Razzano continues that these hybrid beauty products are trending right now thanks to consumers educating themselves on product benefits through social media and increased retailer guidance. “People want makeup that performs to the standards they expect and is going to help improve their skin along the way.” So, it’s no surprise that Sephora is seeing a growing fan base of this product category. To help inform your buy, we’ve tapped our experts and our personal beauty trials to curate this assortment of products that blur the lines between makeup and skin care. Read on to discover our edit—along with some helpful ingredient callouts and resulting benefits.

Kosas Revealer Concealer

This is Hailey Bieber’s concealer of choice, a Vogue editor darling, and what Zadeh-Daly considers her all-time favorite. “It has the perfect amount of coverage and the prettiest finish I’ve ever seen, and it stays put and doesn’t crease,” she says. What’s more: it blends like a dream (some people even wear it as foundation!) and is available in 28 shades so everyone can find their perfect match.

• Key Ingredients: A vegan, cruelty-free formula infused with caffeine, pink algae, arnica, vitamin B5, peptides, and hyaluronic acid—free of parabens, sulfates, silicones, and fragrance.
• Skin Benefits: Along with its concealing benefits, this works to brighten, soothe, and plump skin—similar to your favorite eye cream.

Chanel N°1 de Chanel Lip and Cheek Balm

From the launch of No. 1 de Chanel comes this multipurpose lip and cheek pigment. Available in six vibrant shades, the lip and cheek balm melts into skin to add a touch of sheer color wherever necessary.

Chanel N°1 de Chanel Lip and Cheek Balm

• Key Ingredients: A 97% naturally-derived formula powered by the red camellia—a botanical rich in the antioxidant protocatechuic acid.
• Skin Benefits: Thanks to its antioxidant properties, expect this to soften and plump, while aiding skin barrier function.

Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara

Deemed one of the best mascaras, we’re repeat buyers of Ilia’s Limitless Lash Mascara for not only its buildable, flake-free formula but its ability to lift, curl, and volumize lashes with ease.

Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara

• Key Ingredients: A 99% naturally derived formula infused with bee and caranuba wax, shea butter, and keratin
• Skin Benefits: Gentle for sensitive eyes, this nourishes, conditions, and enhances each lash over time.

Tata Harper Be Adored Tinted Anti-Aging Lip Treatment

Prepare to pucker up with Tata Harper’s tinted anti-aging lip treatment in this versatile rosy, berry shade.

Tata Harper Be Adorded Tinted Anti-Aging Lip Treatment

• Key Ingredients: A concentrated formula of botanical oils, vitamins, and minerals (like olive and green tea seed oil, cocoa butter, and calendula flower extract, to name a few), free of synthetic chemicals, toxins, artificial colors, and fragrance.
• Skin Benefits: Expect this blend to bestow youthful-looking lips over time thanks to its plumping, hydrating, and wrinkle-reducing properties.

Jones Road Miracle Balm

From acclaimed makeup artist, Bobbi Brown’s coveted beauty brand Jones Road expect clean, high-performance products like its Miracle Balm, which delivers the ultimate soft-focus minimalist pigment.

• Key Ingredients: A light-reflecting, weightless moisturizer powered by jojoba oil.
• Skin Benefits: This tinted balm can be used on its own or under foundation to hydrate skin, while delivering the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of jojoba oil.

Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner

Luckily enough, Victoria Beckham’s eponymous label has cracked the code on eyeliner infused with skin-care ingredients. 

Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner

• Key Ingredients: Known to be one of the best eyeliners in the market, this creamy number is enriched with chamomile extract, vitamin E, and panthenol. 
• Skin Benefits: That said, this eyeliner is features eye-soothing and hydrating properties while delivering the vibrant pigment and long-lasting color you desire. 

Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Complexion Drops

The weightless wear of Gucci Westman’s recently-launched Complexion Drops is only half the reason it’s destined to be a hit for people over 50. 

Westman Atelier

Vital Skincare Complexion Drops

• Key Ingredients: The lightweight oil is powered by a supercharged yet gentle blend of Tsubaki oil, a ginger root complex, ginseng, and pomegranate extract, alongside sunflower and almond oil. 
• Skin Benefits: The result? Skin that appears brighter, hydrated, and protected against environmental stressors. Not to mention the re-texturizing and firming benefits of Tsubaki oil, which is cold-pressed from camellia japonica.

Merit Day Glow Highlighting Balm

Of Merit’s numerous skin-conditioning products, its Highlighting Balm is a cherished pick.

