Blemish Balm Cream vs Tinted Moisturizer

As much as I love mekap, there are times when its not practical, like going marketing (who is there to impress?) or just ridiculous, such as exercising at the sports center (Alas, I’ve seen one too many women exercising with full make up on)

But of course, its nice to have a little bit of coverage. After all, not every one of us have perfect CGI skin, and even after hitting 30 when the hormones are supposed to be more stable, I still get the occasional zits.

This is me, early in the morning, with no mekap whatsoever, completely au naturale.

And today’s zit is interestingly on my forehead, like a bindi. I’m very shy, so I’ll cover part of my face

In any case, while I was back in Singapore, I used a Blemish Balm cream when I want to go out but not fuss too much with cosmetics. Blemish Balm or BB cream was said to be a cream that dermatologists prescribe to patients who are recovering from laser surgery because of its soothing and regenerating qualities. But regular people could use it too, to even out skintone, heal acne, have UV protection … And soon, it was all the rage in Asia a couple of years ago.

Of course, I was sucked in and bought one for myself.

There are plenty of varieties of BB cream, but this is the Rojukiss BB cream that I bought some while ago at Watson’s in Singapore.

At about $39.50 SGD, it wasnt cheap for something that came out of a drugstore, but hey, if rejuvenates my skin, even out my skintone and heal my skin like it says it would, it seemed like a good investment.

Squeezing it out of the tube, is a brown cream which almost has a buttery texture, without the greasiness. What’s interesting is that the consistency of the cream was rather thick, but once warmed and rubbed through the fingers, it becomes soft and more emollient and easier to spread through the skin.

You just need a few drops of this on the skin, because a little bit goes a long way. See how much coverage there is with just one drop applied to my skin? And then, tadah! This is how I look like with BB cream on.

And I liked how dewy it made my skin looked. There is coverage but it looks natural and doesn’t seem like I’m wearing any make up. For me, it lasts for several hours before my skin starts to get oily, so its rather perfect for me, for the days when I just want to pop down to the market or exercise.

My only big qualm with it is that the shade was too light for me. Unfortunately, most BB creams are just too dark for me. It would probably suit a fairer skin person. But I still use it because it gives a nice foundation.

Unfortunately, I’m running out of my BB cream and it doesnt seem to be all that popular in Italy since I’ve yet to see any! *shocked face* That as well as cleansing oil too. It could probably be a cultural thing. I need to make more friends with vain Italian girls

So the closest that I could find here in Italy that kind of resembles the BB cream would be the tinted moisturizer. While there are many various brands of tinted moisturizers, I chose this Nivea Tinted Moisturizer.

I don’t remember exactly how much this was, but I think it was less than 10 Euro when I got this from the mall. This tinted moisturizer claims to hydrate the skin for 24 hours, contains vitamins, make skin more uniform and luminous. Ok, why not give it a try.

The texture is quite similar to the BB cream, creamy feeling, thick like butter but without the greasiness. It has a slight fragrance to it though, and while it doesn’t bother me, it could be an issue to some sensitive nose.

And again, a little bit goes a long way! I only need a few dots on the skin to cover my entire face. The biggest difference between this and the BB cream is that, I had to be quick to rub it in my skin, because it doesn’t get more emollient, instead it seems to feel dry the longer I leave it unattended. Which is quite strange actually, for something that is supposed to be hydrating.

Nevertheless, the end result is quite pretty and luminous. While it doesnt cover all my blemishes, it does a good job in smoothening out my skin. Compared to the BB cream, I seem to have a more matte effect with this tinted moisturizer. Which is great as a foundation, the step before putting on the rest of my mekap!

But again, my biggest issue is that its too light for me! I’ve been reading other people’s review saying that this cream is too dark for them, but unfortunately its the opposite for me. Oh well, I’m the few Malays in the land of Italia, so what can I do?

But I think its a passable replacement for my BB cream. Its not perfect, but after a month of using it, its not that bad either.

Time to flirt with that guy at the market so I can has discount

Sidenote :

Oh, since we’re talking about skin, I’d like to take the chance to ask you to guess, which one is my hand and which one is my mother in law’s hand after a week vacationing in Sicilia …

Almost the same shade :p