Review: the Balm Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer

'This weightless, silky smooth, tinted moisturizer (with) SPF 18 offers lasting moisture and helps to improve the tone and texture of your skin, leaving you with a polished complexion.' - the Balm

I've had this post sitting in draft for so long. I'd use the product for a few days, then switch to something else and end up forgetting most of the main points necessary for a review. I finally made a point to use this enough to chat about it at length. I'm not usually one to use a tinted moisturizer, but I've had such success with all the other Balm products I've used I had to give it a try and since I picked this up from Haute Look, the price could not be beat. The verdict? It's pretty good!

 the Balm Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer - light

As I mentioned, I tend not to gravitate towards tinted moisturizer, they usually don't offer much in terms of moisture or much tint, thus, what's the point? Riiight? That said, it is nice to have a light coverage product for those days when you don't need to be fully made up, but still want to look a bit more put together than nothing.

When I first started using this, I didn't really expect to like it, but I was happily surprised at how well it performed. I found this to have more coverage than any other tinted moisturizer I've ever used (bonus!) but I did use a brush to apply it. I've found that I get more coverage from tinted moisturizers when I apply them with a brush, but I'd say not matter how you apply this you'll still get a good dose of coverage.

 the Balm Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer - light

the Balm Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer - light (blended)

In terms of moisture, this actually does give a bit of hydration. It's got a great creamy texture that blends into skin easily. It's thicker than many tinted moisturizers I've used in the past, but it's not heavy and it spread easily. The amount of coverage is enough to even out my skin and blur imperfections. It isn't enough coverage to cover dark spots and the like, but it does lighten them. This does have a light scent that is slightly fruity. It disappears very quickly though. Once on it feels like all you've applied it a light lotion, there's no heavy feeling or tackiness and skin feels natural and smooth. The finish is quite natural, not quite dewy, but not matte either. I only applied powder to the areas I also wore concealer (chin area and under the eyes) but you may want to apply it to your t-zone if you are prone to oily skin.

The shades available are quite limited: light, light/medium, and medium. The light shade is a fairly good match to my NW20 skin, albeit a tiny bit darker than I need. It isn't dark enough that anyone other than me would notice, but it is not a full match to my own skin tone. It's unfortunate that the very light, and deeper tones are left out of the game.

Overall, I'm really happy with this. It's nice to be surprised by products every now and then, especially when you didn't have high hopes. Have you tried this tinted moisturizer? What did you think?

Availability: the Balm, $25 for 64 mml. /2.25fl oz.