My makeup never used to feel complete without foundation. In fact, when I was younger, I think I pretty much wore foundation every single day. Luckily, over the last few years, I’ve learnt to embrace my natural skin, but whenever I do feel like wearing makeup, I still reach for a heavier base product.
A couple of months ago I went for a facial, and the facialist told me that my skin was quite congested, and advised switching my rich cleansers and day creams for lighter products instead. While doing that, I was also keen to find a more lightweight base product that would still give my skin that luminous glow that my beloved dewy foundations always delivered on. Before you ask, I have tried my fair share of tinted moisturisers over the years, but none of them gave me the finish I was after. After telling a fellow beauty editor about my makeup woes, she asked if I’d ever tried the tinted serum from Rose Inc. If you didn’t know, Rose Inc is the brainchild of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and the beauty brand is just as chic as you’d imagine.
It mainly focuses on multipurpose makeup and skincare products that are easy to use and are designed to give you that natural look. I’ve tried a couple of products from the brand and have always been a big fan, but the tinted serum was something I was yet to get my hands on. However, after hearing my colleague rave about it so much, I decided to give it a go. Keep on scrolling for my honest review…
Let me start by telling you a bit about the product. This clever serum combines skincare and makeup properties to leave you with a hydrated, radiant complexion. It provides sheer coverage and give a luminous finish, and the formula has been designed to not clog the pores. Although all of the skincare benefits sounded great, when I first read up about serum, I wasn’t sure if it would be right for me as I liked something with light to medium coverage at a minimum. That being said, everyone was raving about it in the reviews, so I made sure to hold all judgement before trying it myself. It is currently available in 14 shades, and although this is more than some other tinted serums on the market, I would like to see a larger shade range from the brand in the future.
After getting hold of the product, I tried it out on the back of my hand, and was taken aback by the texture. It almost felt like water on the skin, and contained microencapsulated pigment spheres that looked like small bubbles. It was definitely lightweight, but I was confused on how best to blend it into my complexion. After looking online, it seemed best to mix the product with a brush to activate the microencapsulated spheres, so I grabbed my favourite foundation brush and gave it a go.
Turns out, the internet was right, and a brush definitely is the way to go with this. I still could not believe how lightweight it felt on the skin (it actually felt as if I wasn’t wearing any makeup at all), but I was also shocked at how glowy it made me look. In fact, the serum had completely evened out my skin texture and given me that luminous finish that I had been desperately searching for. Result!
The coverage is definitely not the same as a foundation, but thanks to the silky texture, my concealer blended into my skin like a dream over this, and I simply used that to cover any blemishes or dark circles under my eyes.
I have always struggled with my foundation rubbing off throughout the day, but I found this kept my skin looking amazing from morning till night, and the best bit was that I knew it wasn’t causing any congestion or irritation. In fact, since using this for the last few weeks, my skin has looked better than ever.
For under £40, I really couldn’t recommend this product enough, and I don’t think I will ever reach for my foundation again. This serum has made my life so much easier (it takes me half the time to do my makeup in the morning), and I feel more confident than ever wearing the most minimal of makeup looks. Brb, off to stock up before it sells out…
The Rose Inc serum is available in 14 shades, and comes in the chicest packaging.
If you’re looking for another serum-like skin tint, I’m a big fan of this Ilia one.
I love Summer Fridays skincare, so I am desperate to give the skin tint a go.
For a great affordable option, you can’t go wrong with L’Oréal.
Hourglass recently released a hydrating skin tint and I’ve been seeing everyone rave about it on TikTok and Instagram.
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