Even if you’re a newer reader of my blog you’ll probably know I like to keep my base makeup looking as natural as possible. There’s just something about full-coverage bases that petrify me, and I much prefer to wear something with a lighter coverage and go in with concealer where needed. Because I keep my makeup pretty minimal on a daily basis, using a light coverage that allows my real skin to show through just really looks and feels best. As you can imagine, my collection is full to the brim with different natural-looking base products.
The Barely-There Base: I’ve been praising the Glossier gods ever since I first tried the Phase One Set back in February (see my review here). I absolutely love the Perfecting Skin Tint on the most minimal of makeup days - it gently evens out your skintone, blurs imperfections, and gives you the most glorious natural glow. It’s the lightest coverage of anything I own, but it’s still an amazing product and one of my favorites. Even if it doesn’t cover a pesky blemish, it makes the rest of my skin look so naturally lovely that I don’t even care - it really helps you embrace your natural skin, imperfections and all.
The Ultimate Glow-Giver: Given my affinity for all things glowing skin lately, I’m surprised I don’t reach for the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation every single day. It gives a light-medium coverage and feels very lightweight on the skin. It gives such a gorgeous glow to the skin - definitely one to try if you’re into the strobing trend (in fact, I used it in my Strobing FOTD).
The Nourishing One: I’ve written about the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue so many times that I’ll try to keep the praising and bowing down brief. This was really a Game-Changer for me - before I used this, I didn’t know you could actually have a tinted moisturizer type product that actually felt like it was moisturizing the skin. Maybe it’s just my dehydrated skin type, but some tinted moisturizers just felt chalky on me. This one however, smooths on beautifully and I can really feel my skin just drinking it up (in a good way, not as in it’s disappearing).
The Do-It-All Concealer: On some days I can’t be bothered with slapping something on all over my face, so on those days I’ll rely on some strategically-placed concealer (read: striped on like war paint and blended out). The one I’ve been reaching for above all others lately is the Clarins Instant Concealer. I’m so so glad I finally gave into the hype, because it’s definitely knocked the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer off the top spot for my favorite concealer (which is great, because you almost get three times as much product for only $2 more). This one packs a good amount of pigment in a water-based formula, so it feels lovely on the skin, never cakes, and blends out seamlessly. I know lots of people use the NARS one under their eyes, but I never could. The Clarins one is marketed for the undereyes, but it really does work amazingly well all over the face.
The One that Gave Me the Idea for this Post: This one could also be called “the one to fake a good skin day,” but it really is the one that inspired this post. I had been thinking of picking up the It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream with SPF 50 for awhile, and then I saw it featured on a few of my favorite blogs (Makeup-Sessions, That’s Just Fabulous, and Vivianna Does Makeup) all around the same time, so I just couldn’t resist anymore. This one, despite containing the impressively high SPF, never feels greasy or chalky on the skin, and it packs the most pigment of any other products featured here. In addition to the SPF, it also contains other anti-aging and skin-loving ingredients, and it feels just as nourishing on the skin as the bareMinerals base mentioned above. It’s marketed as full coverage, and it definitely could be built up to that, but I like to use a little and sheer it out over the face, giving me more of a light-medium coverage. Despite being able to cover so many different imperfections (I actually usually don’t need any concealer whatsoever with this), it doesn’t leave the skin looking flat or lifeless, it still really looks like your natural skin. The finish is more satin than dewy, and since I really like my dewiness I’ve been mixing it with a little bit of the MAC Strobe Cream before I apply it and it works beautifully. It does feel pretty thick initially, but it just smooths over the skin amazingly well, and once it’s blended in you can’t even feel it on your skin - quite a feat for the amount of coverage it gives.
What are your favorite “Your Skin But Better” bases?