Beauty Wars: Serum Foundations that Prove Easy Does It

Call it the effect of the new mask-wearing normal or the new woman that Miss Rona has made us but do you remember the last time you stepped out with a full face of makeup? Foundation et al. In this part of the world where it’s summer all year round, the combination of humidity and a thick layer of foundation underneath a face mask spells a maskne disaster.

The skin needs to breathe and spending 30 minutes patting on foundation in the morning is a memory from a past life that we no longer can relate to. These days, we’re women of streamlined, minimal makeup routines. And thankfully, the alternatives are aplenty. If you missed it, in the installment of Beauty Wars, we discussed cushion foundations. Next in line: tinted serum foundations. No, these aren’t the same as your tinted moisturisers or BB and CC creams. Serum foundations are two-in-one multitaskers. While they offer light to medium coverage for the skin, they’re also packed with skincare ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and of course, SPF.

Whether you’re looking to run out of the house in a jiffy, one for fuss-free morning routines or just having a lazy day (we don’t judge), pat on a layer of moisturiser, then a serum foundation, and you’re good to go. Here, we put five serum foundations to the test. The verdict:

Diorskin Nude Air Serum

Packed in a glass bottle with a silver dropper, the Diorskin Nude Air Serum is as luxurious as they come. It’s true what they say – you get what you pay for. The formula glides onto skin effortlessly – you don’t actually have to blend it does its own thing. With serum foundations, in general, we find using our fingers or a brush works best. Given just how fluid serum foundations are, using a sponge essentially absorbs too much product. As the name suggests, the finish you get with the Dior Nude Air feels like nothing on the skin. You get a super smooth, glowy canvas that essentially looks like your skin but better. You don’t even have to set it with powder! However, if you’re looking for buildable coverage, this is not it.

The Ordinary Serum Foundation

With a price tag as low as The Ordinary’s Serum Foundation, you can’t help but question the legitimacy of the product. We took a gamble with this one and it paid off handsomely. The rave reviews online aren’t lying. With buildable coverage, you can double up in the areas where you could use a little extra help. The dark rings from the late-night Netflix (and soon, Disney+) binges, the hormonal breakouts during that time of the month, an extra pat here and there does the concealing. Plus, the formula is vegan, cruelty-free, and also formulated sans oil and alcohol.

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint

If you’re familiar with purveyors of clean beauty, you’d be no stranger to Ilia Beauty. It’s dubbed as a holy grail amongst aficionados in the realm. And now that we’ve tried and tested its Super Serum Skin Tint, consider us aboard the bandwagon. While the formula is as light as one would expect a skin tint to be, as it glides onto the skin, it leaves a healthy, glowy sheen that’s typically the effect of a multiple-step skincare routine. You would think with a formula this nourishing, you’d get oily throughout the day but we were pleasantly surprised! Also, given just how extensive Ilia’s shade range is, you’d definitely find your match.

Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation

Call it magic, call it skin illusion. Clarins’ Skin Illusion Foundation is of a slightly thicker consistency than the other serum foundations on the list. You could think of this as a hybrid between a foundation and a serum. It does layer well for extra coverage and evens out the skin tone but it’s not as weightless as we’d like for a serum foundation to be. The limited range of shades does also make it difficult to find the right match, particularly if you have a darker complexion.

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Fluid Foundation

Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Fluid Foundation is the perfect marriage between coverage and consistency. Out of the five serum foundations on the list, Kevy Aucoin’s formula takes the cake in the coverage department. A little bit also goes a long way. We’d best describe this as a foundation with a serum-like consistency. While we could get away without setting the others with powder, we’d suggest locking this formula in with a layer of powder – especially if you have skin that tends to get oily throughout the day.

What To Read Next: Long-Lasting Gel Eyeliners that Won’t Budge All Day, Hear Ye, Hear Ye – We Found the Best Matte Lipstick Yet, and Beauty Wars: The Search for the Best Cushion Foundation Continues | Cover Collage: Qide Sim. 

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