Healthy Foundations
Carissa Casey tests four foundations with skin improving ingredients
As I’ve aged I’ve become far more demanding of my foundation. I want good coverage that doesn’t look heavy on my skin. I want a healthy glow, but not so much around my t-zone which still tends to be oily. And I want it to blur all those fine lines and wrinkles that are starting to appear more and more.
It’s a lot to ask from one little tube of brown stuff and yup, some of the demands are conflicting (glow and matte). I know for other women dry skin has become an issue as they’ve gotten older, and perhaps it will for me too before long.
On dry skin, it’s all too easy for foundation to look cakey and rather than blurring fine lines, it sits in the cracks, drawing more attention to them, rather than lessening their appearance.
So I’m intrigued by this new trend for foundation that includes skincare ingredients. The promise is that the makeup we wear actually improves the condition of our skin rather than just cover it. But does it work? Estée Lauder was one of the first to market with this innovation and its (1) Futurist Hydra Rescue Foundation (€41.45, visit lookfantastic.ie) has become something of a cult classic. It comes in 28 shades and boasts an SPF of 45. (Mind you, most dermatologists say that Sun Protection Factor in makeup is not that effective so I’m still putting SPF 50 on after moisturising. Any extra protection from my foundation is welcome but I won’t rely on it). On the skincare side, it promises to hydrate using an ‘exclusive ioncharged water complex' and protect using probiotics and chia seed. But, most importantly, it’s a great foundation that goes on silky smooth (I used a thick brush to buff in) and provides a nice medium, slightly more than natural coverage. It feels lovely on the skin and lasts well. I need to powder well on my t-zone but I like to just dust the rest of the face, so I still get what I like to call a radiant finish (well, more radiant than my skin is these days). This foundation stood up well to the challenge and smoothed the look of fine lines.
Next up I tried the new (2) Chroma Cover Foundation (€22.95, visit bperfectcosmetics.com) from the Irish brand BPerfect. This contains antioxidant vitamin E and hyaluronic acid for hydration. It has a matte finish and offers pretty good coverage, more than any of the others I tested, without feeling too heavy. It worked nicely with my still-oily skin but drier skinned ladies might not like it quite so much. Yup, my skin did feel well hydrated wearing it although I’m not quite convinced of it’s staying power. I felt I definitely needed a top up after eight or so hours, which I suppose is pretty reasonable. It comes in 36 shades and three undertones - warm, neutral and cool.
At the budget end of the market is (3) Max Factor’s Miracle Pure Skin-Improving Foundation containing hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C and an SPF of 30 (€17.99, visit boots.ie). I had to have several goes of this because the product had separated in the tube and the first few squeezes produced lots of oil and not much pigment. Several good shakes later, I finally got a decent squidge. And it is pretty good, especially given the price point. Just a little goes a long way and while some reviewers felt it doesn’t give great coverage, I found it perfectly adequate. After a few hours though I did notice a bit of cakie-ness setting in, with patches of too much colour and patches with little or none.
Finally, I get to the product which inspired this test run. I was sent a sample of (4) Nars Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation (€48, visit narscosmetics.ie). This, my friends, is quite possibly the best foundation I’ve tried in a while. It’s gorgeballs. My skin looks radiant and amazingly, it really does seem to improve my skin at the same time. It offers medium coverage, doesn’t settle in pores or fine lines and still somehow seems to impart a glow.
Skincare ingredients account for 70 per cent of the product and 81 per cent come from naturally occurring ingredients. I used it with the Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder and smile everytime I look in the mirror, which is as much as any of us can ask of a foundation.
So the results: In fourth place Max Factor’s Miracle Pure Skin-Improving Foundation; in third BPerfect’s Chroma Cover Foundation; in second Estée Lauder’s Futurist Hydra Rescue Foundation and, without question, first place goes to Nars Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation.