Why I Replaced My Foundation With a Color-Correcting Moisturizer

My New Year's beauty resolution for 2020 was to wear less foundation. And until I saw the Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment all over my TikTok For You Page and finally tried the K-beauty product out myself, I made very little progress toward that goal. 

The silky cream has a slight greenish hue and is meant to work like a tinted moisturizer, color corrector, and sunscreen with SPF 30 all rolled into one jar. The mint hue is likely from the centella asiatica leaf (aka cica) water, which is extracted from the herbal plant that's indigenous to Asian wetlands. Like aloe and chamomile, cica "is believed to soothe and repair irritated skin," Ellen Marmur, a New York City-based board-certified dermatologist, has shared with Allure. 

Along with its anti-inflammatory properties, it's also rich in chlorophyll, which can fortify the skin's internal structure and allow the moisture barrier to work even better. All that is the scientific way of saying not only does cica work to quell redness (from zits, irritation, dryness), but it can also help improve the long-term youthfulness of your complexion. 

"Cica boosts circulation and blood flow to the skin, decreases moisture loss, and aids in cellular repair," adds Shari Marchbein, a board-certified dermatologist and clinical assistant professor of dermatology at New York University School of Medicine. "Skin, therefore, appears more hydrated and less inflamed."

It's worth mentioning the elixir also has some powerful moisturizers (glycerin, beeswax) and physical sunscreens (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide), but centella asiatica is the star of the show. 

Although the cream is mossy green in its jar and looks more like a clay mask than a moisturizer, it does a magic trick once it melts into skin. I usually warm a dime-sized amount up between my hands before pressing them onto my face. Then, I gently rub it in.  As I do so, the mint transforms into a beige hue that matched my skin tone. It's basically foolproof. You can do it perfect your skin without a mirror if you need to. 

With constantly pink skin and hormonal acne, this color-changing element neutralizes all the issues I typically turn to foundation to solve by canceling out redness with the green and peach tones. My complexion almost immediately starts appearing even, brighter, matte, and moisturized. Some mornings, I can leave the house with just the treatment and a swipe of mascara. My foundation days may just be numbered in 2021. 

The Dr. Jart Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment does come with one caveat. The green formula doesn't blend well on deeper skin tones. I tried it on a couple of intrepid beauty gurus in the office who don't have light to medium complexions, and the cream made the testers' hands have a gray cast. (If you are still interested in the no-makeup look, you can follow these tips.) However, if you're a pale girl like me, you can buy the color-correcting treatment now for $52 on sephora.com.

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