Light Coverage Foundation Serums and Skin Tints

I’ve been feeling a little bit of the mid-winter doldrums. While I’ve been keeping cold, dry air of winter from affecting my skin too much with a super hydrating cream nightly, I still feel like I’m kind of dry and… heavy. Mostly heavy. I’ve been craving more luminous, sheer skin. Something pretty and natural. I’m basically ready for a spring makeup refresh, just a little early. I decided to check out some new lighter coverage foundations serums/skin tints. I’ve only tried one or two, and I wanted to see if they live up to the hype!

When swapping out for a lighter coverage foundation, I wanted to make few other adjustments as well. I want a slightly lighter and brighter undereye coverage, a pretty liquid blush and swapping out most of my setting powder for a setting spray. I thought these changes would keep the focus more on my skin, rather than any heavy makeup that is fighting with the foundation serum. I was able to order all of my choices from Sephora, and I used a TON of my Beauty Insider Program points to pick up small travel sized products, perfect for all of the dance competition weekends that my daughters have coming up! If you’re not a member, this is the perfect time to join.

First, I’ll share my thoughts on the serum foundations that I picked up, and then the items I got to pair with them.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint

When looking for a lighter coverage foundation, I immediately headed to the the Fenty Skin Tint. The Fenty Eaze Drop Stick Foundation has been one of my go-to foundations for years (I’ve likely bought at least 10 sticks at this point), which makes trying out the serum foundation a no brainer. The stick has light to medium coverage, and blends easily. Ideally, I wanted something similar but in a liquid form, which would be a little easier on days that my skin felt a tad drier than usual.

Well, I got exactly what I asked for. This Skin Tint is definitely lightweight, I think it’s similar to a thick face serum. It is very forgiving in the shade range, but I grabbed a 4, which matches my stick shade. And yes, the shades are the same. I can quickly apply this with my fingers and then blend it out with a brush (more on my current brush of choice below), and it comes out perfectly. It lasts all day, and is not cakey. Coverage is sheer to medium and you can build it up a little if needed. This is a great option if you’re looking for a serum foundation, it went immediately into my makeup vanity and I’ll be keeping it in my usual makeup rotation.

ciele tint & PROTECT medium coverage serum foundation with SPF 50+

I’ve been seeing the Ciele Serum Foundation all over Instagram, especially from a few dermatology accounts that I follow. I was interested in the flawless coverage they were all getting, which seemed to be all day. While the dermatologists were super excited about the high SPF value, keep in mind that your makeup should really be an “added” SPF factor, rather than the product you’re relying on each day for sun protection. You need to apply a pretty thick, even coat of product to achieve that SPF value, and you just won’t be doing that with a foundation. Instead, rely on either a moisturizer with SPF or a dedicated sunscreen to get your sun protection.

This product isn’t exactly what I was looking for. It isn’t really a serum foundation, my bottles were both thicker, similar to a traditional liquid foundation. I had medium coverage, and the product was a bit less forgiving regarding color match due to this. I appeared to be between 2 shades (3 Light and 4 Light Medium), so I purchased both. And I’m really smack dab in between both of them. Using either one alone looks odd, and I need to mix them in a roughly 60/40 ratio to get a better shade match. I also found the shades to both be quick a bit more golden than my cool toned skin. In the name of science I did wear this combo at home a few days, and found that the product does blend really well and last all day! But due to my color match issues, I’ll be passing these products on to a friend. If you’re a good color match, this might be a good option for you.

Hourglass Veil™ Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation

I admit I was really wanting to try out 3 products, and was having a hard time to choosing a third option. For some reason I’ve been really resistant to trying out the Hourglass Veil Skin Tint, even though so many people truly seem to love it? I think I was expecting it to be just another tinted moisturizer, so I didn’t think it would be worthwhile. However, when looking at shades available, I noticed that this is one of the few sheerer coverage products that mentioned undertones. And that’s what sold me.

This does feel a little light a sheer tinted moisturizer, but I think the shade options are better, the coverage can be built up a little (but not really to a medium coverage), and it blends really well with just your fingertips. Shade 4 basically disappeared immediately into my skin, a perfect match! That’s something that never happens for me. In person, I can’t see this product on my skin at all, the blending is so easy and perfect, and there’s no mid-day issues such as caking or wearing off. Overall I’m really impressed, and kicking myself for being so resistant to trying it out previously. It’s currently sitting on my vanity as I’ve been using this Skin Tint daily.

My pairing choices:

It doesn’t make sense to me to be changing up my face makeup completely with just a new type of foundation. I wanted less coverage, luminous and glowy! Here’s what I went with to pair with my new foundation coverage.

Lighter and Brighter Undereye Coverage:

My undereyes are far from perfect. But, they’re pretty good for a 47 year old that works a lot! I have some darkness, and a bit of volume loss that can create shadows, making me look a bit tired. In the past I’ve done really well with a color corrector followed by a medium to full concealer. Recently I’ve been reaching for the new Kosas Revealer Corrector, as the pink shade does a great job of both brightening and color correcting. On days that I didn’t get quite enough sleep, I have needed a small amount of concealer as well. I recently discovered the Natasha Denona Hy-Glam, which is medium to full coverage but can be applied with a really light hand and then blended out pretty far. So you need almost no product to get coverage, which is a huge win for me. Note, I’ve found that the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation Brush is still working perfectly for blending both concealer and foundation. It works great all over my face, but also fits under my eyes and around my nose without issues.

Liquid Blush:

It probably isn’t a surprise that along with my craving for more luminous foundation coverage, I decided to try out the latest Hourglass Unreal Liquid Blush. It’s a bit brighter, and very pigmented. It comes in a small bottle, that is probably a lifetime supply. It comes out in tiny drops, which I have been applying first to the back of my hand, and then from there very lightly applying to my face with a brush. You need a very light hand, it’s easy to over do it with this product! But when applied lightly, it’s very pretty. It lasts all day!

More Spray, Less Powder:

Finally, I’m trying to use even less product than ever before. While I’ll still use a little bit of my favorite pressed powder under my eyes if I’m expecting to be at work all day, I’m avoiding the powder on the rest of my face. Instead, I’ll spray a little of the Charlotte Tilbury Setting Spray onto my brush before blending out foundation and concealer. And then once all of my cream/liquid products have been applied and blended, I apply a light mist of the One/Size On ‘Til Dawn Mattifying Setting Spray all over the top. I feel very extra using 2 different sprays, but I’ve found that the Charlotte works best for the brush, where you essentially mix the spray into the products. This blends better, helps then create a more flawless finish, and last all day. One/Size does a better job of misting everything for better lasting power after application, because the mist is much finer than the Charlotte spray. This combo has been working so well for me that I’m actually travelling with 2 very small mini travel sized setting sprays now. But, it works!

What changes will you be making this spring for more luminous makeup? I’d love to know your latest tips and products!

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Sponsored Post: This post is a collaboration with Sephora, but the product choices and opinions are all my own.