I struggle with hyperpigmentation, which is a common issue in the Black community. Whenever I get a pimple, I take drastic measures to get rid of it as soon as possible. I spend a lot of time in the bathroom doing facial masks, peels, or scrubs to address the issue. However, the end result is often acne scars that turn into dark spots.
Additionally, it doesn’t help that I didn’t start wearing sunscreen until more recently. I grew up hearing the phrase, “Black people don’t need sunscreen,” and being the naive teenager, I listened. Back then, my hyperpigmentation appeared around my cheeks and forehead. When working out at the gym, you could see the dark spots all over my face, which made me very insecure about my skin.
Last year, when I started to wear makeup, a friend suggested I apply tinted moisturizers if I did not want to look like I had makeup on my face. Don’t get me wrong, I like to wear foundation, but since I have a busy schedule, tinted moisturizers are easy to put on and take little time. Plus– although I’m better about caring for my skin than I was when I was younger– I learned they offer a quick fix when I need to cover dark spots in a pinch. They’re also perfect on days where I don’t want to do a full beat.
That said, I experimented with tinted moisturizers for a month and found three staples, below, that now have a permanent spot in my everyday makeup routine.
My girlfriend gave me this tinted moisturizer as a token of our 10-year friendship. It gives my skin light to medium coverage. You’ll notice the impressive formula when you apply a drop to your fingertips or makeup brush. This tinted moisturizer has tamarind seed extract and patented MicroFluidic technology. It is composed of 75% water and gives your skin hydration for eight hours. If I want to look expensive, I wear this tinted moisturizer for a girl’s night out, as it’s sure to turn heads.
Rihanna always delivers top-notch products for her beauty fans. When I visited Sephora, I decided to try out a skin tint after one of the sales associates applied it on my skin. I was in a rush to go to dinner and didn’t have time to put on makeup. With this tinted moisturizer, all it took was five minutes and voilà, a radiant glow. This tint features a QuickBlur complex formula that gives your skin a diffused, hydrated effect.
I attended the relaunch beauty event for this product and was able to get my makeup done there. When I asked for the tinted moisturizer, he applied a small amount. I couldn’t stop looking at myself in the small mirror as it gave me a healthy-looking glow. It’s sure to deliver moisture and an even-tone.
