It's hard to miss the endless supply of Alphabet Creams on the market these days, with BB Creams crowning the beginning of a skin perfecting make-up revival it's important to understand what exactly all the fuss is about. For those who haven't yet tried the beautifying phenomenon of BB, CC and DD creams then check out our round up of the best alphabet creams out there and what it is each one actually intends to do!
BB Cream
What does it stand for?: Blemish Balm/Beauty Balm
What is it?: Originally sold mainly in Asia, BB cream is an all in one facial skincare product that aims to replace the need for individual moisturisers, primers, serums, foundation and sunblock. This multi-tasker offers coverage as well as treatment for blemishes, as foundations can often be too heavy for those with acne prone skin, the BB cream lets your skin breathe without feeling too naked.
Top BB Creams
The (1) Ren Satin Perfection BB Cream£26 is one of the best on the market, the smooth texture glides on perfectly to the skin, whilst the colour blends evenly on your face. This is a true Alphabet Cream in the sense that this is not just a tinted moisturiser, it hydrates whilst leaving your skin looking fresh, glowing and naturally gorgeous. (2)Decleor BB Cream 24 Hour Moisture Activator £29 leaves your skin looking dewy with a jam packed formula of plant extracts. This BB cream is ideal for those with drier skin as its hydrating properties are guaranteed to illuminate your moisture thirsty face. No BB cream gives coverage and luminosity like (3) Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference BB Cream £20, don't expect for it to cover up completely but the Alphabet Cream phenomena is all about enhancing the beauty you already have so this Elizabeth Arden cream is ideal. This BB cream is the perfect summer holiday accompaniment as it truly leaves your skin glowing, youthful and lustrous.
CC Cream
What does it stand for?: Colour Correcting
What is it?: Essentially a BB cream that specifically targets redness and sallow skin. CC creams are perfect for those who want to hide any discolouration of the skin due to pigmentation or redness, often through the use of light defusing particles but aren't looking for a lot of coverage. If the alphabet cream crave is leaving you baffled, don't stress, BB and CC creams vary very slightly and ultimately do the same job. We recommend BB creams for those with acne prone skin and CC for those who want to simply give skin a colour boost.
Top CC Creams
The (4) Ole Henriksen Perfect Truth CC Cream£29 is a CC cream with fragrance, it smells divine and glides on smoothly leaving your skin fresh faced and glowing. The staying power of this colour correcting cream is enough to last all day and night. It contains Vitamin C and is SPF 30 so an ideal choice for the summer months when you don't want to head to the beach bare faced. (5) Nip and Fab CC Cream£14.95 is for those who want more coverage from a CC cream. In order to get the most out of this CC cream, warm it up with your fingertips and apply to leave an all over even glow. (6) Olay Regenerist Anti Ageing CC Cream £17.49 is ultimately an anti ageing moisturiser with colour correcting properties, available in 3 different shades to suit your skintone, Olay CC Cream is the lightest coverage of the three. This alphabet cream will reduce the appearance of wrinkles with its anti ageing serum, Essential Glucoasmine Complex and the Vitamin E will hydrate and moisturise whilst the foundation blends to give an even, natural looking coverage.
DD Cream
What does it stand for?: Even we're not sure yet...the consensus says 'Daily Defence' but it has even been referred to as a 'Dynamic Do-all' cream by some.
What does it do?: The DD cream is still very much a newbie in the beauty industry but its definitely the next best thing after the BB and CC cream phenomenon. The key to this is its broad range of SPF protection on offer, a DD cream combines both the coverage of a BB cream with the colour correcting properties of the CC cream into one beautifying, hydrating, firming, brightening skincare wonder!
For the time being DD creams are very much in their early stages, but if you want to check out what all the fuss is about then give our (7) Decleor Daily Defence Fluid Shield £29.50.