Missha M Signature Real Complete BB Cream Review
February 22, 2013 | Asian Makeup, BB/CC Cream, Makeup, Reviews
A couple of weeks ago, when Missha was having that big sale, I bought a lot of things. Possibly too many things. I don’t regret it one bit. Missha certainly appreciated it – they included a free, full sized M Signature Real Complete BB Cream in shade #23 with my order. It was a promotion they were doing for their anniversary, and it was a generous one. This Korean BB Cream retails for $46 on the Missha website.
The packaging for M Signature BB Cream is absolutely beautiful. It utilizes the same tube & pump concept as the Perfect Cover BB Cream, but the M Signature has a much sturdier tube. The tube itself is a metallic mauve gradient color, and it’s embossed with the flower design featured on the whole M Signature product line.
Claims
This BB Cream promises even, natural looking coverage with moisturizing, skin nourishing properties, and SPF 25. It’s touted as being non-chemical, paraben-free, mineral oil-free, alcohol-free, GMO-free, triclosan-free, and benzophenone-free. Because it’s formulated without those controversial ingredients, it’s marketed as Missha’s “hypoallergenic” BB Cream, and safe for sensitive skin.
M Signature BB Cream has a lot of nice actives. Here are a few that jumped out at me when I read the whole ingredients list:
Ginkgo Biloba – UV damage protectant, antioxidant
Squalene – hydrating, softening protectant
Ceramide 3 – moisturizer, skin barrier strengthener
Ginseng Extract – brightener, oil balancer
Licorice Root Extract – anti-inflammatory, antioxidant
Pumpkin Extract – Vitamin A, alpha-hydroxy acid/exfoliant
There were many more – too many to list here. This BB cream has a lot of beneficial skincare ingredients, which is really what makes a BB cream a BB cream and not a foundation or tinted moisturizer.
In addition to the many skincare actives, there are also some ingredients that made me worry. This product has dimethicone listed multiple times in its list of ingredients. For most people, dimethicone is harmless, and can even be beneficial– it’s a silicone designed to prevent water loss through the skin. It also protects the skin from environmental factors and provides glide to help products slide over the face more easily. For silicone sensitive people like myself, dimethicone can cause irritation and clogged pores.
Performance
The consistency of M Signature Real Complete is definitely runnier than Missha Perfect Cover. It’s also a bit thinner than Skin79 VIP Gold. It smooths over my face very easily and is extremely easy to work with. I was able to blend it in with my fingers with no streaking. I covered my entire face with a little more than a pea-sized amount.
This is my bare hand.
This is my hand after applying M Signature BB Cream.
Like all BB creams, it has a grayish cast when first applied, but oxidizes into its true color after a few minutes. It turns out #23 is my perfect color match (which I suspected when Missha Perfect Cover #21 was just a titch too light). The coverage is medium with a natural, dewy finish, which I happen to prefer. I know a lot of people like a matte finish – for that I needed to add some translucent powder. It was enough to even out my skin tone and cover some of the acne scars I have on my left cheek.
This makeup lasts for about 7 hours before I need to think about touching it up, which is pretty remarkable. The touch-up at the 7 hour mark isn’t even absolutely necessary, but I was about to go out and wanted to look fresh.
This is my face with no foundation or BB cream.
Ahh! Too Dewy! I could butter toast with this face! This is just seconds after applying M Signature BB Cream. Don’t worry – the voltage on that shine goes way down after a few minutes.
This is what M Signature BB Cream looks like after I’ve been wearing it for about 30 minutes.
Verdict
Love at first smear! This is hands-down my favorite BB cream. It looks great, lasts a long time, and doesn’t irritate my skin at all. Thankfully, the dimethicone content in this product is not enough to trigger a reaction for me. I’ve been wearing this BB cream exclusively for over a week, and I haven’t experienced any weird bumps or clogged pores.
Because my skin is so dry, I wear a separate moisturizer underneath my BB creams. Sometimes that’s still not enough, but with M Signature BB Cream, my skin stayed moisturized all day. If you have dry skin, M Signature is perfect. I also read a lot of product reviews from those with oily skin who said this worked well for them too. The speculation was that it’s due to its thinner consistency.
