You know that here at Care to Beauty we’re always interested in the latest trends and launches in the makeup world. It’s time to talk about serum foundations! A hybrid of makeup and skincare, serum foundations bring you the best of both worlds. It provides the skin with hydrating ingredients that work hand in hand with beautifying pigments to leave your skin looking its best right away. Now you want to know more about it… and that’s why we’re answering everything you could possibly ask about serum foundation!
What is a serum foundation?
A serum foundation is a very fluid, waterlike foundation that looks and feels lightweight on the skin. But what makes it different from other waterlike foundations, you may well ask. More than beautifying pigments infused in a liquid texture, serum foundations are infused with hydrating and even nourishing ingredients that are most commonly found in skincare products. This combination of makeup and skincare is ideal to beautify the skin immediately as well as in the long run!
A good example of a serum foundation you may have heard of is the L’Oréal Paris True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum. This foundation has 1% of hyaluronic acid, which promises to visibly plump your skin. It cares for the skin like a serum does, all the while beautifying it with radiant coverage. It’s sheer and easily blendable, ideal for online shopping considering that each shade is adaptable to a considerable skin-tone range. After applying it, your skin looks naturally luminous and perfected with a beautifying veil.
What are the benefits of serum foundation?
The main benefit of a serum foundation is that it offers your skin way more than perfecting coverage! Serum foundation combines the benefits of makeup and skincare in a single product, providing an extra boost of hydration that works together with your moisturizer. In addition, thanks to its unique hydrating properties, it blends effortlessly with your skin to create the most natural look.
Who should use a serum foundation?
As we’ve seen above, when compared to regular foundations, serum foundations have more of the good hydrating stuff that usually skincare is rich in. For that reason, dry skin types as well as mature skin are those who are going to benefit the most from the serum foundation’s unique features. They provide dry and/or mature skin with all they need, allowing not only a beautiful result but also comfortable wear! But they’re not exclusive to these skin types. As it happens to other beauty products, it may work for you even if you have combination to oily skin. You may have to give it a try to find out!
Can’t I just mix a serum with my regular foundation?
Well, you can, but it’s just not the same! When a product is released into the market, it has been thoroughly studied to provide the result and benefits it promises. If we combine them at home, we’re mixing products that may not be compatible, and it’s very unlikely that we would find the perfect and unique balance of formulas on the first try. So our con number one is that you wouldn’t have the same benefits of a serum foundation, and our con number two is that you could end up wasting products by combining incompatible formulas (such as oil-based foundations with water-based serums, for example). Let’s trust the pretty formulas that the knowledgeable chemists created for our own good.
How do you use serum foundation?
If we were to create a guide on how to use serum foundation, we’d say that you should start by cleansing your skin, then apply your serum, moisturizer and SPF, and then follow with your new serum foundation. You may even use a makeup primer beforehand, just as with any other foundation!
No, a serum foundation is not meant to replace your regular serum. The idea is to add more skincare-like ingredients to your beauty routine! However, if you’re not a fan of multi-step routines and a serum is not a regular presence in your mornings, a serum foundation may be a great way of delivering skincare ingredients to your skin. The point is that you shouldn’t ditch your serum if you already include one in your morning routine. If you’re not planning on including one serum in your routine anytime soon, then it’s quite the upgrade your makeup needs!
Here are 6 serum foundations worth trying
We really enjoy this new product category and we want to make sure you get to give it a try with the best options available. Check our favorites and pick your next daily complexion perfector:
Clarins Double Serum Foundation
High-endnourishing formula
This hybrid formula unites the worlds of makeup and skincare to deliver fresh youthful radiance. Thanks to a built-in adjustable pump, you can customise the amount of product to realise for each application. Allowing a buildable coverage, from medium to full, this serum foundation grants a weightless feel and a luminous satin finish with options for all skin tone. Featuring the COLOUR + HYDRIC system and light-reflecting A.U.R.A. technology work together to create double radiance and an instant glow. Use it to perfect the skin while softening the look of fine lines and wrinkles and keeping skin hydrated and comfortable throughout the day.
Perricone MD No Makeup Foundation Serum
Semi-matte finish
For a polished result that never looks heavy, this serum foundation delivers impeccable coverage paired with a semi-matte finish suited to all skin types. It combines the results of high-performance makeup and skincare treatments, blending seamlessly for a natural-looking complexion. Enriched with neuropeptides and daisy flower extract, the formula smoothes the appearance of wrinkles over time, while brightening and evening out the skin tone. A few drops of this formula is all it takes to achieve a lit-from-within finish that feels more like skincare than your convencional foundation.
Estée Lauder Futurist SkinTint Serum Foundation SPF20
Sheer, buildable & radiant
This skincare-makeup hybrid combines sheer and buildable coverage with treatment benefits for a radiant result that lasts more than your daily makeup. The silky serum texture evens out the complexion, bluring imperfections while delivering lasting hydration. Thanks to a botanical oil infusion of meadowfoam seed, calendula, and rosehip, the formula nourishes and smooths skin, while locking in moisture and luminosity that resists sweat and humidity. The broad-spectrum SPF20 adds a protective shield against UVA and UVB rays, for a boost of protection that feels weightless.
Clinique Even Better Clinical Serum Foundation SPF20
Great coverage & long-wear performance
To be able to get great coverage with a matte finish using a serum foundation is something new! Marrying the long-wear performance of a classic foundation with the transformative power of a serum is a miracle only possible for skincare experts like Clinique. The triple-serum technology visibly improves skin quality over time, featuring the Clinique’s exclusive molecule UP302+ that targets dark spots, along with vitamin C, salicylic acid, and hyaluronic acid for smoother skin. Designed with sensitive skin in mind, this daily skincare and makeup formula helps to refine the tone and texture of your skin over time.
M.A.C Cosmetics Studio Radiance Serum-Powdered Foundation
Hydrating radiance with 10% hyaluronic acid
Expert in makeup and skip prep alike, M.A.C Cosmetics this innovative serum-powered foundation boosts radiance while delivering the skincare benefits that visibly improve the appearance of your complexion over time. Day after day, the skin looks plumper and smoother, thanks to the powerful ingredients, like the 10% of hyaluronic acid and the olive and jojoba oils, to name a few. This one is perfect if you’re looking for medium to buildable coverage with a radiant finish, while evening out the skin tone and soften the look of pores, redness, dark spots.
L’Oréal Paris True Match Nude Plumping Tinted Serum
Old and gold
One of the first options of this innovative product category, this nourishing serum foundation conceals small imperfections while evening out the skin tone and texture. The result is what you’ve been looking for: a polished and naturally luminous complexion that’s a perfect base for your daily makeup looks. Formulated with 1% pure hyaluronic acid, this formula draws moisture into the skin to leave it plumper and more elastic. The lightweight and dewy formula offers sheer coverage that adapts to your skin, for a perfected look that is natural and easy to blend.
For more on foundations with a unique feature, you should read our post about cushion foundations!
