Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser

I've never had particularly inspiring encounters with tinted moisturisers. Most tend to have strong orange base tones that turn me into an oompa-lumpa, or have a tendency to bring me out in a lovely, itchy rash due to some not-so-desirable ingredients. One even exploded all over my bag once due to the less-than-ideal packaging which quite frankly was a nightmare. But my main reason for staying clear for so many years was that most tinted moisturisers are simply far too dark for my pale skin.

When I heard Clinique was bringing out their Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser, I did get quite excited as I always do when a new product launches. Clinique is a great little brand that serves up some amazing products - I'm thinking their Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Balm here! Was this tinted moisturiser going to become the answer to all my problems?

Here's a picture of the packaging, complete with lovely reflection of me and the camera:

Packaging-wise, it's okay; not brilliant but not the worst I've ever encountered. Because it's a squeezey bottle, sometimes it's hard to control the amount of product that comes out so you end up wasting some. However, it stops the packaging from getting super messy so I suppose that's a plus.

Ignore the weird expression but hopefully you can see that the tinted moisturiser gives a lovely, dewy glow! All I'm wearing here is literally the tinted moisturiser - no mascara, no lipstick, no eyeshadow *gulp*!

For those with dry or normal skin, the product would be perfect to use by itself (though very dry skins might need to throw in another moisturising agent to really get the best of it). However, those with slightly oilier skins might need to use a light dusting of powder to set it. It applies really nicely though and is fairly easy to blend out, with texture becoming thicker as it warms. 

The coverage is sheer and doesn't cover my freckles, but can be built up to cover minor imperfections, eg: change in skin tone. 

The SPF 15 is also a great addition for those of us short on time, though I do wish Clinique had included a slightly higher factor. Typically, tinted moisturisers tend to be worn in the summer when it's vital to wear a high SPF to protect against sun damage. I would be reluctant to take this abroad as the SPF is nowhere near the factor I need to protect my pale skin from burning.

I wish I could say this was my only negative about this product, but unfortunately, there's lots more; a pity because I really, really wanted to love it.

1. The colour selection is seriously limited. There are only six shades in the range so those with light or darker skin tones will probably struggle to find a match. I bought the lightest shade which is far too dark for me as demonstrated by the above picture.
2. The product also goes very orange on me. Rather than looking tanned - something I could have coped with - I just look tangoed! Not a brilliant look!
3. It's also not moisturising enough for me to wear without first layering another moisturiser underneath, something that completely defeats the object in my opinion. Granted, I have very dry skin but when I used this purely by itself, my skin was feeling horribly tight. 
4. The price. £21 is - dare I say it - not too bad for a high end beauty item. However, considering my experiences with the product, I don't think it's worth that much.

In conclusion (gosh, this sounds like an essay!), I wouldn't recommend this product for anyone with pale or very dark skin as the shade ranges are poor. In saying that, if you can find a shade that works for you, this might be a great little tinted moisturiser.

Have you tried the Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturiser? Let me know what you think!