Q: What actually is BB cream?
A: BB cream (blemish balm) was originally formulated by a German Dermatologist in 1960s to protect her patients’ skin after peeling and surgery. However, it was only made popular by the Koreans for the East Asian market in the past few decades.
BB cream was first marketed as a multi-purpose all-rounder cream with functions ranging from moisturizing, specific properties for instance whitening, anti-aging to make-up base and sun protection. It has quickly became a hit in the East Asian market as the Korean and Japanese beauty concept is about perfected skin with soft a.k.a. “nude” make-up. So BB creams, which were promoted as skin care products that happened to also be make-up, caught the attention of the beauty world instantly
It caters well to those who find Western make-up formulations are too heavy for their taste. East Asians usually use BB cream to replace thicker foundation. 
Instead of offering multiple shades for different skin colors like Western foundation brands, most BB cream formula are designed to oxidize to match the user’s skin tone. The skin-whitening properties of the cream as sold in the Asian market are an important element in its popularity.
Western cosmetics companies began to launch BB creams in the Western market in 2012, and now almost all cosmetic brands have their own breed of BB cream.
In short, BB cream is make-up formulated with skincare benefits. 
Dr. Tan
