The subject of foundation leaves me exhausted. Quiz me on the hydration benefits of hyaluronic acid, the correct way to combine glycolic acid and retinol without enraging your skin barrier, or the very best liquid eyeliner for recreating a graphic eye (it’s Eyeko’s Black Magic, no contest) and I’ll happily ramble on for hours, but foundation has always had me perplexed.
However, that’s not to say that I don’t know what I like. In fact, this is the root of the problem – I want it all. Light in weight but heavy in coverage, dewy yet compatible with my incessantly oily T-zone, and housed inside a bottle that will look chic on my dresser but not smash or spill in my bag.
Thankfully, this season brings a host of new launches that just might put an end to such compromises. As we become all the more demanding in our search for selfie-perfect skin, beauty brands are thinking outside the box to produce new formulas, textures and finishes that promise to finally perfect your base. Click through for a roundup of the finest new foundation launches to help you find your perfect match...
The mousse: Diorskin Forever Perfect Mousse
For those blighted by enlarged-pore paranoia, the latest addition to Dior’s complexion collection is set to become a game-changer. It has a whipped texture and matte finish which the brand describes as ‘ethereal’ and, honestly, it’s easy to see why.
Even under unforgiving office lighting, the ‘blurring’ effect is seriously impressive, and it genuinely feels weightless on the skin. The secret lies in an innovative ‘pore-refining’ essence, which sits imperceptibly over the skin barrier to deliver an airbrushed ‘poreless’ finish.
The secret to success with this one is all in the layering. A silicone-heavy formula, it may pill when applied over a dense day cream, so stick to light, easily absorbed skincare to keep that airbrushed finish intact. Peter Philips, creative and image director for Dior Makeup advises smoothing on with your fingertips, with little more than a light moisturiser beneath. The coverage is light, but for blemishes and red patches the coordinating Diorskin Forever Undercover concealer will do the job nicely.
Diorskin Forever Perfect Mousse, £32, available in eight shades at Selfridges
The cushion: Laneige BB Cushion
Laneige takes the cushion foundation firmly out of fad territory with its two excellent BB Cushion compacts. Pore Blue and Hydra Radiance both feature an air cushion containing over 800,000 cells in a diamond formation to ensure an ultra-fine and even layer of coverage. Essentially, it’s a soft, spongy version of a classic compact.
Pore Blur is infused with powder to control oil production throughout the day, and extracts of pine needle and mint water to keep the complexion fresh. It’s lovely on oilier skin (again, those with pore paranoia, pay attention), but can be a little too powdery for dryer skin types. For the latter, there’s Hydra Radiance. This one contains colour pigments encapsulated within moisturising agents to impart a hydrated, luminous glow that won’t highlight any flaky patches over the nose (speaking from experience here). The final win? Broad spectrum SPF50 is high enough to provide proper protection from both UVA and UVB rays – a considered, beneficial inclusion, rather than a marketing-led afterthought.
While these aren’t strictly new, they were tricky to get hold of this side of the pond until Sephora picked up the brand last month. And considering a BB Cushion compact is sold globally every 3.8 seconds, it’s clear to see why they did.
Laneige BB Cushion, £29 including one refill, available in six shades at Sephora
The water: Autograph Confidence Boost Foundation
The most anticipated release from Marks and Spencer’s new Autograph beauty collection is undoubtedly the Confidence Boost Foundation. Inspired by deeply hydrating Korean beauty products, this next-gen formulation contains a high water content to ensure a lightweight, dewy finish – especially great for dry skin.
A lightweight liquid, it has that lovely soothing quality that makes it feels more like skincare than a colour cosmetic, and continues to hydrate throughout the day. Touch-ups will likely be required by lunchtime and a spot of powder over the T-zone won’t go amiss, but this is a small price to pay for such a lovely, glowy finish. Furthermore, despite the £16 price tag, no corners have been cut when it comes to the packaging. The frosted glass bottle has a proper pump and a lid to ensure no disastrous leakages.
Autograph Confidence Boost Foundation, £16, available in 10 shades at Marks and Spencer
The velvet: Primark PS...Velvet Finish Foundation
I’m going to jump straight in with the price here: this foundation is £6, which slightly takes the edge off the fact that you have to enter the battleground of a Primark shop floor in order to acquire it. Part of the brand’s very well-received new Ps…Pro cosmetics line, Velvet Finish Foundation is being hailed as one of the best value beauty launches of the year.
But is it worth the hype? On most counts, yes. The finish is light and creamy, rather than cakey (as is the case with so many low-cost formulations) and it comes in a better-than-average 16 shades. Particularly impressive for a budget base, it’s formulated with SPF30, and doesn’t oxidise heavily throughout the day.
The line also comprises a Stick Foundation as well as Shade Adjuster Drops, which can be used to alter the tone of any foundation shade to ensure a perfect match.
Primark PS Velvet Finish Foundation, £6, available in 16 shades at Primark
The powder: Glossier Wowder
If there’s one brand that can rekindle my love for powder foundation, it’s Glossier. After all, Emily Weiss’ revolutionary beauty brand has already cemented the return of clear lipgloss, saccharine bubblegum scents, and pastel-hued cheek stains.
This signature blend of 1990s nostalgia and millennial edge makes Glossier’s perfectly titled Wowder instantly covetable, but it’s the formulation that lends lasting appeal. This fine, talc-free powder contains kaolin clay to absorb oil without clogging the skin, vitamin E for nourishment, and light-reflecting ‘diamond’ particles to create that soft-focus blur. The result is beautifully glowy – a far cry from the mattifying powders of the past. It comes in three generic shades but the pigment is so fine they’ll suit most skin, and there’s a coordinating brush with the softest, most strokable bristles around.
