I Live in Paris, and I Use These 5 Skin Tints for French-Girl Makeup

The first beauty product I ditched when I moved to Paris—before black eyeliner and before voluminous mascara—was foundation. I only ever wore it on fancier occasions, or if I had a particularly heinous breakout, but it quickly lost its sparkle (er, matte finish?) after I took note of all the seemingly bare-faced French girls around the city with their fresh, near-perfect skin. Were they unfairly blessed by the skin care gods? Not exactly. I found out that they simply relied on one great makeup product: a skin tint.

Now, I was certainly not new to skin tint. I’d been using Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturizer for years before swapping it out for French clean beauty brand Typology’s tinted serum. But I was relieved to learn that many Parisians leaned on it to fake a virtually flawless complexion, and I came to love how they applied it: Alone on their skin, without blobs of crusty concealer on areas we’ve believed must be hidden, like pimples or rosacea. Instead, their skin looks completely natural—just a little more even-toned.

Want to get the look? Here are five skin tints I rely on for a glowy, natural-looking finish:

Typology Tinted Serum

Of course, if you’re looking to mimic French girl beauty, a French skin care brand is a good place to start. Clean beauty brand Typology launched in 2019 and quickly grew in popularity thanks to partnerships with French influencers, who gave us Americans a much-desired French-girl makeup lesson.

One of its hero products is a super lightweight tinted serum; it’s made with good-for-your-skin ingredients like vitamin C and squalane, delivering brightness and hydration along with a subtle hint of coverage. And I’m certainly not the only one who loves it: “This gives me such a lovely sheer coverage,” wrote one reviewer. “It really feels wonderful and sits without drying out or being patchy.” Another applauded it for its “blurring effect,” saying it doesn’t “settle into or highlight pores whatsoever.” Typology’s skin tint comes in six shades, but if you find yourself between two, you can order both and one bottle will be 30 percent off.

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 

This skin tint is unsurprisingly loved by celebrities, beauty editors, and thousands of reviewers. Not only does it have a light consistency and natural finish, but it also offers additional sun protection, boasting an impressive SPF 40. It’s formulated with hydrating and glow-boosting ingredients you love, like squalane and hyaluronic acid, which is how it delivers the deliciously dewy finish that has earned many loyal fans. “This is my favorite foundation and I’ve been wearing it for years now…it stays looking dewy and fresh all day and night,” wrote one reviewer. Bonus: This skin tint comes in 30 shades, so you’ll have no trouble finding your made-for-you tint.

Westman Atelier Skin Tint Complexion Drops

For skin that looks equally fresh and radiant, reach for Westman Atelier’s tinted drops. Not only will the skin tint deliver just the right amount of color to your complexion, but it’ll also serve it nourishing ingredients—think: ginseng extract and an almond oil blend, which can help improve skin texture and firmness. Want more? It delivers long-lasting results, too. “It goes on smooth and has a staying power that shocked me,” wrote one reviewer. “I pass a mirror and do a double take because my makeup looks fresh and natural for hours and hours,” wrote another. The tint is best for dry, normal, or combination skin types, and comes in 20 shades. 

Laura Mercier Tinted Skin Perfector SPF 30

We have an original right here: This product is one of the first tinted moisturizers to hit the market nearly 30 years ago, and it’s pretty much been a hit ever since. Why? It delivers ample hydration, thanks to ingredients like macadamia and kukui seed oils while bestowing skin with light, even coverage that seriously glows—just ask one of its many loyal fans. “I’ve been using Mercier tinted moisturizer for years,” wrote one reviewer. “There is no product that both enhances, moisturizes, and protects the face from sun damage like this Laura Mercier skin protector. ” Bonus: It has SPF 30 and comes in 20 shades. Oh, and Ms. Mercier herself—who inspired the brand—is French!

Saie Slip Tint SPF 35

For another natural-looking skin tint option, we have Saie’s popular Slip Tint. It provides a whisper of coverage that gently evens out skin tone, and is packed with skin-loving ingredients like hyaluronic acid and licorice root extract to offer hydration and glow. In other words, it’s a winning product for copying the French girl beauty look. “[It has] the perfect combination of moisture, with just enough tint to even out my skin, but not look or feel heavy,” wrote one reviewer. Plus, with SPF 35, it’ll offer your skin additional sunscreen coverage (dermatologists still recommend you wear your go-to sunscreen underneath).