I Tried TikTok’s Homemade Skin Tint & It Made Me Glow

If you're not keen on wearing makeup in hot weather but still want a little bit of coverage, it's likely you've ditched your foundation for a tinted moisturiser, serum foundation or skin tint. They're lightweight, easy to apply and remove, and provide a sheer wash of colour that still looks like skin.

Skin tints are particularly buzzy this year and from Rimmel to Trinny London, countless beauty brands are getting on board. Somewhere between a skin-quenching serum and a featherweight foundation, they're often infused with ingredients like SPF, hydrating hyaluronic acid or moisturising ceramides. If TikTok is anything to go by (the #skintint hashtag has 65.2 million views so far), they make your skin gleam. Lately, though, the app's beauty enthusiasts seem to be saving their money and whipping up their own.

TikToker @glamzilla recently went viral with a summer beauty hack that saw her make a skin tint in seconds, with pretty mesmerising results. Using her trusty concealer combined with Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops, £31 (a product which has assumed cult TikTok status), Glamzilla showed her followers how to get the "perfect complexion all the time". It's simple: she dots her concealer all over her face and decants three pumps of serum into her hands before rubbing in the concealer. "Bam! You just created your perfect, dewy foundation," she says. "It's so pretty and you can go as pigmented or as heavy as you want, but this is the perfect, natural glow for spring and summer."

Glamzilla's video has amassed 985.3k views and has prompted other TikTokers to try the trend, too, including @jaleesajaikaran, @thenotarichgirl and @karlakazemi — all of whom were really impressed. Others weren't so sold, like @lifewithrimmi, who found it to be a little patchy.

Still, the positive reviews outshine the not-so-great ones, which means I had to give it a try. I did have questions. Would the serum eventually evaporate, leaving behind uneven blotches of concealer? More importantly, would it provide enough coverage to conceal a big breakout I was having without clogging my pores further?

I actually had the Glow Recipe serum to hand as I've been meaning to try it for weeks so I teamed it with one of my most substantial concealers: Tarte Shape Tape Concealer, £22. The doe foot applicator is quite large, which made dotting the product over my skin quick and easy. I also love Maybelline Eraser Multi-Use Concealer, £8.99, and Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Brightening Concealer, £18, which is available in 48 shades.

I rubbed three pumps of serum into my hands but that was my first rookie mistake. Most of it absorbed into my palms straightaway, making it difficult to spread the concealer over my face. It's nothing another pump of serum didn't sort, though, and you could always just apply the skincare directly to your face. That said, I don't usually blend makeup with my hands. I find that it ends up uneven as I tend to miss areas like around my eyes and nose. Once most of the serum and concealer was massaged in, I went over it with a dense foundation brush.

This pretty much perfected everything. As I stepped back for a better look, the sunlight glinted off my cheeks. It really made my skin glow and the coverage was better than I'd expected (though I needed a dab more concealer on a couple of big spots).

Throughout the day — a warm one, too — the makeup behaved exactly like the most expensive skin tint in my makeup bag (YSL, in case you were wondering). It stayed put, save for separating ever so slightly on sweaty areas, like my upper lip and chin, though all makeup tends to do this unless powdered. The DIY tint meshed really well with my cream blush and didn't make my fine lines too obvious, unlike foundation. I put that down to the dewy, hydrating serum plumping up my skin. Honestly, it felt as though I wasn't wearing any makeup at all.

Saffron Hughes, resident makeup artist at FalseEyelashes.co.uk says this hack gives you the freedom to create a completely customisable skin tint. "Most people have a concealer that matches their skin tone. This allows you to decide on the amount of glow or coverage you wish to achieve." Saffron adds that applying both products with your fingers helps warm them up, which means they melt into your skin easily. A sponge allows for faster blending, but it might soak up a lot of the product. "This is a great way to combine skincare and makeup, though. It's like your skin but better."

If you're into skincare, you might be wondering where sunscreen comes in all of these steps. As SPF should be the last step in your skincare routine, I applied mine just as I would under makeup. Combining the serum and concealer didn't cause it to ball up and roll off, and I think that's because I waited around 30 minutes before doing my makeup. If you're invested in sun protection, there's no reason why you couldn't top up your makeup with a sunscreen spray. Vichy Capital Soleil Solar Protective Water Hydrating SPF50, £19, is clear and feels comfortable over makeup, as does La Roche-Posay Anthelios Sun Protection Face Mist, £14, but because this is an aerosol, ensure you've applied enough. It pays to do this inside, too, so as not to lose any product to wind.

The Glow Recipe serum is great but if it's out of your budget, you could try another niacinamide serum, like The Inkey List Niacinamide Serum, £7.99, or The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% & Zinc 1%, £10. But I'd recommend something even more glow-giving. Try Skin Proud Smooth Talk Serum 2% Hyaluronic Acid Serum, £12.95, or a product containing super hydrating polyglutamic acid, like The Inkey List Polyglutamic Acid Serum, £14.49 (I've found it works so well mixed with makeup).

Would I make my own skin tint every day? Perhaps not when my skin is having an acne flare-up, as I prefer more coverage. But on days when my skin is playing ball and I'm after quick and easy makeup that doesn't feel cloying and greasy, this is it.