I’m always so excited to see the new foundations and tinted serum that come out each year so I try new ways to cover up the remaining spots of melasma and hyperpigmentation on my face.
Here are my thoughts on some of the hottest new releases this year! I’ve tried every type of foundation and serum out there and I evaluate cosmetics on performance, ingredients, effectiveness for melasma and company values.
Both new tinted serums include SPF and very sheer tints. Let’s get into the specifics:
New Biologique Recherche Serum De Teint Review
First off, I wouldn’t say this serum de teint actually feels like a serum. It definitely looks like a liquid foundation. But it applies as a sheer, featherweight but very matte finish complexion correction. It’s not nearly as thick as a BB cream or CC cream. It in and of itself doesn’t have any glow about it.
I have so many more thoughts on this brand that I’ve been saving up to try for a while now. Some of there skincare has worked so well for me and my experiences made me excited to try this tinted serum. Similar to their other products, this skin tint does not have any fragrance added 🙂 . This French brand is very good in my opinion for sensitive skins. They seem to use a mix of natural ingredients and synthetics. My skin has loved this break but they may not fit everyone’s definition of clean or green beauty.
Biologique Recherche has several products focused on protecting our skin from pollution including this new Serum De Teint “Protector & Perfector” which can be used as the last step in place of or underneath makeup. This serum also features prickly-pear which I’ve heard has been known for brightening (more on my experience with prickly pear oil here). Maybe the prickly pear is what tips the price scale for this tint to over $100. It’s high in linoleic acid which I found to be helpful for my skin barrier in the past.
This new Biologique Recherche contains titanium dioxide for SPF with an additional UV filtering from butterfly bush flower extracts, but I can’t tell what the SPF factor is so just in case I wear extra mineral sunscreen when I use this 🙂 . And I can’t recall that I’ve come across this much before but this serum also contains two exopolysaccharides that I believe are moth from marine microorganisms. (I love algae and marine-based skincare!)
As of now, there are only 5 shades. I think most lightly skin types will be able to find a match, but in my limited perspective not having a deeper skin tone myself, I don’t think they yet have enough shades to support POC.
Update June 2020: On Instagram Biologique Recherche USA did support the Black Lives Matter movement. From what I have soon so far they have yet to participate in the #pulluporshutup movement. I have reached out to the brand to understand more about their roadmap for diversity and inclusion initiatives.
I really like this serum. However, I’m not sure I can say yet that I love it and that I would repurchase.
Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint Review
This was has been one of the top products taking over Instagram while we are under stay at home orders. I have sampled it extensively a few times in store (when it was safe enough to shop in-store), with samples they gave me to try at home, and I’m thankful to have received another sample of it to try further.
These newer tinted SPF serums come in 18 shades. I would strongly suggest though getting samples or testing in person first (when it is safer to shop) because I find it’s hard to understand the color choices
It’s important to me that my readers understand my authentic point of view: I buy the majority of my own products but I don’t buy skincare and green makeup just to review or ‘do it for the gram.’ I’m working to buy less in life and refine my sensitive skincare collection, not increase its size. I won’t be buying a full-size version of this skin tint while it still smells the way it does. It doesn’t have added fragrance – which is amazing! But frankly, it smells weird. There is some ingredient in this serum that drives me crazy. It smells similar to the weird similar scent of a Kopari Sunscreen I’ve tried (in Instagram live video below) and how my Ere Perez quinoa foundation smells as its nearing expiry. Maybe they all used the same sodium hyaluronate? That’s an ingredient they all of in common. Its almost a weird cinnamon smell.
Theoretically without the weird smell, this serum would be lovely. My dry and dehydrated skin never seems to look as dewy is the brand’s pictures 🙂 but the end results do give more of that “glass skin” look.
The finish of the Ilia is more inherently luminous than the Biologique Recherche Serum de Teint, but it has less color pigment and coverage than the Biologique Recherche formula. And it has no white cast – it’s almost hard to believe it has SPF 40. I also love that it features squalane and one of my favorite brightening ingredients for my skincare routines: niacinamide.
The Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 is way less than half the price of the Biologique Recherche. And more so Ilia.com is one of several sites along with Credo Beauty to offer Afterpay payments.
Per their Instagram, Ilia supported the Black Lives Matter #blackouttuesday and they also participated in the #pulluporshutup challenge .
With either of the products, honestly I’d still wear one of my favorite mineral SPFs anyway and use these as an extra buffer.
Biologique Recherche and Ilia Super Serum Tint Swatches and Pictures
Updated Pictures from June 7, 2020
Have you tried either of these new tinted serums yet? I would love to hear your experiences!
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