I admit I was probably too excited when this product first hit the market in 2020. I loved some of Ilia’s products and I had the biggest hope for this product until I tried it again recently in comparison with other tinted SPFs. Here’s my ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint update.
At first, I realized this product was just sitting in my beauty drawer, unused. Which might not be a big issue, especially if you have many products in the drawer, but it made me curious. This is what this post is all about, plus some other issues I found in this product after I gained some more knowledge about sunscreens.
Apologies for my previous blog posts recommending this as a sunscreen, especially because back when I wrote this review, I didn’t really realize that I need to put 1/4 teaspoon or 0.04 oz for this to work as a sunscreen.
Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF30 description
A clean tinted serum with light, dewy coverage, mineral SPF, and active levels of skincare ingredients.
How it works: Your tinted SPF will never be the same. This first-of-its-kind formula fuses skincare, makeup, and sun protection into one easy step: a lightweight serum that leaves your skin looking like skin. Non-Nano Zinc Oxide provides SPF 40 coverage to help shield skin from UVA, UVB, UVC, blue light, and pollution.
Ilia
Product as Sunscreen: Issues
1. Applying 1/4 tsp isn’t workable at all.
2. The oil doesn’t sink into my skin at all:
3. It doesn’t hold up: just one swipe, and it’s on my fingers.
Marketing it as sun protection is crazy. I’m not sure if anyone could wear this as a sunscreen. Acceptable use for me is one drop, roughly 0.01 oz – the amount I would use as a foundation. As full protection needs 0.04 oz, this amount of use is probably only equal to SPF10 – if any?
Other sunscreen issues
The Super Serum doesn’t come with broad-spectrum protection. Sure, Zinc Oxide protects against UVA, UVAII and UVB, but still the brand apparently hasn’t seen it fit to run the additional tests to label the product as broad-spectrum. Which shows (for me) that either the UVA protection is less than the needed one third of the SPF, or? Maybe they’re stingy? Or, of course, they actually know that the product can’t ever be used properly as a sunscreen.
(Btw, if you’re asking yourself while this is labeled as SPF30 in the EU and SPF40 in the USA, it’s because sunscreens can only be labeled as SPF30 or 50 in the EU.)
And why are we in such a snit about the missing UVA protection? Because broad spectrum protection is incredibly important: the Skin Cancer Organisation says so, the European Union says so, every other derm says so (and even we have written about that here and here).
Also, Ilia’s description is bogus as well: while you absolutely do need protection from UVA and UVB, UVC is filtered by the Ozone layer and doesn’t reach us.
Product as a foundation: Issues
The color was definitely too dark for my skin tone, especially when worn in the 1/4 tsp version. But it’s difficult to find the right color. Now, from the picture, I should try ST10, although I usually never categorized myself as a medium skin tone. (Gosh, I felt judged by the models next to me, lol).
And me, after putting on 1/4 tsp worth of Kamari:
The Ilia Super Serum could still work if you enjoy having an oil-type foundation on your skin. If your skin is exceptionally dry, you might benefit from the “serum” benefits. Those are mainly Squalane, shea butter, some Niacinamide and Aloe, which honestly aren’t that groundbreaking in a serum. I still feel it just sit on my skin (even on a drop), so it’s just not for me.
ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint update: Conclusion.
It also annoyed me somewhat that this product has won so many awards and I can’t but help to ask why? The shade range is difficult, the ingredients are rather lame for a serum, and as a sunscreen? I mean you’ve seen the pics, right? THIS IS NOT A SUNSCREEN.
On top of that, it’s rather pricey: 1fl.oz/30ml is $48. Yikes.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
Why would you use a 1/4 teaspoon? That’s a lot!! No wonder it looked like that. Lol It says in the instructions “dispense a quarter sized amount into palms and apply to skin like a serum”. It’s not supposed to be a quarter teaspoon. Try that and see how it looks and feels and if you like it better, try another shade. I love mine and it actually protects from the sun! I usually put two pumps onto a brush and put it on that way. Good luck!
Hi Shelly, we always use 1/4 tsp for products that’re supposed to protect from the sun.
The reason for this is the following: When products are tested to determine the SPF, the amount used is 2 milligrams of sunscreen per centimetre of skin (2 mg/cm²). This translates to 1/4tsp (roughly, on avarage) for your face, and 35ml for the body.
Hope this helps!
I agree , this is not a good product.
Everyone’s preference is different and Everyone’s skin is different. So, is this product great for everyone? Maybe not. But, I’ve been using it for a couple of months now and I must say I really like it! It isn’t heavy, it does feel like a second skin as described, and I like the glow it provides. And personally, I feel like the spf is sufficient.