Saie’s New Slip Tint Concealer Has Replaced My Foundation

I grew up using concealer for what the product name not-so-subtly suggests: masking blemishes and dark undereye circles. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a big fan of concealer-as-foundation, which I can apply to selective parts of my face so more of my skin shows through. (Products like Tarte Shape Tape and Make Up For Ever HD Skin are two long-time favorites.)

And while I test out new products on a near-daily basis, it’s not every day that something arrives at my doorstep and skyrockets to holy-grail status. But that’s precisely what happened to me recently. The product in question? Saie’s new Slip Tint concealer.

Like many, since Saie launched in 2019, I've been entranced by its sheer, luminous products and sustainable brand ethics. I was also drawn in by fun names like Airset and Glossybounce, but stayed once I realized how good the formulas were. Saie's tinted moisturizer, Slip Tint, became an early favorite for its lightweight texture, flexible coverage, and added broad-spectrum SPF 35 protection, so when a concealer companion was announced, I knew I wanted to be among the first to try it out.

Concealer doesn't tend to carry the same wow factor as say, a glittery eyeshadow or red lipstick. Nevertheless, I gasped when I first applied this stuff to my face. Not only is the texture creamy yet light, but the shade match was flawless. It isn't as intensely pigmented as other concealers I've tried, and that's part of why it's so special. A full-coverage concealer is great if I'm trying to spot-cover a zit, but can look flat and mask-like if I dotted it all over my skin. Saie's Slip Tint concealer blended seamlessly — the finish is seriously undetectable — yet subtly evened out my skin with a brightening, lit-from-within effect. Like the OG Slip Tint, it's made to be a multipurpose workhorse in your routine, and there's no real wrong way to use the product.

I like to apply a doe-foot's amount of concealer on certain points of my face under the inner corners of my eyes, the center of my forehead, on my chin, and near my temples for a lifting effect. (Makeup artist Violette once told me that leaving the nose free of makeup helps create an illusion of not wearing foundation on skin, and I've never forgotten it.) From there, I used a dense, fluffy face brush (I like Real Techniques' Expert Face Makeup Brush) to buff and blend the product into my skin. My face is naturally a little darker than my neck, so I went with shade 7. Since it's a medium-coverage product, I could get away with using a shade or two deeper if I'm more tan (I naturally tan very easily due to my mixed-race background, despite constantly wearing sunscreen) or mixing multiple to exactly match my skin if I needed to. If I were going to an event, I might add some extra coverage, but for everyday life, this has completely replaced foundation.

At $28, she's definitely more of a luxury purchase — and feels like it. And while I like that it's non-comedogenic and has niacinamide (which can help curb oil production, minimize the appearance of pores, among other benefits) in it, I don't necessarily need my makeup to do my skincare's job. It doesn't hurt, but at the end of the day, I'm judging it purely as a concealer — and by that account, it passes with flying colors. (25 of them, to be exact.)