For a long time, my favorite light to medium coverage product was the Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream. That was until I found out that Missha isn’t cruelty-free. I was so disappointed and thought I’d never find another BB cream as good as that one. Over the last year or two, I heard people comparing the Missha BB cream to the PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream. I was skeptical since PURITO’s BB cream is the only makeup product from the brand, but when I recently learned that PURITO is cruelty-free, of course I had to give their BB cream a try!
Are you looking for a cruelty-free alternative to the Missha BB cream like I was? Then I encourage you to read my full review of the PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream. These products aren’t identical, but they are very similar. I’ve only been using the PURITO BB Cream for a couple of weeks, but I’ve been impressed with it every single day that I’ve worn it. I have very strong opinions, so keep reading to learn more!
About PURITO
If you’re new to PURITO like I am, let me share some information about the brand with you. First of all, PURITO is 100% cruelty-free and vegan! PURITO is a Korean skincare brand, offering several products made with clean ingredients. The brand also values sustainability and making the world a better place. PURITO donates portions of its profits to KFEM (Korean Federation for Environmental Movement) and Best Friends Animal Society, which is an animal sanctuary/welfare organization located in Utah.
PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream product claims directly from PURITOen.com
This BB cream provides a natural and radiant finish, protects from both UVA/UVB rays, and strengthens the skin barrier. It gently absorbs into the skin and has a long-lasting formula. This product does not contain artificial fragrances, essential oils, and harmful ingredients, which can cause irritation, making it great for people with all skin types including sensitive skin.
Disclosure: IntegriBeauty includes affiliate links within product review posts. I receive commissions for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Additionally, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. IntegriBeauty is independently owned and all products discussed within IntegriBeauty product review posts are thoroughly tested and given honest reviews.
Other product details
- Price: $9.80 (this price may vary, as prices on Amazon fluctuate often)
- Net weight: 1 oz. | 30 ml
- Made in Korea
- Cruelty-free
- Vegan
- 3 shades ranging from fair to medium
- SPF 38/PA+++
- Free of phenoxyethanol, parabens, artificial dyes, sulfates, triethanolamine, essential oils, and artificial fragrance
- Appropriate for all skin types
- Shelf life: 12 months once opened
- Be sure to check the date stamped at the top of the tube (on the back) to verify that the sunscreen ingredients haven’t expired.
- Where to buy: Amazon.com (PURITO products are not sold directly from PURITO’s website)
- Amazon.com ships internationally to over 100 countries, but not all items will ship to every country. Update your default shipping address to see items that will ship to your location.
- Overall rating: 8.2/10
- Inclusivity: 3/10
- Packaging/ease of application: 9/10
- Staying power: 10/10
- Ingredients: 9/10
- Price: 10/10
Please note that I am not a makeup artist. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, as a regular person that loves makeup.
Inclusivity
Korean beauty brands have a bad reputation for offering small shade ranges. That’s because their products tend to cater to Korean skin tones, which don’t go very deep. Some Korean brands have been doing better, but sadly the PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream range is puny with only three shades.
This is not unheard of for BB creams, even from American brands, but that doesn’t make it OK. Brands, especially those selling internationally like PURITO, should be cognizant of the wide range of skin tones and plan shade ranges accordingly.
PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream shades:
- #21 Light Beige for fair skin (this is the shade I have, swatched above)
- #23 Natural Beige for light skin
- #27 Sand Beige for medium skin
PURITO actually doesn’t provide shade descriptions. However, each shade is shown online and based on that, I think they’re intended for fair to medium skin tones. I’m not sure about the Sand Beige shade (it appears to have a warm undertone in photos online), but I can tell you the undertone of the two lighter shades is quite unusual (I only have the lightest shade, but I’ve seen Natural Beige swatched and it’s similar).
They look a bit gray before they’re blended into the skin. That may sound intimidating, and may not work on every undertone, but it actually blends into my neutral skin extremely well. Those with very cool or very warm skin may struggle with this, but if your undertone isn’t too far in either direction (as long as your skin is fair to medium) these shades will likely work just fine for you. That’s partly because this is not a full coverage product, and therefore has flexibility.
If this BB Cream was meant to provide full coverage, I wouldn’t have given it even 3/10. Frankly, I think shade ranges this small are shameful. I recognize that PURITO is primarily a skincare brand. However, this abysmal shade range is unacceptable and I can’t believe there are still ranges this small and non-inclusive. PURITO, please add more shades!
Packaging/ease of application
PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream has very simple, yet effective packaging. It comes in a plastic squeeze tube. What I really like about this product’s packaging is that PURITO uses sustainable materials. The box it comes in is made out of sugarcane and the text was printed in soy ink. The squeeze tube is made from recycled plastic and can be recycled again.
