7 Unexpected Ways to Use Tinted Moisturizer

What’s a tan, but simply a tint to your already stunning skin? Starting as early as spring, many of us like to get a little sunkissed look on our faces but hate suffering the side effects of sun exposure. Can you replicate the look the sun-less way? Say hello to tinted moisturizer for the glowiest, fresh-faced complexion!

Part hydrating, part radiant, sheer coverage, our Fruit Pigmented® Tinted Moisturizer is like a BB or CC cream but doubles as a sunkissed tan in a bottle. Available in 9 shades ranging from chocolatey cocoa to soft crème, this tinted moisturizer features natural fruit-derived pigments for those who want the your-skin-but-better-tanned-look!

Keep reading to learn about tinted face moisturizer and why it should be your warm-weather skin staple – plus learn some unexpected ways tinted moisturizer is cleverly used. We’ll also share the best application techniques and products to pair it with for the perfect sunkissed-sun-less makeup look!

How to Choose the Best Tinted Moisturizer for Your Skin Type

A tinted moisturizer is the perfect combination of skincare and makeup, merging hydration with a touch of color. Like a breath of ocean air with a gentle kiss from the sun, a natural tinted moisturizer allows skin to breathe and keeps makeup looking natural but enhanced with soft color compared to bare skin.

Speaking of skin, it’s important to know your skin type to find the best tinted moisturizer. To choose a good tinted moisturizer, look for ingredients that address your specific concerns and learn proper application techniques.

What Makes a Good Tinted Moisturizer?

Tinted moisturizers are typically infused with skin-nurturing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, antioxidants, and other skin-loving ingredients. A product like this is simple, yet hits all the bases for the hydrating properties of a daily moisturizer with the skin-toning benefits of a lightweight foundation, delivering a ‘barely-there’ coverage.

Here’s a peek at what to look for in a good tinted moisturizer:

#1. Hydrating ingredients like aloe, hyaluronic acid, and cucumber extract:

Aloe has a soothing, cooling, lightweight texture, which allows the skin to feel refreshed rather than suffocated.
Hyaluronic acid is a humectant that attracts and retains moisture, and plumps skin.
Cucumber extract hydrates the skin, balances oil production, and contains antioxidants that fight sun damage.

#2. Antioxidants to protect skin from environmental damage:

Antioxidants help protect the skin from oxidative damage caused by free radicals that can contribute to aging. Antioxidants in tinted moisturizers like white and green teas, pomegranate and acai fruit oils, cucumber, and vitamins A, C, and E help protect against free radical damage and environmental aggressors.

#3. Mineral pigments for sheer, buildable coverage:

Looking for mineral pigments in a tinted moisturizer is beneficial because they offer a natural, lightweight, and often more gentle approach to color, allowing for a sheer, adaptable tint that enhances natural skin tone and can be more comfortable for all skin types

The best pigments for your skin are minerals (and botanicals), which occur throughout nature and are gentle on our skin and the earth. Mineral pigments are the more sustainable option and are typically listed as “oxides” or “mica” for shimmer.

#4. Non-comedogenic and suitable for sensitive skin:

Opt for a non-comedogenic tinted face moisturizer, which is formulated to minimize the risk of clogging pores and is suitable for sensitive skin, meaning it’s designed to be gentle and less likely to cause irritation or allergic reactions

Best Tinted Moisturizers for Different Skin Types

To choose the best tinted moisturizer, identify your skin type. Whether you have oily, dry, mature, or combination skin, choosing high-quality ingredients that are specifically designed for your individual needs is critical in finding the best tinted moisturizer that will make your complexion look and feel its best.

Best Tinted Moisturizer for Oily Skin: Look for an oil-free, lightweight formula that helps regulate oil production without over-drying the skin with mattifying properties (e.g., bamboo silica or rice powder).

Best Tinted Moisturizer for Dry Skin: A nourishing and hydrating formula enriched with plant oils and butters to nourish and plump skin.

Best Tinted Moisturizer for Mature Skin: Opt for an anti-aging formula with peptides and vitamins to boost elasticity and brightness.

