Ready to put a full face back on? We may have the perfect foundation for you

A tinted moisturiser is the buy least likely to cause a tragic shade mismatch but we have some great foundation recommendations here too

New Foundations: Fresh Skin for Spring. Image: Dylan Madden for Brown Sugar Dublin

How do you feel about wearing foundation these days? After almost two years of SPF, mascara, and my mask, I was happy to check out this spring’s full-face makeup. Charlotte Tilbury, Ireland’s favourite premium makeup brand of 2021, was first out of the gate with her Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation, €40 at brownthomas.com, in January. The Instagram response alone suggests she’ll keep her lead at a canter for some time, but there’s plenty of choice hitting makeup counters and e-comm stores this season. Do you dare make a change when you still can’t do a proper on-skin shade match in the shops?

If you’re really guessing, a tinted moisturiser is the buy least likely to cause a tragic shade mismatch. Laura Mercier’s version has always been a favourite of low-maintenance celebrities that like a little glow and the latest formula ups that wattage. Laura Mercier  Tinted Moisturiser Light Revealer €49.50 at boots.ie is a skin-illuminating formula that won’t hide your skin’s texture but may help you look like you managed more sleep last night. The luminosity works with your skin tone as the complexion-boosting pearl blends are developed to work with each shade level. With ultra-sheer, buildable coverage, the formula instantly boosts skin’s natural radiance.

“The skin must always remain authentic. Not caked-on. And if we can see the skin itself, even better. This is what I always intended my tinted moisturiser to be,” says Ms Mercier. You may still need concealer.

Nars Light-Reflecting Foundation

Nars Light-Reflecting Foundation, €48 at Brown Thomas

€48 at narscosmetics.ie and Brown Thomas.

This one is very interesting, especially if you feel foundation washes you out in certain light even when you get the shade right. It uses “photochromic technology,” a light-friendly powder that adjusts complexion tone in response to the intensity of light — skin never appears dull or peaky. It instantly blurs imperfections, smooths the look of textured skin, and helps to conceal blemishes, dark spots, and redness. 

Remarkably, in the brand’s tests it visibly improved skin’s clarity after six weeks of daily use. Nars says they used 70% skincare ingredients in the formula, and that it is clinically shown to immediately strengthen and enhance luminosity, revealing a more even skin tone while improving the look of skin’s clarity over time. It gives medium coverage with a natural finish when you apply a light layer. It comes in 36 shades, most of them recognisable from NARS other foundation collections (for example, I’m an Oslo-or-Siberia lady throughout). 

Nars has a 'Matchmaker Virtual Shade Finder' online to help you find your perfect match.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Sheer Long-Wear Makeup SPF20 

€45 at counters nationwide.

The original Double Wear Stay-in-Place was Irish women’s favourite premium foundation for so long that I do wonder whether many of us think of it as our mum’s makeup. It was never hard to see why it thrived: it gives total coverage and doesn’t fade. You could work 14-hour shifts in it and never have to touch up. 

This new formula is sheer and has some broad-spectrum sun protection (though nothing like enough to rely on, so don’t skip your regular SPF), as well as buzzy skincare ingredients like watermelon and hyaluronic acid. It’s quite filmy, it doesn’t cake or crease. The marketing claims it provides hydration where the skin needs it and mattifies in places it doesn’t. This isn’t possible, no formula can intuit what any given patch of skin needs, it does what it does. 

It’s a long-wearing foundation with a natural (i.e., not completely flat) matte finish for those with normal to oily complexions who don’t want much coverage. It comes in 27 shades. Estée Lauder has a foundation shade matcher on their official website.

Clarins Skin Illusion Velvet Mattifying Foundation

Clarins Skin Illusion Velvet, €36 at clarins.ie

€35 at clarins.ie

Clarins serum-infused foundation, Skin Illusion, is newly available in a more matte finish Skin Illusion Velvet. Just a few drops are all that’s needed to even out your face. It reduces skin shine and blurs imperfections. It’s a Clarins product so there are a lot of plants involved. Take the “matte optimising complex,” that has three powders: bamboo, silica, and manioc root. They smooth skin and reduce sebum. Organic strawberry tree fruit extract apparently helps improve the makeup's wear-time and improves skin with daily applications. 

Extra fluid, Skin Illusion Velvet comes in a range of 28 shades and blends immediately onto the skin resisting a patchy look. Is it for you? The shades are quite warm, but the brand’s website does have a foundation finder to help you match.