Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Review: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

Not everyone likes the feel of foundation on their skin, and Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer is a nice substitute for days when you want more of a minimal makeup face look. This product is described on Sephora's website as "a sheer, lightweight formula with a hint of color you can use in place of foundation for a natural finish and a healthy glowing complexion. It contains a SPF 20 for the ultimate in anti-aging prevention." I had heard about this product for so long, everyone raves about it, it's earned several awards and so on. But I will say straight up, I am not sure if the $42US/$55 CAD (WHY is it so much more expensive in Canada, does our version have gold in it???) price tag is really a fair price to pay for this product.

You can turn any foundation into a tinted moisturizer, just add a pump of your moisturizer to it, and you've got an affordable product that you made yourself. That way it will make it lighter and have less coverage. That's why I am not sold on the price of this at all. I purchased my tube on StrawberryNet.com for a discounted rate because it goes "bad" in a couple of months, I wanted to try it and this was my way to spend less money. it's nice that it has SPF 20, but it still shouldn't substitute your regular moisturizer (and it says that right on the bottle). I always use a moisturizer under this product anyway, my skin is so dry though that it's an absolute must.



This product comes in a large squeeze tube, it comes with 40ml or 1.5 oz (there is an even larger version available). I have this in the original formula, there is also an oil-free (for those with oily skin) and an illuminating version (for those that want more glow). I'd say this version is fine for those with dry-normal skin. I am not a huge fan of the packaging, as you can tell in the above picture, there is product pouring out of the nozzle here, every time I open it I get a ton of product right away, without even squeezing the bottle hardly, so wastage going on. I apply this with my hands, as I would with a moisturizer.

However, I do love what this product does for my skin, I have tons of foundations, and they all make my dry skin look drier, get patchy, and make my skin flake and this tinted moisturizer goes on smooth and makes my skin look like a normal person's. Now if you are looking for high-coverage, do not expect it from this product. This is not a foundation, it's a tinted moisturizer and acts like one, it gives light coverage. I am happy with the coverage myself, it evens out skintone, but it will not cover problem spots, you will need concealer. I think tinted moisturizers work well for those with pretty good skin, because they don't do much. I wore this with powder (Laura Mercier's Loose Setting) on top to my nightly walk that I do with my bf lately, and it stayed on just fine. It does give a dewy look and so I would say it's ideal for those with dry skin.

I have this in the colour Porcelain, which is the lightest (for very fair skin tones), if you are fair however, I think you'll have a problem getting a fair match (that's not fair) because most of the shades are quite dark, check out Karlasugar's swatches here. Porcelain is quite yellow, as I have compared it to other foundations above, it's a pretty awesome match for me, close to NC15 in MAC. Between Clinique's Moisture Surge tinted moisturizer and Laura's Tinted Moisturizer, I would definitely pick Laura's because the shade is a much better match for me.

Would I recommend this product? I have a really hard time suggesting to anyone to buy a tinted moisturizer that costs this much money. While the product is good, there are others on the market for less money. I probably wouldn't repurchase this. I would suggest getting a sample before you commit to this. It is a nice product though, so I am half and half on this one.

12 comments:

Ashley said... Best Blogger Tips

I've been very skeptical of this TM because of the price but I've recently discovered that it's more worthwhile to purchase the travel size rather than full size. Two travel size tubes cost less and make up more product than one full size.
The travel size also costs less than the new Clinique TM & Korres's Watermelon TM yet weighs exactly the same as the two (1oz/30ml). It doesn't seem so expensive when there's an alternative.

Liz (Beauty Reductionista) said... Best Blogger Tips

Thin and runny? I wonder if you got an old one. The consistency has always been creamy to me. (I used the oil free on myself and regular on my sister.)

I'll always come back to this one because Sand is my colour and this TM has better coverage than most other TMs out there. I love Laura Mercier face products.

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

You should try the balm's tinted moisturizer, I've heard nothing but raves about it and its $25 for a 2oz/ 60ml tube, that is twice the amount of product for less =D

I've been meaning to get a tinted moisturizer with my Sephora vib coupon next week. Now I'm just trying to decide between clinque's moisture surge or the balm =3

Appu said... Best Blogger Tips

Great review! I like this one especially during the summer :) I badly wanna try the Clinique Moisture Surge and UD's Urban Defense. I'll do it once LM gets over :)

Annie Dong said... Best Blogger Tips

I haven't been using this TM recently because the Nude shade is too dark for me now. I might go into Sephora to try out the Procelain. Great swatches. :)

Justine (Productrater) said... Best Blogger Tips

@Liz - you're right, it's more creamy than runny, I took that part out of the review.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

I've been enjoying my Kiehl's TM a lot. I used to use this one, but year the price is steep. Not sure if I'll get another one again for this summer.

Tiffany said... Best Blogger Tips

Great review! I've never tried it but most people seem to LOVE it. I feel like it might be worth it for someone who doesn't wear foundation but still wants coverage - that way, they don't have to spend their money on a foundation AND a moisturizer. But if you do wear foundation, then yeah, it's kind of expensive for something that's not necessary.

Tracy D said... Best Blogger Tips

I swear that price has jumped. I can see why it's popular but that price...yikes.

The Rhapsode said... Best Blogger Tips

I don't really want to spend that much money on tinted moisturizer because I've got a REALLY cheap one that already works quite well! Well, although it says tinted moisturizer the coverage is more like light/medium. It's ELF's tinted moisturizers (spf 15) and they cost $1 each! I bought 3 at a time so I could find my exact shade match. I thought it would turn out to be rubbish because of the price, but lo and behold it's quite natural and covers up my flaws quite well! Only bad thing is it never completely dries down, so you have to use a mattifying powder or you'll have grease imprinted on your cell phone.

Danielle said... Best Blogger Tips

I am trying out this tinted moisturizer right now myself. I think I need the Oil-free version, as the regular version leaves my forehead an oil slick by mid-day! I do really like the way it feels though.

Michelle said... Best Blogger Tips

Have you tried swatching the Dior TM and comparing it with the Laura Mercier TM? I was @Sephora yesterday and the makeup artist swatch the Dior TM on my hand and I find it feels a little smoother than the Laura Mercier's TM. I think the price of the Dior one is slightly cheaper too.