Merit Day Glow Highlighting Balm

• Key Ingredients: Dare we say this is the ultimate on-the-go highlighter? It’s a convenient stick formula that is enriched with squalane, olive fruit oil, vitamin E, and an amino acid blend.
• Skin Benefits: One can effortlessly tap the highlighter on with their fingers to build a non-glittery dewy sheen, while illuminating, moisturizing, and protecting the skin barrier.

Saie Slip Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 35 Tinted Moisturizer

One of Crowell’s favorite products, she considers this your skin prep and your makeup in one. This tinted moisturizer is available in 14 shades for lightweight coverage over, or instead of, your everyday moisturizer.

Saie Slip Tint Broad Spectrum SPF 35 Tinted Moisturizer

• Key Ingredients: “Slip Tint is packed with hyaluronic acid, elderberry extract, licorice root extract for brightening; those are just true skin-care ingredients,” explains Crowell of this sheer, dewy formula suitable for even acne-prone skin. “Then, of course, the mineral zinc oxide for SPF.”
• Skin Benefits: “The licorice root is really for lightening dark spots or any sort of discoloration that you have, and I’ve been wearing the product for two years now—my skin has completely transformed just in its appearance,” she notes. One more: this provides hydration, antioxidant protection, and SPF 35, too.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush

If we had someone name their favorite cream blushes, we’re almost certain Rare Beauty’s option would near the top of their list—especially if they are TikTok obsessed.

Rare Beauty Soft Pinch Liquid Blush

• Key Ingredients: Known to achieve sculpted, juicy cheeks, as described by senior beauty editor Lauren Valenti in her review of the viral blush, this imparts a radiant pigment infused with the brand’s botanical blend of lotus, gardenia, and white water lily. 
• Skin Benefits: This means that while you’re buffing this formula in for a sun-kissed glow, you’ll be giving your skin helpful ingredients to stay soothed and conditioned.

Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skin Care

Setting powders get a skin-friendly upgrade with this Westman Atelier pick; formulated as a micro-filled powder from supercharged skin-care actives that lock your makeup in place.

Westman Atelier Vital Pressed Skincare

• Key Ingredients: A sheer, weightless powder featuring the brand’s Skin Defense Shield Complex composed of vitamin c, probiotics, and quinoa seed extract.
• Skin Benefits: While delivering the shine reduction and makeup setting properties you’d expect from a face powder, this helps minimize the look of pores, shield against free radicals, and control sebum production over time.

Saie Sun Melt Cream-Balm Bronzer

“This beautiful bronzer melts into the skin creating the perfect touch of warmth that can be applied all over the face or strategically where you want,” explains Razzano of what we believe is the best bronzer for a glossy glow.

Saie Sun Melt Cream-Balm Bronzer

• Key Ingredients: A lightweight, creamy bronzer featuring a blend of colloidal oatmeal, elderberry extract, and grapeseed oil.
• Skin Benefits: According to Razzano, “this formula is packed with skin-loving ingredients like Colloidal Oatmeal to help soothe and smooth the skin, Grapeseed Oil which hydrates and packs an antioxidant punch.” What’s more, the elderberry extract helps balance the skin’s microbiome.

Ilia Color Block High Impact Lipstick

“We often forget or neglect skin care for our lips , yet they are often one of the first areas to see the signs of environmental damage and aging,” explains Razzano. “So, if you love wearing bold, beautiful lipsticks, consider this formula which will also boost your overall lip care as well.”

Ilia Color Block High Impact Lipstick

• Key Ingredients: A vegan, clean, handcrafted full-coverage creamy lipstick infused with mango seed butter, apricot seed, and castor seed oils—available in eight nude, red, and berry shades.
• Skin Benefits: “The infusion of apricot seed oil, castor seed oil, and mango seed butter will lock in moisture, soothe, and smooth the lips, while helping to boost elasticity,” says Razzano.

Kosas Cloud Set Setting Powder

“Even face powders can now benefit your skin, like we see with this amazing powder from Kosas,” Razzano explains. “It will create smoother, perfect-looking skin while setting your makeup as well.”

Kosas Cloud Set Setting Powder

• Key Ingredients: A clean, vegan baked setting powder featuring Chinese peony, bamboo stem, and passion fruit extracts. infused with hyaluronic acid and algae extract.
• Skin Benefits: “The skin-care ingredients help to absorb excess oil without drying, minimize the look of pores, and even help reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles over time,” he notes.

RMS Beauty Luminizer

The best highlighters not only leave a luminous glow but like this RMS pigment, can support healthy skin, too. A cult classic for a reason, this delivers an effortless light-reflective highlight that’s neither greasy nor glittery.

