Last week in my post on Beach Makeup, I mentioned Dr Jart BB Cream. Well, here’s the full on review.
First, just in case you’ve missed all the buzz over BB creams over the last few years, here’s the skinny. Beauty Balm creams were invented in Korea to provide several benefits at once: sunscreen, primer, anti-blemish, skin whitening, and even skintone. In Asia, BB creams are usually offered in limited shades, sometimes only one shade that may or may not adjust to one’s skintone. BB creams came to the U.S. a few years ago, and they have really caught on.
I found out about Dr Jart BB Cream by eavesdropping. When I’m at the hair salon or the nail salon, I always keep my ears open to pick up on products that women are discussing, recommending, complaining about etc. I overheard one woman telling another how much she liked Dr. Jart.
I followed up by doing a little sleuthing online. I discovered that Dr. Jart has several different BB cream products, so I went to Sephora to take a look and see which, if any, might be right for me. In fact, Sephora sells a starter kit for $34 that offers four Dr. Jart BB creams in sample sizes:
– 0.5 oz Renewalift BB Beauty Cream SPF 40: an anti-aging formula
– 0.5 oz Black Label Detox BB Beauty Balm SPF 25: a formula designed to hide blemishes and to calm blemish-prone skin
– 0.5 oz Water Fuse BB Beauty Balm SPF 25: a hydration formula for super-dry skin
– 0.5 oz Premium BB Beauty Balm SPF 45: an anti-aging formula to promote collagen
It also comes in the silver label, Rejuvenating formula SPF 35, though I haven’t seen that one at Sephora.
I knew I didn’t need the anti-blemish formula, and I didn’t think I needed the hydration formula as much as I needed the anti-aging benefits.
At Sephora, I tried both the Premium and the Renewalift formulas on my hand, but I couldn’t decide which one suited me better. So I asked the sales associate for samples. Not everyone knows that you can ask for samples at Sephora. They make them up for you in a little plastic container right on the spot. For those of you who think the sample you try is different from the product you buy, this will address that concern. At Sephora, they will often take a new tube or container and make the sample from that. The samples were quite generous, and I got a couple of weeks use from each one.
The Premium and the Renewalift formulas each come in only one “universal” shade that are quite different from each other. I’m not sure whether “universal” is supposed to mean that it’s self-adjusting. Frankly, I think they each are appropriate for women different skintones: either fair to light (Premium) or light to medium skin (Renewalift). I don’t think the shades would work for women with dark skin. Here’s a swatch of the two of them, side by side:
The swatch on the upper left is Premium and the lower right is Renewalift.
Here’s the Renewalift formula with a yellow cast alone:
After wearing each one a number of times, I found that the Renewalift formula was heavier, in fact too heavy for me. Initially, the bit of yellow wasn’t a good match for my skin, but with a bit of a tan, the color is fine. The Renewalift provides more of a full coverage effect than the Premium.
Nevertheless, I bought the Premium that is a little lighter weight, a slightly better match for my skin and has the highest SPF of the four options: SPF 45. The active sunscreen ingredients are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide that I prefer.
Here’s what it says about the Premium:
“A moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum, this all-in-one product also includes advanced brightening properties. Ideal under makeup, its natural looking coverage minimizes the appearance of imperfections and evens the skintone. Antioxidant bio-peptides and adenosine protect skin from harsh environmental factors while restoring firmness and elasticity. This lightweight formula features mineral sunscreens to provide broad spectrum sun protection from both UVA and UVB rays. Skin is left looking smooth, perfect, and natural.”
Importantly, the Premium shade is a perfect match for my lightish, pinkish skintone that I would describe as “fair to light”. But a couple of other reviewers mentioned that the color was “chalky”, “ashy” or too pink for their skintone.
Positioned as a primer, Dr. Jart BB Cream does not provide full coverage. Nevertheless, it evens out the look of my skin and provides enough coverage for me as a daily coverup. I don’t mind seeing my freckles, but I still have to dab a little concealer on my darkest sun damage. I can live with that.
The product comes in a tube with a pump.
It’s easy to apply with either fingers or a foundation brush. Dr. Jart Premium leaves a dewy finish on my skin. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll apply a little powder to get a more matte look. If I’m not in a rush, it sinks in and is fine. That said, I think Dr. Jart Premium and also Renewalift are best for women with dry or mature skin.
Without sulfates, synthetic fragrances and dyes, petrochemicals, phthlates, or chemical sunscreen ingredients, Dr. Jart Premium is a good choice for women with sensitive skin.
Dr. Jart Premium is made in Korea. The tube contains 1.5 fl. oz./40mL, and it will last me a long time because a little goes a long way. As I mentioned, I bought mine at Sephora for $39.00, but it is available online at Dr. Jart at Amazon and at a number of other websites.
I’m going to skip the rating box on this one. I strongly recommend Dr. Jart Premium BB Cream for women with fair to light, dry or mature skin, who are looking for every day coverage that includes a high, mineral-based SPF, and anti-aging benefits. If this isn’t you, check out the other Dr. Jart formulas next time you’re at Sephora or stick to a U.S. brand like Bobbi Brown that has a good range of shades.
Here’s a photo of the ingredient list (not including the sunscreen ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 9.015% and Zinc Oxide 6.305%).
The product may not be a good choice for those who are gluten-free because it contains soybean oil and the origin of Tocopherol Acetate is not mentioned.
Gee, it seems like I gave a lot of caveats in this product review! I really love this product. Here’s a link you can click on to see the whole product line on Amazon: Dr Jart BB Cream or the products I specifically mentioned are below. If you try it or have already used it, please let me know what you think!!
