What it is: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Dewy SPF 30 provides sheer to light coverage in a buildable, layerable, lightly hydrating formula that contains a combination of chemical and physical sunscreen ingredients. 

Price/Quantity: There are two sizes available. The larger one is $50 for 45 ml / 1.5 fl oz and there is also a smaller one that is $25 for 15 ml / 0.5 oz.

Availability: Laura Mercier, Sephora, Ulta, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Amazon

Shade Range: 20 Shades. Looks like a pretty wide range from light to deep. Coverage is sheer to light so choosing a shade that’s a bit “off” will probably still be workable. The undertones for the lighter shades I was choosing from are somewhat “strong”. I could see the pink and yellow tones in them easily.

Packaging: Large squeeze tube with a twist off lid. There is no pump, so you have to gently press on the tube to dispense the amount you want. The product is not too liquidy or too thick, so it’s easy to control how much I dispense. I can leave it laying on its side on the counter while I apply it without worrying that the product will spill out.

Smell/Fragrance: It doesn’t smell fragranced to me but it does have a light version of a typical sunscreen smell. It’s less intense than a true standalone chemical sunscreen and I don’t find it bothersome. The last similar product I tried was the Elf Camo Hydrating CC Cream SPF 30 and I felt that one had a stronger sunscreen smell than this product does.

Expiration/Shelf Life: Mine has an expiration date printed on the top of the squeeze tube of 05/2026 and I purchased it 02/2025. There is no “after opening” shelf life printed on the packaging. 

Ingredients: These are the ingredients for the shade I chose. The four deepest shades have another ingredient list that looks mostly the same except for the pigments at the very bottom of the list.

ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: OCTISALATE 4.5% (SUNSCREEN) OCTOCRYLENE 5.0% (SUNSCREEN) TITANIUM DIOXIDE 0.84% (SUNSCREEN) ZINC OXIDE 3.04% (SUNSCREEN) 

All shades except Brunette, Umber, Sable and Mahogany: WATER, DICAPRYLYL ETHER, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, POLYGLYCERYL-3 POLYRICINOLEATE, TRIBEHENIN, GLYCERIN, SILICA, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, SODIUM POTASSIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, MAGNESIUM SULFATE, SORBITAN ISOSTEARATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, PHENOXYETHANOL, ZINC STEARATE, STEARALKONIUM BENTONITE, POLYGLYCERYL-3 DIISOSTEARATE, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, POTASSIUM SORBATE, MICA, TOCOPHEROL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, SODIUM HYALURONATE, ALPHA-GLUCAN OLIGOSACCHARIDE, POLYMNIA SONCHIFOLIA ROOT JUICE, MALTODEXTRIN, RUBUS IDAEUS (RASPBERRY) LEAF EXTRACT, ROSA HYBRID FLOWER EXTRACT, VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) FRUIT EXTRACT, LACTOBACILLUS. +/- (MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR) TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

Source: Laura Mercier

Performance

Shade: I chose the shade 1C Cameo, which had a noticeable pink tone but was a good depth match. One shade lighter looked more like a true neutral but was too light for me. One shade deeper was a teensy bit warm and slightly too dark for me.

Application: I have been using my fingers for the vast majority of application and only using a brush sparingly at the end to blend out some tricky spots (like near the brows and the corners of my nose). It blends really easily and really well just with my hands. If I had to skip using tools completely that would be just fine.

If you’re using this as sun protection, I found it is possible to layer more over itself later in the day without it looking cakey. 

Texture/Consistency/Finish: It has the perfect “medium thick” consistency. It’s not too thin or runny and it’s not mousse-y either. If I squeeze out a dab on the back of my hand and hold my hand up vertically, it doesn’t run down with gravity. At the same time, it feels lightweight and easy to spread over the skin. Once it is completely blended out on the skin it leaves the skin with a slight tack, similar to the way a moisturizer would. It’s not a sticky, greasy, oily feel though. If you are incredibly sensitive to the way things feel, it might feel a bit “heavy”. I’m somewhat sensitive but I don’t feel it is bothersome at all left unset without any powder on top.

