The alphabet soup of foundation alternatives continues. I seem to be accumulating quite a collection. BB creams or beauty balms that provide moisturizer, primer, sunscreen, and medium coverage are still a key part of my routine. My favorite BB cream is Dr. Jart Premium. It comes in a single light shade with a whitish cast (from the sunscreen, I think), and it will not work for everyone. I know that sounds strange, but it works for me. It has SPF 45, provides decent medium coverage, and has a very dewy finish, also most likely because of the high SPF (I think). My other BB is from Estee Lauder, with an SPF of 30. It comes in three shades: light, medium and medium/dark. This BB cream has a slightly less dewy finish that’s a good thing. The light shade I use has a yellowish tint that I don’t like, so I use it less often than Dr. Jart.
CC creams have been out for about a year now, and they have added color correction to the list of benefits these multi-taskers provide. They are supposed to provide fuller coverage than BB creams, but frankly, I think it depends on the brand. Some BB creams cover better than others, and the same goes for CC cream.
Many of the major drugstore brands now offer BB creams, but CC creams are just starting to be introduced by the affordable brands. In September, I was searching for an affordable CC cream to try, and I heard that CoverGirl had one. I searched my local CVS that even had an in-store ad for the product, but I wasn’t sure if what I saw on the shelf was the product I was looking for, or just another liquid foundation from CoverGirl. The sales staff at CVS was clueless.
I kept up my search, and on an interior shelf, I discovered Lumene Time Freeze CC Anti-age Color Correcting Cream.
Lumene is a Finnish brand that emphasizes both natural ingredients and scientific research. Its products contain at least 80% natural ingredients, and they often include ingredients from hardy arctic plants and berries such as cloudberry, blueberry, lingonberry, heather, rose hip, buckthorn, and arctic water. They are also committed to using less water in the manufacturing process. They do not test on animals, and they don’t use parabens in the products. I think of it as similar quality as the French pharmacy brands sold at the drugstore — Lierac Paris, La Roche-Posay and Vichy — but perhaps emphasizing “natural” more than those brands.
Lumene CC cream comes in two shades: light and medium. The light is a good match for my skintone. It does a good job at toning down my redness. It provides medium coverage, covering most of my sun damage except for the darkest spots that I hit with a little concealer. (Wow, maybe I should start wearing it on my hands!) Unlike my Dr. Jart Premium BB cream with its dewy finish, Lumene has a matte finish that I like a lot. The dimethicone primer ensures that it doesn’t settle into my lines. And I find the Lumene CC Cream lasts all day.
The Lumene US website describes the product as a “6 in 1”, providing a laundry list of benefits:
- Foundation – a fine but well covering formula. The shades are designed to neutralize the color of red areas.
- Concealer
- Primer
- Illuminator
- Long-lasting
- Broad spectrum SPF 20.
I haven’t noticed any “illumination”, but I really like this product. In fact, I bought another tube on sale for when I use this one up.
So if you want to try out a CC cream, have skin that’s on the lighter side, and don’t want to spend a lot of money, I recommend Lumene CC Cream.
I wish the SPF was a little higher than 20, but at this time of year, it’s fine. The sunscreen ingredients are Octinoxate 4% and Titanium Dioxide 0.83%. When it comes to sunscreen ingredients, I am confused. I thought that physical barrier sunscreens like titanium dioxide were better/safer than chemical sunscreens, but one of the natural products groups I joined on Facebook are suspicious of titanium dioxide too. What to do? I think using a sunscreen is better than not using sunscreen, so I will continue to do so.
Lumene CC Cream comes in a one ounce tube (30 ml), and at CVS, it costs about $15. Lumene products are widely available at Walgreens, Ulta, Duane Reade, Meijer, Giant Eagle, drugstore.com, Dermstore.com in addition to CVS.
Have you tried CC cream yet? Do you have a CC cream you love?
Ingredients: Alumina, Cetearyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Ethylhexylglycerin, Fragrance, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Hexyl laurate, Iron Oxides, Isododecane, Magnesium Sulfate, Methicone, MICA, Nylon-12, Perfluorooctyl, Triethoxysilane, Phenoxyethanol, Polyglyceryl-4 isostearate, Propylene Carbonate, Propylene Glycol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Triethoxycaprylysilane, Vaccinium vitis-idaea Seed Oil, Water.
The CC cream look sso nice.. the coverage is pretty good.. !!
It isnt available here but will try to get my hands on it!!
and yes I too believed physical sunccreens are better than chemical ones.. but I am confused too now.. 😛
It is nice, Poo. I still like the Lumene the best, right now. I bought IT CC+ recently for a lot more $, and though it is a good match for my skin, it is very greasy when first applied. I either have to use setting powder or wait quite a while till it absorbs. Glad I’m not the only one confused about the sunscreen issue 😉
Thanks for the tips on CC creams. I’ve always wanted to try a BB or CC cream but wasn’t really sure what they did. I use Skinceuticals Sunscreen and Bobbi Brown makeup which both have sunscreen. In the summer I just use the tinted Skinceuticals Sunscreen. It is a bit more expensive but lasts me a long time.
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That’s great, Judy. BB and CC creams are for those of us who don’t want to be bothered with separate sunscreen and foundation, but also want some extra benefits like moisturizing (tho’ you probably have moisturizer along with that Skinceuticals sunscreen), primer, and color correction/illumination. Basically, they’re just multi-tasking time-savers. Bobbi Brown has a very nice line of BB creams, and Skinceuticals must as well. But, if you find something that works for you, stick with it! Thanks so much for commenting!
I have a few Lumene products and absolutely love them. I will have to get this one after reading your review.
If you do try the CC cream from Lumene, Emma, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know your experience with it.
I have never heard of this brand, but I’m putting this on my shopping list for the next time I pop into CVS. I love bases with a dewy finish, but I need a matte one for days when my oily skin gets a bit out of control. And the price is great making it easy on the purse. Fab review! xx
Lumene is a Scandinavian brand & their products are natural with fewer bad for you ingredients & it’s cruelty free. The CC line has only 3 shades. I wear Light & it’s perfect for me just about year round. If you are super-white, it may be a little too dark for you??
hello< i'm trying to find one for a long time and i have hard time finding one. I had one and
absolutely loved it. Any idea where i could find some?
Violeta, a while ago, I found a few tubes of the Lumene CC Cream in the old packaging at a “job lot” store. It looks like Lumene has discontinued this terrific CC cream, but they still make Lumene BB cream. I’m so sad to discover that I won’t be able to get more of the CC cream when my tube runs out, boo!