Sunday 18 September 2011

BB Creams in the UK

BB creams are slowly but surely making their way into the UK market. I've compiled a list of the few I've found for your leisure and ease should you not wish to import a BB cream from abroad.

Incase you're new to the whole concept, the BB in BB cream stands for 'Blemish Balm'. These amazing little creams are popular in East and South East Asia and are slowly making their way into the Western cosmetic market. Originally designed to soothe the skin of patients who had treatments, these are now being used for cosmetic reasons and apparently work really effectively!

The most famous brand to bring the BB cream to the UK is Garnier.



The marketing campaign Garnier have launched for this seems huge! I'm always seeing it advertised in magazines and on TV. As this was only released last month this only comes in two shades at the moment, but I imagine if the demand is big enough they will release more shades as time goes on. At the moment, this is SPF15 which seems considerably lower than the Korean BB creams I've seen.

Another big name who has also launched a BB cream would be MAC.



MAC is a popular brand with gals so I was pleasantly surprised to see this. Instead of marketing it as a 'blemish balm', MAC has taken a name which may make it seem more desirable to people and named it a 'beauty balm'. Unfortunately, this only comes in one shade but I imagine that if the demand is high enough they will release this BB cream in more shades. It has a higher SPF than the Garnier BB cream, with SPF35. Personally, if they release more shades I would be very tempted to try this one out!

Illamasqua has also released a product which acts like a BB cream, although they're marketing it as a foundation.



I only discovered Illamasqua whilst I was putting some research into BB creams in the UK! The brand itself seems a little dark, if not gothy, but I've heard extremely good reviews about their products! The BB cream is no different, even if it is marketing itself as a foundation which may throw some people off. This BB cream doesn't have any SPF in it, however, it does come in a massive 18 shades so I'm sure there'll be a shade for everyone!

Personally, I think this is the most interesting BB cream I've come across.



This particular BB cream looks as though it's a powder! According to the reviews I've read it's actually creamy upon touch, although the small brush is a major flaw with this product. Once again, this has no SPF but comes in 5 shades.

In addition to these, Clinique also has a BB cream on the market but it doesn't appear to have been released in the UK yet. I couldn't see it on their website when I checked, but maybe it's on the Clinique counters in stores?

So guys, what do you think about BB creams exploding into the UK market? Yay or nay?

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