Do you want your makeup to have more skincare benefits?

Need? No, not really. Want? Maybe? For me, the idea of making powder products sit better on skin by infusing with “skincare benefits” makes sense–give me a highlighter that beams me to Mars but makes me look poreless. The biggest thing for me is that whatever is in my makeup is likely to be incremental, but it’s my actual skincare routine that is doing the heavy lifting, so whatever they want to cram into my makeup, I don’t want to have to start worrying about what can be mixed or worn with what serum or treatment I’m using in my skincare routine!

— Christine

31 Comments

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Mariella Avatar

It’s not really a bit issue for me although, since I don’t like a lot of layers of “stuff” on my face, I do appreciate it when a foundation or BB/CC/tinted moisturizer also contains SPF since protecting our skin from the sun is one of the most vital “skin care” benefits out there. CoverFX used to have a really outstanding primer that also contained a high level of SPF but it wasn’t around for very long and was discontinued which was a real let-down.

Codename Duchess Avatar

I totally get the desire to want to get your sunscreen from products your already use rather than from a stand alone product, but I always get a little alarmed when I see people saying that they rely on their primer or foundation for sun protection. Unless you are caking your makeup on, there’s no way you’re using enough makeup to get the level of SPF that’s listed on the packaging. You may not be getting even half of that number.

If protecting your skin not just from sunburn but from photo aging is a priority for you, I urge you to stop relying on just your foundation.

AB Avatar

I’m thinking no; it complicates things, as I’ll need to sort what mixes well or not with what else I’m using, and I doubt that makeup companies can pull off the kind or quality of skincare I want.

What I would like to see and would be progress is more skin-friendly ingredients and formulations in makeup. Like, elimination of ingredients brands have been told by customers are allergens or irritants, lip products that are not drying, etc.

Tammy Avatar

I like benefits with my foundation primer, foundation and lip products. It’s not a requirement but definitely a bonus. I find quite a few primers and foundations have ingredients I don’t want on my skin, ands sometimes when a brand opts to include skincare benefits in these products, they also reduce or eliminate some of the other harmful ingredients I am trying to avoid.

Lucetta Avatar

I react badly to some ingredients, so I like my make-up to have as few as possible – going through the ingredient list is a strain on the eyes! No added benefits for me, please!

Amy Avatar

Honestly, no. I want to pick my skincare for my skin then the makeup for the colour/ finish etc. My skin can be quite difficult, so I’d rather not start throwing in stuff that it might react to (even if it’s good for most people).
Less known irritants would be nice, though.

Soitgoes Avatar

It’s the Paula-fixation of makeup and skincare. Seems are starting to tell people to stop using vitamin C and antioxidants – they’re far from being universally beneficial but now they’re in everything.

Wednesday Avatar

I’m thinking I’m paying for my skincare to do its job so I am not expecting the same from my colour products other than skin friendly ingredients without irritants and allergens. I also value the addition of sunscreen in my base layer, but I’m not dependent on it alone as a thin base layer is not sufficient protection. I’m weary of over-the-top product descriptions and adding skincare benefits to colour products will probably result in more ridiculous and outrageous claims.

Alecto Avatar

No, as a matter of fact it’s important to me that things *don’t* trend that way. With the possible exception of foundation, how many of the cosmetics that we use have the proper packaging to keep skin care elements viable? Also, there are a number of skincare products I avoid, as their cons outweigh their pros (for me), and they’re very common ingredients, like large amounts of Vitamin C, Niacinamide, retinols, etc… so if the trend really takes off, I can see those items ending up in a lot of cosmetics, which would not please me. Also, most of my color cosmetics go over foundation, and my foundation goes over lotion and sunscreen — skincare ingredients wouldn’t even come in contact with my skin!

If we’re talking about ingredients that are stable in normal, non-hemetically-sealed conditions, and which don’t seem to be a problem for 99% of people (e.g. silk powder and certain beneficial minerals), then sure. People who don’t wear eyeshadow primer or foundation could benefit from an eyeshadow or blush that has skin-calming ingredients. Otherwise, it seems to me it would be adding expense for little real benefit.

Alecto Avatar

I wanted to amend this to add that none of what I’m saying applies to foundation, as we’ve already had foundations that claim skincare benefits for man years now; I’m talking about the spread of “skincare benefit” elements into specifically non-foundation products.

