After making the switch to these clean makeup products, my dehydrated and sensitive skin has never been happier

Finding base makeup that checks all of my boxes feels like an endless journey, especially since I have sensitive, dehydrated yet oily skin.

Now, having dehydrated skin doesn’t necessarily mean that I have dry skin. Dehydrated skin is oily, combination, or even normal skin that lacks water, hence it can still feel parched and tight.

It’s taken years of trial and error, but at least now I know that my skin prefers foundations, concealers, and powders with a shorter, simpler ingredient list – uncomplicated formulas that are free of synthetic irritants, fragrances, and essential oils.

Armed with that knowledge, I narrowed down my search for the right complexion products, which was what ultimately introduced me to the world of clean makeup.

My experience with clean makeup

I know, the term “clean beauty” gets thrown around a lot in the industry, but “clean” simply means that a beauty product has considered both human and environmental health, and tries to use as many natural, plant-based ingredients as possible in its formula.

However, not all clean beauty products are created equal in my experience. While clean makeup formulas omit potentially irritating or harmful ingredients to appease sensitive skin, most of them can still aggravate my complexion.

To make matters worse, some of them aren’t particularly hydrating. Some formulas simply don’t offer the same lasting coverage as their traditional counterparts too, which makes the switch to clean makeup that much tougher.

Thankfully, on my hunt to find the least agitating and most hydrating formulas, I stumbled upon the Rimmel Kind & Free™ makeup range.

I was watching makeup artist Robert Welsh try on new drugstore makeup in a YouTube video, and one of them was the Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint. It looked really natural on his skin, and he remarked how it provided coverage without emphasising any texture around his nose.

Apart from how great it looked on his skin, what caught my attention was the name of the product. The words “kind” and “free” really resonated with me, and it’s exactly what I wanted – a formula that’s kind to my skin while allowing it to feel free.

A clean makeup range that’s kind to the skin and the earth, with no compromises

The more I read up on the brand’s new range, the more I was more inclined to try it. Indeed, Rimmel’s Kind & Free™ range offers clean, vegan, and cruelty-free formulas that are kind to the skin, planet, people, and animals. In fact, Rimmel’s parent company, Coty, doesn’t test on animals.

Taking clean makeup to the level, the collection aims to make clean beauty accessible to everyone. And if you’re familiar with the brand, you’d know that they champion and celebrate diversity, individuality, as well as self-expression.

Keeping in line with the principles of clean beauty, the Kind & Free™ range not only considers our skin’s health, but the wellbeing of our planet too. This is why the collection’s minimal packaging is made with post-consumer recycled content – to be kinder to our environment.

Rimmel’s Kind & Free™ vegan formulas are also crafted with a high percentage of natural origin ingredients, sans “nasties” such as talc, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), synthetic fragrance, and parabens.

To create formulas that can perform just as well as traditional ones, the brand has substituted a few problematic ingredients with more natural alternatives like oat kernel flour, sugar cane, and aloe vera, proving to be the brand’s most innovative and forward-thinking range yet.

Just as I was about to make a purchase, Rimmel kindly sent me three complexion-perfecting makeup products for their new range. And it includes the Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint that first piqued my interest!

Rimmel Kind & Free™ range review: Texture, coverage, finish, and overall feel

Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint

I have always had a love-hate relationship with complexion products. Sure, I love how it evens out my skin tone, masks redness, and covers up my blemishes, but most of them feel like goop sitting on my face.

The Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint, however, is game-changing. I squeezed a pea-sized amount of the creamy formula and dotted it all over my face before blending it all out with my fingers.

I was instantly impressed but how lightweight it felt on my skin. It felt much lighter than most skin tints and BB creams I’ve tried, and it didn’t leave a sticky residue on my face.

Although it’s a skin tint, it actually provided a decent amount of coverage for me – just as Robert Welsh had experienced. It evened out my complexion, hid redness, and blurred imperfections, yet it didn’t cling to or emphasise any dry patches on my skin. I was left with a gorgeous, dewy finish.

It’s able to do all of that thanks to its clever formulation. The Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint is packed with 77% of natural ingredients, infused with an antioxidant vitamin complex of nourishing vitamin E and hydrating vitamin B5.

Plus, there’s aloe vera to soothe and deliver an instant, healthy glow to the skin and hydration that lasts all day. I could wear the skin tint by itself and feel completely comfortable and confident. It’s the perfect product for everyday wear.

