BB/CC Cushion vs BB/CC Cream: What's the Difference?

BB cushion and CC cushion products have been all the rage among Asian (primarily Korean) makeup brands in the past few months, sometimes referred to collectively as "air cushions" by some blogs I read. If this sounds like a BB cream or CC cream (not that there is very much difference between the two - in a previous post I had done an ingredients analysis of BB and CC creams and found virtually no difference between them. And later on I had also done an ingredients analysis on a DD cream, and again found no difference), it's because BB and CC cushions are like BB/CC creams: the formula is the same, but instead of packaging it in a tube, it is now in compact form. Inside the compact is a sponge soaked with BB or CC cream, which forms a "reservoir" of product. To apply the product, you can use a polyurethane puff that comes with the compact. And off you go - a brand new product to sell to the masses who otherwise wouldn't buy another BB cream because they have 8 tubes from different brands sitting around at home. You may have seen the ads for products like the Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion and the Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion. These are two of the most popular examples, but there are many others out there, as my home-cooked graphic illustrates:

Now, I recognize that a change in packaging and application sometimes may be appealing enough to the consumer to warrant a purchase, and I'll get into that later. But given all the advertising hype, I wanted to ask the question: from a formulation standpoint, is there really any difference between BB cushions and plain ol' BB creams?

That's right! Ingredients analysis time!

So, you know where that leads us to! That's right, a good ol' ingredients analysis. As usual, because the first few ingredients make up the bulk of the product by far, I'm going to take a look at the ingredients lists for BB and CC cushions that I've been able to find, and I'll concentrate my analysis on the first 15 ingredients, since those are the main ingredients in the product. I figure I'm already pretty generous because as the cosmetic chemist bloggers at The Beauty Brains note (isn't is super cool, cosmetic chemists actually blogging about skincare science? *fangirl swoon*), "the first 5 ingredients are the ones that matter the most. After the fifth ingredient everything else is probably below the 1% line". This is a similar approach to the one I took in my ingredients analysis of BB and CC creams, too.

So let's get started with the analysis!

Without further ado, let's get down to the ingredients analysis! In my previous BB cream post, I looked at fifteen BB and CC creams. In this post, I only have a comparatively paltry ten for you. Yes, ten, only. This was as much as my googling skillz would let me find out. (Also, BB and CC cushions haven't caught on the way BB and CC creams have, so there aren't as many cushion products as there are creams.) But it is still a lot of work on my part - and a lot of reading on yours! So ready? Buckled up your seat belts? Then let's get started!

1. Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion

That's a lot of claims in one ad: whitening, sunscreen, and random "makeup effects" (what exactly is that, anyway?). And of course this is a "New concept BB cushion". I guess the packaging is indeed new, but what about the formula? Is there anything new about that?

Main ingredients:
Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Phenyl Trimethicone, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Butylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, Arbutin, Butylene Glycol, Mineral Water, Crataegus monogina fruit extract, Melia Azadirachta Extract, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, etc.

Water is a given. After that, you get a mix of silicones, which serve to make the product feel nice on the skin and spread out in a weightless manner (Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Phenyl Trimethicone, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone), sunscreen filters (Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate), solvents (Butylene Glycol). These make up the bulk of the Laneige BB cushion. After that, there is also Butylene glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, an oil which helps to helps as an occlusive moisturizer, and Arbutin, which is an ingredient used in skin whitening - here it is probably used to justify the claims of brightening your skin. There are also a few fruit extracts and oils, but by the time they come in past the 10th ingredient, the percentage of these ingredients is probably pretty small. Also, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate is a sunscreen filter, and is quite commonly found, but some people with sensitive skins may react to it. So from a formulation perspective, you get a nice silicon-heavy foundation with SPF protection, but not much else. Not much that is soothing, especially given the presence of Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate.

In fact, I'd argue that there isn't anything very different from existing non-BB cream products on the market. The formulation of this is quite similar to Tony Moly's Face Mix Skin Foundation, which has the following main ingredients:

Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 9.45%, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate 4.00%, Zinc Oxide 0.98% (same sunscreen filters)

Inactive Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Water, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Phenyl Trimethicone, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, etc.

