Using a BB cream is an easy way to merge your skin care routine with your makeup routine. Combining a moisturizer, sunscreen and foundation into one, a BB cream (which can stand for either “beauty balm” or “blemish balm”) gives out the benefits of lots of different products in just one simple cream.
A BB cream is a tinted base that gives you a sheer, natural look, including primer and foundation, while also offering SPF protection and hydration alongside soothing and healing properties. The fact that all these different beneficial features have been condensed into one cream gives you ease in the morning and a BB cream can cut your skin care regimen in half. Furthermore, BB creams can go one step further and offer additional ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and antioxidants to regenerate your skin.
Best BB Creams – Comparison Table
| Image | Product | Features | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Maybelline New York Makeup Dream Fresh BB Cream | Dream Fresh Bb Cream Light Coverage Foundation + Skincare Benefits Best Face Forward | 4.4 out of 5 |
 | SKIN79 Super Plus Beblesh Balm BB Cream | Bright And Clear Skin Cover Soft Spreadability Smooth And Long-lasting | 4.4 out of 5 |
 | COVERGIRL Clean Matte BB Cream For Oily Skin | Oil free matte formula Won't clog pores Evens skin tones and hides blemishes | 4.4 out of 5 |
 | IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream | Available in several shades Provides full coverage without weighing you down Reduces redness, puffiness, and texture issues Offers sun protection and lasting hydration | 4.6 out of 5 |
 | Clinique Age Defence BB Cream | Clinique Skincare Clinique - Age Defense - Day Care | 5 out of 5 |
 | Garnier SkinActive Anti-Aging BB Cream | Anti Aging BB Cream Moisturizer with Sunscreen Garnier SkinActive Moisturizer | 4.5 out of 5 |
 | purlisse BB Tinted Moisturizer Cream SPF 30 | Available in many shades SPF 30 and light foundation coverage Naturally moisturizing Includes antioxidants | 4.7 out of 5 |
 | SKIN79 Golden Snail Intensive BB Cream | Containing Precious Golden Snail Ingredient Calming & Protection Effect To Weak Skin Moist And Smooth Finish | 4.5 out of 5 |
 | MD Flawless Factor BB Cream | Skin-brightening Cream Sunscreen Bb Cream Younger-looking Skin | 4.4 out of 5 |
 | Marcelle BB Cream Illuminator | Tinted Moisturizer Hydrate and Perfect Best Face Forward | 4.6 out of 5 |
A Brief Guide To The Best BB Creams
Why do I need a BB cream?
A BB cream has a number of benefits. If you are someone who wants great looking skin but without a heavy foundation application that can leave your skin looking textured, a BB is perfect for you, as well as giving you lots of other benefits. Not only giving you great coverage, you get SPF protection from a BB cream as well as moisturizing and hydrating qualities, halving your need for other creams in your skin care routine. BB cream can also help cover blemishes and reduce the appearance of dark spots and hyper-pigmentation.
Even if you prefer to use a foundation to a lighter version such as BB cream, BB cream can be perfect for the summer when our skin already has a naturally deeper skin tone from the warm weather.
What is the difference between a BB cream, a CC cream and a tinted moisturizer?
With so many products on the market, it can be difficult to differentiate them from one another.
A BB cream combines foundation, moisturizer and SPF and often contains skin healing properties. It gives you a light and fair coverage, a lot less heavy than foundation and is great if you don’t want to wear a lot of makeup but still want some coverage. It contains optical diffusers that help to blur the skin and so is perfect for covering and masking any blemishes and leaving your skin looking glowing.
A CC cream is a “color correcting cream” that targets discoloration and evens out your skin tone. Although it has the same skincare properties as a BB cream, it is a lot more pigmented and also heavier in texture, so therefore leaves a matte finish.
A tinted moisturizer is the lightest of these three options and works to replace your every day cream, while still giving you a hint of coverage. However, it does not contain any SPF or healing properties that a BB cream can give you.
How should I use a BB cream?
For some people, a BB cream can be the perfect all-in-one makeup product and combines their foundation and moisturizer to give them enough coverage to last for the day. If you have normal or blemish-free skin, a BB cream can be enough without you needing any other foundation type products. Just a pea-sized amount rubbed into your face should even out your skin tone. A BB cream can be great for traveling too — instead of having to take all your makeup products with you, you can combine them into one BB cream for ease.
