When it comes to makeup application, it’s always important to keep your skin care in mind. Before covering any blemishes or dark spots, you should first apply a serum, cream or gel to treat the issue. Mixing your foundation and skin care could be an option, but luckily an easier solution was created. A few years ago, BB creams made their way into the American market and have been a savior to many women as the makeup and skin care duo works to nurture skin while providing coverage. Since then, there have been CC, DD (daily defense) and even EE (even effect) creams hitting shelves that all sound more like bra sizes than something that should be applied to your face.
BB is short for beauty balm (blemish balm, beauty benefit and everything else), but today, we’re going to focus on CC, which stands for color correctors. The best CC creams are formulated to correct any skin discolorations, such as hyperpigmentation, post-acne scars, sunspots, redness and sallow tones. Since CC creams were created to give skin an overall even tone and texture, there are a number of formulas with anti-aging benefits, such as pore refinement, firming, fine line- and wrinkle-reducing and tone enhancement. If you have yet to try a CC cream and aren’t sure if it is for you, be mindful that there are many formulas for a range of skin concerns and they’ll always be one that caters to yours.
CC creams and other tinted moisturizers should be used by anyone looking to take a break from foundation, but still wants a bit of coverage. Unlike some BB creams, the best CC creams are more lightweight and have a silkier texture, making it suitable for all skin types. They’re also available in a number of shades ranging from fair to dark, making it a product for all skin tones. All CC creams range in coverage from light to full and all can be applied alone or under foundation.
Before brands jumped on the tinted moisturizer wagon, it was almost impossible to find a CC cream in your shade and one that addressed your skin concern. Now, there are a number of brands delivering new formulas. To see which CC cream was created for you, shop the 14 best CC creams from this year to get glowy, even, smooth skin this season.
[ Next: CC Cream vs. BB Cream: Which Miracle Product Should You Be Using? ]
These 11 CC Creams Are the Secret to Glowing Skin
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CLE Cosmetics
CCC Cream, $31 at CLE Cosmetics
Not just a CC cream, but a CCC cream, this multifunctional skin care-meets-makeup product provides primer, protection and coverage in one fell swoop. Available in five shades from light to deep, not to mention equipped with micro-capsule technology to blend seamlessly into skin, you're sure to find your perfect match.
One customer who rated this product five stars said, "Best for the no-makeup makeup look! It’s super lightweight and hydrating for my skin. I first tried it at the beauty convention and instantly fell in love with it. I’d say it’s great for both oily and dry skin. So happy with my purchase."
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IT Cosmetics
Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream With SPF 50+, $38 at Sephora
This best-selling, award-winning, color-correcting cream provides full coverage and SPF 50 protection for a locked and loaded visage all day long. Available in seven shades, you're sure to find a shade that pairs well with your skin tone.
Meredith2495 on Sephora said, "Great for everyday use! I like a little more coverage and this covers everything in one product, even if I don’t put on concealer it covers imperfections very well. Most days I wear it like a foundation, but it’s better than your average foundation because it isn’t drying and doesn’t get caked up even using a setting powder, blush, highlighter, and setting spray on top. On weekends I wear it alone only where needed and it looks very natural and blurs imperfections well giving a nice glow. The added SPF has been great to wear through the summer and it isn’t greasy like some creams with added SPF are. My only complaint would be there aren’t enough shades to choose from and I’m very pale so I have to be sure to blend it into my neck a bit or I have a line. Overall, I LOVE this product."
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Supergoop!
CC Cream Daily Correct Broad Spectrum SPF 35+ Sunscreen, $32 at Sephora
Everyone's favorite sunscreen brand has found unique ways to tie the full coverage protection into a complexion-perfecting cream. The result? This color-correcting, moisturizing mineral makeup that camouflages flaws and imperfections without weighing skin down.
