I will be the first to admit that skin tints, as a product in general, confuse me. Are they just tinted moisturizers that have gone through a rebrand or do they offer something different? My confusion aside, it’s become apparent that skin tints are not going anywhere since they first came onto the scene during Skin Tint Summer 2022. Unfortunately for me, most skin tints on the market today are fine —just alright! I have normal to dry skin, and many of them contain shea butter or have textures that are a little too thick for my famously foundation-averse self. I love them in theory, but I want more of a moisturizer with a hint of tint to it, rather than a slightly-diluted foundation, which is what a lot of skin tints feel like in my opinion.

Luckily, Hourglass and It girl of the moment, Sofia Richie Grainge, heard me. Richie Grange and Hourglass partnered up for the launch of the new Veil Hydrating Skin Tint, and it’s basically everything I need in a bottle. It’s lightweight and gives off a dewy glow while clinical tests have proven it will boost your skin’s moisture level by 52%. While it doesn’t have an SPF like other skin tints on the market, it applies beautifully on top of sunscreen without any pilling or that weird gray sheen that sometimes occurs when you apply base products on top of your SPF. This is the definition of buildable coverage — a little bit goes a long way, and you really don’t need a ton.

And if you’ve ever really wanted proof a product is truly great, that’s when you look to the people who are raving loudest about it — and if Richie Grainge if likes it, it’s likely dope. Richie Grainge sat down with me over dinner in Los Angeles last month to discuss what makes the Veil Hydrating Skin Tint (or as we dubbed it, the VSHT, pronounced ‘vishtee’, lol, we are *such* jokesters and BFF) so good, how her dad is her biggest beauty guru, and what it’s like to both be on trend and late for the trend, too.

REFINERY29: You are, by all accounts, a style icon.

SOFIA RICHIE GRAINGE: Thanks, queen.

R29: You’re welcome. How have you learned to balance between your approach to personal style, beauty, and trends, with all of the things we’re inundated with in content and styles and inspiration?

RICHIE GRAINGE: I have to be completely honest with you. I’m horrible at following trends, I’m really bad at it. I’m usually the last one to the trend, and then my friends make fun of me because I think I found something new and cool — Not the case with me, I’m really bad at following trends. A positive thing about me is I’m very authentically myself, which is what this is all about and how I approach fashion. Period.

R29: You have zero obligation to be the same person every single day.

RICHIE GRAINGE: Yes, absolutely. I am obsessed with how you phrased that. Honestly, some days I wake up and I’m like, I am a cargo pant and crop top kind of girl. I’m a different girl every day. I am whoever, whatever I feel the greatest in that day.

RICHIE GRAINGE: I spend a lot of time with my friends, I spenda lot of time with my husband and a lot of time with my family. And they’re not afraid to just ground the heck out of me. There is no hovering over anyone when you are around some real folks. I’ll go to an event and I’ll go home and get absolutely humbled real quick — we all need someone like that in our life.

R29: When you are deciding that day who you’re going to be, what do you do next for yourself? Do you have any specific beauty or wellness rituals that you prioritize for a healthy mind-body connection?

R29: What is the best piece of unexpected beauty advice you’ve received from an unexpected source?

RICHIE GRAINGE: I get a lot of my beauty advice from my dad.

R29: What’s Lionel saying?

RICHIE GRAINGE: It’s been that way for my entire life. He’s like the first person that told me I should wear lotion every day, he was the first person to tell me the dermatologist I was going to, what skin products I was using. And still to this day, he gives me all his little hacks. He’s my queen. The night before my wedding, he was like, “You’re going to go to bed, because nothing is going to cover up bags.” And I was like, “You’re right, queen, you’re right.” He’s my beauty hack — f I have any skin issues, medical issues, hair issues, nail issues, he’s my first call. He knows how to look great.

R29: And also, lotion is so important.

RICHIE GRAINGE: When I was a kid, I just simply didn’t wear lotion. Now I see [what I used to do] as like, an attack, that’s dangerous. I reapply lotion four times a day on my entire body.

R29: I was 25 years old before I realized not everyone uses lotion every day.

RICHIE GRAINGE: You know what’s crazy, is my husband doesn’t put lotion all over his body. And when we first started dating, I was like, I don’t understand. Get out of the shower and air dry… and then move on with your life? I just can’t. You don’t have protective layers from everything? I remember as a kid, I would cry putting my lotion on because I didn’t like putting it on so much. And my dad would be like, no, you’re putting the lotion on all over. And then as I’ve gotten older, I look back and I was like, that was disturbing to me, that I didn’t want to put lotion on. Hydration is important.

R29: How is Hourglass Veil Hydrating Skin Tint’s different from other skin tints on the market?

RICHIE GRAINGE: I’m all about natural beauty, I’m all about shining from the inside out. Let’s celebrate the skin, let’s work on that, embrace that. And that product, the Hourglass Veil Hydrating Skin Tint — it’s complimenting all of the skin. And you know what? I’m so pumped to be here tonight, because I’m actually working with a company that I love. I’ve worn it out — I actually really use the product, and I really love them. And even if it wasn’t a job to be here tonight, I’d be using the product. It is unbelievable and it is gorgeous.

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