However, if you’re looking for more coverage or are worried about your blemish-prone skin, then you can use a BB cream as a skin-enhancing primer underneath your regular foundation. A BB cream can cover dark spots and scars from acne, giving you a clean and even base layer for your face.
If you are worried about your skin being too oily for a BB cream, then don’t be! There are many BB creams out there that offer a mat effect on the skin, helping with shine control and absorbing any extra oil.
Ready to decide which BB cream is right for you and which one would be most effective? Whether you have dry, oily or combination skin, take a look at the BB creams we recommend for you below.
The Best BB Creams
Maybelline New York Makeup Dream Fresh BB Cream
Maybelline’s Dream Fresh BB cream works to brighten, smooth, hydrate and protect with SPF 30. Adjusting to your skin tone, it blurs imperfections, evening out your skin tone and smoothing the skin. The replenishing water gel formula not only leaves the skin feeling fresh but also hydrates and moisturizes. It is also oil-free and is therefore a perfect base layer for the rest of your make-up, as well as containing no heavy ingredients. This BB cream comes in five different skin tone shades — Light, Light/Medium, Medium, Medium/Deep and Deep and can be used every day during your skin care routine.
Key Features:
- Dream Fresh Bb Cream
- Light Coverage Foundation + Skincare Benefits
- Best Face Forward
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SKIN79 Super Plus Beblesh Balm BB Cream
The triple function formula of SKIN79’s Super Plus Beblesh Balm BB cream eliminates shine and minimizes sebum (your skin’s natural oil) production for smooth, even skin. It harnesses the powers of vitamin-rich Damask Rose Flower Water and Acerola Extract to help brighten and enhance your skin. It is fast absorbing and leaves your skin feeling fresh, making it perfect for a quick and even application under the rest of your makeup. Containing SPF 30 to protect your skin from the sun, this pinky-beige shade leaves your complexion looking plump and rejuvenated without any shimmer or shine.
Key Features:
- Bright And Clear Skin Cover
- Soft Spreadability
- Smooth And Long-lasting
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COVERGIRL Clean Matte BB Cream For Oily Skin
Designed for oily skin, the COVERGIRL Clean Matte BB Cream does what it says — giving you a clean, mat, natural look to your skin and helping to reduce any appearance of shine. Helping achieve an even skin tone, this BB cream makes sure your face stays oil-free for longer. A water-based foundation, it goes onto your skin easily and blends perfectly, giving you natural looking radiance without the look of wearing make-up.
It also claims to provide hydration all day and is non-comedogenic and therefore will not clog pores. COVERGIRL BB Cream comes in a range of different shades to match your skin.
Key Features:
- Oil free matte formula
- Won’t clog pores
- Evens skin tones and hides blemishes
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IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream
The CC+ cream from IT Cosmetics is more than just your average foundation. Sure, it offers the full coverage you need to mask blemishes and even your skin tone. However, the makeup includes premium ingredients that can improve your skin over time.
It has hydrolyzed collagen, hyaluronic acid, and peptides. Those ingredients are usually found in high-end creams and skincare products. Using the CC+ cream regularly can help reduce the appearance of fine lines, redness, discoloration, and more. Best of all, the cream has SPF to prevent future damage, too.
Key Features:
- Available in several shades
- Provides full coverage without weighing you down
- Reduces redness, puffiness, and texture issues
- Offers sun protection and lasting hydration
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Clinique Age Defence BB Cream
The Clinique Age Defence BB Cream is formulated with antioxidants and anti-irritants to help cover dark spots, discoloration and acne scars. It helps to fight the signs of aging by reducing the appearance of pores and any lines and wrinkles, all while giving you a light coverage and tint to your skin color. It contains SPF 30 to help fight the sun’s rays and environmental damage your skin may face, also providing shine control and oil-absorption to extend the life of the rest of your makeup all day.