Lenefg on Sephora gave this product a five-star review, saying, "I love this CC cream, it has amazing coverage, great SPF and amazing staying power even in the super hot Miami weather. The only downside is that I have to mix the fair to light with the light to medium to get my perfect match, which I don't mind. This product doesn't break me out and it doesn't cake up."
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Smashbox
Camera Ready CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Dark Spot Correcting, $42 at Sephora
If you want to look picture-perfect (and who doesn't?), you'll love this skin-perfecting CC cream that color corrects, diminishes the appearance of acne scars and brightens skin for a more radiant-looking complexion. Um, yes, please!
One Sephora customer who titled her review "Can't Live Without" said, "Smashbox CC Cream is a revelation! Light and airy yet still with the coverage that I need and want. Does not crease or cake and always looks fresh!"
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Clinique
Moisture Surge CC Cream Hydrating Colour Corrector Broad Spectrum SPF 30, $39 at Sephora
If you love the look of makeup, but typically feel dried out, you'll love how hydrating this must-have color corrector is. The oil-free formula glides on smoothly to combat everything from dullness and sallowness to redness and scarring.
Sephora customer dtex considers this product to be a real winner saying, "I've been using this for about 2 years and I'm 50. Let me tell you, it's all I use – no concealer or anything else. It is a primer and it evens out everything. Love it! It has improved the texture of my skin and it is not heavy feeling. People say I look like I'm in my late 30s so I guess it works!!! Plus it has sunscreen!"
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Giorgio Armani Beauty
Luminessence CC Color Control Bright Moisturizer SPF 35, $55 at Sephora
Lightweight? Check. Brightening? Check. Energizing? Check. Hydrating? Check. Color correcting? Check. What more could you want in a CC cream?
In her five-star Sephora review, URFabulous22 said, "Exactly as described. Very light coverage, but went on great and the SPF is needed! The description is perfect."
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Juice Beauty
Stem Cellular CC Cream, $39 at Ulta Beauty
Most CC creams work to color correct and hydrate, this product, however, goes far beyond that. Ideal for all skin types, especially those showing the signs of aging, this 12-in-1 CC cream comes in five shades and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, provides broad spectrum SPF, evens skin tone, smooths uneven texture, creates a radiant finish, infuses skin with antioxidants and hydrates, among other skin-perfecting benefits.
One Ulta Beauty customer who gave this product a five-star review said, "I couldn't be happier with this CC cream. I have tried so many kinds of BB and CC creams only to have my face break out. For a couple of years now I've used this in the Natural shade and felt it was just a tad light on me. But at the time there were fewer shades to pick from, and Warm was too dark for me. I just bought the Desert Glow shade and it is just perfect for me! This, along with the Antioxidant Serum at night and the Exfoliating Cleanser and Stem Cellular Anti-Wrinkle Booster serum in the a.m. is working out extremely well. (And I was never one to commit to keeping my skin care regimen confined to one brand.) Something else exciting: I caught a glimpse of my face in the rearview mirror this morning on the way to work, and it actually was 'glowing', something I would hear others talk about but never could achieve! I am 53, had oily skin that is now combo and have hormonal breakouts with some rosacea. Juice Beauty products have calmed down my upset skin - extremely pleased!!
BOTTOM LINE: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend."
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Olay
Total Effects CC Cream, $19.99 at Target
Oftentimes we think that the best makeup products come from high-end stores, but, believe it or not, you can find quality CC creams at the drugstore, too. Take this SPF 15 tone-correcting cream for example. Designed to visibly smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while providing a healthy-looking radiance, you're sure to fall in love with the pretty, protected visage this affordable beauty buy makes possible.
This CC cream is so good that one Ulta Beauty user, Teresa from Hueytown, Alabama who gave it a five-star review, provided six pros — from application to texture — and zero cons. That says it all, doesn't it?
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Lune+Aster
CC Cream, $48 at Bluemercury
While many CC creams provide hydration, few are formulated with the ultimate hydration ingredient, hyaluronic acid. This one, however, is. Along with seabuckthorn, this ultra moisturizing product protects, corrects and covers while ensuring that skin looks healthy and hydrated.