It is described as having a “natural dewy” finish and that is the perfect way to put it. It’s not shiny or oily looking but it adds a bit more glow than what my skin has by itself. Looks healthy and natural. 

This isn’t a blurring product and I don’t feel it emphasizes or enhances my texture or pores. The texture of my skin for the most part looks like it does without the product, but the color overall is more even which creates the illusion that the skin is smoother.

Coverage: Sheer to light with one layer. I can build it up to a light medium coverage with 2 or 3 layers. The product layers very well over itself without picking up or sheering out previous layers. The coverage this provides is more like a natural skintone evening effect instead of “covering”. It isn’t mask-like. It’s the type of thing that’s easy to wear if you don’t want to apply any other makeup at all whereas with a foundation, I’d feel weird wearing foundation by itself. It does provide a noticeable improvement though.

Longevity: I’ve worn this all day for about 4 days now. What I’ve noticed is that, without any powder, it will develop an intense glow, bordering on shine by the end of the day, but otherwise it stays in place. I haven’t noticed it gathering in lines or looking splotchy near the end of the day. Also haven’t

noticed any oxidation though that’s rarely been an issue for me in general. The level of glow/shine at the end of the day isn’t that bad and I don’t feel self-conscious about it. I’ve set it with powder on a couple of those days and that definitely helped tone down the shine and keep it toned down all day. It still developed more shine as the day went on but to less of a degree.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• Great for no-makeup makeup. Looks fine all by itself with no other makeup because of the lighter coverage and natural finish.
• Applies well with just my hands. Tools help but I can skip them if I want.
• Forgiving on texture (so far).
• Is not “too sheer”. Provides a noticeable improvement without looking “makeup-y”.
• It gets along well with my current favorite primer/sunscreen (Supergoop Matte Screen).

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• It has a slight tacky feel to it. Nowhere near as bad as, for example, Elf Power Grip primer, and not something I personally find irritating. 
• It might be too dewy for someone with oilier skin. (There is apparently a matte version of this tinted moisturizer as well.)
• Has a light sunscreen smell to it that is not as strong as other sunscreens, but is still noticeable.

Do I Recommend It?

Yes for someone with a drier or more normal skin type that likes super easy/natural looking foundation. If you live near a store where you’re able to get a sample of this to try first, I’d recommend that for someone that maybe has oilier skin or thinks they might prefer a higher coverage product. Personally I do not feel regret purchasing this one.

What it is: Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Foundation is a light to medium coverage foundation with a very fluid, highly spreadable formula and a natural to dewy finish.

Price/Quantity: $52 for 1 oz / 30 mL

Availability: Laura Mercier, Sephora, Ulta, Nordstrom, and many others

Shade Range: 30 shades

Packaging: Glass bottle with a soft-touch frosted finish, plastic cap, and a pump. The pump isn’t the easiest to control how much product I dispense. It works fine, it’s just that I feel like I can’t pump only a tiny bit out, if that’s all I need. I am able to twist off and remove the pump if I want to. For the most part the packaging has a nice quality feel to it.

Smell/Fragrance: Ultra low odor. I have to try really hard to detect any kind of scent from this and what I do get is an extremely faint chemical smell.

Expiration/Shelf Life: 12 months after opening

Ingredients:

ISODODECANE, ISODECYL NEOPENTANOATE, HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE, HYDROGENATED POLYCYCLOPENTADIENE, HYDROGENATED DIDECENE, SILICA, POLYGLYCERYL-3 DIISOSTEARATE, HYDROGENATED STYRENE/ISOPRENE COPOLYMER, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, DISTEARDIMONIUM HECTORITE, CELLULOSE, LAURYL PCA, THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) SEED EXTRACT, HYDROGENATED LECITHIN, CAMELLIA OLEIFERA SEED OIL, AQUA/WATER/EAU, PENTAERYTHRITYL TETRA-DI-T-BUTYL HYDROXYHYDROCINNAMATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL. MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR/(+/-): IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891). 

