Ditch Your Foundation for the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint?

(Last edited July 21)

I hate the feeling of foundation. Who's with me? It's not something I like to wear, which is why I only use it on occasion, but I do love the even and flawless look that it gives my skin. That's why tinted moisturizers are amazing; they feel lighter than foundations while still providing some coverage. However, they tend to be quite expensive and overpriced, in my opinion. I mean, $30+ for a light tint? Even though I've heard great things about the It Cosmetics CC cream and Laura Mercier tinted moisturizers, I just can't justify paying $40 for those. My thought is: I might as well stick to using my trusty Maybelline foundation when I do want coverage. And yes, there are affordable tinted moisturizers out there at the drugstore, but most of them only have about three shades max. Because of these reasons, I've never even considered using tinted moisturizers.

It wasn't until recently when I used my friend's tinted moisturizer that I thought I discovered a gem. It was the (you guess it) Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint. When I swatched it and rubbed it into the back of my hand, I was shocked. I was expecting it to feel more like a foundation, but it really did feel like a moisturizer ("tinted moisturizer"--who would've known?)! This encounter inspired me to go buy it for myself and do this review.

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This is one of the only tinted moisturizers that is available at the drugstore, retails for under $15, and has a relatively decent shade range. It has 10 shades, which isn't ideal, but beats the 3-shade range of most drugstore tinted moisturizers. The only other tinted moisturizer I have found that meets these criteria is by NYX. Colourpop also has an affordable tinted moisturizer with an even better shade range, but it's not available at the drugstore. (Let me know if you want a review of either of these.)

The Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint doesn't have SPF. If you're looking for that all-in-one morning face product, though, Neutrogena has some other tinted moisturizers with SPF. I personally am not interested in those products because they have active sunscreen ingredients, oxybenzone and octinoxate, that I stay away from. You can read my sunscreen post if you're curious as to why.

Wear Test

I wore this tinted moisturizer the other day for about eight hours, taking note of my thoughts at application, the four-hour mark, and the eight-hour mark. For some context, I have normal to oily skin with some dryness around my nose.

Application

It does feel like a moisturizer when you rub it in. I just used my hands and it worked pretty well. You have to be careful to apply it evenly and blend it into your skin or it will be patchy. It has a light coverage, as tinted moisturizers are expected to have, but it's enough to even out your skin if you have some redness or light tan lines. The color "natural beige" matched me very well to my surprise. That's because the shades don't have to match you perfectly since the product blends into your skin, as tinted moisturizers should. After I put it on, I thought it made me look radiant--when I asked my sister how my skin looked, she said "glowy." Don’t be scared, though, those of you with oily skin. It didn’t feel very dewy, just moisturized, like how a moisturizer would make you feel. When I touched my cheeks, they simply felt smooth in a hydrated way--not greasy whatsoever. I will say, even though it felt like a moisturizer, it also had a slight foundationy feel and smell when I was applying it with my hands, but I didn't feel it once it was on my face. Despite it looking fairly natural, it still looked like I was wearing makeup, but maybe that's because I'm not used to wearing skin coverage products regularly.

2nd picture: product on half of my face--notice the redness on the right side

3rd & 4th pictures: after application

(Please note that the finish looked different in various places at different angles, depending on how the light was hitting my face. Don't rely on my iPhone 8 pictures.)

4 Hours

At the four hour mark my skin looked pretty similar. If anything, it looked a bit more natural, as if it had melted into my skin.

8 Hours

At the end of the day it looked like some of the coverage had worn off, and my nose area felt dry and kind of cakey when I touched it. I'm not sure if my nose area just got dry throughout the day or if I didn't apply the tinted moisturizer adequately and evenly around that area. After I took it off, though, I was pleasantly surprised at how this product left my skin feeling. It felt supple and smooth--almost plump. The marketing makes a great deal out of the hyaluronic acid, but it's very low on the ingredient list which means there's probably not much of it. Nevertheless, the impact on my skin was a nice surprise since I honestly didn't have such expectations for this product.

from left to right: bare face, after application, after 4 hours, after 8 hours

Final Thoughts

I would overall give this product an A-. Since I haven't tried other tinted moisturizers, I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought it made my skin look even and glowy while feeling weightless. It's a great everyday product for those who want something to help even out their skin tone. And the way it left my skin feeling was an added bonus. I think this product would work for a lot of people--those of dry, combination, and oily skin--because it performs like a moisturizer in its formula and finish. If you are very dry, I would suggest using a different moisturizer before applying this product (which is what I will do around my nose in the future), and if you are very oily I would recommend only using this after cleansing and maybe using a powder on top. I would say that the only downside to the performance of this tinted moisturizer is the texture it shows on your skin. While it looks pretty natural and feels weightless, it still looks like you are wearing a product when you look closely, though that's not a huge deal since people won't be up in your face (and maybe all tinted moisturizes are just like that?). Overall, the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Tint is a solid light-coverage product that's accessible to a lot of people. If light coverage is what you want, I'd say ditch your foundation for this product.