Key Features:
- Clinique
- Skincare
- Clinique – Age Defense – Day Care
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Garnier SkinActive Anti-Aging BB Cream
Garnier’s SkinActive Anti-Aging BB cream immediately firms, brightens and evens skin out to give a younger, brighter, healthier complexion. Reducing the signs of lines and wrinkles, this BB cream works to not only cover them but also keep them at bay. It also minimizes the appearance of pores and leaves your skin looking plump and more smooth than ever before.
A special formula of Pro-xylane™ Antioxidant Apricot is present, aiding it’s anti-aging properties and giving you more defined facial contours. With broad spectrum SPF 15 sunscreen, the SkinActive Anti-Aging BB cream gives you protection from the sun and other harmful factors, helping you stay looking youthful for longer.
Key Features:
- Anti Aging BB Cream
- Moisturizer with Sunscreen
- Garnier SkinActive Moisturizer
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purlisse BB Tinted Moisturizer Cream SPF 30
Here’s a light BB cream that can cover blemishes and improve skin tone. It’s a lightweight product that provides just enough coverage to make your skin glow. However, it’s not going to look cakey or feel like you’re wearing a ton of makeup.
The beauty balm is moisturizing and includes antioxidants to soothe the skin. It prevents dehydration and can protect your skin from sun damage as well. Great for all skin types, this cream can tackle all your skin imperfections to create a youthful and radiant glow.
Key Features:
- Available in many shades
- SPF 30 and light foundation coverage
- Naturally moisturizing
- Includes antioxidants
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SKIN79 Golden Snail Intensive BB Cream
This unique BB cream contains a Golden Snail Multi Complex; known for it’s healing and repairing properties, Snail Secretion Filtrate is soothing and helps to fix damaged skin cells and weak skin, as well as gently moisturizing and hydrating to replenish the skin. It is also enriched with extracts of Red Ginseng and Yam Root, meaning the SKIN79 Golden Snail Intensive BB Cream is perfect for hiding any redness and making imperfections appear corrected.
Designed to combat the signs of premature aging by reducing the appearance of wrinkles, with SPF 50 this BB cream also helps to protect your skin from harmful rays and is perfect for every day wear.
Key Features:
- Containing Precious Golden Snail Ingredient
- Calming & Protection Effect To Weak Skin
- Moist And Smooth Finish
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MD Flawless Factor BB Cream
The MD Flawless Factor BB Cream is a natural skin brightener and contains a number of ingredients to help your skin fight any signs of aging. Included in this cream are caviar extract which protects the skin against collagen loss, propolis which helps to boost collagen formation, nicotinamide, a type of vitamin B that improves the skin’s circulation and helps to smooth the texture, adenosine which boosts cell metabolism to keep the skin looking younger, and arbutin, which brightens the skin and reduces the appearance of dark spots and hyper-pigmentation.
This BB cream also contains SPF 35 to protect you from the sun and is sweat and oil resistant, leaving you shine-free. MD’s cream is suitable for light to olive skin tones and is suitable for all skin types, especially normal, oily and sensitive skin.
Key Features:
- Skin-brightening Cream
- Sunscreen Bb Cream
- Younger-looking Skin
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Marcelle BB Cream Illuminator
Although this BB cream does not contain SPF, it is hydrating with self-adjusting pigments and is a perfect alternative to foundation. It helps moisturize the skin while also covering imperfections, giving you the tint you want without it being too heavy. The Marcelle BB Cream is packed with antioxidants as well as natural chamomile and aloe, providing an even texture and a healthy glow effect, soothing and calming the skin.
Not only does it offer immediate and long term hydrating benefits, but also promotes skin regeneration and reduces the appearance of any lines and wrinkles. Finally, it helps to control any unwanted shine on your face. Marcelle’s cream is hypoallergenic, gluten-free and oil free and is perfect for all skin types, even sensitive skin.
Key Features:
- Tinted Moisturizer
- Hydrate and Perfect
- Best Face Forward
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Conclusion
Combining the benefits of a moisturizer, a sunscreen and foundation into one, a BB cream is a must have. Instead of simply color correcting like a CC cream or adding a slight amount of coverage to your face like a tinted moisturizer, a BB cream gives you an easy way to diminish the appearance of blemishes while also hydrating your skin and giving it a smooth, un-textured base for the rest of your makeup routine. Say hello to rejuvenated and replenished skin by adding a BB cream into your skincare regimen.
