TIRTIR

TIRTIR is a Korean makeup-and-skincare brand that sells direct through its own site under the tagline "Be Bold. Redefine Your Radiance." Its range splits into named lines: Red for base makeup, Milk for toners, ampoules and creams, plus Matcha, Porexel and a Color line for lips and blush.

Most of what it publishes arrives as numbers. The Mask Fit Red Cushion is listed in 40 shades, coded by undertone as cool, neutral or warm, from 10C Shell to 55N Espresso. Its serums are named for their concentrations, Niacinamide 20%, Azelaic Acid 12% and PHA 15%, while the Milk Skin Toner puts niacinamide at 2%, with rice bran extract, ceramide, panthenol, cica and witch hazel. The Ceramic Cream is described as natural ceramides, peptides and centella, and carries a free-from list: no parabens, sulfates, artificial fragrance, alcohol, mineral oil or silicone.

Three are worth unpacking: what a 40-shade range does and doesn't solve, what the gap between 2% and 20% niacinamide means, and how much a free-from list tells you.

Start with the shade range. Forty shades sorted by undertone is unusual here, since cushions have historically shipped a handful of light-to-medium options on one undertone, which is why deep and olive skin have been badly served. A wide range narrows your search; it doesn't do the matching. Match undertone before depth, test along the jaw in daylight, and allow for it settling deeper over a few hours as it oxidises. The cushion below is the 21 Ivory shade.

The percentages are useful, and the distance between them matters more than the figures. Niacinamide at 2% in a toner does hydration and a little barrier support; at 20% in a leave-on serum it does more on tone and oil, and is far more likely to sting skin that hasn't met it. Higher isn't better, it's stronger. The toner below sits at the gentle end, on PHA; the eye cream below goes the other way, at 10,000ppm caffeine and 5,000ppm bakuchiol.

A free-from list is a filter. If you personally avoid fragrance, alcohol or silicone, it tells you at a glance that this one is clear of them — then read the ingredient list for what did go in.

We don't carry TIRTIR itself. For each of these jobs, though, we send an alternative we rate highly — the four picks below.

TIRTIR covers most of its own range here, though not the cushion. For TIRTIR's Milk Skin Toner: after cleansing, apply to a cotton pad or your palms, pat onto face and neck avoiding the eye area, morning and night, then follow with serum and moisturizer. Ceramic Milk Ampoule: after cleansing and toning, apply a few drops and pat until absorbed, then moisturize. Ceramic Cream: after cleansing and serums, massage a small amount into face and neck morning and night, as the final step. For the Hydro UV Shield sunscreen it says to reapply every two to three hours. The picks above run in that order: toner, eye cream, cream, base makeup last.