Best Tinted Moisturizers for Combination Skin: A balancing formula to steady the skin’s moisture levels and reduce the appearance of dryness and oiliness that hydrates without being too dewy or too matte.

How to Apply for a Flawless Finish

#1. Start with 100% PURE Mattifying Primer – A silicone-free, shine-controlling base infused with skin-plumping seaweed collagen that pairs perfectly with our tinted face moisturizer for long-lasting, smooth coverage. More on the best tinted moisturizer below!

#2. Apply tinted face moisturizer using clean fingers for a natural finish or a damp sponge for an airbrushed effect.

#3. Blend outward from the center of the face, focusing on areas that need more coverage.

#4. Set with a talc-free setting powder like 100% PURE Bamboo Blur Powder – The best setting powder for oily skin, designed to absorb oil while blurring imperfections. It’s made with mattifying bamboo silica to absorb excess oil, stamp-out shine, and refract light for a soft, poreless finish.

What’s to Love About 100% PURE Tinted Moisturizer?

First, our Fruit Pigmented® Tinted Moisturizer has everything we love about foundation and none of the things we don’t. The ultra-light formula isn’t cakey or heavy, making it the perfect coverage choice for springtime gardening, summer sunbathing, and everything in between.

Unlike a foundation, most tinted moisturizers offer semi-sheer coverage that blends with your skin tone. This allows your complexion to shine through, creating the perfect soft, barely-there coverage to subtly elevate your beauty game.

For parched complexions, our tinted face moisturizer is also the best tinted moisturizer for dry skin: It feels like a cool drink of water on a warm spring day. Refreshing and delicate, we’ve created this formula to feel good and be good for the skin, not just look good. So, what’s in it that makes it so unique?

Our tinted moisturizer features refreshing aloe leaf juice and cucumber juice to refresh and rejuvenate dry and inflamed skin. Naturally anti-inflammatory, aloe also includes vitamins C and D, which boost the skin’s natural defenses. Aloe has been used for centuries to treat burns and irritation, deeply moisturize the skin, and calm skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

When combined with toning and hydrating cucumber, this tinted moisturizer feels like a cool, creamy gel that absorbs well into the skin creating a smooth texture and supple, soft touch.

We can’t skip mentioning the next two superfoods in this tinted face moisturizer: acai and pomegranate. Some may already know how much we love acai berry skin benefits, as it’s a key ingredient in one of our bestselling facial scrubs, the Acai Pulp Facial Scrub. This tiny but mighty berry is an anti-aging wonder delivering vitamins A, B, C, and E to nourish the skin, fight signs of aging, brighten, and smooth the skin.

We’re grateful to pomegranate for giving us more sun protection, too. Oil from this rich red, seedy fruit contains potent antioxidants to protect against skin from oxidative stress caused by UV exposure. Pomegranate seed oil also supports collagen production for a firmer and suppler complexion.

7 (Unexpected) Ways to Use Your Tinted Moisturizer

When deciding on a tinted moisturizer, don’t just stick to the basics – a refreshingly creamy texture, nutritious key ingredients, and gorgeous pigments can go a long way in your beauty routine. A good tinted moisturizer elevates your look by standing out from the crowd of conventional tinted moisturizers with its unique formula and skin-loving benefits. And that’s not all!

Did you know there are other ways to use a tinted face moisturizer besides makeup and moisturizer and all its all-star benefits? A good tinted moisturizer can multitask in unexpected ways. Let’s check some of these out!

#1: For post-sun skin benefits
Combined with the known UV protectants zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, tinted moisturizers are the perfect boosters for your daily sunscreen. While this formula isn’t as effective as a dedicated UV product (and should not replace your daily SPF), mineral UV blockers and superfruit antioxidants work behind the scenes in tinted moisturizers to help counteract sun damage.

#2: For a fast beauty look
Ever have those days where you can’t even IMAGINE committing to a full face of makeup – but still want a little beauty boost before stepping out? Employ your trusty tinted moisturizer as a quick sheer tint for errands or a 2-minute beauty look. Using a clean, damp makeup blender, bounce this formula onto the skin for those no-makeup days when you want minimal, effortless beauty.

