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What it is: A tinted moisturizer in solid form that offers light coverage and a natural dewy finish.
Price/Quantity: $34 for 0.63 oz / 18g
Availability: Ulta, IT Cosmetics
Shade Range: 15 Shades
Packaging: Glass jar with twist off lid.
Smell/Fragrance: I don’t see fragrance in the ingredients but I also do not see anything that says fragrance-free in the product description. I don’t pick up on any fragrance-like scent when I sniff at it and what I do smell is ultra faint.
Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening.
Ingredients (from itcosmetics.com):
AQUA / WATER / EAU, DIMETHICONE, ISOTRIDECYL ISONONANOATE, GLYCERIN, CANDELILLA CERA / CANDELILLA WAX / CIRE DE CANDELILLA, DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL, POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE, PEG-9 POLYDIMETHYLSILOXYETHYL DIMETHICONE, DIMETHICONE/POLYGLYCERIN-3 CROSSPOLYMER, POLYGLYCERYL-4 ISOSTEARATE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, SYNTHETIC FLUORPHLOGOPITE, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, PHENOXYETHANOL, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, TOCOPHEROL, DISODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, SODIUM HYALURONATE, ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CARBOMER, SODIUM LACTATE, POLYSORBATE 20, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, PALMITOYL TRIPEPTIDE-1, PALMITOYL TETRAPEPTIDE-7.
[+/- MAY CONTAIN / PEUT CONTENIR CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 / IRON OXIDES]
Performance/Experience
Choosing A Shade: I picked up a tester of this several times at a local Ulta store before I ended up buying it so I didn’t have a difficult time choosing a shade. I went with Shade 125 which is described as being fair with cool pink undertones. Under the store lighting, I felt this shade was a very good match for me. When I bought it and opened it up at home, the product in the jar looked a little dark to me and I was afraid to use it, thinking I’d somehow chosen the wrong shade. I decided to try it anyway and the shade worked out just fine.
Application: So far I’ve tried applying this with fingers, a damp sponge, and with a Sephora #56 foundation brush, which is a bit fluffy and good for buffing foundation out. Using my fingers seems to take longer than using a brush or sponge because I can only pick up and apply a small amount at a time. Using a brush to apply the product doesn’t seem to give me as seamless an application though. I prefer how it looks applied with fingers – gives me a smoother finish and more coverage. I held off on using a sponge for a long time for fear of absorbing too much product but it works surprisingly well. It almost reminds me of how cushion foundations apply and actually gives me a bit more coverage compared to the other two methods.
Texture/Consistency/Finish: I’d say the texture of this is the second biggest selling point, with the finish being the first for me. It feels so hydrating. It’s mostly a solid in the jar but as I swipe my finger over the surface, it melts instantly. On my face, it blends out effortlessly. You can totally use this with no tools at all except your hands. The finish is natural-dewy and as skin-like as you can get. When I look at it super up close, it is difficult to tell that it’s actually makeup. Although it’s hydrating, it is not greasy or slippery. Once I blend it out, it has the feeling of “setting down”. No slick feeling.
Coverage: It can go from ultra sheer and be built up a bit to light, approaching medium depending on what you deem necessary to even out or cover up for your own situation. If you have slight redness and areas of your face that vary in tones (some more yellow areas, some more pink, etc.), this will even it out noticeably enough. It doesn’t do much of anything for me in terms of freckles, excessive pigmentation from sun damage or red spots from previous acne breakouts. I still need a concealer if I want to cover any of those things. It does a good job of smoothing out the look of pores without looking like it’s sitting in the pores. That’s another huge selling point for me.
Longevity: This can wear well for a long day but it depends on the weather and what I wear under it. On a hot/humid day, this gets a little too dewy for me early in the day. In cooler weather, it looks good for much longer without needing extra powder throughout the day. I typically wear sunscreen under my makeup which can greatly affect how the foundation looks later in the day. Over Trader Joe’s Daily Facial Sunscreen SPF 40, I found this tends to get shiny on me earlier in the day (especially warmer days) but it does not cause the makeup to gather in lines/pores and it doesn’t cause it to be more prone to transferring. When I wear it over Supergoop Mineral Matte Screen SPF 40, I have far less shine later in the day but a tiny bit more gathering in larger lines. Personally I prefer the second combo.
Pros and Cons
Things I like:
- How it sits on the skin
- That it gives a true no-makeup makeup look
- Great shade match for me
- Super easy to apply and blend out
- Generally a fast product to use and I don’t feel the need to use other makeup with it if I don’t want
Drawbacks and other considerations:
- It doesn’t offer a whole lot of coverage
- It could possibly be overly hydrating/dewy for some skin types
- It is pretty expensive when you consider the amount in the container vs the price. Foundations are usually around 1 oz. This is a little over 1/2 an oz.
Before and After
For both of these, the foundation is applied to bare skin and no powder or concealer were used.