You can see that the two are basically silicon-based products with sunscreen filters, and some occlusives such as Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate. They are pretty similar from a formulations perspective, with the same sunscreen filters, very similar mix of silicones, and similar solvents. The only minor difference is in the "claims ingredients": the Laneige product has a bit of arbutin to support its claims of skin brightening, while the Tony Moly product has a different set of "claims ingredients" - in this case, delivering moisture to your skin.

Another product the Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion was similar to was the 3 Concept Eyes Glossing Waterful Foundation. Here are the ingredients for the 3CE (as the brand is more popularly known) product:

Active ingredients: Titanium Dioxide 3.615%

Inactive ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol,Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Zinc Oxide (CI 77947), Glycerin, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Pentylene Glycol, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Mica (CI 77019), Sodium Chloride, etc.

Again, you notice very similar silicones, solvents, and oils being used. I found it interesting that Titanium Dioxide was declared as an active ingredient, but the other sunscreen filters Zinc Oxide and Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate make an appearance too, although they are labelled as inactive ingredients - in this case, my guess is that the percentages of these ingredients is so small that the company cannot list them down as active sunscreen ingredients (and you'll note Titanium Dioxide, which they can declare, is only at 3.6%). So in this case, the product is primarly a soup of water, silicones, solvents, and a couple of oils.

Right from the bat, you can see that there is nothing inherently special about a BB cushion that cannot be found in a typical foundation product. In fact, in my previous post on BB/CC creams, I had also noted that in general BB/CC creams don't have very different formulations from silicone-based foundations or tinted moisturizers. It seems that the same applies to BB and CC cushions as well. But let's move on to the next product.



2. Etude House Precious Mineral Any Cushion

(Image source)

Etude House and their fans have been calling this product "the Almighty Any Cushion", so why wouldn't we want to see what ingredients this almighty product has? Let's take a look. I couldn't find a list of the ingredients in text form, but fortunately bloggers who reviewed this product have taken photos of the ingredients list:

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Once again, in the top 15 or so ingredients, you can see the same formula: Water, and then lots of silicones here (there are six, making nearly half of the top 15 ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Methyl Trimethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Acrylates/Stearyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer). There are also the usual sunscreen filters (Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Zinc Oxide), and solvents (Butylene Glycol), as well as emulsifiers to ensure that the water and oil phases of the product mix together nicely without separation (Sorbitan Isostearate). There are some moisturizing ingredients such as Dicaprylyl carbonate, which is an emollient, but otherwise, within the main ingredients that make up the bulk of the product, there isn't anything that is particularly "almighty" for your skin.

In fact, the product is quite similar to another one existing on the market, this time the Almay Line Smoothing Liquid Makeup for Dry Skin, which isn't even a fancy ol' BB or CC cream. It's just a normal liquid foundation:

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Titanium Dioxide 4.7%, Zinc Oxide 2.1%

OTHER INGREDIENTS: Aqua ((Water) Eau), Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Nylon-12, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Sulfate, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Glycerin, PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Methicone, etc.

Again here, you see a similar use of silicones (Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, etyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Methicone), UV filters ( Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide), and solvents (Butylene Glycol), and emulsifiers (Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate). There are also some other products for cosmetic effect (e.g. Nylon-12 which helps with oil control and helps in giving the skin a nice feel), and Glycerin as a humectant, but by and large, I don't expect there to be significant differences in the product.

Another one that looked similar was the Tony Moly Luminous Bright Aura CC Cream, which is a plain ol' CC cream not in a fancy cushioned compact:

Active Ingredients: Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate 5.00%, Titanium Dioxide 3.38%, Zinc Oxide 2.94%

Inactive Ingredients:
Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Caprylyl Methicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Mica (CI 77019), Sodium Chloride, Dimethicone, etc.

