The famous formula doubles as a primer.
I hate to admit it, but it was my sister, not my own beauty-journalist research, that led me to find my holy grail complexion perfector for summer. Specifically, the CCC Cream from Cle Cosmetics—a Korean brand with dewiness in its DNA and skincare ingredients in its makeup formulas. My sister and I are hardly alone in our love for the product: With 142.6 million views (and counting) on TikTok, it’s garnering social media fame.
Cle Cosmetics CCC Cream
Buy on Amazon $38
The Cle Cosmetics CCC Cream is an ultra-lightweight, skin-brightening tinted complexion perfector. Technically a CC cream, the liquid formula serves as a skin hydrator, primer (should you choose to apply makeup over top), sunscreen, and a veil of natural-looking, medium-coverage tint. For these reasons, it’s an ideal summertime swap-out for heavier, full-coverage foundations.
My sister, a runner and lawyer—whose workplace is far less accepting of crimson lipstick as my own—had been hunting for an acceptably natural-looking skin tint a few years ago; one that delivers a fresh-faced, no makeup-makeup glow, and remains intact through grueling workouts and arduous client meetings. Sun protection, particularly given her outdoorsy nature, was another must. Cle’s CCC Cream fulfills her requirements and then some: Its multi-purpose formula is a speedy, one-step wonder that requires little thought, time, or effort when she peels herself from bed at 5 a.m.
Though I rise about four hours later, I, too, reach for the CC cream when I’m in a rush. Within seconds (I apply it with my fingers) I’m glowing and confident that my skin is hydrated, protected from UV rays, and glowier than it has any right to be. On days I’m getting ready at a more leisurely pace, the CC Cream becomes my primer prior to full-coverage foundation—which wears longer and looks gloweir as a result.
Buy on Amazon $38
Glowy is perhaps too broad a word to adequately describe the formula’s finish. In my sister’s words, it’s “illuminating,” without veering “iridescent, glittery, or shiny.” Instead, it imparts a “really healthy radiance,” she says, as if “you took an awesome hot yoga class that morning and circulation is flowing.”
Instant glow aside, the formula features ingredients that actually improve skin health over time. Niacinamide, for instance, which brightens hyperpigmentation and whittles pores, is present. So, too, is skincare’s hydrating superhero, hyaluronic acid, which plumps fine lines and maintains hydration levels.
Buy on Amazon $38
Available in 15 shades, Cle’s skin perfector dispenses as a white cream, dotted with spherical capsules, which burst on contact to release skincare ingredients and tone-adapting pigment. Reviewers, my sister, and I are impressed with the shade-perfect formula, which matches seamlessly as the capsules burst. Not to mention: The capsule-bursting, color-shifting elements are nothing short of fun to watch and apply.
Unlike when I discovered the cream, I’m making the recommendation this time: Snap up the holy grail of multi-tasking skin tints, the CCC Cream from Cle Cosmetics, at Amazon for your glowiest, healthiest looking skin this summer.
Shop more lightweight CC creams, below:
Erborian Color Correcting CC Cream
Buy on Amazon $46
It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream
Buy on Amazon $47 $33