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.