New face tint has skin-friendly ingredients and sunscreen

AS a morena, finding affordable and shade-appropriate face bases from Filipino brands is always a challenge. Through the years and after many face bases, my face has alternately been too white, ashy, uncomfortably sticky or too dark to the point of being murky. But I haven’t given up. Some of the face bases I have tried have come so close to being good except for the shades and undertones.

But I will honestly try anything once, so when I was sent the new Active Skin Tint and Weightless Loose Powder from Filipino brand Issy & Co.’s Skin On The Go collection, I didn’t hesitate to try the first one right away.

Skin minimalism is the inspiration behind the two new face bases, which contain skin-loving ingredients. They were finally launched last week after two years in development.

I’ve heard so many good things about Issy &

Co. from beauty editors. A friend said the brand’s formulas are mostly hits.

Active Skin Tint is packed with actives that are favorites of skin-care enthusiasts. It has Niacinamide or vitamin B3 that has anti-inflammatory properties, helping to reduce pore appearance, improve skin texture and control sebum production.

Glycerin, a humectant, is another ingredient. This works by drawing water from the air or from the lower layers of the skin into the surface to achieve hydration. Another ingredient is Squalene, an emollient that helps make skin smoother.

Active Skin Tint has Broad Spectrum UVB/UVA SPF 35 sunscreen and is vegan, cruelty-free, glutenfree, preservative-safe and dermatologist-tested.

The oil-free skin tint dries to a powdery and satin finish. The coverage is very light but you can build it up to medium.

“Skinimalism goes back to an appreciation of what’s natural—skin texture, visible pores, and imperfections—because these are all a part of you! And so we came up with products to celebrate that,” said Joel Andrade, Issy & Co. creative director.

Active Skin Tint comes in six adaptable shades – Vanillé, Fawn, Beech, Hazel, Sienna and Brûlée. I initially thought my shade was Beech but it turns out Hazel was the perfect match. I gave a friend a sample of Sienna and she liked it after trying it twice. She is now considering buying a tube.

So what do I think of it? I like it because of the ingredients. Also, I appreciate that they did the colors well. Hazel is really a medium and warm-toned shade. No sign of being gray and/or ashy.

I have yet to try the Weightless Loose Powder. I’m going to try that this week.

The skin tint is priced at P499 (the brand tested it and said it would last three months with 180 to 190 pumps) and the powder sells for P349. They’re available at Issy & Co.’s Lazada store.