Foundation creates the base for whatever you apply over it, and the finish you choose – matte, glowing, light or full coverage – sets the mood of your make-up like a filter projecting a mood onto a photograph. For daily wear, I can’t bear a thick, powdery, mask-like foundation. It’s unflattering on everyone, and it doesn’t look like skin. Evening is another matter – then, a full-coverage base can give an amorphous blurring effect to the skin that makes it look impossibly perfect. Thankfully, lots of excellent new foundations are coming out this month and next. If you are in the market to invest in a new base, now is the time.
Milk Makeup Flex Foundation (£32 at cultbeauty.co.uk) is a medium coverage, buildable foundation stick that comes in 35 shades. It is lightning quick to apply – just crayon it on and blend with fingers or a brush. It isn't matte, and it isn't oily – it has the soft sheen finish of actual skin, but with very decent coverage.
If you are looking for something light and lovely, Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser (€40 at Brown Thomas from September) has been reformulated. When I heard this, along with other longtime fans of this Beauty Hall of Fame product, I despaired. Why fiddle with something that is already great? Somehow, they have improved it. Technology has advanced significantly since its launch in 1996. Yes, there are skincare ingredients, but what I really care about is the texture and finish – it is glowing, sheer and available in 20 shades.
If you prefer a matte finish but don't want your skin to feel as though you have just woken up in your make-up, head-first in a sleeping bag after a regrettable night out, there are sophisticated mattes to choose from. Urban Decay Stay Naked Weightless Liquid Foundation (€36 at Debenhams, House of Fraser and Arnotts) is what you might call a skin finish matte. It doesn't suck all the light from the face like a vortex. It is subtle, soft, and the coverage is buildable in 50 shades.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation (€40 at charlottetilbury.com from August 22nd and at Brown Thomas and Arnotts from August 29th) sort of defies description. It isn't matte or dewy, but somewhere in the middle. Available in 44 shades, it is sweat-, humidity- and water-proof. I wore it to the gym to check, and it stayed put comfortably even through a kettlebell workout where my spirit left my body. The coverage is full, and it just makes skin look radiant. Anticipate compliments.
Anastasia Beverly Hills, beloved for its eye palettes and brow products, has launched Luminous Foundation (€40.50 at Arnotts) in 50 shades. The finish is radiant – I love it, but you won't if you don't like a plump, glossy skin finish. The coverage is medium, but you can build it.
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Hydrating Longwear Foundation (€33 at Harvey Nichols Dundrum) is a similarly glowy offering released as an alternative to the brand's enormously popular matte foundation in the same 50 shades, and is great for glowing evening makeup with full coverage.