Again, you see the same old silicones (Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Caprylyl Methicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Dimethicone), UV filters (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide), and solvents (Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol), and so on. There are also the same or similar moisturizing ingredients (Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate). The formulas really don't change much just because the company decided to package the product into a compact with a sponge and call it a BB or CC cushion! But let's move on to the next one


3. IOPE Air Cushion XP

Ah, isn't this product nice? Look at all the advertisements with peptides and elastomers and a strange hybrid of sciencey-sounding stuff (peptides, elastomers) and exotic-origin plant stuff (Siberian peptides, really? Peptides are found everywhere, including your food, your body, etc.). And don't get me started on "Mineral Water 30% XP" - sheesh, water is just water - you know, one oxygen atom sandwiched between two hydrogen atoms? Trying to make it sound like it's some secret ingredient just sounds ridiculous to me. Anyway, it seems that this product has three variations out there: Shimmer, Natural, and Cover (which I'm guessing refers to glitter, no glitter or sheer finish, and full coverage respectively).

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Apparently IOPE was the brand that started the entire BB cushion trend, and prompted all the Korean brands to start making "me-too" cushion-y products. Let's take a look at the ingredients list for their Natural version of their Air Cushion XP:

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS
ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE 7%, TITANIUM DIOXIDE 4.15%, ZINC OXIDE 9.8%

INACTIVE INGREDIENTS
WATER (MINERAL WATER), CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE, LAURYL PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE, ARBUTIN, PROPANEDIOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, DIMETHICONE, ACRYLATES/ETHYLHEXYL ACRYLATE/DIMETHICONE METHACRYLATE COPOLYMER, POLYHYDROXYSTEARIC ACID, etc.

Okay, this is very similar to the previous two, so I won't go into too much detail, but here you go: silicones, check. Solvents, check. Here, we also see Arbutin, because you need something to brighten your skintone. Polyhydroxystearic Acid is a suspending agent, so your product mixes well and doesn't separate. Looking at the ingredients list, it's clear that the "Pore Care" claims are more cosmetic than anything. Polymers like Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer are film formers, and with them, the product glides over the skin and forms a smooth film over it, thus minimizing the appearance of pores (it's also how silicone-based foundations work). But of course this effect is just temporary - as soon as you wash off your BB cream, it's gone. Definitely not the long-term skincare regime the ad implies it is!

And let's take a look at the Cover version of the product:

Active ingredients
ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE 7%, TITANIUM DIOXIDE 4.15%, ZINC OXIDE 9.8%

WATER (MINERAL WATER), CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE, ARBUTIN, LAURYL PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE, PROPANEDIOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, ACRYLATES/ETHYLHEXYL ACRYLATE/DIMETHICONE METHACRYLATE COPOLYMER, POLYHYDROXYSTEARIC ACID, SODIUM CHLORIDE, METHYL METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, etc.

Virtually the same formula. Obviously they used the same base and just tweaked it very sightly to create a variation of the original product. But there you go again - silicones, solvents, and the same suspending agent. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, or new, or pore-caring. And the much ballyhooed peptiedes? I looked through the entire ingredients list found here, and I couldn't see any peptides that had skincare benefits. Usually these are things like Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 (sometimes advertised together with Pamityol Oligopeptide under the trade name Matrixyl 3000), Palmitoyl tripeptide-5, or Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3 (better known as Matrixyl). When I looked through the list, I didn't see these, I only saw just more polymers, and a couple of plant extracts. Right at the end of the ingredients list, there is glycoprotein, which helps to build the skin's intercellular matrix (or, the "glue" or structure that holds the skin together - I talk a bit more about the intercellular matrix in this product review of the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules, for anyone interested). But it's right at the end (5th last ingredient), so I highly doubt it's present in significant enough concentrations to really help your skin.

And one last thing I noticed: IOPE seem to recycle its formulas a lot. Although these two products are supposedly "BB" cushions, the formula is extremely similar to IOPE's Retigen Moisture Foundation SPF22/PA+, which is a plain ol' foundation. So there you go, the "BB" product isn't any different from a regular foundation:

Active Ingredients: ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE 5%, TITANIUM DIOXIDE 2.49%, ZINC OXIDE 0.98%

Main Inactive Ingredients:
WATER, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, METHYL TRIMETHICONE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, DIMETHICONE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE, SQUALANE, OZOKERITE, POLYSILICONE-11, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, etc.


