If they aren’t already, CC creams (AKA colour correcting creams) are definitely worth adding to your makeup arsenal. Especially now, with summer well underway, and when most of us are tempted to part with our full coverage foundations and opt for more lightweight formulations instead.
As the name name implies, CC creams are formulated to cancel out any redness, dark circles and other forms of discolouration so as to even out your skin tone. The pigments in the formula aim to neutralise a specific colour that is the opposite from the tint featured in the product. In a nutshell: green cancels out redness, orange counteracts blueness and lavender helps erase yellow tones. Pretty neat, right?
Best CC creams at a glance – our top picks
- Best CC cream overall: Erborian CC Crème, £40, Sephora
- Best CC cream for full coverage: IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream, £26.40, LookFantastic
- Best hydrating CC cream: Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream, £31.91, Sephora
- Best affordable CC cream: L’Oréal Paris C’est Magic CC Cream, £10.99, LookFantastic
And as someone who has quite a bit of redness on my face, I can’t even begin to explain just how game-changing CC creams are for me. Don’t get me wrong: there’s truly nothing wrong with embracing your natural skin – and you shouldn’t feel like you need to colour correct your unique features to create a “perfect”-looking base. However, as a makeup enthusiast, I also understand that having an even canvas can make the biggest difference to the end result. While I don’t really mind a bit of natural flush peeking through, there’s nothing more frustrating than doing my makeup right after working out, which usually leaves my whole face tomato-level red. So trust me when I tell you that no amount of foundation will do just as good a job as a high-quality CC cream.
The best part is that CC creams have come such a long way – and there are now tonnes of options to choose from. You can pick one based on your preferred coverage level, finish as well as your skin priorities. Lots of CC creams also double as a sunscreen, offering sun protection ratings of between SPF 15 and SPF 50 to protect your delicate skin from sun damage and other environmental aggressors. And they also tend to feature a variety of skin-loving ingredients for every skincare need. Depending on the product, this can usually include things like hyaluronic acid for additional hydration and vitamin C for a brightening effect, as well many others such as niacinamide and glycerin.
As you can probably guess, I normally tend to reach for formulas with a green tint to cancel out red undertones. My go-to is the L’Oréal Paris C’est Magic CC Cream Anti-Redness, but I’ve also recently discovered the TikTok-trending Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Colour Correcting Treatment which I honestly cannot recommend enough. I enjoyed how – besides the obvious instant colour correcting results – it has helped to reduce redness over time.
To help you choose a product that is best for you, we’ve put together a round-up of the very best CC creams available to match your budget, preference and skin type, regardless of whether you have normal skin, dry skin, oily skin or anything in between. Below, you’ll find that we’ve cherry-picked the best formulas on the market as well as all the bestsellers, so you can rest assured that you’ll definitely find one that ticks all the boxes.
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