Base products are probably my favorite category of makeup to test, and I usually tend to find a new everyday favorite every few months. Even when I’m 100% happy with something, I still just want to keep testing. Lately my newest favorite combination has been two new highly talked about releases, the ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 and the Kosas Revealer Concealer. I’ve taken long enough to share my full thoughts on both of these, so I thought I might as well group them into a double review.
ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40
ILIA is one of my favorite brands (if not my favorite full stop), so I was not only excited about their recent rebrand, but also ecstatic to get a chance to try their newest base product. It’s meant to roll skincare, sunscreen, and makeup all into one easy product, boasting SPF 40 (using non-nano zinc oxide) as well as skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, plant-derived squalane, and niacinamide. It’s available in 18 shades - since it’s sheer I suspect the shades will be quite adaptable, but the spread is a little heavier on the light-medium shades than the deeper shades.
I don’t use this as a “one and done” kind of product, though if your skin is less dry than mine it may just work fine like that. I would, however, recommend not using this as your sole SPF step - I never rely on the SPF in my makeup just because the amount you need to apply is usually too much for a tinted product. But I’ve found this wears well over my usual skincare and SPF, and I haven’t had any issues with it pilling on top of other products. For reference, I’ve been using a cream like Avene Tolerance, followed by Leo Oil, followed by either Krave The Beet Shield or Purito Centella Green Level Safe Sun.
This has become my favorite for everyday because it’s barely there, and yet it evens out everything I need it to. It has a runny formula (not surprising for a “serum” skin tint) and feels mildly hydrating as it’s rubbed into the skin. I apply this with my hands as that’s how I apply all of my foundations/tinted moisturizers/etc, and it’s worked very well for me that way. It blends out easily and glosses over imperfections. I find this does a really great job at giving my skin a smooth, even look. It never sticks on or emphasizes texture or dryness for me, although remember I do wear my usual skincare underneath. It has a beautiful dewy finish that never reads as greasy, although I do lightly powder my T-zone with the ILIA loose powder.
I really love how long this lasts - normally glowy, light products like this only wear for six-ish hours before wearing away, and I usually just deal with it. But this lasts an entire workday for me - I don’t notice acne scars peeking through until I get home from work about 10 hours after I’ve applied it. It doesn’t get oily throughout the day - the amount of dewiness it has when I apply it remains constant throughout the day.
Kosas Revealer Concealer
Kosas is also quickly becoming one of my favorite brands, and I jumped at their new concealer launch. I’ve written about my love for the Milk Makeup Flex Concealer for years now, so I wondered if the Revealer Concealer would live up to that. Lately I was finding the Milk one looking a little dry and not lasting as long as I’d like (both on my face and the tube itself - I seemed to go through one a month!), so I was eager to try something new.
Kosas claims the Revealer Concealer is a creamy, brightening medium- to full-coverage concealer with skincare benefits to help nourish the skin - sense a theme here? It uses caffeine to brighten, arnica to soothe, and peptides and hyaluronic acid to help plump the skin. It’s available in 16 shades (note there’s a bit of a jump between the light/medium and deep shades) which all seem to run a bit warm. My skin is cool-toned and my shade, Tone 01, is a bit more neutral than I’d usually use, but once blended it’s not too yellow to notice. The description says it’s meant for cool tones, so just keep that in mind if you’re ordering blindly!
When they say this concealer is creamy, they mean it. It’s quite wet yet still thick, but blends out like a dream. Again, I use my fingers for all my blending and that has worked well. The coverage is great - I’d put it at just about the same coverage as my Milk Makeup one (so, for the amount I apply, about a medium coverage). I can layer it on itself for more coverage if needed, and it doesn’t cake up or pick up on itself.
My favorite thing about it is its versatility. The list of key ingredients sounds like they’re targeting this as an undereye concealer, but I’ve found it works equally well on redness/blemishes as well. It’s enough coverage for my undereye circles, but not so much that it looks mask-like. It also blends out beautifully to cover larger areas of redness inconspicuously. I love that I can wear this not only on top of another foundation, but also on its own on minimal makeup days. It blends into the skin so seamlessly that you can’t tell where the concealer starts and ends (that is, if you have a shade match).
Like the skin tint, this concealer looks quite smooth on my skin and rarely emphasizes any dryness or texture (a welcome change from the Milk one). The finish is skinlike, but it leans dewy. Applying the ILIA powder on top doesn’t flatten the finish, and it doesn’t cake it up or change the color. The concealer has great lasting power as well, lasting me through a workday without revealing all my acne scars until I get home.
Have you tried either of these?
The ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint was kindly gifted by the brand, but all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.