Glossier Wowder, £18 or £30 with brush, available in three shades at Glossier.com
The stick: Nars Velvet Matte Foundation Stick
For the latter half of my teenage years, a solid foundation stick was the one true constant in my makeup bag, and thinking back to the heavy, cakey coverage that effectively erased all traces of my bone structure is enough to make me shudder. Thankfully, times have changed, and this season the foundation stick returns to the spotlight thanks to Nars and its new Velvet Matte Foundation Stick.
The formulation is as impressive as you should expect from Nars, with a dense and creamy texture that melts into the skin with a satiny finish. A removable and replaceable Touch-Up Blender sits at the other end, making both full-face application and on-the-go correction an effortless feat – use it like a blending sponge for a lighter result, or ‘stipple’ it for full-on coverage.
Nars Velvet Matte Foundation Stick, £30, available in 20 shades at House of Fraser
The contour: Smashbox Skin Shaping Foundation Stick
While the age of precision contouring may have finally reached its peak, Smashbox presents a softer, gentler take on the trend with the launch of its very clever Skin Shaping Foundation Stick.
This two-in-one design contains a solid foundation on one end and a deeper contour shade on the other. The former is beautifully creamy, so a cinch to blend with fingertips or a sponge, while the latter has a slightly translucent finish that allows your natural skin to shine through. The result is believably sculpted cheekbones with none of the muddy lines associated with heavier contour products. A clear winner.
Smashbox Skin Shaping Foundation Stick, £29.50, available in 16 shades at Boots
The long-wear: YSL All-Hours Foundation
I have so many questions for the wearers of 24-hour foundations. Who are these elusive night owls, applying their flawless face of makeup then, 24 long hours later, finally removing it before hitting the pillow? While the very thought of wearing a full base, uninterrupted, for an entire day and night brings me out in a rash, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to test the claim and live, for a whole day and night, like one of YSL’s sleepless party girls.
If you require such extreme staying power from your foundation, listen up. Applied with a damp blending sponge, one lightly applied layer of this oil-free formula really can see you from a sweaty morning commute right through to a late-night espresso martini. The key is in the specially formulated long-wear polymers derived from volcanic rock, which can absorb up to 3.5 times their weight in water. Additionally, there’s kombucha extract to enhance luminosity and SPF20 for moderate protection.
Are you one of these 24-hour makeup-wearing party animals? If so, buy this foundation. And invite me to the next party.
YSL Beauty All-Hours Foundation, £33.50, available in 22 shades at Selfridges
The full coverage: Huda Beauty FauxFilter
Unsurprisingly, the winner of the most Gen-Z foundation branding goes to Instagram megastar Huda Kattan. #FauxFilter is the beauty blogger’s first foray into complexion products, and fans of her fully made-up look will not be disappointed.
When perfecting the formulation, Huda herself took to the streets of Dubai, testing the product on willing participants with a range of skin types and tones, ensuring all bases were covered. The coverage promises to be seriously full (Huda claims it covers acne, pigmentation and redness with ease), and the reflective pigments will disguise even the deepest under-eye bags, leaving little need for concealer – or, indeed, a filter.
As is to be expected, the shade range encompasses an exemplary 30 options with solutions for different undertones too.
Huda Beauty FauxFilter foundation, available in 30 shades from mid-October.
The mineral: Bare Minerals BAREPRO™ Performance Wear Liquid Foundation
Despite proving perfect for sensitive skin, mineral foundations have always been somewhat of an outlier, as mineral pigments are trickier to work with. BareMinerals is undoubtedly the queen of this small corner of the foundation universe, and its latest release is likely to have remaining sceptics converted.
BAREPRO™ Performance Wear Liquid Foundation is formulated with technology inspired by skincare to help improve skin texture over time. The mineral particles mimic the natural lipids in your skin to ensure lasting adhesion, while papaya enzymes act as a gentle chemical exfoliator. When applied with fingers, a satiny finish is achievable, while a dense brush allows for buildable coverage.
Bare Minerals BAREPRO™ Performance Wear Liquid Foundation, £29, available in 30 shades at John Lewis
The custom: Lancôme Le Teint Particulier Custom Made Foundation
For many of us, finding a foundation that suits is less about the formula and more about the shade offering. Staggeringly, many beauty brands still slap a ‘suits all skin tones’ claim over a range that contains as few as six pre-bottled shades, with many reluctant to expand based on the belief that shades at the furthest ends of the spectrum won’t sell in the UK.
And the shade itself isn’t the only stumbling block on the route to a perfectly suited foundation – varying undertones (cool, neutral and warm) must be catered for, too. When you consider our collective cry for more diverse beauty offerings, it’s a wonder that more brands haven’t taken the same route as Lancôme.
Le Teint Particulier is the beauty giant’s first truly customisable foundation. Currently available exclusively at Harrods, the experience involves a machine that scans your exact skin tone. You then decide your preferred coverage and finish, and a bottle is whipped up right in front of you – complete with your name stamped on the front. At £90 it isn’t cheap, but you’ll never purchase a disappointing bottle again. Here’s to hoping that the future presents more accessible versions of this very, very good innovation.
Lancôme Le Teint Particulier, £90, available in your shade at Harrods
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