One Bluemercury customer gave this product a five-star review and said that this award-winning product is "such a great everyday base. It covers well without being thick and cakey, and provides coverage and protection without clogging pores or causing breakouts." Talk about a heavenly makeup product!
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Glossier
Perfecting Skin Tint, $26 at Glossier
While this product isn't labeled a CC cream, the description says otherwise. Designed to even out discoloration while toning, smoothing and refining overall texture and radiance, it's clear to see this must-have beauty product for what it is. Available in five super sheer shades, you can take your pick to see for yourself.
One Glossier customer who gave this product a five-star review said, "One word: wow. Honestly? It's probably the best skin tint on Earth. I had to ask my lovely friend from the UK to buy it for me and I don't regret it at all (not even waiting one month to receive it). First of all it matches my skin colour: I have pink undertones and even though the tint is yellowish, it perfectly matches. Second, it evened out some discoloured patches I had on my face! Puff! Gone! I'm a brand new person with a brand new face. Of course the coverage is not 100% (I mean, it's a skin TINT. Not a foundation) but it helps evening out the skin. It covers some of my smaller pimples, blackheads became barely visible, and (some) acne scars too. As the description says, '[...]leaves your face looking toned, smooth, and dewy'. Yes, yes, yes, absolutely true! Overall I'm incredibly happy and if you're a person who has cystic acne like me and doesn't want to wear heavy foundations and let the skin BREATHE, I totally recommend it. Grazie mille Glossier!"
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La Roche-Posay
Rosaliac CC Cream, $38.99 at DermStore
Hydrate, protect, prime and perfect in one simple step with this weightlessly creamy CC cream. Designed to conceal imperfections, this product is great for all skin types, especially people with rosacea and free radical damage.
One DermStore user who gave this must-try cream a five-star review said, "This is a really great primer/moisturizer/foundation. It has all that and it doesn't make my skin too oily which is fantastic because it is oil prone. The tone is a bit darker than my skin tone (I have fair skin, rosy colored) but I usually use a very light coat of foundation over it or powder and it blends well.
I really like that it evens my skin tone, protects from the sun and moisturizes all while not making me break out. Def give it a try!"
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Pacifica
Ultra CC Cream Radiant Foundation, $18 at Pacifica
This intelligent CC cream is a medium coverage tinted foundation with 100 percent physical SPF protection and skin care benefits. It illuminates and perfects with specially adapted color-correcting reflective minerals that adjust to your own skin shade. An innovative formula with a bevy of natural beneficials, including coconut, kelp and ginseng.
"Exactly what I was looking for! I have really rosy cheeks and oily skin. Makes my face feel clean and covers up the redness while still feeling like I’m not wearing makeup at all," one customer said in a five-star rating of the product.
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PÜR
CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 40, $38 at DermStore
PÜR CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 40 is a smooth formula that moisturizes, brightens, primes and camouflages complexion flaws. Formulated with DERMAPUR HP, it helps improve clarity and correct skin's appearance. SPF protection ensures your skin stays protected during sun exposure to prevent early signs of aging.
One customer with dark, acne-prone skin gave this CC cream a five-star rating saying, "I use my CC cream as a primer for my powder foundation. It gives me a beautiful sun kissed look."
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By Terry
Cellularose Moisturizing CC Cream, $87 at DermStore
By Terry Cellularose Moisturizing CC Cream combines pure botanical technology with a color-control concentrate to act as both a nourishing face cream and an illuminating makeup primer. The subtly tinted formula blurs imperfections and adapts to each and every complexion to enhance your natural skin tone. Your complexion is instantaneously unified, protected, luminous, smoothed and plumped.
One review raved, "I bought this as a light cover on top of my moisturizer and love it. Not heavy, but light. Does a great job of helping even out the redness of my skin tone."