4. Elishacoy Always Nuddy CC Cushion

"Always Nuddy" I guess means a nice, nude finish, like a "no-makeup" look. That's what I think it is. This particular ad doesn't show it, but it touts 5-in-1 benefits, including whitening, moisturizing, anti-wrinkle, and sunscreen.

(Image source)

Also, note that this is a CC cushion - not a plain ol' BB cushion like the other less-advanced products. I have to admit, I don't really know what CC stands for. It seems to be more of a marketing term, with different companies taking the "CC" initials to stand for a variety of things - to date, I've seen "Complexion Corrector", "Complete Correction", "Colour Correcting", "Colour Control", "Correct and Care", or similar terms. I guess it's just a marketing term at the end of the day, so what it stands for exactly doesn't matter as much as having the "CC" in the product name. But product name aside, let's see if the ingredients list is really more advanced:

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Just like the other BB cushions we saw before, there are silicones (Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Caprylyl Methicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Polypropylsilsesquioxane), sunscreen filters (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide), and solvents (Dipropylene Glycol). So here, we have a very silicone-heavy formula which offers some UV protection. The 9 silicones in this formulation probably form the bulk of the company's claims, especially regarding texture - silicones tend to spread out on the skin and provide the product some slip, and Trimethylsiloxysilicate and Polypropylsilsesquioxane are also film-formers that form a film on top of the skin, which may enhance the aesthetic value of the product. But I wouldn't look to this product for any skincare benefit. There is also Arbutin, used in skin-whitening, and Hexyl Laurate, which functions as an emollient, but these clock in near the end (past the 10th ingredient), so I'm hesitant to say they're there in effective amounts.


5. Clio VF21 Cushion CC

Clio VF21 Cushion CC is another "CC" rather than just plain ol' BB product. And it is in a cushion! And the entire VF21 range that the product comes from is vampire themed! I'm not kidding on the last one - VF stands for "Vampire Face". I'm not really into the whole Twilight thing so I can't see what the fuss is about...For the most part the collection takes "Vampire Face" to mean "pretty pastels but with different marketing". Oh well, it could have been worse - they could have put Robert Pattinson's face on the casing of every product.

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So what do the ingredients say? about the product? Well, here are the top 15 ingredients.

Main Ingredients:
Cyclopentasiloxane, Water, Titanium Dioxide, Caprylyl Methicone, Dipropylene Glycol, Zinc Oxide, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclomethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Talc, Polypropylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, etc.

As far as BB/CC Creams/Cushions/Whatever-else-products go, this has a fairly short ingredients list. After the first 15, you have Dimethicone, and then the preservatives start showing up. Generally, anything after preservatives can be ignored, because preservatives really aren't used at very high percentages. Preservatives are used at like 0.1% or so. After that, this is where a lot of "snake oil" or "marketing claims" ingredients hide (e.g. "natural" plant extracts and so on). In this case, the Clio VF21 Cushion CC has a whole bunch of flower extracts - daffodil, jasmine, honeysuckle, and so on, but they are all riiiight at the end of the ingredients list, and waay after the 0.1% preservatives line. The fact that these are added but only in such minuscule amounts is testament to the fact that the presence of these ingredients (even if it's just a drop or something) is used more to justify a marketing effort, rather than for any efficacy they contribute to the product.

So if the Clio VF21 Cushion CC isn't mostly made of vampire-face-inducing flower extracts, what is it made of? Well, you can see the similarities again - silicones (8 of them, or just over half of the top 15 ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Caprylyl Methicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclomethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Polypropylsilsesquioxane), sunscreen filters (Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate), solvents (Dipropylene Glycol), emulsifiers (Hexyl Laurate), and talc - a little strange to see it here, since it's mostly used in powder products. Here I'm guessing it's some sort of bulking agent to add volume to the product. Once again, it's the same old silicones-solvents-sunscreen-filters mixture, and there isn't anything that differentiates it from the other 4 products I've already taken a look at. For what it's worth, the formulation doesn't differ much between the BB/CC cushions - just brand name, and packaging details.


