e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint Review: Worth The Spend?

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e.l.f is VERY well-known in the drugstore makeup scene. In fact, they’ve pretty much built a reputation on creating affordable dupes for trending luxury makeup products.

Seen an eyeshadow or blush you like, but not sure if your wallet will stretch that far? e.l.f probably has something similar.

That’s why I was a little surprised when I spotted their new £18 Halo Glow Skin Tint.

While £18 for a skin tint isn’t crazy, it is a little on the steep side for e.l.f, especially given the majority of their products are around the £10 mark.

That said, I have seen some really promising reviews of the e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint… and I did think my skin would enjoy it. So in my basket it went!

Here’s how I got on with it, and whether I think it’s actually worth the £18 price point.

What is the e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint?

This is a lightweight, serum-like skin tint which bridges the gap between makeup and skincare.

It’s powered by soothing, brightening ingredients like niacinamide, bisabolol and allantoin. With the inclusion of zinc oxide, it also offers broad-spectrum factor 50 UV protection that apparently causes no white cast.

This e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint is dewy, buildable, and water-resistant (up to 80 minutes). The brand also claims that it’s non-comedogenic, so it’s suitable for acne-prone skin.

First impressions

Packaging

This skin tint is housed in a pink squeezable tube with a twist-off cap. The applicator is a little nozzle, you just have to press the tube to dispense the product.

In all honesty, I don’t love this packaging, just because it can get messy quite quickly. If you hold the tube the right way up and take the cap off, the skin tint will immediately start to drip out.

Realistically, I’d want to be able to twist the cap off and put the tube down somewhere while I apply my base – in case I want to add more product at any point. But, with the tube being shaped the way it is, you have to keep removing the lid and putting it back on.

Scent

This doesn’t have any artificial fragrance, so it doesn’t have a strong smell in that sense. I do think it has a slight Play-Doh scent to it though – this must just be how the ingredients themselves smell!

Shade range

The e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint comes in 18 different shades, from Fair Neutral through to Rich Neutral. This isn’t bad for a drugstore skin tint drop. I always find that skin tints have a less expansive shade range than foundations anyway, just because they’re slightly more adaptable.

I like that on the e.l.f website you can separate the shades by undertone, making it way easier to find the one that suits you.

The pictures of the models are really helpful too. You can figure out which shade will suit your skin tone (based on which model’s skin looks most similar to yours), plus get an idea of the coverage.

I went for Fair Neutral which is a pretty good match for me, if not a tiny bit too pale (which hardly ever happens!). But I can easily warm it up with a bit of bronzer and some blush, so no biggie!

Texture, feel and finish

True to the claims, the e.lf. Halo Glow Skin Tint feels very much like a serum when you rub it into the skin. It’s light and dewy, and sinks into the skin like a dream.

Consistency-wise, I think it sits somewhere between L’Oreal’s Tinted Serum (which is pretty liquidy) and Glossier’s Stretch Foundation (which has a thick, almost gel-like texture).

The finish is dewy, yet still very skin-like. I don’t think it looks overly shiny or greasy, though it might wear differently on oily skin types.

This also doesn’t have a pearlescent sheen to it, like the e.lf. Halo Glow Liquid Filter does. This makes it look much more natural on the skin.

I love that this blurs my pores and gives a soft-focus luminosity to the skin. It doesn’t cling to dry patches, nor does it sink into any lines.

It’s worth noting that this doesn’t mattify as it dries down, so – without powder – it does feel a little tacky. I recommend going in with a gentle sweeping of pressed powder after you’ve applied it to stop it transferring.

Application

The back of the tube says to ‘squeeze out 5 drops’ of the skin tint and ‘apply using clean fingertips or a sponge’. No mention of a brush here – interesting!

To truly test this product, I did try applying it with three different methods:

• Fingers – Even finish and good coverage.
• Brush – The product kind of just clings to the brush. The finish is a little streaky and the coverage not quite so good.
• Sponge – Like the brush, too much product is absorbed into the sponge. The coverage is very minimal, though the finish is nice and even.

I’m a big proponent of using your fingers to applying skin tints, and I stand by it for the e.lf. Halo Glow Skin Tint too.

I found the best way to apply it is to use your fingers to spread the product initially, then use a sponge to press the skin tint in. This gives the most natural finish.

Coverage

Being a skin tint, the coverage of this formula is expectedly light. The first layer you apply will help tone down any redness or pigmentation you have, but it won’t conceal it completely.

This skin tint is buildable, so you can apply more layers to increase the coverage. I don’t think you’d be able to achieve a full coverage finish just with this product alone though.

Price & value for money

I mentioned right at the start that this skin tint is one of e.l.f’s priciest products, coming in at £18 for a 30ml tube.

In the skin tint realm, this isn’t super out there. But it is still more expensive than many other drugstore skin tints on the market.

L’Oreal’s True Match Tinted Serum, for example, is £14.99, and the NYX Professional Makeup Buttermelt Glaze Skin Tint, at £13.99, is even cheaper.

Given the strength of the formula, I do actually think the e.l.f skin tint is good value for money. But I struggle to consider it a drugstore product when it costs so much. £18 is almost pushing it into the mid-range category.

Where to buy the e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint

You can order this skin tint directly from the e.l.f website.

Alternatively, you can order it from Boots, Superdrug or ASOS.

Final thoughts: Is the e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint worth buying?

I hate to say it, but I do actually think the e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint is worth the £18 spend.

While I’m not a huge fan of the packaging, I REALLY like the formula. It’s dewy, hydrating, and fragrance-free. It blends into the skin really nicely and it doesn’t feel at all drying or chalky.

I can see this being super popular with dry and sensitive skin types. With a bit of powder, I’m sure this could work for oily skin too.

Have you tried the e.l.f Halo Glow Skin Tint yet? If not, does this sound like something you would try? Let me know in the comments!