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How hybrid makeup is expanding the Sunscreen category
- 1Spotlight on UV-protective Makeup: Market trend & innovations
- 2The Future of Colour Cosmetics with sunscreen
- 3Formulation challenges and strategies for SPF-infused makeup
- 4Perfecting Tint SPF50
A market review about the rise of SPF makeup
From natural finish to hybrid and personalised colour cosmetics
The beauty market is undergoing a transformation, driven by consumer demand for efficacy, care, and multifunctionality. Traditional sunscreens, often perceived as heavy or clinical, are being reimagined as integrated, sensorially elegant components of beauty routines. This shift is fuelling the skinification of suncare, which now extends into colour cosmetics through makeup that delivers both skincare benefits and UV protection.
A recent Euromonitor survey reveals a rising interest in multifunctional sun care among U.S. consumers, with over 20% searching for such attributes in 2023, up from just 11% in 2021. This upward trend is expected to continue in the coming years. (1)
Data from Mintel and Kantar confirm this shift: nearly 25% of US consumers used makeup with SPF, like concealer or foundation, for instance, while 40% of US makeup with SPF users use it daily (2024). (2) This convergence of skincare, suncare, and makeup is giving rise to new-generation products that meet the complex expectations of today’s beauty consumer.
A dewy, bare-looking skin
The "skin-but-better" movement continues to gain momentum, with consumers embracing lightweight, breathable formulations that enhance the natural complexion while providing effective sun protection. Water-based, gel, and balm textures dominate this category, allowing SPF to blend invisibly within makeup. The result is a radiant, healthy-looking finish that doesn’t sacrifice UV defence. (3, 4)
Similarly, Supergoop Glowscreen SPF 40, is another illustration of the glowy/dewy skin for a naturally-looking skin with colour correction and sun protection. It is “a tinted sunscreen with a luminous, sunkissed finish that primes for makeup, visibly evens tone & is clinically tested to deliver all-day hydration” (5).
This inclination towards skin-enhancing makeup also highlights a broader shift: the rise of ingredients-first beauty that blurs the line between care and coverage.
Ingredient-driven hybrid products for optimum efficiency
Today’s beauty consumer is results-driven. As a result, multifunctional makeup products are becoming mainstream, particularly those that offer cosmetic benefits alongside skincare performance and sun protection.
According to a July 2024 study by Veylinx, nearly 75% of consumers “prefer using tinted foundation with sun protection.”
Source: (6) The Sunification of Beauty: Top Innovation Opportunities for 2024-2025. (2024b, September 3). Global Cosmetic Industry. https://www.gcimagazine.com/brands-products/sun-care/article/22916132/gci-magazine-the-sunification-of-beauty-top-innovation-opportunities-for-20242025
This movement is part of the broader “skinification of suncare” where active ingredients like niacinamide, peptides, and probiotics are increasingly found in SPF-infused colour cosmetics. No longer limited to aesthetic enhancement, products such as tinted moisturisers, foundations, and primers are now designed to actively support skin health and resilience over time.
These products often provide medium to full coverage while delivering hydration, anti-ageing support, and SPF, simplifying the routine without sacrificing results.
Significantly, these hybrid products are setting new standards for sunscreen performance in makeup, as consumers now expect UVA/UVB protection to be a built-in feature of their base beauty routine.
The It Cosmetics’ CC+ Cream with SPF 50 is a prime example of multitasking. It offers full coverage for complete colour-correction with broad-spectrum sun protection, and a formula infused with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and vitamin E, in a CC Cream that nourishes the skin and prevents ageing. (7)
Estée Lauder’s Futurist Hydra Rescue Foundation SPF 45 illustrates this hybrid approach with a formula enriched in probiotics and chia seed extract, designed to hydrate and soothe the skin while delivering broad-spectrum sun protection. (8) Meanwhile, SPF innovation is also expanding beyond base makeup. Ciele’s SPF 50 Blush & Protect brings UV defence to colour cosmetics with a hydrating liquid blush infused with allantoin and bisabolol, ingredients known to calm, brighten, and reduce redness. (9)(10)
This ingredient-led approach reflects consumers’ growing interest in efficacy: SPF makeup must protect the skin as well as improve its condition.
Working on personalisation is another way to support consumer demand for a more effective beauty routine.
Personalisation and inclusivity through technology
The rise of personalisation is another major shift in the makeup-with-suncare category, powered by AI and digital diagnostics. Advances in beauty tech now allow consumers to receive recommendations tailored to their skin tone, skin type, lifestyle, and even local UV index.
This growing emphasis on hyper-personalisation is helping to make sun protection more accessible and inclusive. By offering products that align not only with skin tone, but also with texture preferences and individual SPF needs, brands are supporting better adherence and broader representation.
In line with this shift, the Hueguard® Skin Tint from Live Tinted provides a light coverage for a wide range of skin tones, including darker ones, without leaving a white cast, even though it uses an SPF50 mineral sunscreen (11).
Sources:
- Euromonitor International. Skinification: A Game-Changer in Sunscreen Usage. (15/05/2024) https://www.euromonitor.com/article/skinification-a-game-changer-in-sunscreen-usage
- Kantar Profiles / Mintel. Consumer Survey – November 2024. 2,000 internet users aged 18+.
- FirstClasse. My Skin But Better: The Beauty Trend That’s Taking Over. (24/08/2020) https://firstclasse.com.my/style/my-skin-but-better-beauty-trend/
- Editaires. These Products Will Give You the ‘Butter Skin’ Makeup Trend Everyone’s Talking About. https://www.editaires.com/the-edit/these-products-will-give-you-the-butter-skin-makeup-trend-everyones-talking-about
- Supergoop!. Glowscreen SPF 40. https://supergoop.com/products/glowscreen-spf-40?
- GCI Magazine. The Sunification of Beauty: Top Innovation Opportunities for 2024–2025. (03/09/2024) https://www.gcimagazine.com/brands-products/sun-care/article/22916132/gci-magazine-the-sunification-of-beauty-top-innovation-opportunities-for-20242025?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- IT Cosmetics. CC+ Cream with SPF 50 Full Coverage Foundation. https://www.itcosmetics.com/makeup/face-makeup/foundation/cc-cream-full-coverage-foundation-with-spf-50/ITC_0008.html?
- Estée Lauder. Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Foundation SPF 45. https://www.esteelauder.com/product/643/71600/product-catalog/makeup/face/foundation/futurist-hydra-rescue/moisturizing-foundation-spf-45
- TrendHunter. Blush & Protect: Sun-Infused Color Cosmetics. (30/08/2023) https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/blush-protect
- Ciele Cosmetics. Blush & Protect SPF 50. https://cielecosmetics.com/products/blush-and-protect-spf50?
- Live Tinted. Hueguard: Skin Tint SPF 50 Mineral Sunscreen. https://www.livetinted.com/collections/suncare/products/skin-tint-spf-50-mineral-sunscreen-broad-spectrum?
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The Future of Colour Cosmetics with sunscreen