is also quickly making its way through Europe and the United States.
So who exactly can use BB cream? Most BB creams are suitable for all skin types, targeted especially to those who have sensitive and acne-prone skin.
Some of the general features and benefits of BB cream include producing a very natural, “no make-up” look, providing perfect coverage very similar to foundation, but not as thick and doesn’t clog pores. Another feature is that BB cream works like a tinted moisturizer concealing all types of pigmentation, discoloration, acne, and other blemishes. The benefits, it has healing properties that soften, smoothen, and refine skin. BB cream also encourages skin regeneration to create and maintain youthful skin containing UV protection for healthier skin (SPF level differ for each brand or product). And lastly, it has anti-wrinkle and skin-whitening benefits. Lets backtrack a bit...skin-whitening benefits?
Skin whitening has a long history in Asia, going back to ancient China and Japan where the saying “one white covers up three ugliness” was passed from generation to generation. A white complexion has always been seen as noble and aristocratic. Especially in Southeast Asia where the sun was always out, only the rich could afford to stay indoors.
“As a way to lighten up, Chinese ground pearl from seashells into powder and swallowed it to whiten their skins,” said Christopher Lam Wai-kei, a Chinese University chemical pathology professor.
It was also noted that in order to withhold that white skin, Geisha girls across the Yellow Sea would powder their faces until it was chalk white.
The obsession with white skin has not faded over time. In 2002, a survey by Asia Market Intelligence revealed that three quarters of Malaysian men believed their partner would be more attractive with lighter complexions. In Hong Kong, two thirds of men prefer fairer skin while half of the woman surveyed would prefer their men paler.
“The World’s” Phillip Martin has been exploring the skin-whitening phenomenon in Asia and reported of an incident:
“Walking beside a rushing stream in Hsingchu, Taiwan, 18-year-old Hilda Chu balances an umbrella in one hand and textbooks in the other. Her skin is ghostly white. Hilda says she carries an umbrella mainly to avoid skin cancer, but also to preserve her light complexion: “I try hard to make my skin white, yes. If my skin is lighter, I think I will be more happier.”
Martinez on the other hand doesn’t understand the obsession with pale skin. As an Asian-American growing up in Texas, she has always had a tanner skin complexion. She states that she would never use skin whitening cream to lighten her complexion. “I think that Asian society who prefer pale skin over dark skin is discouraging, discriminatory, and racist,” Martinez said.
The effects of trying to withhold the desirable skin can also be seen in the shades available. Most BB cream have limited shades to choose from. Some cosmetic brands sell as low as one shade of color and as much as three shades of color. But the choices are also limited to either: milky beige, light beige, or natural beige.
Luckily for the tanner complexions, South Korean cosmetic brand Missha has began selling golden beige for the more "sun-kissed, dark types." Martinez who falls under that category was one of the fortunate ones to be able to get her hands on the shade as its only sold in the United States (but opted out for eBay as it was drastically cheaper in comparison to Missha's official online store).
"I'm glad Asian consumer brands are starting to recognize that not all Asians are pale," Martinez said. "But its unfortunate that Southeast Asian countries still can't get there hands on this shade."
Hopefully Missha and other cosmetic brands will be able to see how many tanner Asians would also like to get their hands on BB cream. It may not be by the end of this year, but hopefully in the new year, new things will come.
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