Skin Tints Are Trending Right Now, and These 11 Are the Best

It's official: 2021 is the year that skin reigns supreme. With many of us having dialed up our skincare routines during the lockdown, we're emerging from restrictions ready to ditch our full-coverage foundations and show off our skin in all its natural glory. Of course, that doesn't mean we're waving goodbye to makeup entirely. This summer is all about embracing color—from pastel eye shadows to bright lipsticks, expect to see people taking to the streets in a riot of kaleidoscopic pigment. But as for our complexions? There's a new product in town encouraging us to embrace a more pared-back approach to coverage: skin tints. And I'm into them.

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(Image credit: @claire_most)

Way more lightweight than your classic foundation, a skin tint is exactly what you'd expect—a low-maintenance, barely there hint of color and coverage that evens out skin tone but lets your natural complexion shine through. If, like me, you're used to applying base products as a way of covering up breakouts or redness, then here's a word of warning: Skin tints do no such thing. But there's been something thrilling about embracing skin tints as a way to show off the bits of my skin that I do like rather than thinking of makeup as a means to camouflage. And make no mistake—the best skin tints really do leave your complexion looking great, spots and all.

It's not just me who's experiencing this change in mindset, either. Research conducted by Ciaté London shows that makeup consumers are actively seeking out more lightweight options when it comes to complexion products, with a 180% increase in internet searches for "natural everyday makeup" in the past year. In fact, four in 10 consumers confirmed that they'll be ditching full-coverage foundation for good, with over half of people surveyed saying that they felt more confident in their own skin having experimented with more natural-looking makeup recently.

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(Image credit: @lucywilliams02)

When it comes to shade range, it's worth noting that you're unlikely to find 50 shades of skin tint to choose from when you're shopping. In fact, I think Fenty Beauty has the biggest offering with 25 shades, which is half the number of shades as its usual foundation. This is mostly down to the fact that these products aren't about coverage. In fact, many skin tints blend away to basically nothing more than a dewy, fresh-faced finish, meaning that the available shades are a lot more versatile and suit a larger breadth of skin tones. That's not to say that there isn't more work that could and should be done in this arena, though, specifically when we're talking about more pigmented skin-tint options where shade range really does count.

So with such an abundance of new launches hitting the market right now, which ones are actually worth your cash? Keep scrolling for the 11 best skin tints to try now.

1. Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint

2. Ciaté London Dewy Skin Glass Glow Skin

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(Image credit: @fitzpatrickerin)

3. Nyx Professional Makeup Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil

4. Chanel Les Beiges Water-Fresh Tint

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(Image credit: @mishti.rahman)

5. Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint

6. Kosas Tinted Face Oil

7. Morphe 2 Hint Hint Skin Tint

8. Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 30

9. Nyx Professional Makeup Bare With Me Luminous Tinted Skin Serum

10. Florence by Mills Like a Light Skin Tint

11. Kevyn Aucoin Stripped Nude Skin Tint 

Mica Ricketts