This product is a true skincare and cosmetic hybrid, with its hydrating serum base combined with the coverage, the evening of your Complexion and the longevity that we demand from a cosmetic! Ilia delivers with their skin-matching technology that provides us with a wide variety of shades, by tone AND undertone. The coverage of the product is lighter, however, bordering on sheer almost, so you will need a good concealer or another foundation for days that your dark and puffy under eye circles can tell the world about your night beforehand or it’s the week leading up to menstruation. Hence, the ‘tint’ in the title, this product does more to even your overall complexion. It serves a different purpose than every other foundation product on the market. This tint becomes the only coverage that you require after consistent use of the actual product. It addresses many of the concerns that cause us to seek out Cosmetics to begin with, including minimizing redness, improving skins’ texture and decreasing hyperpigmentation. If you like a full coverage product, this will probably not appeal to you. However, it still doubles as a fantastic moisturizing serum, so you may find a use for it and then fall in love. Makeup lovers might like this as a primer, as it does well to smooth and even the skin, making it (appear to be) naturally flawless! I highly recommend this for all skin types.

I used a bottle of the Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF30 in shade 1 Rendezvous. It was usable but could have been so much better. I am ultra-fair with cool and de-saturated undertones (my best match was the discontinued CT Magic Foundation in Fair 00 (the new replacement CT Beautiful Skin shade 1 is way too dark and yellow) , lately have used Hauslabs Triclone Foundation in 015; Nars Sheer Glow in shade Oslo oxidizes a shade or two too dark on me). There is enough pigment in this product for dewy medium coverage but I was underwhelmed by how much the Ilia Skin Tint Oxidized on me - it went on quite suitable a colour but turned a darker orange in no time. My other issue with this skin tint was that the oily consistency was super dewy to the point that I looked like I'd sweated profusely only 15 minutes after application unless I dabbed my face with a tissue - a feat that you'd like to avoid with an SPF product. If you're oily, I would not choose this - it was already a bit much for my combo skin. YouTuber Morgan Turner said in her video that she mixes this product with her less hydrating base products to make them more moisturizing, which may indeed be a good hack for the drier-skinned people. However, that won't give you the mineral SPF30 benefit of this product, which is why I bought it in the first place. Also, I would not be able to use this product as a mixer because I would need a shade that was a lot lighter.

I really do love this product! I only have 2 drawbacks which I will get to at the end but first! Wow the coverage is great because it still is sheer like skin with the finish but evens out my complexion very gracefully. Don’t expect this to be full coverage, but that is what I prefer because the sheer looks better on me in real-life scenarios, especially in the office. The ingredients have everything I need to keep my more skincare pretty minimal- the added spf, niacinimide, and squalene make this actually my skincare as well on days I know I’ll be sweaty, so I don’t layer this on top of products doing the same thing and feeling greasy. I naturally have pretty oily skin, so I don’t feel the need to put on more than 1 form of moisturizer per day. My main gripe is that the packaging sometimes leaks a bit if you travel a lot, which I do for work. It won’t leak all over my bag, but there’s always a rim of dried product all around the opening. I like the dropper effect though.

I truly love this brand so I had to give the serum a try and see what all the hype was about. After making sure my skin was really hydrated with using a serum since this formula is water based and won't apply properly if you are using anything with dimethicone (silicones) or oils in them like moisturizer. It has to be oil free or it won't absorb properly. I applied it with just using my fingers and noticed that it looked so flawless and Dewey when applied that way. I usually use brushes and blenders, but this was so simple, it called for nothing more. Something that amazed me about this formula is that it's very buildable however it has to be done with one small application at a time. If I applied one coat and let it dry then I could apply 1, 2 or even 5 more if I wanted. I was able to get anywhere from light coverage to almost full coverage. It never looked cakey since it's a serum so unlike foundations, this made it a 2 in one type of base in my opinion. I also tried setting it and it set very nicely. I think this is good for anyone that likes more of a satin matte to skin like finish, depending on how many layers you use. I applied creams and bronzer which didn't lift and lasted the whole day without moving at all. I am so impressed by this formula and just love the color selection which I got online and managed to find my perfect shade. If I had to say two minor things I didn't particularly care for, it would have to be the dropper top and having to remember to shake it vigorously before each use. But to be honest it's absolutely worth it for how beautiful it looked and felt on my skin. If you're concerned about how it looks on its own then put it like this, it absolutely looks like just your natural skin and could walk out the door with nothing else on your face and no one would know the difference. This to me makes it even more amazing to have a fuss free and simple but even skin tone that's so flattering.