These alphabet cream evolution first gained popularity in South Korea, and over the last decade have gained grown in popularity in Australia.

But what do all those letters stand for, and what benefits do these “alphabet creams” have on our skin?

BB Creams

BB cream, short for “blemish balm” or “beauty balm,” offers a multi-tasking beauty solution, combining skincare and makeup benefits like light coverage, hydration, and often SPF protection, a type of all-in-one product for daytime.

BB Cream benefits:

• Light coverage & natural finish: 

BB creams provide a sheer to light coverage, allowing your skin to breathe while evening out skin tone and minimizing imperfections for a natural, radiant look.

• Hydration & skincare benefits:

Many BB creams contain moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, along with antioxidants and vitamins, which can help to hydrate, brighten, and improve skin texture.

• SPF protection:

Some BB creams include SPF, offering sun protection and helping to prevent premature aging.

• Simplified routine:
BB cream can simplify your beauty routine by combining the functions of moisturiser, primer, foundation, and sunscreen into one product.

• Anti-aging

BB creams often contain anti-aging ingredients such as green tea and marine collagen.

• Suitable for all skin types.

CC CREAMS:

CC cream, short for “colour correcting” or “complexion correcting,” offers benefits like colour correction, hydration, and sun protection, all in one lightweight, natural-looking formula.

CC Cream benefits:

• Colour Correction:

CC creams are designed to neutralize skin imperfections like redness, dullness, and uneven skin tone using colour theory, with certain pigments neutralising specific colour issues.

• Skincare Benefits:

Many CC creams contain skincare ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and antioxidants, offering hydration and potentially anti-aging benefits.

• Sun Protection:
Many CC creams include broad-spectrum SPF to protect against harmful UVA and UVB rays.

• Lightweight Coverage:

CC creams provide a medium-to-full coverage that feels lightweight on the skin, offering a natural, “no makeup” look.

• Versatile:

They can be used in place of foundation or as a primer, and their coverage can be built up for a more customized look.

DD CREAMS:

DD cream, short for “daily defence” or “dynamic do-all,” is a hybrid product that combines skincare and makeup benefits, offering hydration, sun protection, colour correction, and anti-aging properties, often with medium to full coverage.

Benefits of DD creams:

Skincare benefits:

• Hydration: DD creams are formulated to provide moisture to the skin.

• Sun protection: many DD creams contain SPF to shield the skin from harmful UV rays.

• Anti-aging: they often include ingredients like antioxidants, peptides, and vitamins to combat signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles.

• Colour correction: DD creams can help to even out skin tone and address redness or sallowness.

Makeup benefits:

• Coverage: DD creams typically offer medium to full coverage, depending on the product.

• Flawless finish: they can help to create a smooth, even-looking complexion.

• All-in-one product: DD creams can be used as a moisturiser, primer, and tinted foundation, simplifying your skincare and makeup routine.

Other benefits:

• Protection from environmental factors: DD creams can help to protect the skin from pollution and other environmental stressors.

• Lightweight texture: many DD creams have a lightweight, breathable formula that feels comfortable on the skin.

• Suitable for all skin types: DD creams are often formulated to be suitable for various skin types, including sensitive skin.

So no matter the skin type there is an alphabet cream formulation to help address skin imperfections.

Healthy blood flow and efficient waste filtering are essential for glowing skin.

Poor circulation due to an undernourished or overloaded system can lead to various skin issues.

Avoiding toxins, supporting gut health, and stimulating lymphatic drainage to clear waste effectively are definite ways to improve your circulation.

By also implementing some of the suggestions below will improve circulation and pave the way for brighter, smoother skin.

How to deal with a pimple depends on what kind it is, but in general you should avoid picking pimples as that can lead to permanent scarring.

Acne is caused when excessive amounts of sebum form a blockage on the surface of the skin usually on the face, shoulders and back.
Cysts, blackheads and red pustules develop, which can lead to scarring if care is not taken.

Here’s what to do:

Whiteheads

If you have mostly whiteheads: use an over-the-counter medication with antibacterial properties.

Benzoyl Peroxide is a good option, because it also dries out the pimple.
Whiteheads are tough to leave alone.

If you get one you just can’t live with, take a washcloth and soak it in very hot water.

Gently press the hot washcloth to the pimple and repeat until the pimple opens itself and drains.

Blackheads

If you have mostly blackheads: Retinoids are great at exfoliating the pore, which is necessary for getting rid of blackheads or stopping them from occurring in the first place.

If you have a lot of blackheads that aren’t shrinking with a product, you might need to book in a spa facial and get them extracted.

