Colourpop Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer review

You know what my favorite base product is to use in the summer time? Not a foundation, but a tinted moisturizer. Why? Because they are lightweight, give a bit of coverage but nothing too crazy and still stay put. Even on warm sweltering days, a tinted moisturizer will be able to cover what you want to cover, but without all the sweat and the nastiness of a foundation. Most of the time they don’t get sticky, they don’t get yucky and they last well. That being said, I have a dry skin type so a lightweight, dewy base is always my preferred base product to begin with. Let’s see how I got on with the Colourpop Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer.

Review: Colourpop Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer Fair 4 N

So this review is for the Colourpop Tinted Moisturizer. Not the newly released foundation. I did buy that and I got it in the mail so I can compare it to this, but I have yet to try it. I will hopefully be able to review that foundation in the next few months and will then also feature a comparison. Colourpop is known for its affordable products and this is no different. This tinted moisturizer retails for $14 which is not too bad, but for Colourpop definitely more on the expensive side of their product range. In total there are 24 shades, which is not too bad. Given the fact that this promises to be a lightweight product, I find that you can usually get away with a shade that is less than perfect.

What does this product have to offer?

Shall we start with the claims first? The Colourpop website doesn’t say much about this apart from this being a lightweight, hydrating product that should give you fresh looking, glowy skin. The box has a little bit more to offer. Colourpop claims this is great for all skin types (I disagree) and that it contains Hyaluronic Acid and Coconut Water for intense hydration. I’m sure that last claim is true but I suspect the quantities will be quite low. I would recommend still using a moisturizer under this (and sunscreen) because by itself it is not enough if you have dry skin. Perhaps on oilier skin this could work on its own, but I think this product is too rich and creamy for it to not break up on oily skin. Other than that this product claims to be oil free, gluten free, paraben free and vegan.

How does this product work?

Let’s just start with the packaging. I love that about this product: you get a pump, there is a cover for the pump and it comes in a squeezy tube. This just means you can get every last drop out of this product and that is great. The pump is easy to use and I use about 1.5 – 2 pumps every time I use this. I wouldn’t say the coverage on this is buildable: that is just how much product I need to cover my entire face. On my dry skin this feels very pleasant: it has a rich, creamy texture, with a light to medium coverage. It reminds me a bit of the IT Cosmetics CC Cream, but I think that is even richer in its texture. I wouldn’t go as far to claim that this is a dupe. If you have oily skin you may want to stay away from this: yes it is hydrating, but I feel this also breaks up throughout the day. On my skin that is no big deal, but if you have oily skin this might just turn into a greasy mess.

How does this product swatch?

Applying this to the back of my hand you can see that this is a rich texture: that pump of product just sits there and doesn’t run down. It blends out nicely and with a sponge you really don’t see any streaking or anything like that. The shade match Fair 4 N ended up being perfect for me: it is not too dark and not too light and it works well year round. With a bit of bronzer this perks up beautifully and I feel it looks and feels very natural on the skin. Especially the feel: some hydrating base products can transfer but this stayed put even during a sweaty workout class.

What is the application like?

If you are like me and you love a base product that still shows your natural skin then this product is for you! As you can see this product evens out my skin, but it doesn’t look makeuppy at all. This is perfect for those no makeup, makeup days when you want something lightweight and easy to throw on. This doesn’t cover every single thing, but I still go in with concealer and powder anyway. The result? A pretty, natural looking base that just looks very radiant on the skin.

My final thoughts

The Colourpop Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer is a really nice product and a bit of a surprise to me. Why? I wasn’t that big of a fan of their No Filter range. I liked the foundation, but the concealer was a bit of a no go for me. Those products are both matte and just don’t suit my dry skin type of all that well. This Pretty Fresh line is far more successful as it is nicely creamy (I am always skeptical of hydrating claims on makeup products) and it wears really well on my skin. If you are curious after how I fared with the concealer: that review will be up on Friday.

Would I recommend the Colourpop Pretty Fresh Tinted Moisturizer?

I definitely would if you have dry skin and like a natural looking base product that doesn’t emphasize texture. For me, I had only used this for about a week when the Pretty Fresh foundation launched and the fact that this product works so well for me was the reason to pick that up straight away. I literally set an alarm so I wouldn’t miss the launch. In other words, to me this is a good product for the summer time and definitely one I want to get back to. Is it a must have? Not by a long stretch, but it’s a good quality product that does what it promises to do.

What is your favorite lightweight base product?