Origins VitaZing

This little white and orange tube has been all the rage in Blogland lately and after using it everyday for several weeks, I think I'm finally ready to give it a proper review.

Origins VitaZing SPF 15 is an energy-boosting moisturizer with Mangosteen (aka the funny little purple pumpkin fruit rich in antioxidants). It retails for $35 for a 1.7 fl. oz. tube.

To clarify any misconceptions about VitaZing, because I know I was initially confused based on a few different reviews, it's important to understand that VitaZing is not a tinted moisturizer. It's a normal moisturizer that claims to add a "healthy hint of radiance that mimics the glow you get from a week's vacation." What does that mean, you ask? 

This is VitaZing straight from the tube. Note the tiny grey specks within the otherwise white moisturizer. Those grey specks contain the "radiance."

Here I've started to rub it into the skin, but it's still not even close to being completely absorbed.

Once you've started to rub it in enough, the grey specks release a tiny amount of color or "radiance" and you can see below, the previously white moisturizer is now turning into a skin-colored moisturizer. If it's hard to see, it's because the color is blending into my skin...as it should.

Completely blended in.

The coverage VitaZing provides, if you can even call it coverage at all, would be best classified as very, very sheer. It is significantly less coverage than tinted moisturizers and Face & Body foundations. The tiny bit of color acts to even out skin tone and add a healthy glow to the skin rather than cover or conceal the way you might expect a foundation or tinted moisturizer to. I've found that it does a great job at perking up a dull complexion.

My skin has been looking pretty good lately but while I haven't experienced many active breakouts, I still suffer from quite a bit of acne scarring, redness, and discoloration. VitaZing evens out my skin tone a little bit but it definitely does not cover any of my scarring or discoloration at all, and I don't expect it to.

Lately, all I've been wearing as far as base makeup is VitaZing, MAC Studio Finish concealer on redness and discoloration, and MAC MSF Natural to finish it all off. I've used MAC MSFN by itself before for sheer coverage but over VitaZing, not only do I get a bit more coverage, but I also find that the two just melt together on my skin (in a good way) to give me a super natural and radiant complexion. On days when I need more coverage, I also use MUFE Face & Body foundation over VitaZing and use my concealer and powder as usual. I love that combination of products because VitaZing adds a tiny bit more coverage to an otherwise lighter coverage foundation and makes it more versatile.

When used by itself, I do notice that my skin gets a bit too shiny for my liking. It has a pretty dewy finish and although I don't necessarily think that VitaZing is a greasy product by any means, it definitely does not have any oil-controlling properties either. I always powder when I use it but for those with normal to drier skin types, I think you could definitely just use it by itself without any issues.

Although the Origins sales associate told me that VitaZing is a "one size fits all" shade, it's really more like "one size fits most." I'm NC25 at the moment and the color is great for me, but I think that it would be too dark on ladies who are fairer than NC20, to be honest. Yes, it has very, very sheer coverage, but I definitely still think it would look noticeably mismatched on very fair skin tones.

Overall, I like VitaZing. I like it a lot actually...but I don't think I'm in love with it and I'm not sure it's a must-have but definitely a nice-to-have. It's a bit pricey for a moisturizer, in my opinion, but I can somewhat justify it because it does give my skin and complexion a little something extra that I really enjoy.

I think if you have good to amazing skin that is not too oily and not too pale, you may really enjoy VitaZing too. As long as you take it for what it is and don't expect it to be a tinted moisturizer (because it's not), I don't think you'll be disappointed :)