Best overall
e.l.f. Cosmetics
Halo Glow Liquid Filter
8.3Great
A $15 liquid glow booster in 15 shades, widely compared with Charlotte Tilbury's Flawless Filter for a fraction of the price.
Highlighter5$15.00
Finish & Wear · Coverage
Sheer coverage
5 products we review are built for sheer coverage — 60% of them complexion. The ingredients doing most of the work: squalane, glycerin and hyaluronic acid. Most are made for sensitive skin, dry skin and oily skin.
How makeup looks and lasts: matte to dewy, all-day wear, sheer to full coverage.
Top rated
The sheer coverage podium.
The ingredients behind it
Key actives in the products that deliver sheer coverage — tap one for what it does and how strong the evidence is.
Often paired with
Benefits that tend to come along for the ride.
5 products
Every sheer coverage pick.
5 products
Best value Trending
NYX Professional Makeup
Butter Gloss Non-Sticky Lip Gloss
8.1Great
A $6 non-sticky gloss with a buttery feel and one of the widest shade ranges in drugstore lip gloss.
Lip gloss4$6.00
Cult favorite
Charlotte Tilbury
Hollywood Flawless Filter
7.6Good
Charlotte Tilbury's sheer, illuminating glow booster in 12 shades, the $50 benchmark that budget liquid-filter dupes are compared with.
Highlighter5$50.00
ILIA
Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40
7.6Good
A dewy serum skin tint with 12% zinc oxide SPF 40 in 30 shades, made with sensitive skin in mind; coverage is light.
SPF 405$48.00
Cult favorite Trending
Clinique
Almost Lipstick in Black Honey
7.5Good
Clinique's cult sheer lipstick: don't judge it by the tube, it glides on as a glossy, balm-like tint.
Lipstick4$25.00