The Sunscreen Project, Part 29: Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream SPF 25 PA++

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FTC: I received a sample of this product from Sephora. I am not paid for any reviews.

I was introduced to the BB cream craze through several of my friends who swear by their use. Like many of you may already know, BB cream stands for "Beauty Balm" or "Blemish Balm" cream. It was originally created by a German physician who prescribed/sold it to her patients who wanted to recover from skin laser surgery. Known for their SPF, protection, brightening, illuminizing, and other properties, BB creams exploded across Asia, Europe, and eventually the rest of the world.

Asian BB creams are known often for their "mystical" properties as well as their notoriety for lack of many shades, specifically lack of BB creams for darker skin shades. American BB creams are notorious for being called as relabeled tinted moisturizers and overemphasis/overexaggeration of the all-encompassing effects that purport to give. 

Due to these factors, I was quite hesitant to try this line of products. However, the other day I was at Sephora and a lady really recommended me to try this product, so I decided to go for it. After all, my skin has changed type (going to more of a dry type with the occasional pimple or two per month or something). Also, I did like the fact that it gave more coverage and allowed for me to have a more smooth face. In addition, I liked that a lot of them had a high SPF coverage.

Thus, this is the first BB cream I am reviewing.

Dr. Jart is an Asian brand that spread to the US en masse. 

Ingredients list:

-Octinoxate, Octisalate, Titanium Dioxide: Provide sunscreen protection. 

-Hyaluronic Acid and Sea Water Extract: Increase skin's moisture content. 

-Aloe & Portulaca Oleracea : Soothe, calm, and treat redness.

Water, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Phenyl Trimethicone, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, SD Alcohol 40-B, Dimethicone, Talc, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Sodium Citrate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Citric Acid, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sea Water, Ethyl Menthane Carboxamide, Silica, Hexyl Laurate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate , Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate,Disodium, EDTA, Methylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Butylparaben, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide.

Initial inspection of the ingredients list:

• Low SPF UVB coverage - it is listed at SPF 25, which is below the US FDA recommendation of SPF 30. This is provided by octinoxate and octisalate.
• Incomplete SPF UVA coverage - TiO2 only provides partial coverage for UVA rays, and is not as effective as zinc oxide at providing coverage.
• Lots of other parabens and other ingredients
• Interesting extracts of the citric acid, leaf juice of aloe, portulaca oleracea, etc (though their concentrations, efficacies, and potential synergistic effects with one another are not listed)
• Glycerin for humectant properties
• A bunch of silicone-based products to give that smooth-feeling skin and illumination effect

So what did I think when I actually tried this product?

Pros:

• Really smoothed out my skin
• Didn't make me break out
• Non-comedogenic on my skin
• SPF coverage - but note that this is because I apply these spf-based products very liberally - 1/4 teaspoon to cover my face, not just enough to cover my skin lightly since I want to get the full SPF effect.

Cons:

• Lack of multiple shades - this doesn't affect me as much, since I have relatively light skin (my friends consider me to be a "pale Asian" in Texas's Sunbelt and I am a NC-25 or NC-30 depending on summer vs. winter and how much I spend indoors due to med school and stuff). However, darker girls may have trouble finding optimal shades.
• Price - $34 for 1.7 fl oz. Wow. Well, this is supposed to be one of the better BB creams that Sephora offers, so perhaps the price is there.

Bottom line - although I do appreciate that this BB cream did seem to provide most of the benefits that BB creams are purported to be, I think I will pass this product due to its incomplete UV coverage and its lower SPF value. I am definitely willing to splurge a bit for SPF products but at the same time I want to make sure I get the most complete coverage I can with the SPF products I get.