The only reason I deducted one point from this review category is that I like a pump to dispense foundation. I think a pump makes a big difference in controlling how much product I use because it’s easy to dispense too much with a squeeze tube. This is a very very minor complaint, however, and I recognize that the packaging is more sustainable because they opted not to add a pump.
I squeeze this BB cream directly onto my fingers and dot it all over my face. It’s a very smooth creamy formula, so this takes almost no effort at all. I’ve applied it with both a sponge and a brush, and both work very well.
I normally use a brush to apply foundations, and since that’s a habit for me, that’s the tool I usually reach for to blend this BB cream into my skin. The instructions actually state that fingertips or a sponge can be used (brush isn’t mentioned), but I’ve never used my fingertips. I find that when I blend coverage products with my fingers, I don’t get a smooth application.
When I applied PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream yesterday, I used a brush on one side of my face and a sponge on the other. As you can see in this photo, there was very little difference between the two sides. I did notice, however, that the sponge side looked a bit more glowy. If that’s the look you’re after, I recommend using a sponge. 🙂
I’m very pleased with how easy it is to apply and blend this BB cream. Some coverage products can be fussy, but this one blends like a dream. I get nice even medium coverage every time I apply this product, no matter which tool I choose to use. The finish looks natural with a beautiful glow. Since I have combination skin with an oily t-zone, I always set it with powder. I try to apply powder lightly because I think the glow from this BB cream is very pretty. I find that it pairs perfectly with e.l.f. Halo Glow Setting Powder.
Staying power
BB creams are definitely not known for being long-wearing. In fact, I’d say it’s quite the opposite, especially for hydrating glowy formulas like this one. I don’t know how PURITO does it, but the staying power of their BB cream is crazy impressive!
I’m telling you, PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream looks great on my skin from the moment it’s applied to when I wash it off at night. It does not budge! It will settle into fine lines a bit, but somehow it’s less noticeable with this formula than it is with any other coverage product in my collection.
I know those with oily skin are probably wondering about oil control. Unfortunately, this formula does not control excess oils at all. I have combination skin and I definitely see my t-zone getting more and more oily throughout the day when I wear this BB cream. Blotting and/or touching up with more powder would take care of that, but I’ve been embracing the extra dose of glow from my natural oils.
I planned to do an 8-hour wear test for PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream yesterday, but it turned into a 9-hour wear test! I know these photos aren’t the best for this purpose because you can’t see my fine lines well, but I’ll tell you my findings. Also, I’d like to note that for this wear test, I didn’t use primer, color corrector, or concealer, but I did apply a light dusting of powder all over my face. I used all of my regular morning skincare products (including sunscreen) before applying the BB cream.
At the 4-hour mark, I definitely noticed that my skin was starting to look oily in my t-zone. Otherwise, the BB cream still looked flawless. At the 9-hour mark, my skin looked even more oily, but I wasn’t bothered by that since it didn’t cause the BB cream to budge one bit. I did notice some settling into fine lines on my forehead, under my eyes, and around my mouth, but that was minimal and not noticeable from a distance.
I am extremely happy with the staying power of PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream. Whatever sorcery they’re doing to make it last so well on the skin, I wish they’d share it with other brands! This BB cream is my new go-to choice for reliable beautiful coverage.
Ingredients
I don’t normally review the ingredients in makeup products, but I make exceptions when there are claims about the ingredients or skincare benefits. There usually are skincare claims for BB creams, and this one is no exception. There are actually quite a few ingredients in PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream that I was happy to see due to their skincare benefits. Here is the full list of ingredients:
Water, Titanium Dioxide, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Lauryl Polyglyceryl-3 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Niacinamide, Hydrogenated Poly (C6-14 Olefin), Zinc oxide, Mica, Sodium Chloride, Zinc Stearate, Dextrin Palmitate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Centella Asiatica Extract, Madecassoside, Asiaticoside, Madecassic Acid, Asiatic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Aluminium Hydroxide, Allantoin, Panthenol, Glycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Adenosine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Ultramarines (CI 77007)
*Please note that this ingredient list is from the product packaging which varies slightly from the ingredients currently listed online. I’ve found that this is pretty common among a variety of brands because the ingredients often aren’t updated online when changes are made to the formulations.
