The Best Non Foundation Bases

If you want to surrender the heavy foundation this summer for something a little lighter then take advice from those in the know and go for a lightweight complexion-perfecting product instead. I’ve tried and tested different formulas, application techniques and products and I feel that I have now discovered the products that I really love to master that ultra-lightweight, effortless coverage without a drop of foundation insight... 

CONCEALER

I love perfecting the skin with just concealer when I want a quick and lighter finish. Using a soft, fluffy brush to buff a little concealer, I like Delilah Farewell Cream Concealer, into the skin, making it appear just like your skin but better. Farewell is loaded with Hyaluronic Filling Spheres to fill & plump fine lines and wrinkles while also providing undetectable coverage just where you want it. Apply this over areas of concern but also focus on the high points of your complexion to create a really subtle highlight – think cheekbones, brow bones, and cupid brow. I’d recommend choosing 2 shades, an exact match and one shade light, in order to bring light and dimension to your skin.

BLURRING POWDER

I love a soft blurring powder, especially on a minimal or no makeup day! They help to give a softening effect onto the skin and blur out any small imperfections. A real lifesaver! Press Priori Uber Finishing Minerals, using a large, fluffy powder brush, into your T-Zone or anywhere that you suffer from enlarged pores or oiliness and watch your complexion transform. It’s super easy to do, just apply straight on top of freshly moisturised skin for best results.

CC CREAM/DD CREAM/TINTED MOISTURISER

These are products that provide you with a sheer amount of coverage however, they aren’t just ‘make-up’ as they offer you so much more in terms of benefits and also skin protection. A DD Cream is essentially a tinted moisturiser but it offers you additional hydration and sunscreen protection (or... ‘D’aily ‘D’efence) too – Dermaceutic Derma Defense is a great example.

Alternatively, if you want something to colour correct and a ‘your skin just better’ then a CC Cream is the way to go – I love Cliniccare Dermo Corrective Cream SPF50. The self-adjusting pigments burst onto the skin upon application and adapt to give you a shade perfectly blended to your skin tone but not only that the product also lightens and evens out the complexion while minimising pigmentation, lifting and creating a tightening effect.

If something purely for hydration is what you’re after then stick with a traditional tinted moisturiser such as MZ Skin Tint & Protect – a hydrating cocktail of Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C and Kahai Nut Oil then you are sure to be radiant and glowing! It’s a bonus that there is also broad-spectrum SPF 30 within the formula too. MZ Skin is passionate about being sustainable and so this product has recently been redesigned within an eco-friendly glass jar.

ILLUMINATOR/BRONZER

If you want to skip complexion products completely then opt for one of these options instead - pair them together or you can use them alone! Using tanning drops like Swiss Clinic Self Tan Drops will give the skin an instant glow overnight and is a slightly more permanent option than the products in your daily makeup bag. There are no typical ‘fake tan smells’ and extremely easy to use – just mix in with your usual night cream and wake up looking like a bronze goddess!

Wanting a little more? Up the ante, with the best-seller, Jane Iredale Peaches & Cream dusted all over the face or create a ‘3’ shape starting all over your forehead, down to your cheeks and onto your chin to mimic where the sun would naturally bounce off you. Ensure to swirl your brush through the whole of the pan in order to pick up all the different colours, this will create a beautifully sun-kissed, lit-from-within-glow. Multi-use the bronzer and double it up as an eye shadow or body shimmer too!

Highlighters have become hugely popular amongst social media and all age groups over the past few years; they are brilliant for their light-reflecting properties making the skin look bright and fresh. Colorescience Pressed Mineral Illuminator – Morning Glow leaves the skin luminous and its shimmery champagne/pink shade gives the colour a soft amount of colour. Again, focus on the high points of your complexion to create a really subtle highlight – think cheekbones, brow bones, and cupid brow for stunning results.