In Korea, a beauty secret known by everyone

SEOUL, Korea — The slant-eyed, porcelain-skinned beauties peering down from the billboards of Seoul’s traffic-infested streets have a secret — one shared by many of the country’s beauty-savvy consumers.

A formula designed to cover up unsightly marks and uneven skin tone has gone beyond the simple task of masking flaws to healing them. Known as BB cream, originally dubbed blemish balm, the miracle formula went from cult object of desire to universal staple.

Initially developed to help heal the damaged visage of burn victims, people quickly realized that the formula could combat zits for acne-prone skin thanks to its anti-inflammatory properties, protect and preserve skin resiliency due to antioxidant ingredients and clarify skin.

Famous for its multi-tasking traits, BB cream quickly rose in the beauty ranks, its meteoric rise attributed to Koreanovela stars who boasted flawless complexions thanks to persistent use of the product.

Widely acknowledged as the jack of all trades on the beauty counter, BB cream straddles the divide between skincare and makeup.

Everyone’s in on the secret: BB cream is used to camouflage everything from acne scars to uneven skin tone, while improving skin’s overall texture over time.

“When we first launched BB cream, it was under the skincare category,” says Yoon Se Il, brand manager to Korean beauty label Etude House. “We later moved it to the makeup base category.”

The star factor

Korean celebs embraced the product soon as it entered the market. Stars, prone to the ailments born of rigorous makeup schedules such as overtaxed skin and clogged pores, discovered the advantages of a product that could camouflage undereye circles, conceal zits, pigmentation and scars while improving texture of skin over time, shielding it from the harmful rays of the sun (a minimum SPF of 30 can be found in Etude’s range of BB creams), encouraging skin regeneration and smoothing out acne scars.

Regular users find that BB cream leaves skin more radiant with a flawless finish that mimics none of heavy foundation’s mask-like effects.

Seoul play: Etude brand manager Yoon Se Il

“In Korea, BB cream became famous because it’s easy to use and has soft texture to create a natural finish,” explains Etude head makeup artist Jeon Min Ae.

My precious

Take Etude’s Precious Mineral BB Cream, a sheer silky cream foundation with a powdery finish, for example. Designed to smooth out unsightly wrinkles and whiten skin, while providing powerful SPF protection, this particular cream serves as a makeup base, foundation and concealer in one. Formulated to improve skin overall (think texture and hue) with sheer pearl powder and natural oils, it also contains lavender aqua and angelica extract to soothe sensitive and problem skin.

According to the brand, conventional BB creams can darken complexions but the Precious Mineral BB Cream offers brightening coverage.

How to wear BB cream

Rip van wrinkle: Total Age Repair Wrinkle Reduce BB Cream in SPF 45(left) Trouble shooting: BB Magic Cream targets problem skin

During a makeup session, Jeon Min Ae demonstrated the application of BB cream. She suggested lightly dotting the BB cream all over the face (Precious Mineral comes in two finishes: Sheer Silky Skin for oily skin and Sheer Glowing Skin for dry) and smoothing with either your fingers or a brush. Pat to finish. She recommends choosing a lighter shade to cover dark areas.

Since it has a lighter finish, apply a light dusting of blush over the jawline to avoid the espasol look (read: pale face, dark neck) and blend to avoid a clear delineation between skintones.

Made to last all day, the cream also works as a primer, aiding makeup in settling into skin without dulling or over-blending.

The magic cream

According to Steven Lee, Etude international business department specialist, BB cream is among the top three best-selling products of Etude House in Korea. “In 2010, Etude House took 30 percent of the whole BB cream market in Korea. Precious Mineral BB cream was the top selling Etude House BB Cream. The second top best seller was Total Age Repair Wrinkle Reduce Royal  BB cream and BB Magic Cream SPF 30 came in third,” he says.

Locally, a BB cream constantly occupies a slot in Etude’s top 21 bestsellers.

The secret is out

Koreans, who favor a more natural, flawless skin tone, quickly latched onto the BB cream trend, but the formula has found favor outside of the Korean market. Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, prime for beauty products that do double duty, find that the cream’s soft finish and multi-tasking attributes make it a standout next to skincare and cosmetic labels that hawk multiple products to fill the same role.

Fans are particularly convinced once they’ve realized that a single multi-purpose cream is not only light on the price tag but on the bag as well. Few can boast the same.

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Etude is located at SM Makati, SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, SM Cebu, SM Southmall, SM Pampanga, SM Iloilo and Festival Mall.