#3: As a primer for dry skin
Need an extra layer of coverage or a hydration boost for your daily foundation? If you don’t have a face primer, never fear: your Tinted Moisturizer is here! Our best tinted moisturizer is ultra-hydrating with a dewy finish, meaning any complexion products you layer on top will stay put while protecting normal to dry skin from dehydrating elements. The extra pigment in your base also means you can use less of your full-coverage product, for an equally flawless finish.

#4: Mixed with cream makeup
More than just a base, we love to use our tinted face moisturizer as a mixing medium for our other complexion products. Add some product to a palette or the back of your hand. Mix in your favorite liquid or cream highlighters, cream blushes, or cream bronzers from our vast selection before applying them to your face. The addition of the moisturizer creates the most beautiful, seamless finish for an undetectable amount of coverage and impeccable blend.

#5: Use as a light concealer
Are you an ultra-rare skin unicorn that only needs coverage in one or two spots? While we’re pretty jealous, we also have a tip for you. Instead of reaching for your concealer, which can be too pigmented to be subtle, try an ultra-light tinted moisturizer. It works amazingly well, especially on normal to dry skin, and provides just enough blur that the finish matches the rest of your natural nude beauty.

#6: Try as an eye makeup primer
We’ve thought of a few unconventional uses to spice things up – the first is for your go-to eye makeup looks. We mentioned before that this product makes a great foundation primer, and the same can be said for the wonders it works as an eye primer.

Since traditionally the eye area tends to be more sensitive, dry, and prone to creasing, adding this super hydrating boost before your cream and powder shadows can help with the color payoff and long-term wear. We’d say skip this step if you’re going for a liner-only look, but we love this paired with our Fruit Pigmented® Eye Shadow for a pop of color.

PRO TIP: Use a lighter shade of tinted moisturizer to create dimension on your lids, for a spotlight or halo eyeshadow look. Or, try blending this with a liquid highlighter (again) to get an on-trend glossy lid look.

#7: Swap out your nude lip color
If there’s one color we come back to time and time again: nude. Our Fruit Pigmented® Tinted Moisturizer offers a stunning variety of hydrating nude lip shades. That’s right! You can use your tinted moisturizer on bare, clean lips, or paired with liner or another lip product to create a customized nude lip shade just for you. We might recommend pairing it with a nude lip liner or Rum Nougat or Butterchew Lip Caramel for a hint of glossy, high-pigment color.

Tinted Moisturizer vs. Foundation – Which One Is Right for You?

If you find yourself in a faceoff between a tinted face moisturizer versus a foundation and unsure which one is ideal, you’ve come to the right place!

Tinted moisturizers are designed to offer lighter coverage compared to foundations. They’re ideal for those who prefer a more natural, dewy finish, or for days when you want minimal makeup. However, if you’re looking for fuller coverage to hide blemishes or uneven skin tone, a foundation might be more suitable.

Let’s break down a tinted moisturizer vs. foundation to help you determine which one will win the faceoff!

When to Choose a Tinted Face Moisturizer:

In the modern world of beauty, a minimalistic approach is making waves. With an increasing emphasis on authentic and effortless beauty, many are ditching their heavy foundations for lighter and natural alternatives. Enter tinted moisturizers, the perfect current of skincare meets makeup, merging hydration with a touch of color.

When it comes to tinted moisturizer versus foundation, the former will serve deeper hydration and a lighter body, which is fabulous for those who want the less-is-more look – and better skin!

Tinted moisturizers are also easier to wear than foundation since their coverage is more dewy and seamless like the texture of your skin. This means it requires less touching up than a natural foundation, while still serving a level of coverage that’s between bare skin and foundation.

Benefits of a tinted moisturizer:

#1. Ideal for light, everyday coverage with a natural finish.
#2. Great for people who prefer a skin-first, minimalist approach to makeup.
#3. Perfect for spring and summer or hot climates when heavy foundations feel too thick.

