Beauty Battle: Which tinted moisturizer is the best for you?
When it comes to base makeup, I used to either wear a medium to full coverage foundation or skip it entirely. It wasn’t until this year that I fell in love with tinted moisturizers and skin tints. Because almost everything is done online now, I started gravitating towards base products that are sheer and easy to apply. Also, if I have to go out, I want to let my skin breathe, and since tinted moisturizers and skin tints usually have SPF, all the more reason to wear them.
Now, I’ll be comparing four products: two tinted moisturizers - the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free Natural Skin Perfector and NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer - as well as two skin tints, the Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint and blk cosmetics Illuminating Skin Tint.
Well, you know how I write my reviews. I break them down per category. Let’s get started!
Packaging
Following the release of the new Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint packaging, all but the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer have a screw cap. If you have a tendency to misplace things, then you better be quite careful with screw caps. Trust me. I have friends who have lost caps of their products. They’re all, however, the same when it comes to dispensing the product since they’re all in squeeze tubes.
Value
The blk cosmetics Illuminating Skin Tint is P499/30ml so that’s P16.63 per ml; the Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint is also P499 but with 35ml of product, so that’s P14.26 per ml; the Laura Mercier is P2,595/50ml so that’s P51.9 per ml, and finally the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer also has 50ml of product but retails for P2,550, making it P51 per ml.
Coverage
Of course, expect a sheer coverage with these products. After all, they’re just meant to add a tint to your face. That being said, among the four, the Laura Mercier offers the most coverage. If you’re wondering, I used a pea-sized amount for each product.
Application
One thing I love about tinted moisturizers and skin tints is that they’re such a dream to apply. They’re perfect for when I have a sudden Zoom call. In fact, I apply them the same way I’d apply my moisturizer. What did I apply them with? My fingers! Since they already have little coverage to begin with, I prefer using my fingers instead of a brush or sponge.
Finish
All four give me that natural-looking finish. However, as the name suggests, the blk cosmetics one is the most dewy. It’s not an issue for me, though, since it’s always nice to have such an option. Another thing to note is that despite all of them having SPF (Laura Mercier has SPF 20, NARS and blk cosmetics have SPF 30, and Issy & Co. has SPF 35), none of them give me a white cast.
Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint in Hazel, Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free Natural Skin Perfector in Sand, NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Sydney, and blk cosmetics Illuminating Skin Tint in Almond
Shade range
The Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint has 9 shades, which is such a pleasant surprise and feat for a local beauty brand. The blk cosmetics Illuminating Skin Tint comes in 4 different shades. The NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer has 16 shades, while the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer has a total of 20 shades!
Wear time
While all four feel comfortable, I must note that it’s the Laura Mercier one that will make you feel that you’re actually wearing something. Now, since I have oily skin, it comes with no surprise that blk cosmetics is the least long-wearing for me. It stayed on for 3-4 hours, which is still really good. The rest lasted for 7-8 hours. Another thing to note is that I only stayed inside the house when I tested these for longevity.
Overall thoughts
I’m not going to lie. It’s tough to do this kind of review because people have different preferences. Thankfully, we are lucky to have options available to us. Now, if you’re going to ask me what’s the best one for everyday use, then I’ll tell you it’s the Issy & Co. Active Skin Tint. It’s really, really good. If you’re looking to invest in one, then you better get the NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer. If extra coverage is something you need, then the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free Natural Skin Perfector is the one for you. Finally, if you want a dewy look for dry skin, then go for the blk cosmetics Illuminating Skin Tint.
What’s your favorite tinted moisturizer or skin tint? Please let me know because I’d love to try them!
