Guest Review: Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream

At last, we have a review of a BB cream on this site. For an Asian-run blog we are quite the disgrace for being so far behind. The thing is I've been aware of this product, and interested in it. But have never found a shade that wasn't too pink or too fair that didn't cost the earth. Here's our beloved Eli to the rescue again. Miraculously she found a shade to suit her, and here's her take in it!

Blemish Balm (BB) cream is a Korean “miracle” cream, supposedly able to heal almost all skin imperfections, especially acne and skin blemishes. It was originally a type of post-surgery skin cream used by Korean stars as it was able to heal incisions without leaving any scars. Some smart aleck decided to take the cream, add in some tint and SPF, and then market it as an all-in-one skin cream/ treatment, makeup base and sunscreen.

You can imagine the stir BB creams caused when they hit the market a year or two ago. Nearly every Korean cosmetics company seems to sell BB creams (some Taiwanese companies are selling them too) – the choices available are mind-boggling. The people selling these on ebay must be making a fortune.

I was all agog when I first heard about this because I am a sucker for (nearly) anything promising to get rid of acne scars. Thing is, BB creams are mostly formulated for Korean consumers so they are usually really light coloured and pink based. Boo-hoo for me since I am dark and yellowish.

Missha was smart enough to take advantage of this gap by releasing two shades of their Perfect Cover BB Cream for the South East Asian market. When it was finally released in Australia, I got it as a birthday present from my boyfriend – the price made me think twice about getting it.

I got this in the darker shade, #23 (Natural Beige). Missha’s Perfect Cover BB Cream comes with SPF 42 PA +++ (the active ingredients are methoxycinnamate and zinc oxide). It is also supposed to help with lightening the skin tone, reduce wrinkles and heal skin blemishes.

This BB cream is not a moisturiser so I have to use one before slapping this on. The texture of the cream is rather thick and takes a while to smooth on. It goes on grey at first, before blending into my skin after about 5 minutes or so. The tinted cream doesn’t give very heavy coverage but it’s just enough to make my acne scars less visible and fills in the pitted scars nicely. I use roughly half a pump (the 50 ml version comes in a pump bottle) to cover my cheeks, temples and parts of my chin and forehead.

It doesn’t help with oil control though so I usually dust on some Silk Naturals’ tinted oil control primer after and I am good to go.

After about 2 months of use, there doesn’t seem to be any changes in my acne scars. Pimples do disappear and heal a lot faster when I am using this though so it is more than a makeup base.

For those who hate Chinese herbs, stay far away. Missha added a herbal scent to this BB cream. I don’t mind the scent as it reminds me of home – my mother always had some Chinese medicinal concoction boiling on the stove. An uncle used to refer to it as “witches’ brew”.

The big question is, would I repurchase? Truthfully, I have no idea. It is convenient to have around but I don’t know if I would miss it when it’s gone. The main reason why I got this was to satisfy my curiosity about BB creams. This seems to be more of a makeup base than a skin treatment for me.

For those wondering, Missha is against animal testing for product development and their packaging is recyclable. They do use animal derived ingredients though as the Perfect Cover BB Cream contains caviar extract.

On another note, I got a sample of their “Near SKIN Firming Project Concentrating Emulsion”. I tried it out a few weeks ago and liked it. My skin brightened up overnight and seemed less dehydrated than normal. Am planning to look into their skincare products the next time I drop by Sydney.

The Perfect Cover BB Cream was selling for AUD 32.90. It was still being sold last month but I am not sure if it has been taken off the shelves as it is no longer listed on the Australian Missha website.

Editor's Note: Ever since seeing Tine's Review of The Face Shop's Quick & Clean BB Cream, I'm anxious to try it! For my poor wallet's sake though I'll hold out till next month.