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I’m a sucker for a multi-talented product. 

For instance, every time I see a Swiss Army Knife, I’m like, “INGENIOUS!” and then I buy it (as if I don’t already have a collection sitting in my kitchen drawer). I love those cheese graters that also slice and dice, shred and zest. I love an ottoman with a secret lid for storing fuzzy blankets, a mail organizer that holds my keys, a can and bottle opener all in one…yes, less is more. Or, maybe it’s: give me more with less. 

“When I heard of Daybird’s 4-in-1 Tinted Skincare combining vegan serum, moisturizer, sheer foundation, and non-nano mineral SPF 50 sunscreen, I did a little happy dance.”

So when I heard of Daybird’s 4-in-1 Tinted Skincare combining vegan serum, moisturizer, sheer foundation, and non-nano mineral SPF 50 sunscreen, I did a little happy dance.

But then my doubt set in. Can a product really be the equivalent of a Renaissance Man—well-educated, charming, athletic, good at science and yet still artistic? Basically, Leonardo da Vinci in a bottle? Don’t you have to pick a side, specialize in an area of excellence, narrow yourself down to fit into a marketable box?

I’m happy to report the answer is no. It’s the 21st century—products and people get to be more than one thing at once, and do it well. And Daybird is one of the companies leading the way.

The brand was founded in 2022 in Austin, Texas. Frustrated with the ever-increasing standards for what it takes to be “beautiful,” the extreme waste in the beauty industry (over 90% of beauty products are discarded), and a time suck of a stressful morning beauty routine, Whitney McElwain and Veena Krishnan, both female-identifying founders of color, ideated a multifunctional skincare product. Their goal: help women take back their time and money (and power) by redefining beauty on their own terms.

“Daybird is a Renaissance brand in that it offers customers a single product that smooths, plumps, moisturizes, and evens skin tones.”

Daybird is a Renaissance brand in that it offers customers a single product that smooths, plumps, moisturizes, and evens skin tones, in addition to protecting skin from the sun without leaving a white cast. It’s vegan and cruelty-free, non-comedogenic (doesn’t clog pores), dermatologist tested, and available in four tints. 

Daybird’s Tinted Skincare contains only three primary ingredients: 

  1. 2% Niacinamide, a form of Vitamin B3 that increases collagen, decreases redness and irritation, and smooths and evens skin tone
  2. .5% Bisabolol, a chamomile extract that reduces inflammation and hyperpigmentation, plus it’s antimicrobial and anti-aging
  3. Mineral SPF 50, their water and sweat resistant, non-nano and reef-safe Zinc Oxide that protects against blue light and UVA/UVB rays, and won’t turn your face a ghostly sheen like the nose on David Hasselhoff’s Baywatch face

It is also free from fragrance, parabens, talc, alcohol, sulfates, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), formaldehyde, and phthalates. Even the shipping is free, PLUS you get a 60-day trial period with a free exchange or refund if needed (I suspect it’s rarely needed). 

Oh, and the bottle is a metal-free airless pump you can chuck straight into your recycling bin. Side note: the airless pump means you get the very last drop of product, less formula exposure to bacteria, and a consistent quantity dispensed per pump. 

Let the fun begin.

Trying Daybird For Myself

I go online to Daybird’s website, and up pops a skin quiz asking if I have an existing foundation. 

“No,” I think out loud. “I don’t like foundation because it makes my skin feel heavy and fake, and then I break out.” Plus, have you ever tried to put sunscreen on top of foundation? Double gross.

“Am I light or medium light? As compared to what? Who defines these terms?”

Now it’s time to find my shade. A daunting process most of the time. Am I light or medium light? As compared to what? Who defines these terms? Daybird shows me pics of five different skin types and the chance to choose if I’m light, light medium, medium, medium-deep, or deep based on three versions of each shade and real-life examples on the faces of different women. It’s so refreshing to see real faces, and helps me narrow my shade to Medium. 

Next, I’m asked about my skin undertone. Am I even-toned, not too pink, or too golden? Am I a warm undertone, those who tan easily and have a golden or olive tint? Or am I cool with a rose tone, predominately blue veins, and the tendency to burn easily in the sun? I am the one who burns.

Then it asks how my skin feels in the morning: shiny, with big pores? Dry, tight, or flaky? Or, nothing worth mentioning? I pick dry, tight, or flaky for the morning, and then it asks how my skin feels later in the day. I get a little oily as the day progresses, so I choose the T-zone option.

Then it asks about my skin goals. This is the empowering equivalent of asking a woman, “What do you want?” Thank you for seeing me, Daybird, and caring about my goals. I want to hydrate, brighten, even skin tone, smooth skin texture, boost firm skin, reduce wrinkles, and protect against the sun. The only thing I don’t need is to reduce blemishes.

I am a Shade 2. And for $39.50, I can get everything I want in one bottle. My Daybird Tinted Skincare comes in the mail within a few days. 

“When I wash the product from my face, my skin feels hydrated and calm, with no irritation, no redness, no breakouts, no dryness.”

I test it out on a full day of work, taking my kids to the pool, then driving an hour and a half in heavy traffic to meet girlfriends for drinks and dancing at a Rising Appalachia concert (talk about a Renaissance). I don’t get home till midnight and my skin STILL LOOKS fresh and dewy and even-toned, and not a bit sunburnt. In fact, I am radiant. When I wash the product from my face, my skin feels hydrated and calm, with no irritation, no redness, no breakouts, no dryness. 

It’s been about a month of exclusively using Daybird Tinted Skincare as my one-stop beauty shop product, and I am converted. 

I apply 2 pumps first thing in the morning and then go the entire day without reapplying or adding any additional sunscreen, even if I know I’m going to be outside for an extended period of time, and by the end of the day, my skin still looks as radiant as it did in the morning. Plus, I have not burnt once since wearing Daybird. I feel like I look like ME, only more fresh and dewy and even-toned.

Let me end by saying this: the historical term for a multi-talented person who defies boxes is Renaissance Man. Renaissance Women were expected to sit off to the side and inspire art, but not be the artists. But perhaps the truest Renaissance? When two women leave the sidelines and empower themselves, and so many women, to celebrate the breaking of boxes, defying of worn-out standards, and the redefining of beauty on their own terms. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Daybird 4-in-1 Tinted Skincare is a multi-talented vegan serum, moisturizer, sheer foundation and SPF 50 sunscreen
  • The company was founded in 2022 by two female-identifying founders of color who wanted to shake up the beauty industry and dissociate from traditional standards of “beauty” and “perfection”
  • The 4-in-1 Tinted Skincare uses only 3 main ingredients: Niacinamide, Bisabolol, and Zinc Oxide 
  • It’s free of soy, gluten, fragrance, parabens, talc, alcohol, sulfates, SLS, formaldehyde, and phthalates. Even the shipping is free. 
  • Daybird’s website gives you a skin quiz (and examples of real women for each skin tone) to find which one of four custom shades is perfect for you

Trinity Wilbourn is a Denver-based freelance writer, mind/body coach and intuitive guide. As an educational consultant, she works at the intersection of Social Emotional Learning, Mindfulness, and the science of nervous system regulation. In her free time, she can be found hanging with her four kids, spooning her Bernedoodle, singing opera, and dancing in the kitchen. Learn more and explore her offerings at www.trinitywilbourn.com or follow her on Instagram.