There are likely a lot of ingredients on this list that you don’t recognize. I know there were several I’d never seen before. That’s largely because this is primarily a makeup product, and I mostly research ingredients for skincare products. With that being said, there are fifteen ingredients (including UV filters) in this formula that provide skincare benefits! I’ll provide brief descriptions of those ingredients:
- Titanium Dioxide
- Mineral UV filter
- Reef safe
- Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate (aka Octinoxate)
- Chemical UV filter
- NOT reef safe
- Ethylhexyl Salicylate (aka Octisalate)
- Chemical UV filter
- May not be reef safe
- Niacinamide
- Improves appearance of enlarged pores
- Regulates oil secretion
- Improves uneven skin tone
- Minimizes fine lines
- Zinc Oxide
- Mineral UV filter
- Reef safe
- Centella Asiatica Extract (aka “Cica” or “Gotu Kola”)
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Wound healing
- Stimulates hyaluronic acid synthesis in the skin
- Madecassoside
- Wound healing
- Skin soothing
- Antioxidant
- Asiaticoside
- Wound healing
- Antioxidant
- Madecassic Acid
- Skin regenerating
- Wound healing
- Moisturizing
- Asiatic Acid
- Wound healing
- Moisturizing
- Allantoin
- Skin soothing and conditioning agent
- Panthenol
- Moisturizer
- Humectant
- Glycerin
- Natural moisturizer
- Adenosine
- Anti-inflammatory
- Helps with barrier repair and protection
- Tocopherol (vitamin E)
- Antioxidant
- Strengthens skin barrier
- UVB protection
I was so excited to find out that PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream contains UV filters to provide SPF 38 sun protection! I do wish they hadn’t used the two chemical UV filters since one is definitely not reef safe and the other may not be either. The good news is that, while chemical sunscreens can be irritating (especially around the eyes), I’ve never experienced any irritation when wearing this BB cream.
In addition to the UV filters, I was very happy to see some of these other skincare ingredients! Niacinamide is actually one of my favorite ingredients in skincare products because it’s such a great multi-tasker. I believe it’s even helped to reduce the oiliness of my t-zone somewhat over the last year. All the other skincare ingredients I mentioned speak for themselves! 🙂
In addition to the ingredients I just discussed, there are also 22 “neutral” ingredients that don’t help or harm the skin. Instead, they support the formula and make it effective in a variety of ways. These ingredients vary greatly and include things like solvents, texture enhancers, emollients, preservatives, and colorants. There are some ingredients in this formula that are controversial: silicones. Silicones are very common in coverage products because they make skin feel smooth. They don’t bother me. However, some people don’t like to use products formulated with silicones. If that’s you, then you may want to skip this product.
I was so happy to see that PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream doesn’t contain any ingredients that I have labelled as “bad”. The most common culprits in that category are fragrance ingredients. This product is free of natural and artificial fragrance! I think that since there is no fragrance and there are anti-inflammatory ingredients, this BB cream would be great for even very sensitive skin. The ingredients in this product are really excellent!
Price
Since I’m not familiar with PURITO and just recently started looking at their products, I wasn’t sure what to expect for the price of this BB cream. Imagine my surprise and joy to find out that it’s less than $10, currently priced at $9.80 on Amazon! This low price point lands PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream firmly in the drugstore price range.
The only product similar to this one I’ve ever tried was from Missha as I mentioned before, and this one from PURITO is actually even more affordable than that one (at least for now; this could change as they’re very close in price and prices on Amazon fluctuate often)! Looking at drugstore BB creams and foundations as a whole, they vary greatly in price. You can find some as low as a few dollars, but others are priced at $20+. PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream is definitely a lot more affordable than many other coverage products available. Not only that, but it’s an above average product! The quality is outstanding, which makes it an even better value.
This might sound overdramatic, but I’m so grateful that I found PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream! It gives me everything I need from a coverage product for everyday wear. It perfects my skin while allowing my skin to show through, and looks great all day long. I’m very happy that it also provides sun protection, hydration, and other skincare benefits. My skin loves this product as much as I do!
I don’t often repurchase makeup items, especially coverage products. That’s because I generally take so long to use them up and also because I test a lot of products to review. In this case, I think I’ll fly through this tube of BB cream! I’ve been wearing it almost every day, and I enjoy it so much I’ll definitely have to repurchase it when I run out.
Now for the part where I go through PURITO’s product claims and compare them with my experience using their BB cream. First, PURITO states that it provides a natural radiant finish. That’s an easy one, I absolutely agree. They state that the formula provides UVA/UVB sun protection and strengthens the skin barrier. I believe this is true based on the UV filters and skincare ingredients included.
Next, they say the BB cream gently absorbs into the skin and has a long-lasting formula. I’m not sure how much of the BB cream absorbs into the skin, but it definitely seems to “mesh” with the skin well and it does last a very long time! Lastly, PURITO points out that this product doesn’t contain fragrance or any other harmful ingredients, making it a good choice for everyone, including those with sensitive skin. Once again, I agree! This is rare, but I agree with all of PURITO’s product claims.
I highly recommend PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream. It’s truly an outstanding product! The only people I would not recommend this product to would be those with oily skin (unless you don’t mind touching up your makeup), and those with skin tones deeper than medium since there are currently only three shades and they’re on the lighter end of the spectrum. Hopefully someday PURITO will expand the shade range so every skin tone can enjoy this great product.
Have you ever tried a Korean BB cream? Do you think most are similar to this one? I think PURITO Cica Clearing BB Cream would be very hard to beat! Please share your thoughts with me in the comments below. 🙂
Lauren