Hint of Tint

For the longest time, I've heard raves about Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser. I wasn't entirely convinced how good it could possibly be, mainly because the idea of a tinted moisturiser never particularly appealed to me. After all, wasn't it the same thing as mixing in a bit of my foundation with my regular moisturiser? Still, when I saw a smaller 30ml tube of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser at Sephora during my trip to the States for around $20, I couldn't resist picking one up and seeing if it was worth the hype. While there's 3 versions of the tinted moisturiser: regular, oil-free (in the brown packaging) and illuminating, I only saw the smaller size in the regular form. There were also only two available shades, Nude and the darker Sand. I grabbed Nude after trying a bit on my face first and being satisfied it wasn't too light for me. I managed to resist opening my tube for months, hoping to use up some other of my other base products first, but caved recently.

Though I've only used it for a short period of time, I'm unexpectedly impressed by the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser. Maybe it's finally made me see the light when it comes to tinted moisturisers. The first thing I noticed is the effortless way it applies to the skin. You really don't need to expend much energy blending or rubbing it in. It almost does the job for you. There's no feeling of product sitting on top of your skin or any kind of oiliness, chalkiness or residue that foundation or certain BB creams can leave. It really is akin more to a normal moisturiser that hydrates and sinks into your skin, but with a creamy texture rather than being more of a lotion or relatively liquid. The colour is undetectable, in that when you're applying it, there's not a huge, noticeable difference in skin tone between the areas of your face where you've put some on and the rest of your face. It's a very subtle, light coverage, weightless product that brightens and evens out the skin tone and provides a natural radiance. I've called other bases "natural-looking" in the past, but I can truly say that I only discovered what that means after using this.

The before picture on the left is my bare face without a scrap of makeup. Beside it is my face with just the tinted moisturiser on. Both pictures are 100% unedited. I'm talking extract from the SD card and cropped only. Not even a minor brightness or contrast or colour adjustment. To my eyes, I can see that the tinted moisturiser has minimised the appearance of pores and blackheads, reduced redness and areas of discolouration, and generally injected some health and luminosity to my complexion. The end result is still incredibly subtle but undeniably effective.

Nude seems like the right shade for me, as I don't find it too dark or light, but the product itself is so natural-looking and light coverage that even if the shade was slightly off, I don't think it would be all that noticeable. The moisturiser admittedly has a faint chemical smell which is slightly off-putting, but nothing major. I do have to put quite a bit on each time (the amount pictured on my hand was barely enough for my whole face), which again reinforces how much closer it is to a regular moisturiser than a foundation or Asian BB cream. I can easily picture myself finishing the whole tube fairly quickly. I am curious about the oil-free version, which might be better suited to my skin come summer. I haven't noticed any issues with oil control in the few times I've used it, though my skin is in a drier state at the moment than it normally is. Once my tube is emptied, I probably would repurchase, though the Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector (Combination to Oily Skin) still remains a solid option for higher coverage and a glowier finish.