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The 9 Best Korean BB Creams For Dry Skin
Once you're hooked on Korean BBs, it's pretty much impossible to imagine life without them — especially if your skin lacks moisture. Applying foundation to dry skin can often look cakey and make skin even drier, but the best Korean BB creams for dry skin are designed to go on smoothly and actually add moisture back to the skin and protect it from drying out throughout the day. And, Korean BB creams are super blendable and adaptable — each shade is designed to work well with a range of skin tones — unlike foundations, where you'll need a perfect match.
Korean beauty products have completely changed the way many of us view skincare and makeup. And what really makes Korean BB creams so amazing is that they serve a variety of skin purposes — from evening out your skin tone to actually repairing and improving skin while making it look like a million bucks. There are also many Korean BB creams with high SPF that do a great job of shielding your skin from the sun's rays. These do so much more than your average foundation.
Of course, lots of other global brands have since jumped on the BB cream bandwagon and have released perfectly amazing versions of the product — but Korean BB creams continue to be among the most innovative.
These nine Korean BB creams are low on drying ingredients, like alcohol, and rich in moisturizing ingredients perfect for dry skin.
1This Intensely Hydrating Essence Cushion
Missha Signature Essence Cushion SPF 50+, $16, Amazon
It's quite different from the BB cream you've come to expect and may take some getting used to, but Missha Signature Essence Cushion is ideal for dry skin types because its mineral-rich birch sap and blend of hyaluronic acid, Aqua Ceramide, and Raffinose create a moisture coating layer that protects parched skin from the outside elements. Korean essences are known as the super effective, hydrating product that no K-beauty routine is without — and this cushion is the perfect way to get another layer of moist essence on your skin. It contains SPF 50+, natural and gentle ingredients like aloe vera leaf extract and prune water, and its 3D Lamp Powder will give you a lit-from-within glow.
This cushion is available in two shades: #21 Light Beige, for light skin tones, and, #23 Natural Beige for light to medium skin. Reviewers with darker skin tones say they sometimes mix this formula with bronzer to achieve their ideal hue.
2This BB Cream With Snail Goo To Give Your Skin's Barrier A Little Extra Help
Mizon B.B. Cream Snail Repair Blemish Balm SPF 32, $7, Amazon
Snails produce their goo because it protects their delicate bodies from irritation, which is why snail mucus filtrate creates a thin barrier on your skin, which helps reinforce your own barrier, strengthen the skin, and improve elasticity. Mizon B.B. Cream Snail Repair Blemish Balm features a combination of snail mucus, peptides, and vitamins, to moisturize, soothe, and protect dry skin — while providing SPF 32 and enough light color coverage to blur blemishes and uneven patches. It's also free of fragrance, artificial colors, and parabens — so it's safe for sensitive skin.
3This Award Winning Cushion In The "Moisture Lasting" Finish That's Available In 5 Shades
IOPE Air Cushion SPF 50+ (Plus Cushion Refill), $33-$40, Amazon
The incredibly popular IOPE Air Cushion is now available in four finishes — and the Moisture Lasting finish is the most hydrating of the bunch. This cushion improves skin's moisture retention and boosts skin firmness while delivering SPF 50+, skin brightening ingredients, and a subtle hint of color that lasts for hours without rubbing off. Like all cushions, you don't even have to get your hands messy while applying it: use the puff, remember a little goes a long way, and build up to the coverage you want.
The Moisture Lasting cushion is available in five shades. C13 Cool Ivory is a perfect match for fair skin tones with cool to neutral undertones. N21 Natural Beige works well for light to medium skin with cool to neutral undertones, and W21 Warm Beige suits light to medium skin with neutral to warm undertones. Finally, N23 Natural Sand matches medium skin with cool to neutral undertones, and W23 Warm Sand is a great match for medium skin with neutral to warm undertones.
4This BB Cream With Mint Water And Marine Jelly Complex
Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly BB Cream, $12, Amazon
The mint water is this lightweight Holika Holika Aqua Petit Jelly BB Cream hydrates skin, while its marine jelly complex softens your complexion — but don't let these two unique ingredients fool you — reviewers say this is one outstanding long-lasting BB Cream that absorbs and sets quickly. Even though the ingredients are especially nourishing for dry skin, those with combination and oily skin say it doesn't clog their pores.
This cream comes in two blendable shades: #1, for fair to light skin tones, and #2 for light to medium shades.
5This BB Cushion That's Infused With Collagen Water
Banila CO VV Bouncing Cushion SPF 50+ (Plus Refill), $35, Amazon
If hydration is a concern, Banila CO VV Bouncing Cushion will put your mind at ease with some of the most moisturizing ingredients found in a BB cushion: silk amino acids, sunflower seed oil, rosewood and raspberry seed oils — I could go on for days. This cushion with SPF 50+ is also infused with 30 percent collagen water to increase skin's suppleness.
It comes in three shades: BE10, for fair skin, BP15 for light skin, and BE20 for medium skin tones.
6This Rich BB Cream That Goes On Like A Creamy Foundation
Skin79 Super+ Beblesh Balm BB Cream Triple Function SPF 30, $12, Amazon
The lengthy list of hydrating ingredients in this Skin79 BB Cream — which include a cocktail of floral waters and sweet almond oil — will reassure you that this is the product guaranteed to both improve your skin and make it look incredible right here, right now — without drying you out. Reviewers say this is thicker than most BB creams (feels more like a foundation) and that it "sinks in" and looks natural. It also features SPF 30, which is a substantial amount of sunscreen protection, and vitamin C to help lighten dark spots.
This BB cream comes in one shade for light to medium skin, and it's worth noting that one mother who described her skin as "pale" says the formula works for both her and her olive-skinned daughter.
7This Beauty Balm BB Cream That Contains Botanical Actives To Soothe And Clarify Dry, Congested Skin
Dr. Jart+ Black Label Detox BB Beauty Balm SPF 25, $32, Amazon
The botanical actives in Dr. Jart+ BB Cream help calm irritated, red, or blemish-prone skin, while soothing it with an extra layer of moisture. But the reason dry skin types love this cream so much is because it is slightly heavier than other BB creams, but feels lightweight and doesn't go on like a second layer of skin. It also boasts a balm-like texture, contains SPF 25, and absorbs quickly without drying out your skin.
This BB cream is available in one adaptable shade for light to medium skin tones, and most reviewers say it blends naturally with their own skin tone and is more universally wearable than you might suspect.
8This Subtle Blemish-Blurring BB Cream That's Safe For Easily Irritated Skin
Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream SPF 40+, $19, Amazon
Don't expect thick foundation coverage with this product — Klairs Illuminating Supple Blemish Cream comes in one shade for light to medium skin tones and it's a barely-there translucent veil with just enough pigment to subtly conceal blemishes, pores, and redness. Here's what else you won't get from this BB cream: a cakey, greyish cast so common with other creams or dry patches — its ingredients include hydrating floral and aloe vera extracts. It contains SPF 40+ and is safe for use on sensitive skin.
9This 5-In-1 BB Créme Rich With Ginseng To Help Plump Skin
Erborian BB Créme SPF 20, $23-$26, Amazon
Meet Erborian BB Créme, the 5-in-1 BB cream that has broad-spectrum SPF 20 coverage, is enriched with ginseng to plump and hydrate skin, evens out your complexion and covers blemishes, and delivers a pretty hint of color. It's currently available in Clair (which is the lightest pale) and Dore (a medium tone).
Reviewers say the shades are surprisingly wearable on a variety of skin tones and that it's lightweight and provides creamy coverage that gives skin a subtle glow.
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