Over the course of the year, I’ve sampled numerous BB creams, not to mention the latest addition, color/complexion correcting creams, aka CC creams. It’s hard to choose the best BB cream, because I honestly think there are numerous great products out there… it’s just a matter of what works best for your skin type and coverage needs. Here, I’ve rounded up eight nine (an odd number, but hey, this isn’t Vogue ) of the best BB creams (and CC creams!) for common skin type needs/issues. I also enlisted the help of my multicultural beauty guru, Brittney!
Best for dry skin: Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25 ($34)—a one step skin perfecting balm offers unique water bead technology that hydrates and maintains moisture for plump and rejuvenated skin. It’s my go-to for days when I wake up with dry, flaky skin.
Best pore-minimizer: Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm ($34)—Tech meets beauty with this balm that diffuses light with high-tech pigments that will optically blur out pores, wrinkles and redness. It’s a miraculous pore-minimizer.
Best to layer under foundation: Olay Total Effects 7 in One CC Cream ($18)—A dual-chambered tube, this tone correcting moisturizer can be applied as a base or under foundation for extra coverage. The consistency may be a little sticky, but I’m a huge fan of Olay and enjoy the moisturizer side of it.
Best drugstore BB cream: Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector ($12)—While it’s been on the market for over a year, this is still my go-to for that fresh dewy look. Also, it’s incredibly light weight and perfect to wear for warmer weather.
Best drugstore CC cream: Hard Candy CC Cream ($8)—While most effective CC creams may be a little pricey, Hard Candy is an easy short cut to great results. Their oil-free version neutralizes undertones, brightens complexion and evens skin texture. I prefer using a brush and only applying to needed areas, plus it’s got a thin consistency, so be careful when squeezing the tube.
Best long-wear BB cream: (Brittney‘s pick) IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Crème ($20)—Here in DC, where the humidity can make you feel like walking around in a pot of boiling water, wearing foundation can turn in to a runny mess by mid-afternoon. Iman Cosmetics BB Crème will curb your foundation fears—it offers supreme coverage, moisture and sunscreen in just one tube. We’re also a fan of their “find your shade” tool on the Iman Cosmetics website.
Best BB cream for oily/acne-prone skin: Estee Lauder DayWear Anti-Oxidant BB Crème ($39)— Gotta give some love to the first BB cream I ever tried. I still swear by this sweet cucumber scent and a cream that packs all the anti-oxidant protection and helps control excess surface oil.
Best age-defying BB cream: Stila Stay All Day 10-in-1 HD Beauty Balm ($38)— Innovative micro-sphere technology helps conceals imperfections and reduces wrinkle depth by up to 84 percent. Pore-reducer, oil and shine control, eliminates redness are just a few other reasons why I love this cream.
Best vitamin-packed cream: Peter Thomas Roth CC Cream ($48)—This multifunctional complexion corrector packs an Amazonian superfruit that has 30 times the vitamin C of an average orange that will evens out skintone. I’m a huge vitamin C junkie so needless to say, my complexion looks and feels good. We’ll take two!
Best lightweight finish BB cream: Benefit Big Easy Multi-Balancing Complexion Perfector ($38)- This multi-balancing BB cream is a balancer for moisture while controlling oil, plus it self adjusts to your exact skin tone. I particularly love the incredible lightweight finish. It’s a liquid-to-powder formula so apply it quickly! I promise, you won’t feel like you’re wearing any makeup.
I’m sure there are plenty of other BB and CC creams out there that I haven’t tried yet. Leave a comment on this post, and let me know which one(s) are your favorite!
Thanks for the suggestions — it’s so hard to wade through all the BB’s advertised these days so this is so helpful for a beauty product-beginner like me!
Yay! Glad to know this is a helpful list 🙂 Definitely going to consider more of this “best of” series with other products.
I love this little roundup! I’ve only owned about two BB creams in my life, and I’ve never tried CC cream. So many letters!
Yay glad it was helpful! And yes, there are SO many letters. They just announced DD creams on the horizon but don’t think they’ve made their way to the US yet. Oy.
I think u should try the it cosmetics cc cream it’s the best…
The Garnier is my favorite- it’s comparable to the higher-end versions in my opinion!
Garnier is definitely in my top 3! I have a habit of rotating BB creams throughout the week but that one is always on repeat! Thanks for reading!
Love Dr Jart+! Have you tried Smashbox? I’m using that one now and I absolutely love it. I also have Bobbi Brown’s but have only tried it in store, I haven’t opened it yet! xo
I actually haven’t and it’s funny that I’m seeing this because my co-worker just asked me the same thing! Guess I need to try it!!
This is so helpful! I’ve gotten a couple samples through Birchbox but haven’t like any so far. Definitely going to try the Urban Decay or Garnier! Thanks for the help! 🙂
Alissa
FeelingGoodFashion.blogspot.com
Yay glad to hear you enjoyed this. You will love the UD or Garnier. 🙂
I’m definetly going to try out the Olay product for summer. Thanks for the review!
glitterandgapske.blogspot.com
Great! LMK what you think. It’s a little sticky but I do like combination.
I love a good BB and now a CC! I really want to try the PTR CC — I love all that he does. Great picks!
Love the PTR CC. That literally arrived on my doorstep days ago and I’ve been using it almost every day.
Thank you for the inclusion of a BB cream that minimizes pores. In 2013 I’ve developed a couple small patches of enlarged pours and I’m all about learning on products to conceal them. Definitely checking that Urban Decay BB cream out pronto!
xoxo
Kelly
http://www.dreaminlace.com
can you use cc cream as a primer?
Using a primer would help to smooth your face I would suggest the Anti-Aging Pore Corrector primer from Algenist. Hope this helps!
I LIKE IT VERY MUCH 🙂