6. The Face Shop Aura Color Control Cream SPF 30/PA++

The Face Shop is a popular Korean drugstore brand. I actually happen to really like their nail polishes because they have pretty colours with fairly good formula at not-ripoff prices. But of course, as a Korean beauty brand, they obviously have a CC compact product. Except that this is a little different. Instead of soaking the product in a sponge, and then putting the sponge in the casing, what The Face Shop has done is put the CC cream in a pump dispensing container, and then placing that container in a compact. So instead of dabbing your puff onto a CC-cream soaked sponge (which to be honest seems like it would get icky after a couple of uses to me), you press a button, and the CC cream gets pumped out, and then you take your puff and apply whatever is pumped out. Sounds a lot more sensible to me, packaging-wise!

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So that's for the packaging. The product itself claims to have anti-wrinkle/anti-aging benefits, and also promises a radiant and brighter skintone. But what about the ingredients? Once again, for the ingredients list, I'm relying on another blogger who has reviewed the product:

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One thing that struck me as weird about the ingredients list is the presence of "Oxygen". Really? Oxygen is an ingredient in skincare now? How about "air"? But anyway, oxygen aside, the main ingredients in the product yield a similar formula again - silicones (Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone, which is also a surfactant, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone), sunscreen filters (Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate), and solvents (Butylene Glycol). There are some skin-friendly ingredients, such as Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, the same oil we saw in both the Laneige and IOPE BB Cushion product, and Niacinamide, which is an ingredient often found in anti-aging creams and so on. There are also some plant extracts - tangerine peel and so on - in the product, but as they are the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th ingredient on the list, once again, I highly doubt they are there in amounts that would be effective. So I guess as far as substantiating claims go, having an oil that moisturizes the skin (Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate) and having ingredients like Niacinamide can justify a company marketing their product as anti-aging. But I wouldn't expect any anti-aging benefit from using the product, because the bulk of it is still the silicone-solvent-suncreen-filters mixture.


7. AmorePacific Color Control Cushion Compact Broad Spectrum SPF 50+

AmorePacific is the company that owns IOPE, Laneige, and Etude House, which could explain why all the formulas for all these BB/CC cushions don't differ that much. That said, it just seems that BB/CC cushions don't differ much by design - even brands that aren't owned by AmorePacific, such as The Face Shop or Elishacoy, also seem to have very similar formulas. I guess at the end of the day, all of them rely on the same few contract manufacturers to pump out their CC cushions. (If you'd like a bit more background on contract manufacturers in cosmetics, I do explain it a little in my post on Julep's DD Creme- another product which, in my opinion, seemed obviously made by a contract manufacturer). But let's take a look at the ingredients, and let the list speak for itself:

Active ingredients:
Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate: 7%, Titanium Dioxide: 4.15%, Zinc Oxide: 9.8%

Main inactive ingredients:
Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Alcohol, Arbutin, Lauryl Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Aluminium Hydroxide, etc.

I guess by now most of the list looks familiar to you. Silicones and silicone polymers (Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Peg-10 Dimethicone,Lauryl Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate/Dimethicone Methacrylate Copolymer, Phenyl Trimethicone), solvents (Butylene Glycol, Alcohol) and sunscreen filters (Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide). There are other functional ingredients like suspending agents (Polyhydroxystearic Acid), thickeners (Sodium Chloride) and opacifying agents included for colour (Aluminium Hydroxide). Again you know what some of those are. I don't have to explain too much of what they do because you already know. There is also Arbutin for whitening effect (by now you'll be familiar with it because quite a few other BB/CC Cushions use it too), and our good friend Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate the oil, but otherwise this is standard fare. AmorePacific does try to put a little twist on things with Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice. Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice is from bamboo, and while it sounds interesting, I've never seen any published research that indicates bamboo juice is helpful to skin - I personally wouldn't buy a product that had bamboo juice as its selling point. Otherwise, this isn't that different from your run-of-the-mill BB or CC Cushion.


8. IOPE Air Cushion Sunblock EX SPF50+/PA+++

Asian girls (including myself, I'll admit!) tend to be big, big consumers of sunscreen and whitening products. So if you're a company with a BB cushion out, why wouldn't you also modify it slightly and call it a sunscreen cushion? I guess it already makes sense, since most BB and CC creams have gratuitously high SPF values.

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But let's take a look at the ingredients list. Is it really any different from your normal IOPE BB Cushion that doesn't have a fancy "Sunblock EX" tag attached to it?

