Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Oil Free: sheer coverage favorite

A post about make-up today! While I love skincare as such, that love originally came from having horrible skin and covering it up with layers of foundation. For the better part of a decade (not even exaggerating here), I had aggressive flare-ups of cystic acne, mainly on my cheeks and jawline. I was always trying to cover up the redness and inflammation with heavy-duty concealers, foundations and powders. Full and long lasting coverage was basically what I wanted from my make-up products.

It took a while, but at some point, I started realizing that merely covering up wasn't a solution. I started to learn more about skincare and through a combination with medication (a topic for a future post if you guys are interested), I managed to clear up my skin. My relationship with make-up has changed dramatically since. Nowadays, I want my skincare to do all the work and want to apply as little make-up as possible. While I still love eye make-up, where my skin is concerned, I want a natural result. Full-coverage foundations are left for rare occasions, like all-day or all-night events, and even then, I want to a "my skin but better"-look.

On weekends, I often don't use anything, except perhaps some blush or a cream that neutralizes redness. On workdays however, I do want to cover up slight imperfections and even out my skin tone somewhat. I've tried and used countless BB- and CC-creams and tinted moisturizers (a.o. Estee Lauder, Erborian, Clinique, Nars, Amore Pacific) but was never totally happy with the result in terms of coverage, blending into my skin, shades, etc. Until about a year ago, when I tried the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer for the first time. After months of use, I can confirm that at least where I'm concerned there is nothing better! The funny thing is that this product has been on the market for quite some time, way before the BB- and CC-creams trend started.



The only drawbacks are the lasting quality (I find that towards the end of the day, the product is gone, and I do top off with a setting powder!), as well as the relatively limited range of shades. However, the product does blend very easily into the skin and I have no problem whatsoever finding a suitable share for winter and for summer skin.

The formula and finish are what make this tinted moisturizer such a favorite of mine. Hydrating, easy to apply (I hate those foundations/tinted products where you have to tug on your skin to get an even application) and SPF 20! It is slightly mattifying (or at least, shine is controlled during the day), skin tone is evened out, but freckles and your natural skin texture are not covered up and your skin remains dewy (and isn't that all that we want...). See the no-filter picture for results.

If you have imperfections you would like to cover, I would recommend using a creamy concealer for those, on top of the Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. I mainly do that for my dark circles, which really more coverage, no matter how much sleep I get or how much water I drink!

after application of the tinted moisturizer, before any powder/blush/bronzer

You can always trust me to give you an honest opinion and to tell you when a post was sponsored. This one wasn't and all of the products mentioned were purchased by me (for the love of skincare...).