Mixed Makeup has reviewed more than 40 products for sensitive skin, and her record is about as reassuring as it gets. She approved the vast majority, gave a few a mixed take, and skipped almost nothing outright. Her approval rate for this subject sits at 92%, and it is easy to see why once you hear what she keeps coming back to.
What does Mixed Makeup recommend for sensitive skin?
She has a real soft spot for essences and bi-phase formulas, and she is very clear about why: they layer hydration onto skin without needing a damp base first. Dr.G R.E.D Blemish Kombucha Tea Essence is one of her explicit long-term favourites, praised for probiotics that help with dryness and a texture she describes as making skin feel 'juicy and hydrated'. She rates Dr. Ceuracle Vegan Kombucha Tea Essence in the same breath, flagging its soothing chamomile and anise as a reason it works well for sensitive skin. Gentle exfoliation also gets her stamp of approval when it is done right. She named Tatcha Rice Polish a category winner, pointing out that its enzyme-based polishing is far milder than AHAs or salicylic acid, which means most sensitive skin types can handle it without worry. Barrier support is a clear thread through her approved picks too, with products like The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support Serum rated for ingredients like Centella asiatica that keep skin feeling strong and calm.
Mixed Makeup's sensitive skin picks, in her words
"First up is one of my holy grails. I've been using this for years and recommending it for years, it's the Dr.G R.E.D Blemish Kombucha Tea Essence. This has really nice antioxidants in it, it has that kombucha tea extract, it also has green tea in it, but because it has this fermentation it also has probiotics for your skin."
"The Tatcha Rice Polish is one of the best products that Tatcha has out on the market. It is super foamy and creamy. The enzymes that are in the powder are gently exfoliating your skin. You're not going to get as strong of exfoliation as you get with typical AHAs or salicylic acid or anything like that, it's very gentle. Most skin types can tolerate that. The Tatcha Rice Polish is very gentle."
"I have been a stan of this La Roche-Posay cream for so long. This also travels with me. The reason why I love this so much, especially when I travel, is because it doesn't have any preservatives in it. [...] There are times when my skin is so super sensitive I want the most basic, basic, basic, and sometimes preservatives can be a little bit irritating to the skin. [...] When you're traveling [...] and your skin is just so dry or something, this ends up being the perfect moisturizer to put on."
"If you have sensitive skin, if you have dry skin, all of the products in that collection are really great. They're very basic but they really do their job well and they help to nourish your skin. This one's really nice because it has niacinamide in it. We know niacinamide is an ingredient that helps to balance oil production, but that's in higher percentages. It's also a really great ingredient to help soothe and nourish and kind of balance your skin barrier."
"I have been really liking this Tatcha moisturizer. It's the lighter version. [...] It feels nice, super nice. I like the texture of it."
"I'm going to go in with this from The Ordinary, it is the Soothing and Barrier Support Serum. I bought this probably like a month and a half ago and I just started using it. You can see it has B12 in it that gives it this really beautiful pink tone to it, which I also just think is really fun, but it has other really nice soothing ingredients like Centella asiatica. So again, I'm trying to just make sure that my skin barrier feels really nice and strong and supported."
How many products has Mixed Makeup reviewed for sensitive skin?
Mixed Makeup has reviewed 39 products for sensitive skin, for an approval rate of 92%. 36 approved, 2 mixed, and 1 skipped.
What has Mixed Makeup skipped for sensitive skin?
Her one firm skip has nothing to do with how a product treats sensitive skin. She actually likes the formula of the L'Oreal True Match Nude Hyaluronic Tinted Serum Foundation. Her problem is the bottle. The dropper has no wiper, so product collects on the pipette and spills around the neck. Beyond that, a few products got a mixed take, and nothing else was turned away.
"This is the L'Oreal skin tint. I do love this formula, I do too, but unfortunately L'Oreal didn't invest in a wiper. Usually when you have a dropper like this you will have a wiper, and the wiper's purpose is to actually wipe down the excess formula from around the pipette so you don't get this mess. L'Oreal did not invest in a wiper, and as such you can see there's a huge amount of product collecting on the pipette itself and therefore spilling out around the bottle neck."
What should you take from Mixed Makeup's picks?
Mixed Makeup's record on sensitive skin is warm and wide-ranging. She leans toward lightweight essences, fermented formulas and gentle exfoliants, and she rates barrier support as a genuine priority rather than a trend. Her lone skip is about packaging, not formula, which says a lot about how gentle her picks are on sensitive skin.
Watch Mixed Makeup say it
Every verdict here comes from a video. These are the moments themselves, each one jumping straight to the bit about that product.
- Tatcha Rice PolishNamed a winnerWatch at 14:34
- L'Oreal True Match Nude Hyaluronic Tinted Serum FoundationSkipped itWatch at 18:57
- Dr.G R.E.D Blemish Kombucha Tea EssenceRated itWatch at 6:55
- La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5Rated itWatch at 15:24
- La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle CleanserRated itWatch at 4:23
- Tatcha Dewy Skin CreamRated itWatch at 1:02
- The Ordinary Soothing & Barrier Support SerumRated itWatch at 9:12
- EltaMD UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46Rated itWatch at 5:11
- Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing BalmRated itWatch at 2:35
- Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment SPF 30Rated itWatch at 27:04
- First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair CreamRated itWatch at 15:39
- The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HARated itWatch at 14:47
- Anua PDRN Hyaluronic Acid Capsule 100 SerumRated itWatch at 9:44
- Tower 28 Swipe Allover Hydrating Serum ConcealerRated itWatch at 4:58
- SkinFix Barrier+ Foaming Oil CleanserRated itWatch at 2:48
- Prequel Gentle CleanserRated itWatch at 2:50
- EltaMD UV Restore Tinted SunscreenRated itWatch at 3:37
- Biossance Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night SerumRated itWatch at 22:16
- Skin Rocks Rich Moisturizer Face CreamRated itWatch at 15:13
- Hero Cosmetics Rescue Retinol Nighttime Renewing CreamRated itWatch at 18:06
- PCA Skin Hyaluronic Acid Boosting Serum with HA Pro ComplexRated itWatch at 6:25
- Pyunkang Yul Nutrition Cream Blue LabelRated itWatch at 16:53
- Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Tiger Grass Sleepair Intensive MaskRated itWatch at 9:07
- Ntorium Multipeptide MoisturizerRated itWatch at 8:06
About this expert
See everything Mixed Makeup has reviewed
Expert rankings
Related guides
This guide reflects what Mixed Makeup said across her videos about 39 products for sensitive skin, aggregated by The Guru Index. Sponsored takes are excluded. The approval rate is the share of these products she approved. It is general information, not medical advice.