18 Complexion Products For All Skin Types & Tone
FOUNDATION
Today’s foundation formulas are as much skincare as they are make-up, working hard to address and treat every concern, as well as blurring imperfections and providing long-lasting comfort and coverage.
Givenchy Prisme-Libre Skin-Caring Glow, £40
Best for: Normal to combination skin.
Why we love it: Packed with as much skincare as it’s possible for a foundation to have (a 90% skincare base to be precise), this dewy formula contains four different shades of corrective pigments to balance uneven tone and refine pores. The result is a complexion flooded with long-lasting radiance – and up to 12 hours’ of hydration – as well as a sheer, airbrushed finish. Available in 30 shades and with options for cool, warm and neutral undertones, it’s one for those who like their natural skin to show through.
Available from JohnLewis.com
Clinique Even Better Clinical Serum Foundation, £34
Best for: Combination to oily skin.
Why we love it: If you’re looking to cover and condition skin on the oilier side, this satin-matte formula is a great option. Not only is it loaded with 24-hour true colour wear (meaning it won’t fade, cake or crease), it also has, as the name suggests, a roster of skincare ingredients designed to keep your complexion on an even keel. While Clinique’s own molecule UP320 reduces the appearance of dark spots and uneven skin tone, vitamin C brightens, hyaluronic acid plumps and salicylic acid refines and retexturizes skin. Available in 42 inclusive shades, it’s completely buildable, too.
Available from Boots.com
Monika Blunder Blunder Cover, £45
Best for: Normal, combination and sensitive skin.
Why we love it: As one of Hollywood’s most revered make-up artists, it’s no wonder Monika Blunder’s first foray into make-up is as good as it is. A truly customisable formula that can be sheered out or built up depending on your preference, the cream base works just as well as an undereye and on the spot concealer, as it does a foundation for more all-over coverage; for a seamless highlight or contour, try defining cheekbones with a lighter or deeper shade. As well as being free from synthetic fragrance and ingredients, it’s also full of antioxidant-rich botanicals such as edelweiss, arnica and aloe vera that help soothe angry and inflamed skin.
Available from CultBeauty.co.uk
L’Oreal True Match Nude Plumping Serum Foundation, £11.99
Best for: All skin types, especially dry.
Why we love it: With the bold claim that its nine blendable shades match 99% of UK skin tones, this sheer, super light foundation is the answer to anyone searching for the ultimate ‘no make-up make-up’ look. True to its serum moniker, it’s not just about radiant coverage, it’s also formulated with micro hyaluronic acid that’s able to penetrate into skin to plump, smooth and soften.
Available from Boots.com
Dior Forever Natural Nude, £39
Best for: All skin types, especially sensitive.
Why we love it: Loaded with a floral skincare complex known for boosting vitality, this beautifully fresh foundation has a high water content, helping it glide on to skin and settle seamlessly. The coverage is light and luminous, and the non-caking formula is as good as you’d expect at covering but not masking everything – including imperfections and redness. A great everyday finish that looks very natural.
Available from Dior.com
Estee Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturising Makeup SPF45, £36
Best for: All skin types, especially dry.
Why we love it: Infused with Estee Lauder’s signature skincare, including probiotic technology and moisture-binding chia seed water, this buildable formula comes in 28 shades ranging from light through to medium and deep, and all in three different undertone options. Exceptional at imparting a medium to full coverage finish that doesn’t look or feel heavy, the glow stays in place for 12-hours at a time.
Available from Boots.com
PRIMER
Run-of-the-mill primers just don’t cut it anymore, not when easy-to-use, skin-specific variations are available, that work as hard as your foundation to enhance and showcase skin.
Bobbi Brown Intensive Serum Primer, £40
Best for: Dry skin.
Why we love it: Getting foundation to stay put for any length of time on dry skin can be a challenge, which is why we’re singing the praises of this serum/primer hybrid that manages to do exactly that. Extracts of cordyceps and ginseng help energise dull, one-dimensional skin, while hyaluronic acid plumps, so whatever you put on afterwards stands a better chance of staying in place. Specially chosen filters also protect against UV, pollution and blue light, making it an everyday skin health essential.
Available from BobbiBrown.com
NARS Soft Matte Primer, $36
Best for: Oily skin.
Why we love it: If you struggle with your make-up sliding around throughout the day, a primer ought to be a mainstay in your make-up bag. This clever water-gel formula delivers more than just instant mattification – although it does that brilliantly – but it also contains the brand’s Climate Balancing Technology which prevents excess sweating and sebum secretion from breaking down your make-up as the day wears on.
Available from NarsCosmetics.com
Vieve Skin Nova, £27
Best for: All skin types.
