“What is a tinted moisturiser?”. You’d be surprised how many people aren’t 100% sure of the answer to this question. A tinted moisturiser blends makeup and skincare to give you the best of both worlds, and it’s the low maintenance approach to achieving an everyday glow with minimal effort.
The secret to a no-makeup makeup look, its moisturiser-first, coverage-second approach will help to even out skin tone and any discolouration. A tinted moisturiser will also help to blur imperfections while offering a natural, skin-like, sheer coverage that gives a radiant finish.
Along with providing a subtle hint of coverage, today’s tinted moisturisers are packed with complexion boosting ingredients to enhance your skin health and, of course, keep it hydrated.
These lightweight formulas are easy to apply with your fingers, a sponge or a foundation brush and feel comfortable on the skin, meaning you won’t mind wearing them, whether you’re sitting in the house all day or out and about.
But with so many tinted moisturisers on offer, which one is right for you? I’ve broken it down to make it an easy decision…
1. Best for Normal Skin
Shade: 02 Medium.
Texture: lightweight cream.
Star ingredients: viniferine (brightens and evens skin), hyaluronic acid (plumps skin and retains moisture levels).
Finish: satin finish.
Scent: naturally scented, has a plant-based element to it.
If you’re looking for a good all-rounder tinted moisturiser, Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Tinted Moisturiser is an excellent choice because it covers all bases when it comes to ingredients. Best applied with fingers, its mineral pigments effortlessly even out imperfections such as dark spots, scarring and redness while viniferine helps to permanently brighten and even out the skin underneath. It won’t block pores or cause breakouts thanks to its non-comedogenic, oil-free formula that also keeps skin fully hydrated with the inclusion of hyaluronic to plump up thirsty skin.
2. Best for Dry Skin
Shade: Natural 05
Texture: soft and silky whipped gel-cream.
Star ingredients: glycerin and squalene – both add moisture to the skin.
Finish: a soft dewy glow.
Scent: fragrance-free.
Complexion Rescue is perfect for drier complexions because its powder pigments are coated in lauroyl lysine, an amino acid derived from coconuts. This means they won’t dry out the complexion or soak up the skin’s oils as some uncoated powder pigments can.
The lightweight whipped formula provides a sheer to medium coverage, and also contains glycerin and squalene to help to hydrate the skin further. The result is a gorgeous dewy glow that looks naturally radiant.
3. Best for Oily Skin
Shade: BD40 Warm Sand.
Texture: lightweight fluid texture.
Star ingredients: hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, antioxidants (to protect the skin).
Finish: slightly mattified and luminous finish.
Scent: fresh floral scent.
If you think having an oily complexion means you can’t wear a tinted moisturiser, think again. YSL’s All-In-One Glow has an oil-free formula that offers a buildable light to medium coverage (I like to apply it with a brush for an even finish) and is a must-have if you suffer from shine-prone skin. Its light formula won’t settle into or block pores, and after eight hours of wear, it still looked great and felt comfortable. to wear, without overburdening the skin or blocking pores, thanks to its fresh and comfortable non-comedogenic formula.
4. Best for Sensitive Skin
Shade: light.
Texture: lightweight cream.
Star ingredients: exclusive ROSACTIV® complex, ginkgo biloba, green tea and to calm redness and irritation.
Finish: demi-matte velvet finish.
Scent: light, fresh scent.
If you have sensitive skin or skin prone to redness, this Bioderma tinted moisturiser the one for you. Its non-comedogenic formula is designed not only to delicately hydrate your skin but is also loaded with soothing agents to help reduce sensitivity and redness. It will increase the skin’s natural tolerance levels, so your skin will become less sensitive over time.
Its cream texture changes to a demi-matte finish that has a little luminosity to it thanks to light-reflecting powders and pigments (and it’s long-wearing, which is a bonus for a tinted moisturiser!). Meanwhile, glycerine and canola moisturise and strengthen the skin’s barrier function.
5. Best for Mature Skin
Shade: medium Skin Tones.
Texture: melting texture cream that blends easily into the skin.
Star ingredients: white tea extract – rich in polyphenols that help reverse the signs of ageing.
Finish: sheer, dewy glow.
Scent: natural, almost nutty scent.
Mature skin needs a tinted moisturiser that is nourishing and adheres to the face, blurring out fine lines rather than settling in them. That’s what the Nuxe BIO Tinted Cream does; it contains white tea, which is rich in polyphenols that help to reverse the signs of ageing and tackle concerns such as sun spots, fine lines and wrinkles while providing light to medium coverage.
I love the dewy glow it gives my skin, it looks healthy without looking oily or greasy, which can sometimes be a concern with products that are for mature skin. Its melting texture blends into the skin perfectly rather than sitting on top of it and gives skin a youthful radiance.
