CC Cream

Do I need a separate sunscreen or can I just use cushion foundation?

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You know what? You will not believe the number of times I’m asked this very question. Do I need a separate sunscreen or sunblock if my cushion foundation or foundation is already SPF50? Goodness peeps, please don’t fall for the damn makeup-as-skincare hype!

As much as I risk repeating myself, having written about this about 3 years ago (I foresaw problems LOL!) I thought a refresher course was in order.

cushion foundation sunscreen

Also, I recently did a little experiment (reluctantly) where for some reason, I ended up not carrying my usual skincare arsenal with me. I had some random bits and bobs of cleanser and moisturiser on hand but when I dug around desperately the next morning for sunscreen, I had none. No sunscreen! HORRORS!

I’m afraid to say that toiletries pouches aren’t a Mary Poppins magic bag of tricks 🙁 No matter how hard I rooted, I couldn’t unearth any sunscreen! I was very reluctant to head out anywhere without any sun protection so I did the next best thing – I used cushion foundation which had SPF50. How did that work?

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Paris Picks! The CC Cream Edition – 3 CC Creams I’ve been using recently

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You know, it took me a long while to warm up to BB Creams and it wasn’t until I eventually found some that actually worked for me that I actually warmed up to the idea of using them. By that time, CC Creams had come on the scene and I had a headdesk moment. I was going to have to re-learn the whole notion of alphabet creams again!

CC Creams, or Colour Correcting creams claimed to be an improvement on BB Creams. They boasted a lighter texture, and colour correcting pigments instead of mere tint. If you ask me however, barring some truly colour correcting creams that are basically primers to correct sallowness or redness in skintone, there is very little to distinguish BB or CC Creams. So you know what? Don’t bother. Just use whatever you like, whatever it may be called. Even if it be a GG (Glamorously Gorgeous) Cream which isn’t yet invented but which just might be 😛 Remember however, it is first and foremost a makeup item, not skincare so please clean it off accordingly and please do not attempt to sleep in it.

clinique, peter thomas roth, olay cc cream

But because everyone loves labels, I thought I’d share with you 3 CC Creams I’ve tried that I actually like and use pretty often. It might surprise you that a popular CC Cream that was said to have started the whole trend isn’t here in my list, but you know, that’s life 🙂 I just found myself preferring these. So let me quickly share them with you because I’ve never reviewed them individually before this and I’ve got a tip for making these CC Creams work better for me! 😀

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See! See! Bobbi Brown now has a CC Cream too!

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With CC Creams now being the norm, it ought to come as no surprise when the big brands start releasing their own versions of what is popularly termed “colour correcting” creams. To be honest, with some products, there is scant difference between a BB Cream and a CC Cream. Both are tinted, both are used all over and while brands try their utmost to tell us that they’re different, lets face it, they’re basically the same thing.

So when Bobbi Brown released their CC Cream, I raised a sceptical brow. I do like the Bobbi Brown BB Cream. It’s one of the better versions I’ve tried out there (I don’t use Korean brands, it’s a personal quirk because I dislike that grey cast that makes me a relation to a decaying zombie) But CC Cream?!

bobbi brown cc cream

Well Bobbi Brown takes great pains to tell us that their CC Cream, which comes in 3 shades globally and 2 shades locally, is more of a colour correcting PRIMER than a face base. Now, that sort of honesty I can live with. There are 3 shades available – 01 Pale Nude (pink for fairer skintones) 02 Warm Nude (yellow for medium-darker skintones) and 03 Golden Nude (brown for dark skintones). In Malaysia, we only get Pale Nude and Warm Nude.

The thing is, to be perfectly honest, unless you already are compelled to use a makeup primer daily, I don’t quite see the point of this product. There, said it 😛 I have found a use for it, but I can’t say in all honesty that it’s a must have.

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Makeup Artist Tips on how to wear Bobbi Brown Nude Glow collection and Sneak Peeks of Bobbi Brown Spring/Summer 2014

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take a behind the scenes peek at a Bobbi Brown makeup training class with Kai Vinson, Bobbi Brown Director of Artistry and Education Asia Pacific. It is rather like an intense reality show, as their training is held over a few days where the makeup artists have to familiarise themselves with new looks, products and how to achieve a particular look and they are even graded on it!

You know, quite often as consumers, we are a little rough on the makeup artists at the counters without realising just how much training some of them have to go through. For me, it was an eye opening experience and while it won’t stop me being critical (I’m sorry BB, your foundation bases are still a bit too yellow for my skintone no matter what your makeup artists tell me! 😛 ) it does help me understand that they ARE trained, but sometimes people have a bad day or just maybe didn’t pay attention in class, for which they have no excuse really, coz the training is top notch! 😛

bb nude glow kai vinson

Image courtesy of Bobbi Brown Malaysia

I did have the opportunity to have Kai show us how to wear the Nude Glow Collection which you will find at counters now. It is a very light collection which I will tell you off hand won’t attract many people but done right, it gives an almost barely there, ethereal look that in my words made me look like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings. Who doesn’t want that Elven glow, you tell me! 😀 I’ll share some tips Kai taught to make this collection wearable and the tips are applicable for other brands and products too of course 😉 

I’ll also show you a couple of previews of upcoming collections and you can get all excited about those, because I can tell you a couple of them excited me a lot! Onwards!

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The fun and previews happen on Instagram @parisbmws