In the autumn, I had a plan to do a post on new foundations and other base products on the market, as there were a number of very interesting launches from Pat McGrath and Charlotte Tilbury to Surratt and Anastasia Beverly Hills. After some soul searching, I gave up on the idea, as I couldn’t justify buying all the products I would have needed for a comprehensive overview*. I did buy some new face stuff, however, and I’m going to share with you the best purchase I made.

Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturiser is not a new product, really – it was a cult favourite already when I first started reading women’s magazines and that was a loooooong time ago. I did use and like it back then, but sort of forgot about it when new shiny things came out. I was reminded of it last year when Laura Mercier announced they were reformulating the classic and introducing an illuminating version. Cue panic among the fans – reformulation can be bad news and often seems unnecessary.

While I cannot compare with the original version directly, based on my memory, the new version is very similar to the old and I think slightly superior – in any case, not worse. The main change, really, is the increased shade range, which is obviously welcome. There is also an update of the packaging (nice) and some lovely skincare ingredients have been added to the formula. I think it’s now slightly more moisturising than before, but it still doesn’t work as a replacement for moisturiser in my view. Then again, that’s not why I buy it.

The reason I love this tinted moisturiser so much is that it is extremely easy to put on, gives enough coverage for good skin days (and I wear it on other days as well, just adding some concealer or a more opaque foundation where I need more coverage) and looks very natural. I apply it with my fingertips after my skincare and it takes me, what, 10 seconds? It looks as skinlike as something that still covers your (minor) imperfections can look. There are many people who love the IT Cosmetics CC Cream, but I much prefer the Laura Mercier. I find the IT Cosmetics is almost aggressively dewy (I generally like dewy) and feels rather thick on my skin. LMTM is definitely not matte, but it’s not glowy either – it just looks natural.

I wear shade Natural, which is a tiny bit too warm and dark for me now – I’ll go a shade or two lighter when I’ll get a new tube. This will definitely happen, as I am almost finished with the current one (this happens very rarely with me and make-up). As the coverage isn’t that high, the colours are rather forgiving, however, and you could probably get away with a couple of them without any issues. This, and the effortless of the application makes it a perfect base for people who don’t wear much makeup and/or find it daunting. The SPF30 is also helpful, as I consider it enough for Belgian/Estonian winter if it’s not sunny and I’m not outside for long.

I have not tried the illuminating version, as I’m not really looking for that much glow, but Sali Huges loves it, so it can be bad. Which also reminds me that if you want that foundation post I never wrote, Sali has reviewed a huge amount of base products on Instagram and it’s extremely useful if you are considering a purchase.

What’s your current favourite foundation/BB cream/CC cream/tinted moisturiser?

*I would have gotten the Pat McGrath, if I weren’t afraid of getting the shade wrong – there are so many and the price is… not cheap.