Main Ingredients:
WATER, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, ZINC OXIDE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE, LAURYL PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXY-ETHYL DIMETHICONE, ARBUTIN, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, MINERAL WATER, LIPASE, CHITOSAN, ACRYLATES/ETHYLHEXYL ACRYLATE/DIMETHICONE METHACRYLATE COPOLYMER, SODIUM CHLORIDE, etc.

As you can see, the name change is just that - a name change. There isn't very much difference in the formula. The same silicones and polymers are there (CYCLOPENTASILOXANE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, PEG-10 DIMETHICONE, ACRYLATES/ETHYLHEXYL ACRYLATE/DIMETHICONE METHACRYLATE COPOLYMER), the same UV filters are there (ZINC OXIDE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE), the same solvents are there (BUTYLENE GLYCOL), and even the same "claims ingredients" (ARBUTIN). There are some slight changes in formula - for example, LAURYL PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXY-ETHYL DIMETHICONE (a silicone) LIPASE (an enzyme) and CHITOSAN (an anti-irritant that was popular in skincare formulations circa 2005) are included in the IOPE Sunblock EX product but not the IOPE BB cushion. But by and large, I wouldn't expect a drastic difference between the two.


9. HERA UV Mist Cushion SPF50+/PA+++

Okay, you've put up with my ramblings on ingredients for 8 products. This is the 9th, and last. Yay for perseverance! If you've read up to here, you deserve a medal for patience! But don't get too comfy yet - there's still more work to be done after we finish looking at all 9 products!

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The Hera UV Mist Cushion advertises 5-in-1 benefits: makeup, moisture, sunscreen, whitening, and cooling - I guess that means a cooling sensation when applied. Other than a nice aesthetic feeling I'm not too sure what skincare benefits this brings about given that our body temperature is fairly constant at 36.9 degrees Celsius. But let's look at the main ingredients:

Main Ingredients:
Sea Silt Extract, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Phenyl Trimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol, Arbutin, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Dimethicone, Myrciaria Dubia Fruit Extract, etc.
(Credit for ingredients list translation to Agath Blog.)

And there we go. Similar sunscreen filters (Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate), same silicones (Cyclopentasiloxane, Phenyl Trimethicone, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Dimethicone), same solvents (Butylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol). Also, the same emollient oils (Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate), and the same whitening ingredient (Arbutin). So yes, there isn't anything particularly novel about the Hera UV Mist Cushion other than the Sea Silt Extract (which is an ingredient most famously espoused by La Mer, that most overpriced of skincare). While having minerals from sea rock and sea soil being put on your face sounds glamourous, I've never actually seen any published research that shows sea silt to be helpful to skin. On the bright side, at least it seems to be the main ingredient in the UV Mist Cushion, so if you do want to buy the product for the sea silt it has inside, you can rest assured that the product does indeed contain sea silt.


We've reached the end of our ingredients analysis! So what conclusions can we draw?

I'd say three fair conclusions are:

1. The ingredients in BB and CC cushions can irritate some skin types.

While most people shouldn't have an issue with the ingredients we looked at, some people's skins are sensitive to silicones. If that's the case, then given how silicone-heavy BB cushions and CC cushions are, it's probably best to avoid such products. Also, some people may be sensitive to chemical sunscreen filters. Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate is a chemical sunscreen filter that is used a lot in BB and CC cushions, so if your skin doesn't take well to it, again, it would be wise to avoid it.

2. There is no difference between "regular" BB/CC creams and BB/CC cushions. Most BB/CC cushions also have very similar ingredients.

As we've seen, the same silicones, solvents, and sunscreen filters are used across almost all the BB/CC cushions and "regular" BB/CC creams. If you look at my ingredients analysis of BB and CC creams, you'll see much the same ingredients appearing there, too. The only real difference is in the packaging - and, more importantly for companies, in the marketing. So if you've got a BB or CC cream in a traditional tube form, and you're wondering if you should upgrade because you think the formula in a BB/CC cushion is better, then my advice to you is: don't. There isn't any significant difference in formula between the two.

