CC Cream is a skincare product sold by a brand called Perbelle that claims to be a moisturizer, make up base and foundation all-in-one. It also has an SPF rating of 43.

But do 3-in-1 skincare creams really work or is this just a marketing claim? Does Perbelle CC Cream contain research-backed ingredients? Does it contain any questionable additive ingredients? And why is it a bad idea to buy this product on Amazon specifically?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Perbelle CC Cream based on medical studies to give our take on whether the cream is likely to improve skin quality or if it's a waste of money.

We'll also feature real user reviews of this product, explain why we don't recommend searching for it on Amazon and highlight some questionable health claims on the brand's website.

Ingredient Analysis

Titanium dioxide is the only active ingredient in Perbelle CC Cream.

This is the ingredient that provides the SPF rating, as it’s a physical sunscreen ingredient and one of the most effective and safe ones.

A 2019 medical review reported that titanium dioxide is a highly effective UV barrier and that it's non-toxic. Titanium dioxide does not penetrate through healthy skin when applied topically.

This is a much healthier sunscreen ingredient than chemical sunscreen ingredients like oxybenzone that can be hormone-disrupting.

The inactive ingredients in Perbelle CC Cream are shown below:

Although these ingredients are listed as inactive, there are still a number of ingredients in this list that have research backing for improving skin quality.

Hyaluronic acid is one of the most well-studied skincare ingredients, and is shown in medical research to not only reduce visible wrinkles but also to increase skin hydration.

Niacinamide is another effective ingredient. A medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology found that this ingredient helped protect skin from UV rays, and also helped improve skin barrier function, which can prevent degradation of the skin.

Hydrogenated lecithin is clinically shown to be a "penetration enhancer," which means it can increase absorption of other ingredients that promote skin health.

While there are clearly research-backed ingredients in Perbelle CC Cream, there are also several inactive ingredients that may be questionable from a health perspective.

Triethanolamine is a potentially toxic chemical compound that’s used as a pH balancer in cosmetics. Animal studies have shown it to cause liver damage when applied topically, because this ingredient appears to be absorbed by the skin into the bloodstream. 

Fragrance may be toxic to humans as documented in our review of another cosmetic cream called B Tight.

Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate was shown to be toxic to humans and potentially damaging to natural ecosystems in a medical review published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology.

Overall, we consider Perbelle CC Cream likely to protect the skin from sun damage and to reduce the apperance of wrinkles due to some of the ingredients we've discussed in this section.

We don't currently recommend this product due to the questionable additive ingredients.

But how do real users rate and describe the effects of Perbelle CC Cream? We'll discuss that in the next section.

Real Users Review Perbelle CC Cream

A YouTube creator named “Christie @ Fifty” does a side-by-side comparison of Perbelle's cream with the current foundation she uses in a video with over 20,000 views:

A YouTube creator named "fly with shelly" discusses whether Perbelle CC Cream or PÜR Tinted Moisturizer is a better choice for mature skin:

The Issue With Buying CC Cream on Amazon

At the time of updating this article, the official Perbelle CC Cream does not appear to be available on Amazon.

There are a number of products called “CC Cream” and even a product called “Perebella,” as shown below:

We strongly recommend that consumers avoid buying cosmetics from non-authorized retailers. The risk of counterfeit or harmful products may be higher, because a brand willing to sell products under another brand's trademark is a sign of a low-quality company.

While we don’t recommend Perbelle CC Cream overall, for consumers set on purchasing it we recommend doing so on the official manufacturer's website only, which can be accessed at this link.

Questionable Claims on Perbelle Website

As shown above, Perbelle claims on the product page of their website that their product is “skin tone adjusting,” which suggests that it can match various skin tones and blend in seamlessly. There is no citation or proof of this claim and we find it to be questionable.

People with varying skin tones may have varying experiences with cosmetic products. Someone with very pale skin may experience different effects from someone with very dark skin.

We have not come across any medical research suggesting that there is a skincare technology or ingredient that proves to be “shade adjusting,” so we consider this to be an unproven marketing claim and would suggest that Perbelle removes it from their website until they can provide legitimate scientific proof.

The brand also claims that hyaluronic acid “absorbs moisture 100-1000 times heavier than it’s own weight” complete with a spelling error (correct grammar is “its” not “it’s”):

There is no citation or proof for this claim. While hyaluronic acid is clinically shown to bind and retain water in skin, we haven't come across any evidence of the 100-1,000 times heavier than its own weight claim.

We recommend that consumers be cautious when purchasing from cosmetic brands that make specific health claims without proof.

Our Clean Skincare Picks

There are skincare products containing ingredients shown in clinical trials to be effective for reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality.

Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top anti-aging serum.

It contains hyaluronic acid which was described as a "skin-rejuvenating biomedicine" in a medical review due to its ability to reduce wrinkles and signs of facial aging.

HYDRAGLOW by CLEARSTEM is our top moisturizer pick.

It features bakuchiol as an active ingredient which was described in a 2014 clinical trial as "clinically proven to have anti-aging effects." 

Bulletproof Collagen Powder is our top skin supplement.

Collagen supplementation was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology to reduce visible signs of skin aging as well as improve skin elasticity and skin hydration.

All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.

Pros and Cons of Perbelle CC Cream

Here are the pros and cons of Perbelle CC Cream in our opinion:

Pros:

• Should protect skin from sun damage
• Should have skin-hydrating effect
• May reduce apperance of wrinkles

Cons:

• Contains fragrance
• Contains chemical sunscreen with questionable toxicity data
• Doesn't appear clinically tested
• Brand website has questionable health claims

Conclusion

Perbelle CC Cream has a decent formulation, and we do somewhat agree with the brand's "3-in-1" marketing claim. This product does contain sunscreen, hydrating and anti-aging ingredients, which may make it a good choice for consumers on a budget looking to stick to one single cosmetic product.

We don't currently recommend this cream due to the inclusion of fragrance and two other questionable inactive ingredients that we discussed in our Ingredient Analysis section.

There are two health claims on the Perbelle website that are uncited and that we consider to be unscientific.

For consumers intent on purchasing Perbelle CC Cream, we recommend doing so on the manufacturer's website (which we've linked in this article) rather than on Amazon, because the product doesn't appear to be sold by the actual manufacturer on Amazon, so a number of "knock-off" products have proliferated.