I’m hesitant to post this because 1) I’m not the best reviewer out there, and 2) I take too many photos. I feel there are other people who would invest more time to eloquently put into words how they felt about such-and-such, and that’s not my style at this point in my life. However, this is better than nothing, and I might as well show you the BB creams I have come to acquire and how I feel none of them truly match me. If you do not know what a BB cream is, it is a do-it-all kind of makeup. In one step, BB creams offer light coverage, SPF, etc. to benefit your skin. I do not often wear makeup on my face, and I really thought BB creams would help my face just become luminescent. Yes, luminescent. Not that I need to look like that, but sometimes I want to look perfect. While my skin generally looks nice, there are times when my skin can be very dry and then very oily, and I have a lot of scarring from acne. I have pretty big pores. And then there’s this thing about skin tone…
I’m Asian, but I’m not really Asian. Not “BB cream standards” Asian, with pure pale skin. I’ve got that nice Filipino brown skin, the kind I’m not supposed to tan. I never really understood the significance in skin color simply among Filipinos until I was older, but I have been conflicted about it for a very long time. The number one reason I do not wear face products is because I cannot match my shade to save my life. I have no idea what NC blah blah MAC number I am. I often guess I am somewhere near “beige” and “tan,” but no, that logic soooo does not work. And only do traditional American skin products already feature a limited range of shades, but Asian products do, as well. So when I wanted to try out BB creams, I felt a bit left out. Meh!
There have been improvements when it comes to BB creams in the past year, and the following are a few I’ve tried out. Obviously, some worked better than others. Another one was simply horrendous and laughable. It’s all part of the learning process. Even though I am still feeling muddled about the whole thing, I hope this helps someone out there.
In a nutshell: I have no idea what works for me. Perhaps you can tell me. I prefer the IMAN for color, Flower for the matte finish, and strangely, the leopard print Beauty Angle. The last two are, like, from the Dollar Tree of eBay Asia.
The Lineup
From left to right, we have… IMAN Skin Tone Evener BB Creme in Sand Medium ($20 from walmart.com), Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in medium/deep (~$9 from Target?), Flower Beauty Balm BB Cream in BB3 (~$13 from walmart.com), UOUO Apple Balance & Refreshed BB Cream Foundation in medium (~$3 on eBay), and Beauty Angle Smooth Moisturizing BB Cream Liquid Foundation in deep beige (~$3 on eBay).
IMAN
-light coverage
-seemed reddish in color
-blends well
-light formula
Garnier
-medium to heavy coverage
-yellowish to dark tan color
-thick formula
Flower
-dark to orangey color
-medium to heavy coverage
-thick formula
-matte effect on skin
UOUO
-nice light formula
-way too light for me
-medium coverage
Beauty Angle
-light formula
-I feel this adjusts ok to my skin, starts off very light
-medium coverage
Face Swatches
Bare
IMAN
Garnier
Flower
UOUO
Beauty Angle
I had never had this much makeup on my face in one day. I hope you never have to see this much of my face ever again. 
I’ve never tried any of these. I have to admit, Garnier is my favorite on you. I’ve heard such mixed things about their BB Cream though. I have the Maybelline BB Cream b/c they specifically have really dark shades in their line. It’s not that great for oily skin though; it does work like a tinted moisturizer, which for me, is what’s the point. We both have the same issue where our forehead is darker than our cheeks, so to match our cheeks our foundation looks too light in the forehead area. And if we match our forehead the rest of our face looks ruddy.
Btw, those Epielle wipes are the best! My favorite is Green Tea.
I’ve never tried any of these. I have to admit, Garnier is my favorite on you. I’ve heard such mixed things about their BB Cream though. I have the Maybelline BB Cream b/c they specifically have really dark shades in their line. It’s not that great for oily skin though; it does work like a tinted moisturizer, which for me, is what’s the point. We both have the same issue where our forehead is darker than our cheeks, so to match our cheeks our foundation looks too light in the forehead area. And if we match our forehead the rest of our face looks ruddy. Ah, the life of a brown girl.
Btw, those Epielle wipes are the best! My favorite is Green Tea.
Bah… i really need to try bb creams!
BB creams are supposed to be full coverage. Almost all the American ones are on the lighter side of coverage. From the pictures, #3 and #5 in the blended out face face shots looked like they might match you ok.
I’ve heard the Missha is good. I finally ordered #13 to try out. http://www.misshaus.com/ctrl.php?page=mainProductDetail&p_code=MSMS1052&ctg=AAA Maybe one of those would match?