M Signature Real Complete BB Cream comes in 3 shades – #13, #21, and #23. This is good news for very pale women – #13 is an extremely light shade. I know a lot of very fair people have a hard time finding a makeup shade light enough for their complexion. I think #13 would work for a lot of you porcelain skinned ladies. Shade #21 has a little more pigment, and will fit most fair completions. Shade #23 is ideal for medium-light skin tones. That one happens to be my perfect match, and I’m somewhere between NC20 and NC25. I think it could work for women up to NC30. Unfortunately, there are currently no deeper shades available for this BB cream, so anyone darker than NC30 will have a hard time with this.
This BB cream is a dream for me, and it has achieved the same status in my makeup collection as my Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation, and even my Diorskin Forever Flawless Foundation. I actually reach for M Signature more often than the other two because it’s easy and great for every day wear.
Where to Buy it
To avoid fakes, the safest place to get it is from the Missha website. It’s priced at $46, but Missha regularly has 30-50% off sales, which is a great time to pick this up. They already had their 40% anniversary sale earlier this month, but they will be having a Friends & Family event in March or April, which will be 30% off. I’ll definitely announce it on my Facebook page when that happens.
It’s worth mentioning that Missha VIPs get this BB cream and about 34 other products at a 50% discount all year round, bringing the M Signature price down to $23. To become a VIP, you have to spend $200 with them in a calendar year. You then have VIP status for the rest of that calendar year, plus the following year. Missha VIPs also get special gifts throughout the year, and access to new products before they launch.
If you’d rather not wait, but can’t swing the $46 price tag, there are a couple of sellers on the Amazon Marketplace that I know sell authentic Missha products. One of those sellers is Pink Gelee. Pink Gelee currently has this product listed for $19 plus $3 shipping. The other seller goes by A-Poly, and they currently have M Signature listed for $18 plus $4.40 shipping.
Skin & Tonics Rating:
Performance: 5/5 Great coverage, no irritation, moisturizing, long-lasting, beautiful dewy finish
Quality: 4/5 Lots of great skincare ingredients, free of alcohol, parabens, and mineral oils. Does contain dimethicone. Value: 5/5 Often on sale, but even at full price, you get a lot of product – most foundations give you 1 fl. Oz. but this product is 1.6 fl. Oz.
Overall: 4.5/5
Oh – speaking of Missha – have you entered my BB cream giveaway? You can enter at http://bit.ly/UMQEY4. One lucky winner will receive a brand new, full-sized, Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in shade #21! Winner will be randomly selected on March 1st, 2013, so get your entries in!
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Almost all BBs have silicones, and most will contain dimethecone, but if it’s not causing you problems not only is that awesome ^_^ but also it might point at another culprit as the problem.
Dimethecone is considered non-comedogenic (1/5) and non-irritating (0/5) but is often implicated instead of other ingredients (like comedogenic and irritating botanicals like algae [5/5, 4/5] or carrageenan [5/5, 2/5]) because it is a scary-sounding chemical.
I hope you continue to enjoy BBs without problems, they are so great, aren’t they?? I love them ^_^
It would be fantastic if my dimethicone reactions have actually been due to something else. I knew that dimethicone ranked very low as a comedogenic ingredient and irritant – but my clogged pores and weird bumps come on most often and most vehemently anytime I use silicone primers, many of which had few other ingredients. As a rule, I like occlusive moisturizers – vaseline on my face at night? Yes, please!
Anyway, I think you raise a good point. If I’m not getting a reaction from the dimethicone in this BB cream, then maybe I’ve been reacting to something else. One can hope!
I know you posted this a while ago (like, a year ago!) but I just had to second your opinion and throw my 2c in for anyone on the fence about this one – this is the best BB cream I have tried! Beautiful finish, amazing coverage, easy to apply, lasts well. I found Skin79 BB creams broke me out on my sensitive chin area AND looked a lot less natural and ‘skin-coloured’ (even after oxidising), but this one is nice and neutral.