MISSHA

Missha is a Korean skincare and makeup brand operated by ABLE C&C from Myeongdong in central Seoul. Its site sorts skincare into named lines — Time Revolution, Artemisia, Vita C Plus, Super Aqua, Bee Pollen, Cho Gong Jin and PDRN NAD+ — with makeup separate, where the M line carries the BB creams and cushions.

Missha publishes full ingredient lists rather than marketing copy, and three are worth reading closely. It prints separate lists for seven M Perfect Cover BB Cream shades — 13, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31 — and every one is near-identical apart from where the iron oxides fall. Its UV filters are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide alongside ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate. And Time Revolution The First Essence 5X opens on saccharomyces ferment filtrate, ahead of water, with bifida ferment lysate second.

Three things follow from that: what the shade numbers tell you, how to get the rated SPF out of a base, and what a ferment at the top of a list buys.

Korean base numbering is a rough convention, not a standard: lower is lighter, so 17 is porcelain, 21 ivory, 23 sand, climbing warmer and deeper. Missha's range runs to 31, and shows what a shade is: the same formula with the iron oxides moved. The two cushions below differ in exactly that way.

Then the filters. Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are real UV filters, and you get the rated protection by applying the amount they were rated at — roughly a quarter teaspoon across the face. That is more than most want from a base, so the dependable route is a proper sunscreen underneath, base on top for finish. In a cushion, titanium dioxide does a different job and does it well: it carries coverage and gives that smooth, light-diffusing finish. The sun serum below is the protection step, on organic filters.

A ferment first in a list is a real formulation choice, not an addition. Which ferment matters more than where it sits: galactomyces has the record on tone and texture, not only hydration. The oil serum below puts it third.

We don't carry Missha itself. For each of these jobs, though, we send an alternative we rate highly — the five picks below.

Here's the order for the picks above, from skincare through to the last makeup step. Skincare first, then the galactomyces oil serum: two or three drops spread evenly, then pressed in with the palms. Sunscreen after that, as the last step of skincare and generously enough to see it before it settles. The tone-up cream comes next, and can replace the cushion on lighter days. The cushion goes on last, with the included puff, in a thin layer built up by light tapping, with a second pass only where you want more coverage.