L'egere White Multi Blemish Balm Cream vs. Skin79 DermaRX BB Cream

Since I prefer BB cream over foundation, I finally caved and purchased the L'egere White Multi BB Cream, which has been given rave reviews by various beauty bloggers. You can find this BB cream on ebay by searching "Legere BB Cream" or at websites like imomoko.com and bobodave.com. It usually retails for about $27.00 USD and up, and comes in a 1.69 fl oz tube. This BB cream is made in Korea and very popular in Taiwan (recommended by the show Nu Ren Wo Zui Da). This post is a comparison of the L'egere White Multi BB Cream against Skin79 DermaRX Beblesh Balm. You can read my initial post about the Skin79 DermaRX BB Cream or an intro to BB creams in general here.

I found out that l'egere, or légère in French, means light. And I am not surprised that this name was chosen for the brand because of this bb cream's relatively short list of ingredients.

L'egere White Multi Blemish Balm Cream Ingredients:
Arbutin, Cyclomethicone, Jojoba oil, Polyglyceyl-4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Beeswax, Tocopheryl acetate, Propylparaben, Sorbitan sesquioleate, Petrolatum, Titanium Dioxide/Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)/Dimethicone, Glycerin, Butylene glycol, Magnesium sulfate, Methylparaben, Sodium hyaluronate, Marine collagen, Rose water, Centella asiaticacosides, Water, Fragrance.

On the other hand, Skin79 definitely contains more ingredients...some beneficial, and some which have scared people off from trying it. I thought it was interesting how both products use the same mineral pigment shades, but that Skin79 comes out with a greyish cast.

Skin79 Derma RX Beblesh Balm SPF 15 Ingredients:
Water, Beeswax, Butylparaben, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1-Dimethicone, Sorbitan Isostearate, Calcium Stearate, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Silica, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Cyclomethicone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Titanium Dioxide, Talc, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, Phenyl Trimethicone, Arbutin, Methylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Allantoin, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Butylene Glycol, Caviar Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria)Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Acetyl Hexapeptide-3, Ubiquinone, Fragrance.

Anyway, Skin79 makes a ton of different BB creams, while L'egere only has the White Multi Blemish Balm and the Shiny Pearl Blemish Balm. It can be hard to choose the right Skin79 BB cream, especially for those of us who do not live in Asia and have limited access. I bought the DermaRX Beblesh version nearly two and a half years ago and have stayed faithful to it since. Skin79 was one of the first brands to make BB cream, and the DermaRX is one of their first launches. It might be safe to guess that the DermaRX BB cream was the first one they ever formulated since it's so basic. On the other hand, L'egere is much more recent. Since Skin79 was one of the first to make BB cream, you could say their brand has more expertise. However, a recent brand like L'egere can benefit from understanding the flaws or mistakes other BB Creams have and come up with new ingredients or technology for a better formula.

Anyway, enough speculation. On to fundamentals--what are their actual differences?

Consistency, Texture
L'egere and Skin79 are both very creamy going on, but Skin79 is definitely thicker. They both feel like moisturizers rather than foundation.

Scent
Skin79 smells pretty medicinal. I described it before as a kaolin clay type of smell, others have noted it smells like tea tree oil. The L'egere smells very faint, but like rosewater and ginger and white tea. It smells very similar to the Dior HydrAction moisturizer I reviewed a couple posts down.

Blendability
L'egere is easier to blend onto the skin because it is less thick. You can make Skin79's easier to blend by adding some of your favorite daytime moisturizer. I mentioned before in my earlier post that my personal favorite is Oil of Olay Complete SPF 15.
However, if you use a sunscreen that dries matte underneath your makeup like I do, you may find that both BB creams are not very easy to blend. Whether this is a good thing or not depends on your skin type.

Color, Pigmentation
As my skin has gotten lighter, I do notice that Skin79 has a bit of greyish cast to my skin after initial application. When I was darker, this did not bother me so much. I would recommend Skin79 to MAC skin tones NC25 and above only. It seems to have cool or neutral undertones.
L'egere comes out a bit dark from the tube but matches my skin tone after I spread it out. The shade looks somewhat tan, and has a warmer undertone as opposed to Skin79. The L'egere actually works for MAC skin tones NC15 and up.

Oxidization, Shine
I do not get any oxidization with Skin79 at all, but I do notice a little oxidization with L'egere on my T-zone between my eyebrows. The amount of oxidization really depends on the products you use underneath the BB cream. For me, the L'egere actually oxidizes more over a matte sunscreen than a regular moisturizer. With a matte sunscreen, my combination skin does not get oily. However, if I use normal moisturizer, my T-zone gets oily. The L'egere creases into the little lines underneath my eyes a little bit sometimes, I have to apply it very carefully there.

Beneficial ingredients
Skin79's DermaRX is SPF 15, while L'egere White Multi does not specify its SPF, even though it claims to have sun protection.
Skin79 contains arbutin, adenosine, caviar extract, Nano-Coenzyme Q10, and other great ingredients (will post them if I find my box)
L'egere contains arbutin, jojoba oil, Tocopheryl acetate (Vitamin E), sodium hyaluronate (hylauronic acid), marine collagen, rose water

Coverage, Finish, Skin Type
Skin79 provides a matte finish. It is very pigmented. I like this BB cream very much because it can also double up as a concealer since it is so pigmented (very good coverage), and it always makes my skin look smooth no matter what problems it is going through (flakiness, acne, etc.) without being cakey. This is very important because I have combination skin that tends to extremes--it can be super oily or dry.
L'egere provides a slightly less matte finish. It cannot double up as a concealer and provides light to light-medium coverage. It does tend to crease or cake a little around dry patches if you use a matte sunscreen underneath. With a more moisturizing sunscreen, L'egere has a more glowy finish. This BB cream looks best on me when I have smooth, problem free skin. I think L'egere would work better for people who do not suffer from much acne or dryness, but again, the finish would really depend on what you use to moisturize and protect your skin underneath.

Pores
Although Skin79 claims to be anti-microbial, it actually does seem to clog my pores a bit. I notice little bumps appearing from time to time with this, though nothing bad like with Skinfood BB creams, which really clogged my pores.
This is where L'egere really wins. This product does not clog my pores at all! It's like applying moisturizer on the skin, not makeup. I'm guilty of falling asleep a couple of times with it on, and my skin did not break out. This is perfect for work days or finals period when I have to pull all nighters.
Both products made my pores look smaller, but Skin79 does a better job at concealing them.

VERDICT
Both products have their pros and cons. Personally, I find that I get the best result with these products by using them in conjunction. I use the L'egere as a foundation, and then apply the Skin79 as a concealer on any of my blemishes, redness, and underneath the eyes. The combination works pretty well and it doesn't look like my skin has multicolored foundation at all. Skin 79 does have more versatility than L'egere because the pigmentation is so concentrated, though, and it leaves a great finish when mixed with moisturizer or a light sunscreen (not matte, but hydrated and radiant).
I think that people who have uneven skin (acne, dry patches) should go for Skin 79, and people who only have pigmentation problems (scars, unevenness, dark circles) should go for L'egere.

If you have any questions, please comment or email and I will respond as best I can.


On a side note, does anyone want to swap BB creams with me? I have Skinfood Aloe Shade #1 and Skinfood Mushroom Shade #2. I only swatched the Aloe, but I used about half of the Mushroom. I don't want to throw them away because that'd be a waste, and I know a lot of people actually like Skinfood. I've been wanting to try Missha Perfect Cover, or any other Skin79 brand. Comment or email me and let me know!