Obligatory Disclaimer: I’m not a beauty guru, but I am a girl who has spent too much money on makeup in her life that made her look like an Oompa Loompa or made the skin flake off her face. 🙃 Finding the right makeup is always such a guessing game, but I thought I’d throw my 2 cents out there for anyone with needs/wants/concerns like mine.
Time to review some Ilia skin tint serum!
When I go to work, I like to wear a bit of preferably clean 🌱 makeup. (Ah, those under eye circles aren’t going away, are they…) I want to look super cute and feel confident (who doesn’t?), but if I’m wearing makeup, I don’t want to look like I’m wearing makeup, you know? I just want to even out any acne spots and look a bit more awake. Some people absolutely rock bold (not “blood,” keyboard?), colorful, glam looks, but it’s not my personal MO—I wear generally easy, minimalist makeup in soft pinks and browns. I also refuse to spend more than 5ish minutes in the morning doing makeup, because I love sleep. 💤🙃 Those are my goals! Now, on to my concerns!
I have very pale skin with cool/neutral undertones; when I do find something that initially seems light enough, it a) isn’t the right shade/tone or b) oxidizes. (read: I become orange.) I also have a variety of skin concerns including: sensitivity to ✨everything✨, occasional allergies to ingredients (my whole face was flaking off???), and acne if I breathe wrong.
I am now on my second jar of Ilia Skin Tint Serum, and I’m really liking it so far. Here’s the 411 (Wow, really dated my childhood here, lol):
The very nice woman working at Sephora recommended it to me as something good for sensitive skin when I told her that I can’t even wear Bare Minerals (I can’t…), and although there WAS an adjustment period for my skin, she was generally right! Although I had been curious about more luminous, natural finishes to makeup, I never thought I’d be able to wear something with a natural finish because only ONE type of decidedly-not-clean Cover Girl full-coverage matte foundation ever even close to matched my skin color.* I am pleased to be proven wrong by this new-to-me brand!
Primer is one of those things my skin doesn’t like, so I can’t exactly tell you how it wears over one. I can say that it applies brilliantly with your fingers, which is only fitting as it is a simple tinted serum. (Who has the energy to clean a makeup brush? Not me.) From what I’ve heard, it’s on the thicker end of the serum spectrum, but I don’t have any other serum experience to go off of to confirm or deny the supposition. I can say that the level of coverage is great for what I want, but it doesn’t cover like a true foundation, so don’t use it if your looking for full-coverage or want to go full glam.
You apply the product using a dropper (you don’t need much!!) and then blend it out! If you’ve got a stubborn something you’d like to cover a bit better, put a tiny drip on your hand and patpatpat some of it into that spot with a finger for better coverage.
When you first apply the product, at least on me, it’s a little tanner and warmer toned than it will be when it dries down some. I’m not sure why that is exactly, but the “reverse oxidation” works in my favor because Ilia shade Rendezvous ST1 happens to be a great match when it dries down! It starts off warmer and ends up cooler! WHEN HAS MAKEUP EVER MATCHED ME BEFORE THIS? Like… once. Maybe twice. 🙂 Ilia seems to have a pretty good variety of shades with 31 to pick from. The full drying down does take a little time (maybe… 5-15 minutes?), but it doesn’t hurt anything. Loose power blush applies well over top of it, too.
Its wear time seems to last…6ish hours? 8+ with a touch up or good concealer on blemishes? Like I said, it’s light, so it isn’t super problematic when it does wear off. Make sure you clean your face well when removing it, though, or suffer acne consequences! 😱😰
As far as downsides are concerned, I’ll note that it does settle into lines if you have them and that matters to you. You know those wrinkles that happen when you furrow your brow? Well, I don’t really notice wrinkles there when I’m not “furrowing,” but after a long day of wear, this serum will make it look like I have them if I put it on too thickly there (oops). If a person has concerns about wrinkles, they might want to think about how best to apply this product or consider another? I honestly don’t know. I’m not a guru. But I like it. It’s not a bum deal.
It’s also kinda pricey. Drug store prices seem to run from like $6-$15 per product, but this retails at close to $50. That’s quite a jump, but reasonable for higher end makeup. I will say that the quality difference (lots of good-for-your-skin ingredients, “clean”) and it’s ability to meet my various other needs (color match, no allergic/sensitivity reaction, etc.) makes it worth it for me, but you gotta do you.
So, all in all, I’m pleased! I recommend the product. Have you tried it? Are you going to?
With love and cheese danishes,
Shoujo 🌸
*correction! Lancôme Double Wear shade Cool Bone was close (I looked dead?), but no dice for a variety of reasons I that should be a review of their own, i.e. ACNE 😦
Shoujo Thoughts: ☆ ～('▽^人) Otaku Ramblings 