If there are more than a few go to a dermatologist who is medically trained to perform a procedure called Microdermabrasion.

Deep Seated Pimples

If you have deep-seated pimples: These are the painful, red bumps that have no head at all.

If you suffer from this kind of acne, you should see a dermatologist because this acne is extremely hard to treat and will lead to scarring if not properly handled.

Ask your family GP to refer you to a dermatologist.

Conquering the zit zone is easy if you…

Stick to a good skincare routine (am & pm)

Eat a well-balanced diet

Drink 2 litres of water

Regular exercise for 30 minutes a day.

Tip #1 Calm Blotchy, Red Skin

Too many glasses of champagne coupled with standing in hot, crowded rooms can dehydrate you, which may lead to unsightly face blotchiness and redness the next day. 

When you are dehydrated, your wrinkles are more prominent, and any sweat or left-over party makeup can make you break out and irritate your skin.

To help minimize the chances of irritation, wash your face before going to bed, or at the very least, use a facial wipe. 

Even though you’re tired, do your best to follow up with a moisture-rich cream.

It takes less than a minute, and your skin will lose more moisture than usual if you don’t.

In the morning, treat your skin by exfoliating with a gentle scrub or apply a mask that contains alpha hydroxy acids, such as glycolic or lactic acid. 

The acids will gently remove the dead skin cells on the face and will help to even out your skin tone.

Tip #2 Soothe Red, Bloodshot Eyes

You know the saying: the eyes are the window to…just how hard you partied the night before.

Eye redness is a result of some dryness on the surface of the eye, because the rate at which you blink slows down when you drinking alcohol.

Also, blood circulation slows down, and there is dilation in the tiny veins in the clear membrane in the whites of the eyes so to avoid the tell-tale signs of fatigue, try over-the-counter eye drops like Visine.

Then, focus on brightening the eyes with makeup: apply a coat of mascara, and line the inner rim of the eyes with white eyeliner.

This tried-and-true trick makes the whites of the eyes brighter.

Tip #3 Camouflage Dark Circles

After a late night your eyes can look tired and red.

A night out with alcohol salty goods and little-to-no-sleep can make the skin around your eyes swollen.

When you’re dehydrated, your lymphatic system slows down which leads to fluid retention in the eye area.

Prevent dark under-eye circles and inflammation by drinking a glass of water before bed and sleeping with an extra pillow.

In the morning, you can also combat the swelling with a number of home remedies you can find in your kitchen: warm tea bags, cold cucumber slices, cold spoons from your fridge, or cotton rounds soaked in green tea.

Caffeinated tea removes the puffiness better than herbal tea, but if you don’t have any, use what you have in your house.

Place the treatment of your choice on your eyes for 5 to 10 minutes, then apply your eye cream.

Tip #4 Quench dry lips

Many women don’t pay enough attention to the lips, which can dry out and flake when you drink too much alcohol.

It’s much easier to prevent dry lips than spend weeks trying to fix them so regularly use lip balms that contain rich hydrators such coconut oil or shea butter to keep lips moisturised.

If the damage is done, use the same tactic as you would for the skin on the rest of your body: gently scrub off the dead skin with a lip scrub (or warm washcloth), then follow with a lip mask for added moisture.

In the morning, apply a lip balm on the lips first, then do the rest of your makeup and finish with your lip colour.

This will give your lips some time to absorb the moisturiser and look softer and plumper before you apply your lip colour.

Tip #5 Tame messy hair

Even when boho chic style was popular back in the early 90’s, matted, tangled hair never looked good.

Messy bed hair is another sad side effect of too much partying, and only emphasizes your walk of shame but also how tired you look.

Sidestep the problem altogether with an updo the night before, and curl your hair before pinning it up.

Wearing an updo helps keep you cooler when you’re dancing, and you can recycle it without looking like a train wreck the next day.

In the morning, repurpose the volume from the curls into a low side ponytail. It’s clean and simple, any stray hairs can be tamed with a little hairspray.

If you’ve worn your hair loose, prevent the dreadded bedhead look by brushing it with a boar-bristle brush.

Simply start from the ends of the hair and working your way up to the roots, then put it in a loose ponytail before turning in for the night.

Tip #6 Erase Bad Hair Smells

Your hair can serve as a distracting reminder of a long night if it reeks of sweat, or cigarette smoke, which is another dead giveaway .

If you’re too strapped for time to wash your hair, spray on a dry shampoo such as Batiste Dry Shampoo, which freshens hair with the scents of Berry and vanilla.

Give your hair a new lease of life with added body and texture between washes, whenever you need it.

After spritzing, run a blow-dryer through the hair for a couple of minutes to air out your hair.