Deborah S. Avatar

I think a line from the Hippocratic oath fits here, “First do no harm.” I am not totally opposed to having some skin care benefits in my makeup. I guess I see this question as asking if I want good components in my makeup and I definitely do. Can those components address certain broad skin care concerns? Are they going to be able to make a foundation with skin care benefits that work for all skin types? No, they can’t and that is okay. However, we all know that leaving certain irritants out and adding some basic skin care components, hydration, moisturizers and SPF are universal, or should be.

Nancy T Avatar

“my skincare is doing the heavy lifting”
Exactly this! ^

The only skincare related things I do enjoy when it comes to facial cosmetics is when they have sunscreen in a foundation or are pore/texture blurring, as I have a family history (maternal side) of skin cancer and I have large, ugly looking pores on my nose and cheeks. Otherwise, no, I don’t need anything else skincare related added.

Ruby Avatar

I’ll add a vote for the equivocal “yes” category.

I used to use a now-discontinued foundation that was advertised as anti-aging and had a variety of common but moderately effective peptides in it. Since I wore it almost every day, it did honestly have some positive, albeit mild, effects. I’m not saying I looked 10 years younger or all my lines were gone! Nothing magical, alas. But it had a small impact, the same way almost any serum would, and was cost effective.

I do get the flip side of allergy worries, since I have a lot of allergies. It does annoy me when companies use common allergens, but that happens in cosmetics anyway, skincare product or not. (Although one big offender is moisturizing lipsticks–is that skincare?–that add various exotic oils and waxes to which a certain percentage of people will inevitably be allergic.) I’ve learned to read all labels no matter the product …

Rachel R. Avatar

No. That’s what skincare products are for. I don’t want to worry about the skincare in the makeup not being right for me, or interacting with my regular skincare products’ ingredients. I don’t mind sunscreen in my makeup (not in eye makeup, though), but it’s not something I necessarily want or need. I have a separate face sunscreen.

Codename Duchess Avatar

No! If anything I actually worry that the marketing of makeup as skincare is actually harmful to consumers as I think it can convince people that they can get what they need from their makeup and use that as an excuse to not use skincare items that are much better formulated to tackle their issues. I see this all the time with sunscreen and foundation. People look at their makeup and see SPF 30 and assume that means it’ll work just as well as a sunscreen with a similar rating. Which is very often not the case because how we use makeup is very different than how we use a dedicated sunscreen. Sunscreen is meant to be applied much more liberally than foundation.

Genevieve Avatar

No, upon reflection, I don’t really need my makeup to have skincare benefits as such. But I do want my makeup to contain ingredients that are safe to use, that will do no harm and live up to their promises.
I would prefer that my foundation contains some SPF, but not a lot as it can be an irritant to some.
I use sunscreen to protect my skin and everyone’s skin concern is different.
If brands got rid of fragrances, added scents – botantical or not, that would make a difference enough.

Gilad Avatar

If it would actually have contact with my skin, and have some positive long-term effect, then yes. I like the idea of maximum benefit in the products I use, and being able to have a choice.

Jill Avatar

Nah, I have skincare for that. And putting SPF in a foundation is the biggest marketing sham ever. There’s nobody out there that applies a thick enough layer of foundation to get anywhere near the full SPF level on the package. I would love it if they would just quit it with the misleading marketing.

Nicole D Avatar

No, as I rely on skincare. I just want the perfumes, allergens and other sensitizing ingredients to be removed from the makeup products.
With respect to the quantity of sunscreen required for a proper protection, the rule of thumb is 2 mg/cm2. This means a full 5ml teaspoon to be applied on the face, neck and V-neck (if the latter is exposed). It needs to be worked into the skin and wait for it to be absorbed.

Mary Avatar

I do like it in my foundation and hydration in my lipstick is good as well. Things like peptides , and hyaluronic acid .i use a sunscreen already .
I m pretty diligent with my skin care routine so I don’t really care in the rest of my makeup .

Z Avatar

Yes, I would like to have more benefits. As someone with very fair, very sensitive, and very pale skin I’d like to have a little more moisture from my products and some sunscreen benefits all while sitting nicely on the skin. It’s a tall order but surely someone out there can handle it? Well, when you throw in “silicone-free” I suppose not….

Bonnie Avatar

No way. First, more of a chance to be allergic to things in the makeup. And of course, they previously mentioned concern over coordinationg ingredients with skincare to not have bad reactions. Second, I feel like it might diminish the quality of the makeup itself, or its longevity. I do most of my skincare at night, after my makeup is off for the day. But even with my morning skincare, I leave a little time for everything to dry before putting makeup over it. And third, it would almost certainly drive the price of the makeup up. Nobody wants that.

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