Hello everyone! I want to tell you about my experience with Ilia Sheer Vivid Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 20. According to the producer,  it has a semi-matte formula with soothing botanicals to help calm and revitalise the skin. Ilia Tinted Moisturiser contains aloe vera, which aids in long-lasting hydration. It contains also white tea and rosemary extract to combat free radicals. Ilia Tinted Moisturiser contains sodium hyaluronate, which promotes skin microcirculation. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Keep on reading if you want to know my opinion on it.

Product Description

I got my Ilia Tinted Moisturiser in T1 Los Roques.  It has a semi-matte formula with soothing botanicals to help calm and revitalise the skin.  ILIA Beauty’s Sheer Vivid Tinted Moisturiser is not 100% natural, because they used a tiny amount of Dimethicone (a silicon) in the formula. According to ILIA, their tinted moisturiser contains silicone, because it has sun protection. According to the producer, it was impossible to make this SPF cream with a natural alternative like silica, because then the product would be absorbed fully into the skin after about 5 hours. ILIA’s goal is to make the safest cosmetics possible, without compromising on performance.

Ingredients

Active: Zinc Oxide 12%, Titanium Dioxide 2%
Purpose: Sunscreen

Inactive: Water (Agua), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*, Polyglyceryl-2 Oleate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Polyglyceryl-2 Stearate, Behenyl Olivate, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Camellia Sinensis (White Peony Tea) leaf*, Dimethicone, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Butyrospermun Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil*, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf*, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower/Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower/Leaf/Steam Extract, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenethyl alcohol. May contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide CI77891, Iron Oxide (CI77491, CI77492, CI77499). *Certified Organic Ingredients. Ingrédients Certifiés Biologiques.

This ingredient list is subject to change, it is the most up-to-date ingredient list and may differ from product packaging.

I think that ingredients are really good. Before I purchased it I did check the ingredient list and really hoped it will suit my skin.

Pros

• Good SPF, it is actually is more of an SPF cream than a tinted moisturiser.
• Ilia’s Tinted Moisturiser is suitable for someone, that looks for a cream with a good sun protection and does not need a lot of coverage.
• This great natural tinted moisturiser is  build-able, but even with two or three layers the coverage is still less than a medium coverage.
• Ilia’s tinted moisturiser has recyclable plastic container, which makes me happy, as there are still many natural brands that do not have recyclable packaging.
• It is packed with soothing ingredients and antioxidants, even with little coverage it delivers on SPF front and good ingredients.
• It soothes irritated skin, and definitely doesn’t cause any irritation, tested on my very sensitive, weird, oily skin. 🙂
• Ilia’s tinted moisturiser, with the right base,  evens out the skin tone and minimiser pores.
• It is invisible on the skin, but makes the skin look 100 times better (again only with the right base).

Cons

• The consistency seems very heavy, it separates and is difficult to work with.
• I had to apply a moisturiser under it otherwise it was going on patchy.
• It doesn’t work with many moisturisers.
• Ilia’s tinted moisturiser caked on my skin no matter what way I applied it and what I used under it, except for applying oil before applying this tinted moisturiser,
• Stays tacky throughout the day if applied over moisturiser, it’s OK if applied over oil.
• The product comes out very thick and solid, took me a while to figure out to shake it well, once I knew that the consistency was better, still on the thick side though.

Summary

I looked and looked for a natural tinted moisturiser/ BB cream… I think I found  it. For a long time I had a love/hate relationship with it. It caked on me, I couldn’t work it in my skin, it highlighted large pores and other imperfections in my skin. In best case scenario it did nothing for me other that giving me SPF 20. I tried to apply it on bare skin, tried a few different moisturisers and the end result was always the same. It looked terrible on me. It made me wonder, how on earth did it get such good reviews online. I didn’t give up. I tried it again on the day of final editing of this post. I though of applying oil ( I tried Ultra Moisturising Serum from Resibo) and for the first time I bought this tinted moisturiser I though I might actually like it and use it on a daily basis. Now I think I actually love it.

It went on my skin smoothly. It gave me very little coverage, but it still evened out my skin tone.  I followed it up with a blush and matifying powder…..and I really liked the end result.

UPDATE:

I have not repurchased this product. I have found two great SPF creams with good coverage and high SPF that are easy to work with. One Is Clochee BB Cream with SPF50 and second is Madara CC cream with SPF30. I have now repurchased Madara SPF twice and have never looked back. Love it.