Review: ILIA skin tint is the skin care-meets-makeup secret to putting your best face forward in 30 shades
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What does it mean to put your best face forward? After a few years of fluctuating between a semblance of normalcy and not-so-normal, we’ve had to rethink a lot of things: What it means to “get ready” for work (remote and in-person), how to take better care of ourselves inside and out, and how we want to look when we venture out and the masks come off.
One thing is for sure; everyone’s had a different beauty experience since the start of the pandemic. Maybe you started wearing less makeup and investing more into skin care. Perhaps you miss the ritual of “putting your face on” in the morning, but your old makeup look feels like overkill or you want to start wearing makeup for the first time.
If you need a product that’s as flexible as you are, does it all without overdoing it and helps you put your best face forward — that might be ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40.
ILIA Skin Tint is a clean, light-coverage, tinted mineral SPF 40 serum that fuses skin care, makeup and sun protection into one miracle product that streamlines your morning routine and leaves your skin looking like skin — in more than 30 shades.
This multi-hyphenate, makeup-meets-skin care product has nearly 10,000 reviews between its own site and Sephora, earned accolades and awards like “Best Clean Foundation,” “Beauty Innovator,” and “Best Makeup with Clean Sunscreen” from the connoisseurs of beauty at Allure, Refinery 29 and more — it basically has EGOT status.
But what exactly is this so-called John Legend of makeup?
ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40
This skin-loving serum has an impressive ingredient lineup: Niacinamide to smooth skin texture and tone, plant-based squalane to balance skin and improve elasticity, and hyaluronic acid (known for holding up to 1,000 times its weight in water) to plump and seal hydration. It can boost antioxidant effectiveness by 200% and has shea butter and aloe for extra nourishment.
Most importantly, it features SPF 40 coverage with non-nano zinc oxide to safely shield skin from UVA, UVB, UVC, blue light and infrared rays. Some studies suggest that mineral sunscreens may be safer than chemical formulations, but they’ve historically been associated with having a thick white cast in the past.
Not only has ILIA figured out how to create a mineral SPF product without a white cast, it’s formulated without silicones, fragrances, oils, chemical sunscreen or gluten, so it’s safe for sensitive skin. Did we mention 1% of its sales go toward planting 1 million trees by 2023?
Considering the light coverage and natural finish, ILIA Skin Tint is available in an impressive 30 shades, ranging from fair to deep in cool, neutral and warm undertones. Overwhelmed by the selection? Snap a selfie and an ILIA expert will email you your perfect match, along with a few other curated product recommendations.
ITK Review: ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40
I’ve been wanting to try ILIA Skin Tint ever since my roommate started wearing it. I was already a huge fan of their Color Block Lipsticks — it’s highly pigmented, feels creamy, doesn’t smudge and looks matte. That lipstick has earned a permanent spot in my purse (Marsala is my favorite color), but I knew I had to try this next.
As someone who’s never worn foundation and relies on smearing concealer across the areas of my face that could use a little extra love — I was intrigued by Skin Tint’s “doesn’t look like you’re wearing makeup and it’s good for you” concept and loved that it was a clean product with sun protection.
I sent a selfie using the shade match finder and my result was Diaz ST7, a light medium with neutral undertones. I squeezed the drops on my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin and blended with my fingers onto bare skin as instructed. It melted onto my skin and veiled any redness in my cheeks with this sheer, barely there coverage that also left a gorgeous, healthy glow.
It gave much-needed color to my face, highlighted my features without being too shiny and did a good job of brightening the skin under my eyes and fading blemishes when I dabbed on a bit extra. I loved how fresh-faced I looked; it was very flattering for video meetings and didn’t feel like overkill during my afternoon walk — it’s like my actual skin but better.
That being said, my skin tends to be very dry, especially in the winter — so my face started feeling a little tight later on in the day. The next day I applied Skin Tint over my everyday face oil, and the application was just as seamless and left my skin feeling hydrated all day. I think people with normal to oily skin could get away with just using Skint Tint solo.
My everyday skin care routine consists of a face oil, tanning drops, sunscreen and concealer if I need it. While I still needed to wear moisturizer as a base, this product essentially did the work of all four products for less time and money. It’s a great option for someone who wants to streamline their skin care/makeup routine and wants the no-makeup look without going completely bare-faced. I also got a sample of the Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm, which I might love even more than the lipsticks.
I’ll definitely be grabbing Skin Tint whenever my face needs a little something extra, and I know my roommate wears Porto Ferro ST10 whenever she goes out — how cute is she?
Another editor on our team had the opportunity to try Skin Tint in shade Formosa ST4. Her thoughts are below:
“Pre-pandemic, I never left the house without a full face of makeup. However, these days, working from home and whatnot, I prefer minimal makeup and focus more on my skin care. That said, ILIA’s Super Serum Skin Tint is my new favorite foundation.”
“I use the dropper to put about a pea-size amount on each cheek, my nose and my forehead, and then use my fingers to blend it in. It makes my skin look more even, less red and totally dewy (without looking overly shiny). It also doesn’t have a cakey feel — it’s truly like a serum.”
“I like to pair the skin tint with ILIA’s True Skin Serum Concealer, a little bronzer, mascara and a tinted lip balm for a quick Zoom-ready look. You can see the difference in my skin in the photos (but give me some grace; the pre-makeup look was taken the morning after celebrating my birthday).”
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