I'd be lying if I said that everyday is a mega hyper inspiring blogging day. Sometimes I just really want to get work out of the way and/or attend to my other hobbies. Sometimes I don't feel like adding yet another beauty product review to the hundreds that this website already contains. I mean did you even notice that I've already written 2,210 posts in the last six years? I don't but sometimes I do notice.

Obviously I can't blog forever. Maybe I'll stop when I reach 5,000 and finally, truly feel that I've said all I can possibly say about the beauty industry. That's still some time in the future though! When I don't feel inspired, I try to be consistent instead. Inspiration is awesome to have but it won't sustain me and take me all the way to the top. Consistency, while dull and repetitive, is reliable. No one can't take it away from me except me.

Anyhoo, we're back to MAC Week. I have here the Prep + Prime Fortified Skin Enhancer SPF35 PA+++ (P1,450), a tinted sunscreen that has illuminating properties. This was a CC cream before CC creams were born. It's quite sheer but it brightens my complexion wonderfully!

This isn't a primer in the sense that it makes makeup stay on longer. It's really designed to correct complexions with certain issues like redness (Neutralize is recommended, a yellow), dullness (Adjust, a peach), and sallowness/yellowness (Illuminate, a lavender cream). I have Neutralize here and true enough it can tone down redness and keep my skin bright while at it.

BB creams and CC creams are easily available in the market. However, if you want to save a few bucks by simply re-purposing some beauty products you already have, then make your own! It will rock. You will probably be able to get a better shade match and a skin-beneficial product in the bargain.

It begs the question: why don't you just apply these things seperately and call it a day? That works too but it's a lot more time consuming. With a (home-made or store-bought) BB/CC cream, you can skip several steps in your routine!

So, I've decided to make a tutorial on how to make your own BB cream and CC cream. BB creams are technically mid-coverage bases with a lot of SPF and skincare properties thrown in. CC creams on the other hand are also beneficial to the skin but have sheerer, more illuminating coverage. To create one, all you need to do is tweak your DIY or store-bought BB cream. ;)

Let's get started!

These are the basic things you need. The beauty is that you don't have to use these exact same brands posted here! Just use skincare that works for you and your favorite liquid foundation. I will also include alternatives.

1. Moisturizer with SPF. It ain't a proper BB/CC cream without SPF. ;) If you use an SPF 50 cream, don't expect that number per application since it will already be diluted. What I used: Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defense SPF50 PA+++

It was only a matter of time before Etude House, the Korean beauty juggernaut, came out with their very own CC cream. I find it to be a unique product because unlike the other CC creams I've tried, this is a white cream with tiny pigment spheres! It's sheer but gives this glow-from-within finish, as if there's a softly lit light bulb trained on my face. Can't think of a better way to describe it!

The Etude House CC Cream in Glow is off-putting at first because it starts out very, very white, like a kabuki mask. But as I rub it starts to slowly blend in to my natural skin color. There's still a bit of whiteness due to the SPF30, but it's not obvious unless you flash a bright light. I love the finish; it's subtle enough that it's difficult to capture on camera! There is shimmer in the formula although it's very fine.

Here's a quick run down!

What I love about the product

• Its main purpose is to correct and care. It corrects the dullness and uneveness of my skin, while moisturizing and protecting it from the sun at the same time.
• Gives a soft focus, glow-from-within finish (with a bit of vigorous blending). It also sort of counteracts the yellowness of my skin, and gives it a more neutral tone - if that makes sense.
• This CC cream is an excellent makeup base!

Oh dear. Did you know that there would be a DD Cream coming out next month? It's from this nail polish brand called Julep. "DD" is supposed to stand for "Dynamic Do-All" since it has the skincare properties of BB cream with the color correction of CC cream. All I can say is - whatever.

When BB creams came out, people were truly astonished. There wasn't anything quite like it. Tinted moisturizers were the predecessors, but about seven years ago they came in very limited shades and textures. BB creams offered so much more - skincare actives that promise whitening, anti-aging, brightening, and a whole host of other desirable effects.

Tinted moisturizers gave us little more than a bit of coverage and moisture. BB creams promised to be preventive, and beneficial over time while providing much-needed coverage in an instant.

And then CC creams came to town.

Morning! So, I decided to do a Clinique Week because I've been receiving a lot of wonderful products from the brand lately. These are the latest releases so some of them might not be availble yet but you can ask your preferred counter to reserve. ;) To kick off the series, here's a review of something I've been using whenever I get the chance!

CC creams have brought a lot of confusion when they started popping out last year. What are they, really? Do you need them? It depends on your preference and skin type so there's no definite answer to that. But I can tell you that CC creams are specifically for color correction, with a focus on skincare rather than the cosmetic effect. CC creams are for treating and maintaining skin, not for covering it up the way BB creams would.

That said, I am loving the Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream (P1,850) because it is my ideal face base. I don't need to layer moisturizer and/or sunscreen, foundation, and powder on a day-to-day basis! I apply a generous amount on my skin, wait for it to dry, and voila - nice, primed skin that doesn't need layers of product to achieve.

Okay let me break that down in a neat list, before I degenerate into a raving maniac. :P

Why I LOVE the product

• It has this lightweight, non-greasy texture that melts on skin and somehow makes it look brighter. 

Remember when BB creams were obscure? When you had to wait four weeks for pre-ordered batch to arrive here? Those were savage days in beauty history. Lol. Now BB creams are everywhere, and so cheap you can get one for like P169 in a local drugstore. Most women have probably tried these multi-taskers - for who doesn't want the promise of sun protection, anti-aging, anti-blemish, whitening, and coverage in one nifty bottle?

But BB creams are old news. The next generation of complexion enhancers are here, and they are called CC Creams or Color Correction/ control creams. CC creams are supposed to primarily brighten skin and have more concentrated skincare benefits. They are to be more lightweight and oil-free, with heavier coverage than the average BB cream. The sun protection, anti-aging, and whitening features are still there, but expect lots of new fancy ingredients in the formula.

But wait a minute...BB creams are already doing exactly what CC creams promise to do!