Best Skin Tints That Will Elevate Your Everyday Makeup

Move over, full coverage face bases: there’s a new kid in town. Skin tints have been making waves in the beauty community with their lightweight, no-makeup makeup look. They often have more skincare benefits than a typical foundation, too. All of these reasons make them a hot item for those minimal girlies.

So, what exactly is a skin tint? You may be familiar with the terms ‘tinted moisturizer,’ ‘BB cream,’ and ‘CC cream,’ which all fall into the skin tint category. What classifies as a skin tint to us is a sheer to medium coverage face base that is easy to apply, minimizes/blurs imperfections, evens skin tone, and feels like you’re wearing nothing. Typically, we find these to have a shorter wear time of around 6-8 hours.

With brands launching skin tints left and right these days, it’s hard to know what’s good. Don’t worry – we’ve tried them all (at least most of them) and are here to give you the 411 on the best skin tints depending on what you’re looking for.

Milabu Rating

(4.3)

Buy Now – $39.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4.1)

APPLICATION

(4.4)

COVERAGE

(4.4)

TEXTURE

(4.5)

LONGEVITY

(4)

SHADE RANGE

(4)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(4.5)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: caliray’s Freedreaming Skin Tint is a dream. It blurs skin for an airbrushed finish like no other. The lightweight pigment applies easily with the fingers or a brush. While caliray suggests a sheer to medium coverage, we find it to be buildable up to medium coverage. The natural, soft matte finish can mimic what is worn underneath, whether a matte primer or glowy skincare. It wears well with minimal transfer and fading, resisting settling into lines and pores. For us, this is the perfect no-makeup makeup. It looks like skin and imperfections are blurred for an everyday makeup canvas.

Freedreaming Tint doesn’t have any SPF, which we always recommend wearing! One of our favorites for under makeup is Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen, $36.

MILABU RATING

(4.2)

Buy Now – $35.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4.7)

APPLICATION

(4.5)

COVERAGE

(4)

TEXTURE

(4.2)

LONGEVITY

(3.5)

SHADE RANGE

(4.3)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(4.3)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: Who doesn’t want glowy skin? Saie Slip Tint is the best for a dewy skin look. This lightweight tinted moisturizer has SPF 35 and is a perfect face base to wear alone for a beach day or for a canvas for a natural glam look. If your skin tends to lean oily but you still want the glow, we recommend pairing a mattifying primer underneath (we’ve been loving the new caliray SO Blown Away Primer!). The clean formula has an infusion of skincare ingredients for ultimate hydration and brightening, like hyaluronic acid and licorice root. Sensitive, acne-prone skin rejoice because you’re gonna love this one.

Honorable Mention: We couldn’t forget to include the coveted Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter on our list. Marketed as a “complexion booster,” this has benefits similar to most skin tints: blurring, smoothing, illuminating sheer coverage. It’s versatile, too, and can be used as a primer, as a highlight, or as a face base. If you’re looking for that ultra glowy, glazed donut look, you’ll love this one.

MILABU RATING

(3.9)

Buy Now – $44.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(3.9)

APPLICATION

(4)

COVERAGE

(4.5)

TEXTURE

(3.2)

LONGEVITY

(3.8)

SHADE RANGE

(4)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(3.8)

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: Don’t let the fact that this is a CC cream fool you, because this one has mega coverage. IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream is a classic that we of course had to include on our list. SPF 50, color correction, and buildable coverage are all the reasons this one envies even typical foundations. You’ll be ditching your full coverage for this one with how it effortlessly evens skin tone, minimizing imperfections.

The formula is on the thicker side, so we recommend applying with a beauty sponge or with the fingers to ensure your complexion doesn’t look too heavy. To get the best wear, we recommending finishing your complexion with a setting powder to help it not fade away too quickly.

One thing we love about IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream is all the different versions of it comes in. Whether you’re an oilier skin type or want dewy skin, you’ll find a fit for your skin.

MILABU RATING

(4.6)

Buy Now – $19.99

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4)

APPLICATION

(4.9)

COVERAGE

(4.6)

TEXTURE

(4.7)

LONGEVITY

(4.9)

SHADE RANGE

(4.4)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(3.8)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: We love a makeup steal. This L’Oreal skin tint was one of our favorite launches in 2021 and it is just not talked about enough. True Match Nude Hyaluronic Tinted Serum provides lightweight coverage with a natural finish, blurring imperfections for an even complexion. We find that it applies beautifully with a sponge for a second-skin like look. The texture is reminiscent of a mineral SPF with a little bit of a grippy feel to it, which helps it wear well with any complexion enhancers. In typical skin tint fashion, it does fade and wear off throughout the day, but it doesn’t look extra dry or extra oily.

