Cult Favourite? I Know Why:

Enter Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturiser. Ask many makeup addicts to recommend a tinted moisturiser and many will sing the praises of this particular product. And for good reason. It's lightweight yet still provides a decent amount of coverage and is available in the regular, an oil free version and an illuminating formula too (though I havn't tried the last so cannot vouch for it's illuminating abilities). All have an SPF of 20.

$42 / 1.5oz

The Formula:

As usual, I'm the lightest shade available, which in Laura Merciers case is Porcelain. I have both the oil free (shown on the left of swatch) and the regular. Pretty close in terms of shade, but the oil free is a little more pink with the regular pulling slightly warmer. The regular also has a little more coverage, but no major differences here.

Whilst both have some problems - I kind of wish they would make a compromise between the both of them, but whatever ;) - I strongly prefer the oil free. I have repurchased the oil free maybe 3x already, whilst the regular is still only about half used.

Pros and Cons of each:

Oil Free dries to a much nicer finish than that of the regular, which looks much greasier on the skin and feels tacky to touch, demanding a setting powder. The Oil Free can be worn with or without powder (at least in my experience) and feels much lighter once on.

The Regular is lot more suited to drier skin types. The Oil Free can sometimes highlight any dryness I have - usually around the nose and on the chin - but I still choose that over the greasy feeling of the regular.

Application:

I usually apply this product with a wedge sponge, as I find bruses sometimes leave streaks and I never like to use my fingers with base products. With a sponge it glides on evenly with plenty of blending time. I can give or take a setting powder with this one, and it lasts all day regardless. I have normal to slightly dry skin. No faults for application here.

Before/After:

I absolutely love the coverage this offers. It evens out my skin perfectly and diffuses the freckles and blemishes. I find this to have more coverage than most tinted moisturisers, but you could always mix in a little more moisturiser if it offers too much for you. As you can see it's a very dewy finish, which can be set with powder, however due to the creamy consistency of this I recommend a transparent, finely pilled setting powder rather than your everyday pressed compact type which can sometimes look a little cakey on top of this.

Staying power is pretty good. It's obviously no where near as long lasting as a foundation intended for all day wear, but it does last a good 8 hours before any touch ups are needed. Most of all I love how comfortable my skin feels when wearing this and how soft and nourished it is left upon removal.

I recommend this highly to anyone looking for a sheer-medium tinted moisturiser offering a natural yet perfected finish to the skin. If the Illuminating one were available in more than four shades I would definately give it a go, but I have a feeling even the palest would be too dark. Does anyone have any experiences with this one? Thanks!

Interested in my previous foundation reviews? Click the links for Lancomes Teint Miracle:
http://birdsdecoratebranches.blogspot.com/2010/10/lancome-teint-miracle.html

and Yves Saint Laurents Teint Resist:
http://birdsdecoratebranches.blogspot.com/2010/10/yves-saint-laurent-you-never-let-me.html