Another thing is that since most BB and CC cushions have very similar ingredients, buying a more expensive brand doesn't necessarily give you a better formula - in fact, if our analysis on the formulas we've looked at is anything to go by, you're really just paying more for the brand name, fancier casing, and maybe a fancy puff. If you were to choose by formula instead of brand name, you could potentially save quite a bit of money. Unless, of course, the puff or casing matters to you.

3. The ingredients in BB and CC cushions are no different from regular silicone-based tinted moisturizers and foundations.

I've already covered this in my ingredients analysis of BB and CC creams, so I won't belabour the point. But it does make sense. BB and CC creams, to begin with, aren't formulated very differently from silicone-based tinted moisturizers or silicone-based foundations. So of course, since there is virtually no difference between BB/CC cushions and BB/CC creams, of course it follows that the formulation of BB and CC cushions is similar to that of regular silicone-based foundations and tinted moisturizers.

So it was no surprise to me that, in the course of doing my ingredients research, I came across quite a few "regular" non-BB-or-CC products with very similar formulations, such as tinted moisturizers, foundations, and primers. In fact, any company could take some of their existing products, put it into a compact and call it a BB cushion or a CC cushion, and noone would be none the wiser. It really just goes to show that the "BB" and "CC" tag is just a marketing differentiator for companies, and not a real indication of formula differences. I've already gone through some similar ones in the course of my ingredients analysis, but here are some more additional products I came across with remarkably similar formulas:

Almay Clear Complexion Liquid Makeup for Oily Skin

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: Salicylic Acid 0.6%

OTHER INGREDIENTS: Aqua ((Water) Eau), Cyclomethicone, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Nylon-12, Boron Nitride, Talc, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Sodium
Chloride, Alumina, Methoxypropylgluconamide, Panthenol, etc.

The usual soup of silicones, polymers and solvents are at work here. No sunscreen filters, though.

Colour Me Beautiful Skin Primer:

Main Ingredients:
AQUA,CYCLOPENTASILOXANE,CYCLOHEXASILOXANE, GLYCERIN, MICA, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, ISONONYL ISONONANOATE, POLYGLYCERYL-3 OLEATE, CERA ALBA, PROPYLENE GLYCOL DICAPRYLATE/DICAPRATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, SODIUMCHLORIDE, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, DIMETHYLPOLYSILOXANE, etc.

This is a primer, so it doesn't have the same level of pigments that the BB/CC products do, but otherwise, the silicone-and-solvents combination works here too. And below, we have a couple of foundations that have very similar silicone-based formulas.

Revlon PhotoReady Makeup:

Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (1.1%), Zinc Oxide (2.0%).

Other Ingredients:
Aqua ((Water) Eau), Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Boron Nitride, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Nylon-12, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllac Tone Crosspolymer, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Alumina, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, etc.

A very similar list, from your typical silicone-based drugstore foundation.

Collection Colour Match Foundation:

Main Ingredients:
Aqua, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Isododecane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Cetyl PEG/PPG 10/1 Dimethicone, Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Bezophenone-3, Phenyl Trimethicone, Isononyl Isononanoate, Tribehenin, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Triethylhexanoin, etc.

Collection Cosmetics is a UK-based drugstore brand. Again, you see much of the same use of silicones, polymers, solvents, and sunscreen filters. This will probably feel a little heavier than the BB/CC cushion products, but there isn't too much difference in formula.

Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Radiant Firming Makeup:

Active Ingredients: Octinoxate (4.5%)

Main Inactive Ingredients: Water, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Talc, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Tribehenin, Dimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Magnesium Sulfate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, etc.

Another one from a drugstore brand. This is Maybelline, and although it doesn't have as much sun protection as the BB/CC cushion products, it also has pretty similar emulsifiers, silicones, solvents, and the like. And below, the last one is from an indie brand, Helen E, which doesn't have sun protection, but has a similar formula. I suspect that with the Beeswax and so on, it might feel a bit heavier than the BB/CC cushions, but the formula again isn't very different.

Helen E Cosmetics Stage Ultimate Performance Liquid Foundation:

Main Ingredients:
Cyclopentasiloxane, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene glycol, Nylon-12, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Dimethicone, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Glycerin, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetyl demethicone, Beeswax, Phenyl Trimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Tocopheryl Acetate, Panthenol etc.

