When it comes to finding your shade, the range is more forgiving than you might expect; even so, there are plenty of options to choose from. “Super Serum Skin Tint comes in 30 shades that consider cool, warm, neutral, and olive overtones,” says Plasvic. While that may sound overwhelming to the uninitiated, the online shade finder makes finding your match much easier, without wandering up and down the beauty aisle swatching every bottle. You can also reach out to the brand’s customer service team—made up of makeup artists—who can help match you from a simple selfie.
My Experience With Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint
Back in early 2020, before I a a beauty writer, I was a fresh-faced assistant at Vogue. One afternoon, I needed to do my makeup before an event, so I ducked into the Sephora near the office for a complexion solution. At that point, I’d already outgrown my heavier, more experimental makeup phase and gravitated toward fresher, skin-first looks, with a little more emphasis on the eyes and lips. As an early clean beauty devotee, Ilia was my first stop, and I left with the brand’s then-new Super Serum Skin Tint. Depending on the season, I alternate between Diaz ST7 (a light-medium shade with neutral undertones), and Paloma ST9 (a medium shade with neutral undertones)—it all depends, on whether or not I’m sun-kissed.
Since then, I’ve tested, loved, and left behind more complexion products than I can count; yet Ilia’s remains one I consistently return to for its effortless, your-skin-but-better finish. With reactive, acne- and oil-prone skin, I’m especially selective about what I put on my face—I’m naturally drawn to complexion products with skin-care benefits built in. A few drops buffed in with a stippling brush have never let me down. It feels weightless, evens out my complexion without masking my skin, and still looks great when I catch my reflection a few hours later. I’ll usually follow up with a bit of concealer over lingering dark spots or the occasional breakout, but that’s more personal preference than necessity.
In the interest of full transparency, there’s one small detail worth mentioning. While the formula is largely non-comedogenic, it does contain shea butter esters—an ingredient that can be a potential pore-clogger for some people. That said, I tend to approach makeup the same way someone with a mild allergy approaches a new food: if I try it and my skin is happy, I don’t write it off because of a single ingredient. Personally, this formula has never caused a breakout, which is a big reason it has remained in my regular rotation. Though, if I’m particularly oily or in the middle of a breakout, I’ll put a pause on this pick, and return to it when my skin is regulated.
How to Apply Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint
There’s no right or wrong way to apply Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint—choose your own adventure. “I’m usually trying to just get out the door in the mornings, so I’ll opt to use my hands, warming the product up on my fingers and applying directly to my face,” says Plavsic. “If I have a little more time to enjoy the ritual of doing my makeup, I’ll opt to use our complexion brush to apply the product.