MILABU RATING

(4.5)

Buy Now – $32.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4.5)

APPLICATION

(4.8)

COVERAGE

(4.5)

TEXTURE

(4.1)

LONGEVITY

(4.8)

SHADE RANGE

(5)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(3.5)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: If you asked us our favorite face base of 2021, we would say Fenty Eaze Drop. This skin tint surprised us with how stunning it is on the skin. It beautifully blurs, minimizes imperfections and redness, and has a long wearing, matte finish. And not only is it beautiful on the skin, it also has one of the most inclusive shade ranges among skin tints. The 25 shades are flexible to fit just about every skin tone. All skin types can benefit from this one too. If you like a matte finish, it’s beautiful on its own. If you want the glow, simply add in some dew drops (Fenty recently launched Eaze Drop’lit for this purpose) or use a glowy primer underneath.

MILABU RATING

(4.4)

Buy Now – $33.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4.2)

APPLICATION

(4.3)

COVERAGE

(4.8)

TEXTURE

(4)

LONGEVITY

(4.9)

SHADE RANGE

(4.8)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(4)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: We were not expecting to love Patrick Starrr’s Turn Up The Base Foundation as much as we do. Despite it having “foundation” in the name, we find this to be closer to a skin tint formula. It provides ample coverage (light to medium) with a natural, soft matte finish that mimics what is worn underneath. But, where this tint shines is its long wear. Turn Up The Base easily has the longest wear on its own when compared to all other in the skin tint category. With this one, you don’t have to worry about a shiny t-zone, a ton of settling into lines and pores, or fading and transfer. If settling or creasing does happen (we find this is mostly around the smile lines), take a beauty puff to press the product back into the skin.

MILABU RATING

(4.3)

Buy Now – $48.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(3.6)

APPLICATION

(4.8)

COVERAGE

(4.7)

TEXTURE

(4.4)

LONGEVITY

(3)

SHADE RANGE

(5)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(4.7)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint is a complexion product with big benefits. Super Serum Skin Tint provides lightweight sheer to light coverage for an even complexion. But, where this face base shines is its formula. The clean formula is silicone free, fragrance free, oil free, and more, plus contains SPF 40 via non-nano zinc oxide, which protects against UVA, UVB, UVC, blue light, and infrared rays. It’s infused with hyaluronic acid and squalane to hydrate and plump skin, while niacinamide helps soften fine lines, texture, and imperfections.

MILABU RATING

(4.4)

Buy Now – $49.00

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4.5)

APPLICATION

(4.4)

COVERAGE

(4.3)

TEXTURE

(4.5)

LONGEVITY

(3.8)

SHADE RANGE

(5)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(3.9)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer is a cult classic with formulas for all skin types, to include the OG natural, luminous, and oil-free versions. These skin tints provide sheer to light coverage with finish dependent on the formula you choose, perfect for those no-makeup makeup days. You’ll find an infusion of skincare benefits for healthy looking skin, protection against harmful environmental effects, plus SPF. This face base wears decent throughout the day, with minimal settling and patchiness. Although, you’ll want to touch-up with a powder if your skin is extra oily!

MILABU RATING

(4.4)

Buy Now – $6.49

RATING BREAKDOWN

VALUE

(4.8)

APPLICATION

(4.7)

COVERAGE

(4.5)

TEXTURE

(4.1)

LONGEVITY

(4)

SHADE RANGE

(4.2)

EXTRA BENEFITS

(4)

See Skin Tint in Action ▶️

_{Here’s how we rate our products.}

Why We Love It: New to skin tints or not sure if they’re for you? Start here. Wet n Wild Bare Focus Tinted Hydrator is one of the best cheap skin tints we’ve come across. It’s claims are buildable light to medium coverage, a lightweight feel, and a semi-matte finish. Plus, its inclusion of hyaluronic acid and squalane provide all-day hydration. We’re happy to report that Bare Focus does all of this and does it well, especially for the price. This wallet-friendly skin tint is a great way to dip your toes into the world of skin tints without breaking the bank.

You will want to pair a primer and setting product with this face base, though, as the wear on its own will only get you about 4 hours.

^{Edited by Maddie}