So as you can see, some of the available products that you can get from your local drugstore aren't very different from a BB or CC cushion product. So particularly with the more expensive BB cushions and CC cushions, I don't really think you're paying for the formula, since this type of silicone-heavy formula is available in several drugstore brands. If you're buying a BB or CC cushion for the perceived formula improvement, I'm afraid you're probably overpaying.


So the only difference is in the packaging. Is the change in packaging really worth it?

So if you're not paying for the formula, then what are you paying for? Simply put, the packaging. Which leave us the question: is it worth buying a product that has only undergone a change in packaging? The answer is, as with most real life questions, mixed, because there are both pros and cons.

The pros: applying an even layer of BB/CC cream on your face.

Let's start with the pros. The change in packaging means that instead of a tube of BB cream, you have a sponge in a compact, and the sponge is soaked in your BB/CC cream of choice. And you don't apply the BB/CC cream with fingers, but with a puff, which in some cases is made of polyurethane. The magic here is not so much in the sponge or compact, but really in the polyurethane puff. When you press the polyurethane puff into the soaked sponge, tiny pores in the polyurethane puff get filled with small droplets of BB cream. And when you press the puff onto your face, the BB cream liquid is squeezed out of the polyurethane material and onto your skin. And you get a nice, even layer of BB cream on your face.

So this may be better for you, if an even application of BB cream is what you want. So if you've been struggling with the application of BB/CC creams, and you find yourself applying too thick or uneven a layer when you use your fingers or normal foundation brush but you otherwise like the formula, then yes, a change in packaging will be helpful for you. So under such circumstances, it would be worth your while to shell out for your very own BB cream in a compact. Not all of the BB/CC cushions come with a polyurethane puff, though, so as you shop around for your ideal BB/CC cushion product, it's probably good to take the puff into consideration, too.

The cons: the icky factor. And there is a lot less product in a cushion than in a traditional tube.

One of the things that I didn't really like about the sponge-and-puff packaging of the BB/CC cushions is that they seemed to get icky very fast after a couple of uses. The polyurethane puff accumulates product after awhile (although not as much as a normal makeup sponge), and of course the sponge that holds the reservoir of BB or CC cream will get germy and icky after awhile. While most brands sell refills for both, there doesn't seem to be a way to clean the sponge holding the reservoir of BB cream on a consistent basis. This is a pretty big turn-off for me, to be honest. I prefer the packaging of The Face Shop's Aura Color Control Cream, which instead of a sponge, has a pump mechanism that you can activate by pressing a button. It dispenses only a bit of CC cream that way, and seems more hygienic to me.

Another con, which has also been discussed in the comments below, is that the price-to-amount-of-product-you-get ratio is really lousy with BB cushions. Most BB creams I see in the market have about 30-45ml, or about 1-1.5oz of product, but the BB cushions I've seen have around 15-20g of product, or about 0.5-0.7oz of product. You are getting around half the amount of product in a cushion versus a tube, although it doesn't look like it because the cushion takes up space in the compact. Unfortunately, the price of a BB cushion isn't half that of a BB cream in a tube! I suppose some of this lack of value-for-money is offset by the fact that with a puff applicator, you might conceivably use less - the puff is supposed to give you a thinner, more even layer of product on your skin. But still, I dislike it when brands give you less product, if they don't decrease the prices. I guess in this case, you really are literally paying for the packaging and the puff!

TL;DR, so should I get the darn BB cushion thing I've been looking at or not?

Well, the short answer is - if you're looking for a formula improvement, then I'd advise you to save your money, and stick to your usual BB or CC cream, or for that matter, your existing silicone-based foundation or tinted moisturizer that you're comfortable with. Truth be told, the formula isn't the novel thing, and with cushions rather than tubes, you're actually getting about half the amount of product than before. The packaging is what is really being sold here, in particular, the polyurethane puff that applies an even layer of BB/CC cream on your face. So if it is the packaging you want, and if you can get over the idea of having a slightly icky spongy reservoir of BB cream, then you would probably like the product.