Makeup That Makes the Most of Your Skin

If you are still wearing foundation on a regular basis, but don’t love the way it makes your skin look, join the club. And keep reading.

I stopped wearing foundation routinely about three years ago. I was finding it less and less flattering as I aged because many formulas seemed to erase any natural luminosity I still had, and, after a few hours, the makeup often settled into fine lines and made me look tired. I still wear foundation occasionally (for an evening event or a work appearance where I might be photographed), but I stick to very light-coverage formulas, such as NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, Tarte Hybrid Gel Foundation, Bare Minerals Made-2-Fit Foundation, or an oldie but still goody Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. And I often sheer them out even further with a damp Beauty Blender sponge or my Silisponge.

Day to day, I have downshifted to tinted moisturizer. It provides subtle coverage and color correction but still lets my natural skin glow through. Many formulas now also boast bells and whistles like SPF and anti-aging ingredients, so using them can streamline your morning skincare routine too. Finally, because their primary purpose is hydration, they are typically really good for aging skin, as they leave it plumper and dewier.

Now, tinted moisturizers are not all the same. But I believe there is one for everyone. I recently went makeup shopping with two good friends, Debbie and Lisa, who are recent converts from foundation to tinted moisturizer. Debbie, who wanted some extra glow, picked up NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 which she mixes with NARS Radiant Primer SPF 35. Lisa, who wanted a basic, goof-proof, super-natural formula, settled on Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20.

Both the NARS and Trish MCEvoy formulas are good for normal to dry types and leave the skin subtly dewy. (I’d put Sephora’s new Bright Future Skin Tint SPF 25 in this same category too, plus it's a relative bargain at $18.) In all three cases, the colors are quite forgiving as well; I can wear NARS in shades "Alaska" or "Groenland," and see little discernible difference.

If your skin is on the oilier side, or you prefer a dryer, more suede-like finish, try Urban Decay’s One & Done Hybrid Complexion Perfector SPF 20 or Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream SPF 30. Despite Clinique’s moisture surge promise, I find it (as well as the Urban Decay formula) to absorb very quickly and leave the skin more demi-matte than dewy.

Sidenote: You may be wondering what the difference is between a tinted moisturizer and a BB or CC Cream? Sometimes, they’re synonymous (case in point: Clinique’s CC cream). However, in other instances, BB and CC Creams can be as heavy as a foundation (for instance, It Cosmetics’ CC Cream is akin to a full-coverage foundation.) BB and CC, in my opinion, are nothing but marketing terms and don’t stand for much. BB=Beauty Balm (or Blemish Balm, as the first Korean formulas were for acneic skin), and CC=Color Correcting. But any tinted moisturizer or foundation could be argued to be both a beauty balm and color corrector. The takeway? Just try it on.

So, have you, like me (and Debbie and Lisa) made the shift from foundation to tinted moisturizer? If so, what do you like? Let us all know in the Comments, below.