Skin Care: CC Creams
Kayleen Schaefer,Vogue
These days, the beauty industry appears to be as sequel-crazy as Hollywood. Months after the wave of do-it-all multitasking BB creams infiltrated the market, the CCs are coming. Like the BBs (referred to alternately as "blemish balms" and "beauty balms"), the "color correcting" CCs are tinted, antioxidant-packed skin-care/makeup hybrids that originated in Asia. (Singapore-based Rachel K's white tea and deep-sea-water CC Cream has been prized by Hong Kong's top makeup artists since it debuted last year.) But unlike the BBs, the CCs-hailed as lighter-weight, with higher broad-spectrum SPFs (up to SPF 35 PA++)-work to brighten complexions and diminish pigment issues, too.
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Although the CCs have yet to be tested head-to-head with spot-reducing or brightening treatments on the market, a 2009 study published in the British Journal of Dermatology demonstrated that Olay's new CC (which launched earlier this month) could lighten skin discoloration after eight weeks. "Based on clinical data, people can expect more even skin tone and may also see better skin texture," says Manhattan dermatologist Anne Chapas, M.D., founder of Union Square Laser Dermatology.
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While Olay's Total Effects CC Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer uses niacinamide to help even out blotchy faces, Wei To Go Beauty's First Impression kit relies upon Chinese licorice, mulberry leaf, and vitamin C from mandarin oranges. Juice Beauty's Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream, coming out in January, contains vitamin C to help fade dark spots and resveratrol to repair damaged cells. Chanel's Complete Correction Cream, already a hit in Asia, arrives in the United States soon, and Clinique has a top-secret CC up its sleeve, too.
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