• Key Ingredients: A sheer, luminous finish cream highlighter infused with vitamin E, coconut, and castor seed oil.
• Skin Benefits: This works to reveal youthful-looking skin through its moisturizing, smoothing, and anti-inflammatory ingredients.

Youthforia BYO Blush

Youthforia’s BYO Blush has long been a Vogue team favorite. Worn atop her eyes, lips, and cheeks, contributor Arden Fanning says this “is pH-reactive, kind of adjusting like a mood ring, and turns into a really dewy pink that smooshes around transparently without hard lines.”

• Key Ingredients: Think of this as a universally flattering, fast-absorbing blush infused with the brand’s proprietary Skin Chi complex, botanical extracts, as well as avocado and sunflower oil—supposedly gentle enough to sleep in, per Youthforia. 
• Skin Benefits: Expect this to create a lit-from-within flush, moisturize skin, and reduce the look of fine lines wherever you place it. 

Merit Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil

Certainly one of the best lip oils to sport year-round, Merit’s high-shine variant is crafted to impart lightweight, buildable tint as a sort of lip oil-lip stain hybrid.

Merit Shade Slick Tinted Lip Oil

• Key Ingredients: A clean, vegan, cruelty-free formula packed with fatty acids, shea butter, rosehip, grapeseed, and jojoba oils.
• Skin Benefits: Thanks to the essential fatty acids and botanical oils, this gives lips a moisture surge that conditions and softens while providing a protective barrier to your pout.

Tower 28 Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer

Get that summer glow year-round with Tower 28’s creamy color available in five shades for blendable, buildable bronzing.

Tower 28 Bronzino Illuminating Cream Bronzer

• Key Ingredients: A vegan, silicone-free illuminating pigment made with 100% mineral pigment, along with mango butter and green tea extract.
• Skin Benefits: Along with that bronzy sheen, expect calming antioxidant protection and unmatched nourishment for a lit-from-within glow.

Sephora Collection Best Skin Ever Full Coverage Multi-Use Concealer

“This full coverage concealer can hide any imperfections or under-eye darkness with ease,” explains Razzano of Sephora Collection’s new full-coverage, natural finish concealer.

Sephora Collection Best Skin Ever Full Coverage Multi-Use Concealer

• Key Ingredients: A lightweight vegan concealer with the Sephora Clean stamp of approval infused with hyaluronic acid and algae extract.
• Skin Benefits: “The formula contains hyaluronic acid and algae extract, which helps boost your skin’s hydration and protects it from daily environmental damage,” says Razzano. “That added boost of hydration also helps the full coverage formula blend onto the skin seamlessly and create a smooth finish.”

Valde Beauty Ritual Creamy Satin Lipstick

A vibrant swipe of lipstick is often the ultimate finishing touch to any look. Whether you’re going for minimalist wear or red carpet-level glam, give your pout a conditioning treatment when you opt for Valde’s creamy formula. 

Valde Beauty Ritual Creamy Satin Lipstick

• Key Ingredients: A vegan, cruelty-free satin finish lipstick enriched with hyaluronic acid and botanical extracts. 
• Skin Benefits: Designed to deliver vibrant color in a single stroke, this leaves a cushiony, lightweight feel while smoothing, softening, and hydrating lips. 

Rose Inc Blush Divine Radiant Lip & Cheek Color

“A good cream blush can be the perfect finishing touch to your complexion,” Razzano notes. “This clean formula has a smooth, creamy texture that feels wonderful while applying.” Founded by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, this versatile pigment is available in 11 modern longwear shades housed in refillable packaging.

Rose Inc Blush Divine Radiant Lip & Cheek Color

• Key Ingredients: A creamy, buildable pigment packed with squalane, vitamin E, and hyaluronic acid.
• Skin Benefits: Per Razzano: “Rose Inc incorporated squalane and sodium hyaluronate (hyaluronic acid) to add deep hydration to the skin while also giving the formula its luxurious feel, and ceramides within the blush help to strengthen the skin barrier as you wear it.” In short, it’s ideal to treat dull skin.

Kjaer Weis FeatherTouch Brow Gel

Achieve your best brows yet with the help of eyebrow serums, or this tinted brow gel by Kjaer Weis that grooms arches into place with soft, flexible, long-lasting hold.

Kjaer Weis FeatherTouch Brow Gel

• Key Ingredients: A clean brow gel formulated with certified organic ingredients, including rice flour, lavender water, coconut oil, and chestnut extract.
• Skin Benefits: Its nourishing ingredients help condition brow hairs, which promotes hair growth over time.

LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation

“This lightweight foundation can go from sheer to medium coverage, all while retaining a beautiful skin-like finish,” says Razzano of this pick from Tisha Thompson’s lineup. “This product also comes in a very large and balanced shade range (35 shades, to be exact) so everyone can find their perfect match.”

LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation

• Key Ingredients: A weightless serum formula featuring a blend of Ashwagandha, turmeric, hyaluronic acid, and avocado oil.
• Skin Benefits: “The added benefit of Ashwagandha and turmeric help to soothe the skin from daily stressors, even out skin tone, and minimize signs of aging. Hyaluronic Acid infuses the skin with plumping hydration that adds to the overall perfected look of the skin,” Razzano explains.

Róen Beauty Cake Mascara

We won’t soon turn down the chance to coat on a lash-conditioning mascara, especially when it comes from a gluten-free, cruelty-free, vegan collection founded by clean beauty advocate Tiffany Thurston Scott. 

Róen Beauty Cake Mascara

• Key Ingredients: A buildable, volumizing mascara formulated with plant-based ingredients, including olive oil, sunflower, bayberry, and carnauba waxes.
• Skin Benefits: With the brand’s fluffy brush, a swipe of this formula should lengthen and lift lashes—delivering a flexible hold and nourishing wear. 

Makeup is known for its ability to give your skin a more even-toned look. But what if your go-to cosmetics could not only improve the appearance of your skin in an instant, but make it healthier over time? Good news: Some makeup has skincare benefits that do just that.

These products can be a time-saving and cost-effective way to optimize your skincare routine. 

But do they really work? Here we’ll break down what exactly makeup products with skincare benefits are and how they work.

What are makeup products with skincare benefits?

A skincare-makeup hybrid product typically intends to accomplish two things: to improve the health and appearance of your skin over time, and to deliver the cosmetic benefits that we get from applying makeup. Makeup products such as CC cream, concealer, foundation, lip balm, and blush have been formulated with skincare ingredients.

Skincare-makeup hybrids intend to boost your makeup by providing skincare benefits, making them more well-rounded products for your skin. While the effects of makeup on the skin vary by product and by person, it’s important to pay attention to the ingredients in your products and understand what works for your skin texture. 

The FDA doesn’t currently require approval of cosmetic ingredients prior to going on the market unless they’re color additives.¹ And cosmetics labeled “organic” must comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations for organic products as well as FDA regulations for labeling and safety requirements for cosmetics.² The FDA also doesn’t define “hypoallergenic” or “natural” makeup products, and doesn’t require them to have an expiration date.³ As with anything you apply to your face, it’s a good idea to consult a licensed dermatology provider to figure out what products may be most effective for you.

Do makeup products with skincare benefits work?

There are a wide range of skincare-makeup hybrids on the market, and what works for your skin may not work for someone else. But in general, these products may offer a few benefits that may make them worth trying.

• They’re multi-tasking: These products may address skincare concerns and enhance your facial features all at once, which can mean less money spent on products in your routine. They may also result in less time you have to spend on applying multiple products.

• They incorporate skincare science into makeup: Most makeup products just provide cosmetic coverage, and don’t benefit your skin long-term. In this way, skincare hybrids may be a step up from your average makeup product.

• They may replace makeup products with negative effects: Research shows that makeup can sometimes produce harmful effects on your skin and body. Metals in cosmetics may be toxic for your internal organs if they’re absorbed into the blood through the skin,⁴ and products that are comedogenic or clog pores may cause breakouts.⁵ And allergic contact dermatitis to cosmetics is quite common.⁶ People tend to read the ingredient list on skincare products more often than those on makeup, so it’s easy to be unaware of their potential negative effects.

• They may reduce your risk of skin cancer: We know that sunscreen is an important, but sometimes neglected, step in any skincare routine. Applying makeup products with SPF is better than not using it at all. Daily SPF usage has been shown to reduce risk of squamous cell carcinoma by 40% and significantly lowers the chance of invasive melanoma.⁷ 

If you’re interested in testing out makeup products with skincare ingredients, you may be curious about any potential downsides to using them. Here are a few to consider:

• Repeated application of skincare ingredients may irritate your skin: If you use a serum with retinol followed by a tinted moisturizer with retinol, for example, your skin may get irritated from retinol overload. Try to make sure there’s no ingredient overlap between your hybrids and regular skincare products.

• They may not benefit your skin as much as regular skincare products: Because they’re trying to accomplish two things at once, the skincare ingredient content in a makeup hybrid may not be potent enough to treat your skin.

• They may not fully penetrate your skin: Most makeup products are meant to sit on top of your skin, not absorb into it. While makeup absorption depends on the ingredients and your skin’s permeability, ingredients in skincare hybrids may not penetrate your skin enough to treat certain skin concerns.

What skin types reap the benefits from skincare-makeup hybrid products?

