tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen Review

Back in April or May I received a deluxe sample with a purchase from Sephora of the tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-hour Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30. I liked it enough that I purchased a full size. I’ve used it on and off since, and I go back and forth between loving it and hating it.

Price
$34 for 1 oz

Ingredients
Active Ingredients – titanium dioxide 4.55%, zinc oxide 3.50%
Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Mica, Polysilicone-11, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Hexyl Laurate, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Stearic Acid, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Alumina, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Diamond Powder, Iron Oxides.

The Website Says
An innovative B.B. treatment with multiple skincare and makeup benefits in one eco-chic tube. Indulge your skin with this powerful multitasker that works as a primer, moisturizer, light foundation, antiaging treatment, and sunscreen to give you a youthful-looking glow. Worn alone or as the perfect base for makeup, this 12-hour, age-defying, oil-free primer offers light-to-medium, buildable coverage that helps even skintone and other skin imperfections while diffusing light to minimize the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pores. The creamy, silky formula goes on smooth and blends easily, leaving you with a natural-looking, flawless finish with a broad-spectrum, chemical-free SPF 30 that offers ideal protection from the sun’s harmful UVA/UVB rays. This product is powered by tripleB complex, a proprietary blend of natural diamond dust, plants, and lipoamino acids that diffuses light and minimizes the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and pores while improving the appearance of skin luminosity.

Shade Availability
Fair, Light, Medium, Tan

I have a love hate relationship with the tarte BB Cream. I loved the deluxe sample so much that I bought a full size. It’s a really good color match on me. In fact, when I went to Sephora to get the Color IQ Perfect Foundation match done, it came up as one of my ‘perfect matches.’

However, if my skin isn’t well moisturized when I use it, it balls up on my face, or it looks cakey.  Sometimes it does both. It does work wonderfully well under any sort of foundation that I’ve tried it with. I find that I can’t wear it by itself because it just doesn’t look right. It needs at least a setting powder. I prefer to use the NARS Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder with it.

Now, I never rely solely on my makeup for my sun protection. While I really do appreciate that this product has SPF 30 and that it has some physical sunblock in the form of Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Dioxide, I rely on my moisturizer with SPF which I slather on every morning. I never skimp on it! With the tarte BB cream, you can’t slather it on or you’ll experience the balling and caking that I mentioned.

On days when my skin is looking good, I can get away with just using this product plus a setting powder. On days when my skin is looking bad, I’ve gotta throw a foundation on top.

The shade range is definitely lacking darker tones. I’m not sure how the deepest shade would work on darker skintones as a primer with the tarte foundations.

Overall, I think this product is best for combo or oily skin and that’s who I would recommend it for. I really like the fact that Fair is pretty much a perfect match for my skintone. I wish that the formula was less finicky for me. I like that it has SPF 30 for added sun protection. I think it makes a great tinted primer.

What do you think of the tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-Hour Primer SPF 30? Have you tried it?