I Tried 10 Skin Tints So You Don't Have To (& There's A Clear Winner)

Refinery29

5 days ago

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Designed by Kristine Romano.
Forget tinted moisturiser or serum foundation for a moment. ' Skin tints ' are taking their place as the must-have makeup product ahead of summer.
For those who aren't already sold on their myriad benefits, skin tints occupy a cosy space between a light-coverage foundation and your most hydrating skincare product. The feel? Featherlight. The finish? Super natural. Unlike heavier base products such as concealer or foundation, tints allow skin to look like skin while very subtly tucking away any gripes you might have, like redness, acne scarring or breakouts.
It's why countless brands, including Saie, Fenty Beauty and Lisa Eldridge, are on board. But with so much choice out there, weeding out the products that deserve recognition from the ones that fall flat is no mean feat.
Ahead, I tried seven trending skin tints so you don't have to, and for me, there's one clear winner.
Lisa Eldridge Enhancing Skin Tint, £37
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Lisa Eldridge
Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint
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£37.00
Lisa Eldridge
It took me a little while to find the right shade in makeup artist Lisa Eldridge's first-ever skin tint (T4, in case you were wondering; T5 and T6 were far too yellow for my light olive skin). This appeared matte at first and took a few minutes to 'settle' into my skin, but once it meshed with my natural oils it was virtually indiscernible — and looked so natural. Usually by the end of the day my T-zone feels like a slip 'n' slide, but I noticed that my face was much less oily, so I delved into the ingredients. It's hardly sexy, but this tint boasts modified corn starch, which reduces the oily feel of products. I can only assume that it also helped mop up additional face grease throughout the day. Though it's featherlight, this lasted the longest on my skin. At £37, it's dearer than most of the tints on this list but one squeeze was enough to cover my entire face and neck.
This skin tint feels virtually weightless, and just a pea-sized amount is enough to blur redness and dark marks. It blends effortlessly in seconds with a fluffy brush, so I tend to reach for it when I need to look put together quickly! As you can see here, the finish sits nicely between matte and dewy, giving skin a soft, healthy glow. Blush and bronzer layer smoothly on top, and best of all, it doesn't aggravate my acne. However, the packaging could use some work. The nozzle tends to leak, so be sure the cap is tightly closed to avoid spills in your makeup bag. While the formula blends well across tones, the range is limited to just 15 shades. I'd love to see more options for deeper skin tones.
Merit The Uniform Tinted Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50 in shade 24, £34
I've been reaching for this skin tint non-stop since I discovered it a few weeks ago — it's that good. The bonus? It comes with SPF 50, making it a no-brainer for summer. One squeeze is enough to cover my face and neck, and while the coverage is sheer and feels more like wearing skincare, it still does a great job of camouflaging breakouts and dark spots. Some days I skip concealer entirely; other days, I just dab a little under my eyes. I've even had a few compliments on my skin lately — including at the end of the day, when I'd usually expect my base to have worn off. It lasts better than most tints I've tried, which earns it the winning position. That said, I wouldn't rely on it as my sole SPF and always layer a dedicated sunscreen underneath.
The most expensive tint on the list suitably boasts the smoothest application. It virtually glides on, blends quickly, minimises the appearance of pores, tucks away redness and makes skin glow in all the right places. Even better, it feels like wearing nothing, but it sticks around: I put it through its paces during a 30-minute high-intensity workout and it didn't budge an inch. My only gripe is that it becomes ever so slightly darker after a few hours of wear. If you like to look bronzed, this shouldn't be an issue, but you could always opt for a shade lighter. That said, the colour range — 18 in total — isn't as extensive as others like Fenty, for instance.
MAC Strobe Dewy Skin Tint, £32
This tint was the most wet. That is by no means a bad thing; it blended into my skin quickly, felt cooling and hydrating, and made my face gleam. No, really: MAC isn't messing around with the word 'dewy' here. After an hour or so, I noticed that the intensity had worn off a little and the finish appeared more natural. In fact, it's this product which Terry Barber, MAC's director of makeup artistry, used to create a 'dim lighting' effect on models' skin at London Fashion Week last year — essentially providing a warm, muted glow. The coverage is great for a tint so fluid and one squeeze is ample.
Clinique Even Better Clinical Vitamin Makeup Foundation SPF 50, £39
I'm including this as a tint because it's so sheer — and such a joy to use. The first time I applied it, I was in a rush and was genuinely surprised by how quickly and effortlessly it melted into my skin with my trusty fluffy brush. One pump was enough to cover my face and neck, and I didn't have to work it in at all. It subtly softened the post-acne pigmentation on my cheeks and took the edge off my dark circles. I also love that it's packed with skin-loving ingredients, and I'm hopeful the added vitamin C will help brighten things up even more, which makes me excited to keep using it. I used the handy QR code on the website to find my perfect match: Light Medium Cool 1. There are another 25 shades to choose from.
Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint, £27
This review wouldn't be complete without an OG tint to compare the much newer launches to. The first time I tried this, I was an unwavering full coverage foundation person, but I've come to appreciate it massively since. It's a little bit more pigmented than the rest of the tints here, so I can happily skip concealer. The finish occupies a space between matte and dewy, providing a soft-focus effect. Then there's the shade range — 25 to be exact — which is much more extensive than others. It blends into the skin without any effort and makeup sits beautifully on top of it.
The compliments I received while wearing this tinted gel cream means its high on my list. The consistency is slightly thicker than the others, which lends a soft-matte effect. One pump evened out my skin beautifully. I needed a dab of concealer to effectively mask an angry red spot on my cheek but the way it blurred the skin staining I have left behind by previous breakouts was impressive. It lasted all day, including a trip to the hairdresser (a very wet backwash and a hot blowdry) plus a dinner event that creeped into the early hours. It's the only tint I've found myself reaching for since, particularly because bronzer and blush apply so well over the top.
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For the price, this is so impressive. At first squeeze it's bright white — a common feature of most CC (colour corrector) creams and tints — but as I blended it into my skin, the tiny encapsulated pigments popped to reveal the tint. I opted for shade Medium, which was a little too dark for my liking, but the product itself was similar to some of the luxury tints on this list: it blended in moments (I used a brush) and masked redness and skin staining left behind by spots. The coverage is substantial (I didn't use any concealer on my under eyes) and the finish sits comfortably between matte and dewy. It held up so well that it felt a shame to remove my makeup at the end of the day. The obvious downside is the shade range of which there are only four: Light, Medium, Tan and Dark. The website suggests that they correspond with four shades of the brand's foundation, which indicates that they are somewhat flexible, but I'd recommend scoping them out in store.
Give this a good shake before you use it! The first few squeezes deposited a puddle of oil onto the back of my hand. Seeing as I have reactive, acne-prone skin, I was reluctant to go any further, but it lent the most skin-like finish out of all of the tints on this list. While the coverage isn't as substantial as others (you can see a few spots and scars peeking through) my skin appeared quenched and plump. I do have a few gripes, though. Firstly, it has a paint-like smell that takes a good while to dissipate. Secondly, it felt a little sticky and my curtain bangs kept getting caught on my cheeks throughout the day. That's nothing a good, lightweight powder — like Saie Airset Radiant Loose Setting Powder, £25 — won't fix. It'll provide a little extra coverage, too.