LauraMercier.com

Performance

Shade: I got the shade 1C2 Chiffon, and it is nearly a spot on match for me. I chose the shade in store and I’m glad I did because I don’t think I would have chosen the right one if I had purchased online. Neither neutral option seemed to work for me. It seems like all the undertones for the lighter shades lean in a yellow direction, but the cooler ones are just less yellow. So the neutrals seemed too yellow for me and the warm were like out of the question lol. Below are some comparison swatches for other foundations I have:

Application: My usual spreading the product over the skin with fingers first then blending with a sponge/brush works fine. The product moves with almost no resistance over the skin and blends out fast. It kind of has a tendency to streak and settle into pores because it moves so easily. As long as I stay aware of that and apply a thin even layer that is blended well, it’s not really a problem.

Using only a brush or a sponge to apply and blend out the product both end up giving me about the same result, and these methods also work fine. Using both of these give me a slightly higher amount of coverage, especially using a brush. I can get about medium coverage this way. Both of these also result in a slightly less natural/skin-like look though. The finish ends up looking good enough, just not that ultra natural look that almost looks like no-makeup.

It has applied fine over my go-to sunscreen, Australian Gold Botanical Tinted Face SPF 50. I’ve also tried it over a couple of primers and didn’t love the result. The ones I’ve tried so far are Milk Makeup Pore Eclipse Primer, and Elf Liquid Poreless Putty Primer. The sunscreen gives me the best look, helping to smooth the look of pores even more than with the foundation alone. Neither of the primers really help the finish of the foundation look any smoother on me. The foundation alone gives me a naturally radiant finish and the Milk primer seems to help tone down the dewiness of the foundation.

Texture/Consistency/Finish: Very fluid and lightweight and a bit hydrating/moisturizing. Not quite watery, but almost. It reminds me of what was in those cushion foundations several years back. I kind of like having a formula like that without the excessive packaging of the cushion compact involved. The finish is on the dewier/glowier side when left unset. It’s not ultra glowy but it’s definitely more radiant than a “natural” finish.

Coverage: Light to medium coverage depending on how I apply it. Using fingers to apply and doing a final blend with a sponge or brush gives me lighter coverage, a sponge gives me a bit more coverage, and the brush gives me the most. I can add very light layers to build it up but it’s not the best formula for trying to layer. I think it may be too fluid/liquidy and the coverage just doesn’t seem to increase very noticeably with additional layers. It also looks more makeup-y and settles into pores as I layer it. Using a brush to apply a heavier layer initially is my best bet for medium coverage.

Longevity: Most days it seems to hold up fine with an initial layer of setting powder over top. It will begin to develop a slight glow by midday but doesn’t get horribly shiny by the end of the day. However, I also wore it during some very humid days we had recently and I wasn’t able to keep shine under control very long with powder on those days. Every time I have worn it, it stayed in place and did not gather in lines/pores after many hours of wear. It has also consistently looked more skin-like later in the day than when it was first applied.

Pros and Cons

Things I like:

• I like how it seems to look better the longer I wear it. It looks more skin-like and less makeup-y as the hours pass.
• It doesn’t move during the day when I’m wearing it, even if I wear it for a long time. It doesn’t gather in pores, in lines, or around my nose even as my face gets more oily later in the day.
• It doesn’t transfer or rub off easily.

Drawbacks and other considerations:

• Didn’t work the best with primers (worked fine over my sunscreen though) – just tends to look less natural and gather in pores and on texture more when paired with a primer.
• A bit too glowy for me, which doesn’t help to smooth the look of texture. Finish is fine if I set it with powder.
• I have to use a lot of this compared to other foundations, at least 2 pumps to cover the whole face and up to 4 pumps if I want higher coverage.
• Not the most buildable formula.

Worth Buying?

There are too many things about this foundation that I don’t love for me to recommend it or say it’s worth buying. I think I’ve just figured out I prefer higher coverage foundations recently and this one is pretty light coverage and not super buildable. I don’t feel like I can safely grab for any primer or sunscreen and feel confident this foundation will get along with it. Even though it is lightweight, spreads quickly, and is light coverage, it is not quick to apply. I feel the need to spend more time than I want to for this type of product fussing with how it is sitting on the skin and how it is blended out. The one major plus that almost makes it worth it for me is how, once I get it applied how I want it, it doesn’t move and looks better the longer I wear it. That may make it worth it for some.