little white truths

We received this product in a recent edit of Marie Claire's Ageless Parcel (reviewed here) and I was pleased to see it because I've had some good luck with the Elizabeth Arden samples we've received recently and this looked like it would be my kind of product

Any tint with sunscreen and skincare benefits is right up my street, and while I don't mind the product, it's not one I would buy because the coverage just isn't there (it is indeed a tint and nothing more) and I have other decent facial sunscreens, but more on that below.

Also note that I've just moved the product onto my Project Pan list because the tube expires in July and I'd best finish it by then if I want to get full benefits from the product (especially the sunscreen), but I had used quite a bit of it before that and had just been waiting on some decent photos since most of mine weren't helpful - it's not easy to photograph a product that doesn't show up!

A close-up in direct sunlight, so you can see the super dewy finish (and note the product doesn't sit in pores around the hairline, which is a good thing because that's a common issue for me):

Verdict

I'm in two minds about this product: on the one hand I love how it feels on my dry skin; and on the other, I'm not sure that it's adding anything to my skincare routine.

What it comes down to, I think, is that it costs $99 - and for that price, it would want to be doing something definite and something definitely beneficial. I can't say it achieves this.

I used a booster product from Elizabeth Arden recently (reviewed here) and that product had such noticeable benefits - benefits I could see even from a small 5ml sample - that it's gone straight to the wishlist. This product, however, hasn't grabbed me in the same way. Yes it performs a variety of functions, but it doesn't perform any of those particularly well. At least not for me.

It's a thin, oily cream with a very faint metallic scent that shouldn't bother most people because it's barely there. There's a slight tint with a pink undertone, which worried me to start with because my skin has yellow undertones, but the colour doesn't show up much at all so it should be ok for most people (unless you're very pale, in which case it might be too dark).

You can see from the photos that it's quite greasy when applied and there's a shine to it, which I love because I have dry skin and I'm all about the dew, but if you're oily you mightn't be happy with either the feel or the finish. 

The texture of the product is super luxurious and I don't think I've used anything quite like it before: it's hard to describe, but there's something almost velvety and buttery about it, and I love the feel of it melting into my face. It's something I notice each time I use it.

Now the tubes we received from The Parcel say the product contains sunscreen, and since it doesn't say how much, I was suspicious at first and thought it contained very little. However the product is apparently SPF 50, but I'd say that's by US standards - which is why they haven't marked the tubes for the Australian market. Our standards are higher, so SPF 50 might translate to eg SPF 40 here. 

In any event, the protection it offers is significant, which is a good thing in my books - but I wouldn't fork out $99 just for that because I can find dedicated facial sunscreens for much less.

I also wouldn't fork out $99 for a tinted product that has no coverage to speak of. Indeed, the tint almost feels like an afterthought because it doesn't even out my skintone or blur imperfections, even when you layer it on thickly (so it's not buildable).

So what, then, does this product offer? I'm sure that it's good for my skin because it feels that way when I apply it, but I haven't noticed any benefits over the month that I've used it. This may be partly because I apply it after my serum and moisturiser (so there's too much product between this one and my skin for it to do much), but if it's a tinted sunscreen, then that's when I'd normally apply a product like this - and I don't consider it to be a replacement for my other skincare. Perhaps I'm approaching the product in the wrong way, so do let me know if you use it differently and have had better results.

All in all, I don't feel there's a gap in my collection for this product. It doesn't provide any coverage so I wouldn't use it as a tinted moisturiser, it's too expensive to be my go-to facial sunscreen, and whatever other benefits it offers aren't translating to my skin. It's not that it's a bad product, it's just that it doesn't hit the mark. Plus it's too pricey to be anything less than amazing, so this one's a pass for me.

Have you tried this? Let me know what you think if so.