Do You Need A Complexion Balm? (The Answer Is Yes)

After years of Love Island-inspired, filtered by foundation faces taking up our feed, there’s been a shift to the light side. While looking pore-less used to mean looking flawless, the mood right now is a lot more, well, real.

It started with Pamela Anderson. The 57-year-old actor regularly eschews traditional glam in favour of going bare- faced, whether attending fashion week or on the red carpet. Then there’s Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sienna Miller, who have taken to applying a smattering of faux freckles to their barely-there bases. In the digital world, TikTokers have declared the under-eye concealer dead – but what does that mean for our make-up kit, or tired Millennials who still need a pick-me-up?

Enter complexion balms. A new breed of make-up/skincare hybrids that hydrate skin and leave an almost imperceptible veil of coverage that lets your natural complexion shine through. Think fresh faced, glowy and – whisper it – your skin, but better.

‘It feels like we are in the early 2000s again,’ says make-up artist Wendy Rowe, who’s responsible for Miller’s dewy radiance. ‘It’s coming back to when I first started in the industry and no one wanted make-up, it was all about skin and skin that looks real.’

Packaged with multiple monikers – think skin tints, foundation serums and tinted moisturisers – complexion balms have come a long way since the ’00s says Rowe. ‘The formulations to create a gorgeous skin texture are so much better now.’ How so? They’re packed with good-for-your-skin ingredients so think of them as an extension of your skincare routine. The idea is that the more you use them, the better your skin becomes. Make-up that’s good for you? Sign us up.

Space NK reports a huge shift towards lighter bases and tinted moisturisers with a 200% growth in the category since last year. Indeed, both Lisa Eldridge Seamless Skin Enhancing Tint, £44, and Hourglass Veil Hydrating Skin Tint, £49, have caused quite the complexion commotion since they launched on the site. At John Lewis, searches for ‘tinted moisturiser’ have shot up by 104% this month alone. And one of its top performers is Laura Mercier The Tinted Moisturiser Light Revealer Natural Skin Illuminator, £42, which has clocked up a 15% rise in sales this year.

So you’ve parked the foundation and picked up a lighter texture but how to nail ‘no make-up make-up’ to ensure that you look glowy not ghostly? It’s all in the skin prep, says Rowe. ‘Skin tints are not a replacement for moisturisers,’ she warns. ‘Putting colour into a product means it’s not as potent as a proper moisturiser, you need to take care of your skin if you want to wear less make-up.’ Zoe Taylor, a make-up artist who counts Alexa Chung and Keira Knightley as clients, recommends ‘laying off anything too thick, and allowing the skincare to properly sink in before applying the base’.

When it comes to application, lengthy YouTube tutorials need not apply. Swerve brushes – ‘They create a much heavier application,’ says Rowe – and use your fingers to apply a skin tint or complexion balm as you would a moisturiser. In the market for a little more? Go back in with a concealer to touch up any areas you feel need extra coverage.

You can take a more laissez-faire attitude to finding your shade, too. ‘You don’t need to be precise,’ notes Rowe, ‘you’ll see your skin through the tint anyway, the product just helps even everything out.’ The only thing you need to be wary of is what products you layer on top of your complexion balm. ‘Stick to cream blushes, bronzers and highlighters,’ suggests Taylor. ‘Powder will only mean you lose some of the gorgeous glowy finish.’

A product that you can smoosh on with fingers to pep up less than perky faces in mere minutes? Glow on then.

SHOP: The Best Complexion Balms

Verity Clark is the acting health & beauty director at Grazia. Previously contributing beauty editor at the Sunday Times Style Verity has almost a decade of experience writing about the beauty industry. She has worked with some of the industry’s most respected titles including Red, Good Housekeeping and Elle, and her aim is to demystify, and democratise, the conversation around beauty.