When to Use Foundation Instead of Tinted Moisturizers:

Use foundation instead of a tinted face moisturizer when you need more coverage, a more customized finish, or for events where a more flawless, camera-ready look is desired. Use foundation instead of tinted moisturizer when you also need to hide blemishes or uneven skin tone or for a more customized finish like matte, dewy, or radiant for specific evenings or special occasions.

Benefits of a foundation:

#1. Best for special occasions or when full coverage is required.
#2. More effective for covering blemishes, hyperpigmentation, or redness.
#3. Ideal for professional photoshoots or events requiring long-lasting coverage.

Our pick: Fruit Pigmented® Full Coverage Water Foundation – A hydrating, lightweight, and antioxidant-rich formula that enhances natural beauty. Superfruit oils of pomegranate and açai promote softer skin while sustaining essential moisture. Colored with vitamin and antioxidant-rich fruit and plant pigments for gorgeous full coverage.

How to Combine Both for the Best of Both Worlds:

Do you have to faceoff between a tinted face moisturizer or a foundation, or can you have it all? Let’s just say there may be times when you should combine a tinted face moisturizer and a foundation for extra coverage and radiance. If so, check out the steps below for proper application and how to wear the best of both worlds the absolute best!

#1. Mix your foundation with a tinted moisturizer for a more natural, glowy finish.
#2. Use tinted moisturizer as a primer under foundation to boost hydration.
#3. Spot-conceal with foundation or concealer, like the 100% PURE Fruit Pigmented® 2nd Skin Concealer, while keeping the rest of the face fresh with a tinted moisturizer.

FAQs About 7 Unexpected Ways to Use Tinted Moisturizer

What is tinted moisturizer and how does it differ from foundation?

Tinted moisturizers are designed to offer lighter coverage compared to foundations. They’re ideal for those who prefer a more natural, dewy finish or for days when you want minimal makeup. However, if you’re looking for fuller coverage to hide blemishes or an uneven skin tone, a foundation might be more suitable.

What is the best tinted moisturizer for oily skin, and how do I prevent shine throughout the day?

Look for an oil-free, lightweight formula that helps regulate oil production without over-drying the skin with mattifying properties (e.g., bamboo silica or rice powder). To help prevent shine throughout the day, set makeup with a talc-free setting powder like 100% PURE Bamboo Blur Powder. As the best setting powder for oily skin, it’s designed to absorb oil while blurring imperfections. It’s made with mattifying bamboo silica to absorb excess oil, stamp out shine, and refract light for a soft, poreless finish.

What are the key differences between tinted moisturizers and BB creams?

Your typical BB or “beauty balm” creams can sometimes include UV protection and help to blur and cover blemishes for a more even skin tone. Our natural tinted moisturizers are similar, yet distinctive. In addition to ingredients that help defend against UV rays, they also incorporate natural pigments and wholesome ingredients to add a hint of natural color, and they’re formulated with beneficial ingredients that support skin health. Regular use leads to improved skin texture, hydration, and overall radiance.

Can I use tinted moisturizer if I have sensitive or acne-prone skin?

The diverse range of tinted moisturizers available today means there’s a formula for everyone. Whether you have sensitive skin, acne-prone skin, or mature skin, there’s likely a tinted moisturizer tailored to meet your unique needs.

Is a tinted moisturizer a good choice for mature skin, and what ingredients should I look for?

For the best tinted moisturizer for mature skin, opt for an anti-aging formula with peptides and vitamins to boost elasticity and brightness.

In embracing a minimalistic approach to beauty, tinted moisturizers have carved a distinct mark in the world of makeup. Their ability to deliver a natural look with a hint of color combined with the health benefits they provide, signifies more than just a beauty trend. It heralds a shift towards embracing natural beauty – and a seasonal shift in your makeup routine!

So, if the spring makeup forecast is dewy with a chance of glowy, it’s calling for a tinted moisturizer. This subtle yet versatile warm-weather staple is not going anywhere. If you’re looking for the perfect natural foundation to match your skin goals and the weather, look no further than a tinted moisturizer.

These skin-healthy makeup marvels are a great option, especially when you want a little extra vibrance without too much effort. If you’re true to your skin likes, you’ll find your tinted moisturizer soulmate – and much more!