A licensed dermatology provider can help you figure out what products may benefit your skin type. In general, these skin types may get the most out of skincare-makeup hybrids:

• Acne-prone skin: Some makeup products have been shown to clog pores and lead to breakouts. For example, one study concluded that the D&C red dyes commonly used in blush are comedogenic coal tar derivatives, and may cause acne in the cheekbone area.⁸ Skincare-makeup hybrids may instead incorporate ingredients that might help treat acne.

• Inflamed skin: Removing makeup by intensely rubbing your skin may worsen symptoms of conditions like atopic dermatitis, which include inflammation, irritation, and redness.⁹ Skincare hybrid products are typically lighter and contain less makeup to remove.

• Skin with age spots and wrinkles: Makeup products with SPF may help slow down further development of age spots and wrinkles. But when in doubt, make sure to use a sunscreen that protects your skin without clogging pores, like The Sunscreen.

What ingredients to look for in skincare-makeup hybrid products

Again, there are a wide variety of makeup products out there that incorporate skincare benefits, but there are some common ingredients you can look for. You may find these skin-loving ingredients in a number of makeup products:

• Hyaluronic acid:  A hydrating ingredient that has been shown to accelerate wound healing.¹⁰ If you’re new to hyaluronic acid, try it out in The Moisturizer.

• Ceramides: These lipids have been proven to help treat skin diseases that affect the skin barrier such as atopic dermatitis.¹¹

• Salicylic acid: An FDA-approved acne-fighting ingredient.¹²

• Vitamin C: This ingredient has been shown to treat hyperpigmentation and reduce signs of photoaging.¹³

• Vitamin E: Products with Vitamin E may have photoprotective properties that can help protect the skin from solar radiation.¹⁴

• Squalene: An antioxidant that can hydrate the skin.¹⁵

• SPF

   

You won’t typically find skincare ingredients in makeup products that don’t go directly on the skin, such as mascara, eyeliner, lip liner, etc. However, these types of makeup are prime candidates for skincare-makeup hybrids:

• Foundation

• Concealer

• Bronzer

• Blush

• Highlighter

• Primer

• Tinted moisturizer

• Powder

Lip balm can also be made with SPF, which is a major plus since evidence has shown that lip sunscreening can help lower the incidence of lip cancer.¹⁶ In addition to moisturizing your lips with hydrating ingredients like shea butter and jojoba seed oil, The Lip Balm with SPF 30 helps protect your lips from the sun.

A personalized approach to skincare

It can be confusing figuring out which products work best for your skin. Add makeup in the mix, and it may feel even more challenging to discern what to buy to address your skin concerns. Curology’s expert licensed dermatology providers are here to help you wade through the vast sea of products and find ingredients that can actually make a difference to your skin.

Get your personalized skincare routine with Curology

Get your personalized skincare routine with Curology

When you sign up with Curology, you gain one-on-one access to a licensed dermatology provider who can provide product recommendations and answer any questions you may have. If you deal with acne-prone skin, clogged pores, dark spots, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, melasma, or rosacea, Curology is here to help provide your customized treatment plan. To get started, simply sign up for a trial* today. 

FAQs

Is makeup good for your skin?

Everyone’s skin is different, and the way makeup affects your skin depends on the product and your skin type. Some makeup products contain ingredients that may be harmful to your skin or clog pores, which can lead to acne. It’s important to understand the ingredient list on your makeup and wash it off at the end of every day. 

Why is skincare important for makeup?

If you’re using makeup like foundation or concealer to cover up uneven skin tones, redness, bumps, blemishes, or dark circles, you may need less of it if you use skincare products that help solve the root problem.

Do I need skincare if I don’t wear makeup?

It’s a good idea to take care of your skin whether you wear makeup or not. The right skincare products can help treat acne, protect you from skin cancer, reduce wrinkles and dark circles, and much more. If you’re not sure where to start, a licensed dermatology provider can help you determine what products may be the most effective for your skin.

• • •

P.S. We did the homework so you don’t have to:

Meredith Hartle is a board-certified Family Medicine physician at Curology. She earned her medical degree at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, MO.

*Cancel at any time. Subject to consultation. Results may vary.

• • •

Our medical review process:  

We’re here to tell you what we know. That’s why our information is evidence-based and fact-checked by medical experts. Still, everyone’s skin is unique—the best way to get advice is to talk to your healthcare provider.

Our policy on product links:  

Empowering you with knowledge is our top priority. Our reviews of other brands’ products in this post are not paid endorsements—but they do meet our medically fact-checked standards for ingredients (at the time of publication).

Curology Team

Meredith Hartle, DO