In the 1960s, a German dermatologist named Christine Schrammek developed a tinted balm to protect the skin of a surgical patient. It was meant for skin after peels and surgery, not for a night out. Then, in 1985, it reached Korea, and it became popular enough to seed a whole category. The blemish balm, or BB cream, was skincare that turned into makeup, and I like that it went in that order.

MISSHA BB cream is the most famous thing to come from that idea. The company was founded in 2000 and is owned by ABLE C&C, the parent of A'pieu, and it is a first-generation Korean road shop brand. Its first store opened in 2002, and a Fifth Avenue store followed in New York in 2005. Its best-known lines are Time Revolution and the M Perfect Cover BB Cream. Byrdie named Perfect Cover its best overall BB cream, with broad-spectrum SPF 42, though it also notes the shade range is limited. The brand calls it a 10-in-1 with medium-to-high coverage, and lists hyaluronic acid, ceramides, rosemary and chamomile extracts.

The trick is to treat the first grid as a small MISSHA wardrobe. M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 PA+++ is the original tube, and the M Perfect Cover Serum BB Cream is the newer formula, described as a probiotic one, so check its label for SPF instead of assuming it matches the original. Glow B.B Boomer, the M Magic Cushion and the Glow Skin Balm are the other base and glow formats in the line. Time Revolution The First Essence is the skincare half of the brand, Sun All Around Safe Block Aqua Sunscreen is the separate sunscreen, and Airy Pot Pressed Powder sets it all.

Match your BB cream to your neck in daylight, not to your cheek in a shop. The jaw and neck give you the honest shade, and a tint that stops at the chin will show by lunch.

If the MISSHA shade range does not fit, there are other tinted creams that do the same job. IT Cosmetics has two CC formulas here, the CC+ Cream Natural Matte Foundation with SPF 40 for shinier skin and the CC+ Cream Illumination with SPF 50+ for a brighter finish. Erborian's CC Cream Color-Corrector and its CC Red Correct with green tones and SPF 25 are the ones I would try for redness.

Dr. Jart+'s Premium BB has SPF 30 and describes itself as an all-day wear Korean tinted moisturizer, and tarte's BB blur is a natural matte tinted moisturizer, also SPF 30. On the simpler side, e.l.f. Cosmetics' Camo CC Cream and Physicians Formula's Super BB All-in-1 Beauty Balm Cream are the easy ones to pick up on a whim.

A pairing I like: a BB cream in the middle of the face and a CC cream with color correction only where you need it. You get coverage without a mask.

What I would skip: a color-corrector CC cream as an all-over base. It is for redness, and it wants to be used in patches.

Press a cushion in, do not drag it. Tap with the puff, and build up coverage where you need it. Dragging turns the base patchy.

Cushions are BB cream in a compact, and the grid shows how wide the idea has spread. Yepoda's The Dewy Day has niacinamide and apricot, and it is sold as a Korean cushion. Jung Saem Mool's Essential Skin Nuder is a long-lasting hydrating compact cushion foundation, and the same brand's Artist Cushion Soft Matte Blur is a blush, which I like as a cushion idea. Sulwhasoo's UV Wise On-The-Go Sun Cushion leans toward sun protection, as the name says, and Pixi's Glow Tint Cushion is a simple, glowing one.

Yves Saint Laurent's Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation and L'Oréal Paris's Infallible Cushion Foundation show that Western brands took up the format too. REFY's Water Bronzer Liquid Cushion with ceramides is the bronzer version, and it makes a lovely finishing touch on top of a base.

What I would skip: a cushion as your only sun protection on a beach day unless the compact says SPF, and even then, compacts are for topping up.

Wet a sponge, squeeze it until it is almost dry, and then use it. A damp sponge picks up less product and leaves a thinner layer, which is how a BB cream stays looking like skin.

The last grid is the extras. ISDIN's Eryfotona Actinica Tinted and Eryfotona Ageless Tinted are lightweight mineral moisturizers, and the tint is there to even out color. Peter Thomas Roth's Water Drench Hyaluronic Cloud Sheer Tint Moisturizer is the sheerest idea of the lot, and YISE Beauty's Skin Glow SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Primer with niacinamide is one for wearing under another base.

Then the tools. Sephora Collection's Tap That Puff Makeup Sponge and its Flawless Complexion Angled Sponge are the two I would try for a BB cream, the angled one especially for around the nose and eyes. The Velour Makeup Powder Puff is for pressing powder on after, and Natasha Denona's HY-GLAM Marshmallow Puff with Case is the nice one to toss in a bag.

What I would skip: using a dry sponge with a rich BB cream. It drinks the product and leaves streaks.

For most people, my pick is the original M Perfect Cover BB Cream, worn alone, in a shade you checked on your neck. I would add a pressed powder if my skin got shiny, and a cushion if I wanted something for a bag. If shade is an issue, try a CC cream from the second grid before giving up on the idea.

Schrammek made a balm to protect a patient. Six decades later you can buy a descendant in a red tube and wear it to the office, and it still puts skin first.

If the name still confuses you, I explained what is BB cream and picked eight to try.