Skincare Meets Makeup With Popular New 'BB Creams'

KOREATOWN (CBSLA.com) — Women everywhere are talking about the newest beauty obsession.

Marsha Chinician calls herself a beauty product junkie, and her newest love is none other than BB cream.

"I love this product. It absolutely works. It makes me look like I have flawless skin even when sometimes I don't," Chinician says.

"BB cream" stands for blemish balm or beauty balm, a product that really took off in Asia when Korean celebrities said it's what made their flawless skin so flawless.

At Palace Beauty in Koreatown, there's more than 40 brands and types of BB cream ranging from $26 to $176. It's being called a new category in the beauty market: where skincare meets makeup.

"I think that BB cream fills a need for a woman who's busy, who does not have time to layer on two different skin care products and put on her make up and put on sunscreen," dermatologist Jessica Wu says. "That's why BB creams were developed because it contains anti-aging and skin-blighting ingredients – plus it helps even out your skin tone, plus it gives you sun protection all in one quick, easy product."

Wu has studied BB creams and thinks they are only going to get more popular. She tried a Christian Dior BB cream for us and pointed out that it helped get rid of discoloration.

"The average woman in Asia uses seven skin care steps in the morning and evening and that's why BB creams have really changed skin care there because it's really just one step," she says.

Chinician, for one, loves how BB cream has simplified her beauty routine.

"They do like three things in one; it's amazing."

In fact, her BB cream is all in the family now.

"Everyone loves it. I've told my great aunt, I've told my mom, I've told my colleagues. I've put them on my face, they're super smooth; they're super silky. I'm going to be a BB cream user for life," she says.

BB Creams tend to be lighter in color than your average foundation or tinted moisturizer, but companies are starting to come out with darker shades. Look for a BB cream that matches not just your skin tone, but what you want to achieve, whether it be anti-aging or moisturizing.

To find a BB cream, visit your local drug store or a shop such as Palace Beauty.