Into the Glossier Skin Tint.

If you’re in the know, it’d be pretty obvious to you that we here are big fans of Into The Gloss and, by extension, Glossier. Well, as much of a fan as you can be for someone who’s never tried any of their products since Glossier doesn’t ship internationally. But after ages of longingly drooling over pictures of Glossier’s sleek, minimalist-chic products online, it was finally time to bite the bullet and, with money and third party help, get their stuff over here to Malaysia and try it out for myself!

Amongst their carefully-curated lineup of products, the one that I really wanted to try the most was the Glossier Skin Tint.

A quick look at reviews for this product on the internet brings up many comparisons to MAC’s Face and Body Foundation— both in packaging and its sheer finish. It’s obvious that Glossier was inspired by MAC’s very popular offering. However, right of the bat I’ll say that while the nozzle-style packaging is the same as MAC’s, Glossier actually improves on where MAC falls short. I LOVE how the bottle looks— I daresay it was one of the things that made me want to buy the product in the first place— but I always hated how MAC’s packaging doesn’t offer much control over how much product you want to use. The second you tip over the bottle, foundation just comes GUSHING out of the nozzle. And if you happen to bring it travelling, be prepared for it to drip all over the cap in your luggage. It’s annoying and very, very messy.

Glossier, on the other hand, doesn’t do that. You can tip over the bottle but no product will come dripping out until you actually give it a squeeze, whereupon the tint will come out drip by careful drip. This allows you to control how much product you want to use. Most of the reviews I’ve seen so far recommend using up to seven or eight drips but to be honest? I can do with three. Five at the max. The foundation is very, very watery and sheer and there’s no point really trying to ‘build it up’ (on that note, however, it actually wasn’t as sheer as I expected. People online have described it as being just like the MAC Face and Body but even sheerer however I find them to be pretty equal). It will never really cover anything beyond some mild discolouration. I like to focus it around the middle of my face where I have a ton of redness around my nose, but even then I’d still have to top up with a bit more concealer to completely flush out that redness. Acne or scarring? Forget about it. Covering up isn’t what this is for. Due to the inclusion of ‘diamond powder’ (?) in the ingredients of the skin tint, I’d say its sole purpose is to add on a glow when you might not have one. If your skin is looking dull or sallow or if you haven’t had enough sleep… this will give it a boost.

Another thing where Glossier improves upon MAC is that it isn’t sticky and greasy like MAC is. While I love the Face and Body, I would never call it the ‘must have for all makeup kits’ as it’s often described… if you have oily skin, it’s going to be hell for you as even someone who has very dry skin like I do find it uncomfortably sticky and I have to immediately powder to get rid of the sticky feeling. And if I don’t pack some blotting paper with me on a long day? Shine central. Glossier has much better oil control than MAC does. It has a more ‘powdery’ feel after applying— not that it LOOKS powdery in any way, mind you. It just has more of a dry touch to it. But therein lies the problem— I’ve been suffering of very dehydrated skin lately (been vacationing where it was very cold and windy recently, my skin’s not used to that) and I did find that this flaked on my nose and cheeks. Not that that is a fault of Glossier’s… that’s more an issue with my skin, and can easily be fixed with some hydrating primer. It’s just that the whole time I’ve been using MAC, I never had this problem.

L-R: Mac Face & Body Foundation in N1, Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint in Medium. 

So overall, did this product live up to my expectations? Well, if you love the MAC Face and Body foundation, you’d probably love this as well. It is very much the same product, but with some improvements on packaging and oil control. Would I repurchase? Uh… most likely no. Not because it isn’t good for the price— at $26 for a 30ml bottle (RM106.77), this isn’t really an expensive product. The problem is international shipping— it’s a fucking BITCH. There are a number of third party services you can use to bring the product to you, either way shipping is most definitely going to cost even more than the product itself. So if you really want to try… get as many friends as possible to order with you, then split the cost of the shipping. In the meantime, I’m happy using this product and have been setting aside the Face and Body in favour of this one since I got this. But if I ever run out, it wouldn’t really hurt me to move back to MAC.