Why we love it: Described by founder and content creator Jamie Genevieve as a make-up/skincare hybrid, this multitasking primer will imbue your skin with a glow like no other. Skincare ingredients such as niacinamide and beta glucan infuse skin with a gorgeous natural luminosity and bounce, while subtle colour pigments even out skin tone. Wear alone for a hit of freshness or under foundation to make your base pop.
Available from CultBeauty.co.uk
POWDER
Whether you prefer a pressed or loose format, powders don’t need to be synonymous with flat, cakey complexions. These two, with their sophisticated super-fine pigments and airbrushed effect, are the best of the best.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder, £35
Best for: All skin types.
Why we love it: Known by industry insiders as one of the greatest powders of all time, this cashmere-soft, micro-milled compact is your shortcut to flawless looking skin. As well as blurring pigments that deposit a smidge of skin-toned colour where you need it, the formulation includes skincare ingredients like rose wax and almond oil, meaning it glides on and soothes skin as it covers.
Available from CharlotteTilbury.com
Rodial Glass Powder, £45
Best for: All skin types, especially oily.
Why we love it: If you like a soft-focus finish to your make-up, try completing your look without this velvety soft loose powder. A sure-to-be-sell-out, the peach-based powder disguises enlarged pores and gives skin a perfected, polished (but never dull or flat) finish. It even works wonders on bare skin, so if you’re forgoing all other coverage, a light dusting of this will diminish shine and effortlessly enhance the look of natural skin.
Available from Rodial.com
CONCEALER
Getting your concealer right can be game-changing for your complexion. Forget the drying, clingy formulas of the past, the new breed of cover-ups are as silky, seamless and hydrating as they are adept at hiding dark circles and discolouration.
Fenty Beauty Bright Fix Eye Brightener, £18
Best for: All skin types.
Why we love it: If fine lines and dark circles around your eyes are your biggest issue, then this gem has been sent to answer your beauty prayers. Not only does the HydraBlend Complex infuse skin with moisture so pigment doesn’t gather, it brightens, blurs and builds colour so you look as though you’ve had eight hours of sleep, even when you haven’t.
Available from Boots.com
Rose Inc Softlight Luminous Hydrating Concealer, £23
Best for: All skin types.
Why we love it: Founder Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is known for her enviable skin, which means this concealer from her brand-new beauty collection has a lot to live up to. Luckily it does, providing lightweight but sturdy coverage for everything from blemishes to dark spots and dark circles. The formula feels creamy on skin thanks to the addition of squalane and vitamin E, so it’s comfortable and easily sheered out if you do want to use it as an all-over cover-up.
Available from SpaceNK.com
Jones Road The Face Pencil, £23
Best for: All skin types, even dry
Why we love it: Bobbi Brown’s (AKA the Queen of the best basics) latest foray into make-up is a brilliant capsule collection that features these excellent concealers. The pencil format is genius from a useability perspective, allowing you to get everywhere you need to, from the creases around your nose to the inner corners of your eyes, but it’s the unexpectedly creamy formula that doesn’t drag, which really surprises. A brilliantly practical and portable addition to your kit.
Available from JonesRoadBeauty.com
BEST OF THE REST
From the best complexion-enhancing tinted moisturiser to the grown-up highlighter and the latest skincare launch, these extras top the list of added essentials.
Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser Oil-Free, £36
Best for: Oily skin.
Why we love it: An old classic reimagined and frankly, better than ever. Now in 20 shades to match almost all skin tones from the palest to the deepest, the demi-matte formula leaves oily skin feeling balanced and gently hydrated but not dry or tight. For days when you want just the sheerest hint of coverage (and inbuilt SPF to boot), it’s the perfect fuss-free skin booster.
Available from SpaceNK.com
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer Colour Corrector, £24
Best for: All skin types
Why we love it: Partner to the classic concealers of the same name, the four shades in this neat edit are all designed to brighten the appearance of dark spots and discolouration by neutralising blue and purple-toned imperfections. As well as providing instant camouflage and a blank canvas for your usual concealer to work its magic, the antioxidant formula leaves skin looking brighter and more even over time.
Available from NarsCosmetics.com
Vieve Skin Dew, £19
Best for: All skin types.
Why we love it: This game-changing highlighter is a revelation – glossy but not gloopy, golden but not garish, it saturates skin with the kind of healthy, radiant gleam that looks like you’ve spent a day walking along a windswept beach. Press on top of your foundation on the high planes of your face or wear alone for the ultimate fresh-faced glow.
Available from Vieve.co.uk
Jones Road Miracle Balm, £34
Best for: All skin types, except very oily.
Why we love it: Not quite a blusher, not quite a bronzer and not quite a highlighter, this waxy skin enhancing balm defies traditional classification but is really good at what it does, which is, essentially, adding the subtle sheen of good, glowing health to skin. The tinted shades add the merest hint of flattering, skin-synched colour should you need it, while the clear option is great at freshening up bare skin or livening up make-up that’s been on all day.
Available from JonesRoadBeauty.com
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