Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm: Review and Swatch

Awhile back when I made a purchase at Sephora, the kind sales girl threw in a couple of samples into my bag. Now, I don't know how often anyone else gets samples like that at the store without asking but that was the first and last time I had gotten some freebies at the counter. When I saw that she had given me samples of the Dr. Jart BB cream, I was ecstatic! If you don't already know, BB creams were originally from Germany but popularized by Korean celebrities who wore them to achieve natural, flawless skin. For the past few years BB creams have made their way across Asia and recently they have been popping up all over the Western hemisphere.

I guess it's somewhat surprising that I have never tried a BB cream but needless to say, I was all over this one when I read the description off the tube. BB creams generally serve multiple purposes and tend to claim many skincare benefits. This particular BB cream has SPF45 PA+++ which is very high for a makeup product. The PA+++ stands for the amount of UVA protection that you are getting, the more pluses, the better. A full size tube of this BB cream is $39 for 1.4 oz which is definitely something you would expect from a brand at Sephora but it is pricey compared to other BB creams from Asia.

Here is a "swatch" of what the cream looks like out of the tube. You can see the texture is quite thick but it is spreadable with your fingers. On the right is an unedited photo of my face with only the bb cream applied. No concealer or setting powder, just my bare skin and the BB cream (just a reminder, you can always open my pictures in a new window to view them in full size). The coverage is not bad and it definitely evens out most of the redness in my skin. You can still see some of the redness on my cheeks and the acne scars all over my skin. I found the cream to be a bit drying upon application and it tends to cling to my dry spots and acne spots. That being said, it leaves a matte finish that is comfortable to wear. The consistency makes it a bit harder to blend so you have to work fairly quickly.

The biggest downfall is that this product only comes in one shade and the coverage is definitely not light enough so that it can work with any skin tone. I have light to medium skin and I feel like this cream looks a tad bit too light for me. The shade has a gray cast, also typical of generic BB creams. The gray tint fades and the cream kind of oxidizes on my skin throughout the day to match my skin tone better. However, the biggest color issue I have found is that due to the high SPF, this product will make you look extremely ghostly in flash photography. This is definitely not something to wear if you are going out and taking lots of pictures.

All in all, if you have light skin, normal to somewhat oily skin, with minimal spots you might like this BB cream for day wear. It definitely is not a perfect product and the price is definitely marked up because Western consumers probably do not know how inexpensive BB creams can run (I have seen many for between $10 and $20 which is already marked up with importation and shipping fees). I am happy I got a sample to try but it has made me more skeptical of these "all in one" type of products. Have you tried BB creams and what's your opinion on them?