Skin79 Oriental Gold BB Cream Review and Swatches

BB creams (aka blemish balms, beauty balms) have been all the rage this year (and late last year, too). It exploded into the Asian market mostly from South Korea to the point where North American beauty companies are now scrambling to get a piece of the action on this new niche product. It's easy to see why there's such a huge demand for it. For the uninitiated (seriously, what rock have you been living under if you *still* haven't heard of BB cream?), BB cream is an all-in-one facial product that combines sunscreen, primer, foundation, moisturizer and other skincare benefits that range from skin whitening (very popular in Asia where the beauty ideal is porcelain white skin), blemish prevention (hence the name) to anti-aging properties. Basically, it cuts down on all the steps (and products!) you take to go through your skincare/makeup routine in the morning. Now, wouldn't you want that, too? I won't go in further detail about the other basics of the product as I feel it's already been discussed ad nauseam. If you feel the need to do more reading up, Janine over at Beauty Geeks has a great write up about it. Michelle over at Beauty Editor covers most of the bases as well as helps you decide if you need BB cream in your life. But both articles are focused on the BB creams that are just now available in North America from familiar brands like MAC, Smashbox and Marcelle. Being Asian with an insatiable curiosity, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and experience BB cream straight from the Korean brand that's being hailed as the "queen of BB creams": Skin79.

Skin79 The Oriental Gold BB Cream

Nuance by Salma Hayek Perfect Lips Lip Quad in Warm

No Truckload Tuesday today (Yay, I've kept to my "No Buy"!) so instead, I'll be doing my first beauty product review.
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I'm not generally a fan of Salma Hayek but when I heard about the makeup line she launched in partnership with CVS based on organic and natural ingredients, I can't say I wasn't intrigued. A lot of celebrities have lent their name and image to cosmetic lines (just look at the numerous collaborations with MAC and OPI) but to actually come up with your own line just isn't heard of. What makes Salma's effort unique (along with it being the first complete beauty line from a collaboration between a retailer and an actress) is that this line is a realization of her grandmother's legacy, a cosmetologist who formulated her own beauty remedies. Her dedication to the development of an affordable line using her grandma's own ingredients and knowledge resulted in a beauty line that will definitely make her grandma proud.

How unique and different is that?