I actually sighed when I saw the second product in my Innovative Beauty challenge line up, Garnier BB cream. Shoooooot. BB Creams and I have a bit of a sketchy relationship. Mostly it goes like, I put it on, I love it, an hour passes and my skin has turned into an oily mess, and I’m not so keen any more. What the heck could I do with this one? I put it on the shelf and I thought about it. Hmmmm.
It’s a challenge, right? So challenge accepted.
I started to ask around, ask how people use their BB Cream in a way that was a little out of the ordinary to enhance themselves. Enhance was, after all, the prompt I had chosen. I took this on as a way to not only help out my oily skinned sisters but to use up the ever-increasing supply of BB Cream in my house. What can I say, not only do I receive samples but my continued optimism that it could maybe, one day, work for me makes for one heck of a stockpile.
Here’re some ideas we came up with to enhance your fine self*
Got lots? Use on arms and legs to moisturise and colour correct. Think of it like a face tan or a tinted moisturiser.
Wrong colour? Contour with it. I have colours that are too dark or too fair for me, why not work the Kardashian moment and apply them all?? 
Freckled partner? I’ve used BB Cream on Mr Suger to even his skin tone for professional photo and weddings.
Heading into the backyard? Use it as a basic sunscreen. Just don’t stay out too long, the SPF isn’t really made for tanning.
Old hands? Give them a lift and maybe even improve the look and texture. Wow! What (fake) results.
So which of these am I using to make my way through the stash? Well predominately putting it all over Mr Suger (HA!), but other than that I’m using it to even out skin tone on my neck and arms in all my singlets and dresses. And about the oily thing, someone once told me that perhaps I was using too much product. So make sure you’re not doing that, it can amp up the whole oily face thing.
(*results may vary – Baahahaha)
Hi! I’m Melissa Walker Horn. Around here, they call me Suger. I’m the Chief Blogger and doer of all the things here at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; I love a casual ootd, taking photos, and writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet over at Chalkboard Digital. You know, living the sweet life.
I use a Natio one instead of foundation (yes my skin is awesome, thanks parents) and it doesn’t make me oily – maybe you are using too much? I only use a tiny amount and it still works wonders. I asked my mum to be hypercritical once (it runs in the family) and she picked the difference straight away.
Sweating it off though, I can definitely relate to that. I miss proper winters! Down with summer!
Great tips Shelby. Someone had mentioned that I’m probably using too much. And it would certainly be in relation to sweating it off. I’m always sweating something off. Haha.
Melissa, I still use a primer under BB creams – have you tried this to manage the excess sebum? Do you have the same problem with foundation? If not, do you prep your skin with the same products?
Yeah, even with primers, I seem to wear of makeup or bb cream pretty quickly with oil. Or sweat. Ahhh well, can’t win them all.
I’ve never had a too much oil problem but I use real BB cream not the Western version 🙂 The Korean ones have like SPF50 or something like it and are non-oily (depending on brand). I think it’s like eating Asian food and you get the authentic version or the watered down “Aussie” version. The only thing is that after using Korean brands for about 2-3 years it hit me that they might be tested on animals! So now I’m working through my stockpile then maybe trying to find something that ticks all the boxes.
Kathryn what brands have you used?
Which would you recommend?
I find most Western brands are too dark for me, I have found Cover Girl to be a great colour match (and so cheap, plus I was surprised at its great quality -I’ve never used colour girl previously), plus I have recently tried th Revon photoready which is ok for colour but leaves a great finish.
I’ve used a bunch mostly ones I’ve picked up from Asian stores for $10 or less or just tried testers. At the moment I use an Etude House one because I have dry skin and it works well without becoming greasy plus has good coverage. No need to worry about Asian brands being too dark because most Asian girls want pale skin 🙂
Good luck in your search! I read about the difference while I was looking around the web for this post. Super interesting.