Promising skin-kind ingredients and light-as-air textures, these fluid foundations make for the perfect natural bases.
Are you team foundation or team tinted moisturiser? We all used to side with one or the other. But thanks to a new generation of cutting-edge formulas, there’s a plethora of textures in between. If you’re bang in the middle of the two base camps, a serum foundation might be just what you’ve been looking for.
Think a featherweight fluid texture that feels like water but lends a flaw-blurring veil of coverage – with complexion-loving add-ons to boot.
Like skincare serums, they tend to be loaded with a high concentration of ingredients designed to treat everything from dark spots to dryness, dehydration and fine lines.
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Their consistency is fluid and super-runny meaning they’re best applied with a different technique to your usual liquid, powder or cream foundations.
First, always shake the bottle thoroughly. Then pop a couple of drops onto the palm of your hand. The amount required varies by product but it’s much easier to build up coverage than it is to take it away. Most will only require three or four dots and they’ll often come in a handy dropper format with a pipette.
To apply with your fingers, simply use a pressing or patting motion – rather than rubbing – to blend it in seamlessly. Prefer a tool? Buff it on with a fluffy brush and your coverage will be even sheerer or dial up the density for slightly fuller cover.
While some offer a demi-matte oil-controlling tint, others leave skin dewy and luminous. Whichever you plump for, expect a natural, second-skin effect that’s just the ticket for the lead up to spring.
Here’s our pick of the very best with something to suit every skin type and price point. Ready, set, glow…
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Cheapest serum foundation
The Ordinary Serum Foundation
Don’t be put off by the under-£6 price tag: this is one of our favourite of the bunch. It uses one-of-a-kind technology to prevent pigments settling into fine lines, making it a good choice if that’s one of your bugbears.
The coverage is a little fuller than some so it’s perfect if you’re new to sheerer bases. With 21 hues, the shade range is seriously impressive, too. Just ask make-up artist Patsy O’Neill who’s been known to use it on celebrity clients like Holly Willoughby during her on-screen appearances.
£5.70, Cult Beauty
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Best serum foundation for boosting radiance
Stila Aqua Glow Serum Foundation
If your skin’s in need of a super-charged radiance boost, this is where it’s at. It’s jammed with hyaluronic acid and ionized water to plump up a dehydrated, lacklustre face.
The pigments are multi-reflective, too, adding an extra hit of luminosity. Skin looks perfected in seconds but not covered up. In 12 shades, it’s one to reach for when you’ve skipped sleep or if you’re feeling hungover.
£34.50, Harvey Nichols
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Best medium-coverage serum foundation
No7 Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum Foundation
Talk about bridging the gap between skincare and foundation – this base, in 14 shades, is spiked with youth-boosting ingredients from Boots’ No7 Lift and Luminate Serum. These get to work on fine lines and uneven skin tone. And instantly? Think medium-to-full coverage that disguises without masking.
It’s more matte than most and won’t disappear by mid-morning, so one to make a beeline for if you’re on the oily side.
£18.50, Boots
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Serum foundation with the skincare benefits
Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation
Bobbi Brown is synonymous with sophisticated bases that make skin look naturally flawless. This bestselling formula is just as excellent. It’s infused with a power combination of lychee, bamboo grass and Cordyceps mushroom extracts to offer a firmer, smoother, more lifted look over time.
The potent ingredients are reflected in the price but you’ll look fresher instantly, too, with a healthy glow sans shine. As with all Bobbi Brown offerings, the shade range is inclusive with 22 shades – including a multitude of undertones – to choose from.
£50, Bobbi Brown
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Most lightweight serum foundation
Dior Diorskin Nude Air Serum
If it’s the feel of foundation that puts you off, this is the formula for you. It feels lighter than any foundation we’ve tried with a true breathable texture. It still manages to erase larger pores and blemishes but you won’t look like you’re wearing a thing making it perfect for the gym or early morning starts.
As with all serum foundations, you’ll still need to prep with your usual moisturiser to avoid it clinging to dry patches and, again, there’s only six shades. But for a speedy faff-free option, we’re totally hooked.
£38, Boots
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Best serum foundation for barely-there coverage
Clarins Skin Illusion Natural Hydrating Foundation
This newer launch, in 22 shades, replaces Clarins’ original pump-action Skin Illusion Foundation. But while the name is much the same, the formula is distinctly different. It has a dewier finish, fluid texture and a dropper delivery system that dispenses just the amount required.
Skincare-wise, it fuses pigments with nourishing oils for a deeply hydrating blend that’s the ideal match for dry complexions. The coverage is uber-light – think a gentle tint. But if you usually go without a base and you’re simply after a confidence-boosting softening veil, it’s a smart buy.
£30, Boots
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Best airbrush-effect serum foundation
MAC Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Foundation
Full-coverage, high-glam bases are usually MAC’s bag but this is a departure from its other erase-all options. If the bestselling MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation feels too mask-like for you, then this, with 25 hues, is set to become your new favourite base.
It doesn’t offer a shedload of skincare benefits like a serum would, but it has a comfortable fluid texture that imparts a gleam making dull, lifeless skin look infinitely better. It works beautifully topped with powder if you’re after extra mileage or a more matte effect, too.
Spots and unwanted marks are airbrushed away but it’s pretty imperceptible even when you look close up.
£28, Look Fantastic
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The original serum foundation
Dr Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation Serum
One of the first on the market, this isn’t just a base but part of an extensive ‘no make-up make-up’ range that allows you to create a full face of undetectable products.
For those days when you want to look groomed and polished but not overdone, it’ll gently disguise imperfections without looking like you’ve applied anything. It’s not as bouncy and dewy as some but there are plenty of complexion-boosting ingredients including alpha lipoic acid – a potent free radical-fighter.
£45, Look Fantastic
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Best anti-ageing serum foundation
YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum Foundation
The brains over at Yves Saint Laurent’s have managed to pump some of their very best cutting-edge anti-ageing technology into this lightweight base. It uses Glycanactif – their patented skincare formula that promises an improvement in skin tone and skin texture within eight weeks.
The results of its make-up counterpart aren’t quite so speedy but as double-action foundations go, this is seriously high-powered.
£43.50, Boots
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Images: Getty / courtesy of brands
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