At the Beauty Emporium where I work, complexion products are probably the most contentious products for women to choose. By contentious, I mean most women will try two or more complexion products before they will hit upon The One (or in some cases, The Combination). By complexion products, I mean foundation makeup, powders, primers, etc.

One choice that is very popular is the tinted moisturizer. A tinted moisturizer is not really a moisturizer – rather, it is a light foundation that usually has some moisturizing properties to it. Most of them also will contain a sunscreen. They are designed to provide a sheer coverage, with ease of use being one of the main draws. Since they are sheer, they don’t tend to cake or streak like a regular foundation. They are usually of a more lotion-y consistency, which aids in application. Tinted moisturizers are great for the client who wants something to even out her complexion, but doesn’t want a full coverage foundation. Tinted moisturizers are also a great way to introduce a client to complexion products – foundations can be intimidating, since they have a reputation for being difficult to use and can give a “fake” mask-like appearance.

I think a lot of foundation’s “bad rep” comes from drugstore foundations. I used to be firmly against wearing foundation – it never looked right on my skin, and never looked natural. Trying to look at a product in a bottle on the drugstore wall and guess my skintone… well, unsurprisingly, this generally leads to a poor match and that fake makeup-y look. I do believe that there are some great drugstore foundations available – but the inability to do a stripe test to get a good match means most women will have to buy a few shades before getting the right shade.

Which leads me back to tinted moisturizers. You want a better looking complexion but you don’t want to mess with foundation. Try a tinted moisturizer. I’ll address three specific brands I’ve tried in another post.