Rimmel Kind & Free™ Hydrating Concealer

As someone with oily yet dehydrated skin, it can be hard to find a concealer that won’t cake or crease under my eyes, but my search ended when I tried the Rimmel Kind & Free™ Hydrating Concealer.

The hydrating, serum-like formula blended out effortlessly under my eyes, providing medium to buildable coverage that looked natural on my skin. I tapped a small amount of concealer on my blemishes too, and it hid them without emphasising any texture.

Promising 24-hour wear, the formula is made with 80% natural origin ingredients. It contains an antioxidant vitamin complex of vitamin E and vitamin B5, which moisturise the skin for a fresh, radiant finish – pairing perfectly with Rimmel’s Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint.

Rimmel Kind & Free™ Pressed Powder

Those with oily yet dehydrated skin would know the struggle of finding a setting powder that doesn’t dry out the skin, which is why I was a little apprehensive at first about trying the Rimmel Kind & Free™ Pressed Powder.

I used the ultra-soft, vegan puff applicator to apply some powder on my T-zone. To my surprise, the pressed powder sat comfortably on top of the skin tint and concealer, mattifying my complexion for a fresh and natural finish.

Featuring 94% of natural ingredients, the talc-free powder is formulated with tapioca and oat kernel flour, which is why it has a finely milled, lightweight texture. My skin looked matte where I wanted it to without looking cakey after a long day.

Achieve a minimalist, matte or dewy makeup look with 3 products

My go-to, everyday makeup look is one that’s fresh, matte, and radiant, and the Rimmel Kind & Free™ trio not only fits the bill, but it also helps to simplify my morning routine.

The look I created above is perfect for my lifestyle, but if you want a dewier makeup look, here’s how you can achieve it with the same three products:

Step 1: Base

Just as how I did it the first time, I dotted a pea-sized amount of Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint and applied the Rimmel Kind & Free™ Hydrating Concealer under my eyes and on my blemishes to create my base.

Step 2: Blend

After creating my base, I mixed a small amount of Moisturising Skin Tint with the Hydrating Concealer and blended it in on the high points of my face, such as my cheekbones and forehead. This serves as a highlighter – the most natural-looking one yet.

Step 3: Set

The last step’s the same! Pick up some of Rimmel Kind & Free™ Pressed Powder with the vegan puff applicator and gently pat it on areas that get greasy easily. And voilà! A luminous complexion that’s hydrated.

Rimmel Kind & Free™ range review: The final verdict

As we’ve pared down our routines over the last couple of years, one MVP category has emerged in the beauty industry: skincare and makeup hybrids, which signalled the “skinification” of makeup.

And it really makes sense. These days, we wear makeup nine to twelve hours a day, so we ought to maximise these hours by nourishing our skin too.

This is where the Rimmel Kind & Free™ range excels. It offers clean, vegan, hydrating, and simple formulations that are foolproof, so it doesn’t matter if you’re a makeup novice or an expert. They’re also dermatologically tested, which makes them suitable for sensitive skin.

I particularly appreciate how they’re kind to the skin, planet, and animals, which paves the way for a better kind of beauty. It makes me look and feel good at the same time.

These base makeup products are sure to perform on any occasion. Plus, they’re priced so affordably and are readily available on Watsons Online and in selected Watsons stores.

For me, the Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint really stole the show. Historically, I’ve had a “Goldilocks” issue with base makeup. A rich, creamy foundation does a wonderful job of hydrating my skin, but the heavy ingredients in the formula would clog my pores and cause breakouts.

On the other hand, I’ll find a serum-like foundation that feels fresh and lightweight on my face, but isn’t hydrating or soothing enough. By the end of a long day, my skin would feel parched and irritated.

The Moisturising Skin Tint offers the best of both worlds. It’s a creamy formula that hydrates my skin all day without irritating my skin or clogging my pores.

These three products are my new makeup staples, for sure.

Rimmel Kind & Free™ Moisturising Skin Tint retails for S$24.90 (30ml, available in nine shades), Rimmel Kind & Free™ Hydrating Concealer retails for S$15.50 (7ml, available in four shades), and Rimmel Kind & Free™ Pressed Powder retails for S$16.90 (10g, available in five shades) at Watsons Online and in selected Watsons stores.

This article is brought to you by Rimmel London.