Just as the skin has a very different set of requirements when it comes to care during, for example, your 20s and your 50s, so too does your make-up.
It follows then that occasionally reassessing and updating both of them to ensure you’re getting optimal benefits for your age will help keep your complexion looking healthy and fresh.
In terms of shopping for foundation when it comes to mature complexions, this means taking a skincare approach to suit your needs. The skin gets drier and duller the older we get, so the kind of nourishment and glow-boosting benefits we look for in serums and moisturisers should be the same perks we want from our foundation too.
“As we get older, our skin loses elasticity and skin tone can become uneven,” explains renowned make-up artist Ruby Hammer MBE. “For mature skin, the main thing you need from foundation is hydration which then brings with it radiance. Younger skin can use a variety of textures to create effects from matte to heavy coverage or contouring. But if you do this to mature skin, foundation will look caked on and age the face rather than helping it look flawless.”
It’s this light but effective balance that’s key to keeping the complexion looking youthful. Although it may feel counterintuitive to have a feathery touch when you want to minimise red patches, pigmentation, pores and wrinkles, a heavy-handed approach will have the opposite effect.
“Foundation should be lightweight but buildable to provide you with coverage where you need it without sinking into fine lines or wrinkles,” adds Hammer. “People think foundation should be applied all over the face, so they apply a thick layer that sits on it like a mask and highlights the areas they were trying to hide.
“Take a step back and look at your face to figure out which areas need covering, such as under the eyes, around the nose, or maybe on the chin if there is some discoloration. Apply foundation on any areas you want to cover, or apply a very thin layer all over, then just add a little bit more on the areas that need it.”
As many smart new foundation formulas take a hybrid care-meets-colour approach and are packed with fantastic powerhouse skincare ingredients that do everything from plump to smooth to protect, finding one that will infuse mature complexions with the luminosity and nourishment you need is easier than ever.
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Givenchy Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Glow Foundation
Created as a skincare-first formula, this foundation feels more like a refined serum in texture and glides over the face as you apply it. That’s thanks to a ‘water complex’ infused with active skincare ingredients that pack a hydrating punch and also have a gentle refining effect, the texture of the skin looks better over time.
The glowing effect is instant, creating a pretty radiance while a soft blurring effect helps hide patches of redness and pores plus finer wrinkles. The formula is buildable but just one sheer layer is enough to make skin look fresh, dewy and perfected for the whole day.
Buy now £40.00, John Lewis
NARS Light Reflecting Foundation
For a natural look but in a light, comfortable-to-wear foundation with medium coverage, this ultra-flattering NARS version comes in 36 shades. The creamy texture is rich and dries quickly to a powdery finish, but rather than appearing matte, a light-reflecting complex gives skin luminosity to counteract any dullness.
Helping to prevent skin looking washed out too, a special powder in the formula adjusts your complexion to the intensity of light you’re in, be it sunlight or inside. Serious skincare credentials come from those that strengthen the natural barrier while others protect against ageing environmental aggressors.
Buy now £37.50, Boots
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Hydrating Foundation
There are plenty of skin-loving ingredients in this formula that are perfect for perking up mature complexions, from plumping coconut extract and hyaluronic acid to an illuminating, anti-fatigue rose complex.
The foundation’s thick consistency means a little goes a long way and you’ll want to focus on targeted areas rather that a full face. However although it feels slightly sticky at first on application, this foundation blends out super-easily and gives an instant luminosity. It also covers redness and pores with ease but doesn’t look cakey.
The coverage has impressive all-day staying power that stops shine from breaking through while keeping skin feeling supple and the clever squeezy tube is brilliant for pumping out just the right amount of the richer texture.
Buy now £36.00, Charlotte Tilbury
Studio 10 Age Repair Perfect Canvas SPF30 Foundation
From a range specifically created for mature skins, this creamy treatment foundation nods enough towards full coverage to blur fine lines and minimise pores but won’t look or feel heavy on the face. The two-pan foundation combination offers a clever way to colour match exactly to your complexion’s tone on different areas of the face (or during different times of the year) so it also doubles as concealer.
The colour has a self-adjusting capability that reflects light to make sure the complexion always looks bright. The serum-infused formula is packed with a fantastic array of lifting and firming ingredients as well as protective antioxidants and a good SPF30 sunscreen too.
Buy now £30.00, Amazon
Max Factor Miracle Pure Skin Improving Foundation
Boasting a whopping 89 per cent skincare ingredients, this lightweight blend creates a sheer veil of colour that still offers enough coverage to make mature skin feel confident about minimising any flaws. With a satin texture that won’t crease or sit in lines or wrinkles, it’s formulated to be non-comedogenic and is a great choice for sensitive complexions too.
The skincare benefits are equally impressive, with a collagen-boosting complex to help with firmness, brightening vitamin C, plumping hyaluronic acid and nourishing squalane all included in the mix. You can build up the coverage for specific areas or during the day knowing that skin will stay hydrated so feeling comfortable and supple.
Buy now £13.99, Superdrug
RMS Beauty “Re” Evolve Natural Finish Foundation
One or two pumps of this rich, creamy formula will be enough for long-lasting coverage without making the skin feel dry or look unnatural. The foundation dries down quickly to a refined, powdery finish that melds seamlessly when you buff it into the complexion, but softly camouflages any red or dark patches as well as blurring pores and lines.
To keep the skin feeling nourished and hydrated, soothing aloe and hydrating squalane have been added, while the brand’s signature blend of adaptogenic herbs help to firm, soften and smooth mature complexions. The twist-up tube bottle and refill option make this feel like an even more prestige purchase.
£37 for refills.
Buy now £46.00, FeelUnique
SENSAI Flawless Satin Moisture Foundation
Tapping into the company’s philosophy around Japanese traditions and the tactile nature of silk, Sensai’s latest foundation feels rich and silky as you apply it, but blends down to a skin-flattering and lightweight finish. Thick and creamy, the moisture-rich formula uses light-enhancing powders so that fine lines and wrinkles look softly blurry and dark patches such as pigmentation look lighter too.
Combined with added moisturising ingredients, the complexion looks more dewy and feels plumper which, alongside plenty of coverage to even out skin tone, are properties with impressive staying power.
Buy now £44.00, Harrods
Anastasia Beverly Hills Luminous Foundation
For a water-resistant (read sweat- and humidity-proof), longwear formula that feels fresh and featherlight on the skin, not to mention boasting a commendable 50-strong shade range, this foundation ticks all the boxes. Its fluid consistency is incredibly easy to blend with fingers or a brush and the texture glides over the face leaving skin feeling soft and looking smooth.
Although it offers medium coverage, the colour will hide and soften the appearance of imperfections without any trace of heaviness or caking, instead creating a soft, luminous glow while nourishing ingredients including rosehip, blackcurrant and jojoba oils work their plumping, anti-ageing powers.
Buy now £43.00, Boots
Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation
As an iconic make-up line famous for its complexion-illuminating products, this foundation from Hourglass is as ambient and glow-boosting as it gets. The deliciously fluid formula looks and feels light when you apply it and blends out beautifully.
But this foundation still has enough oomph to camouflage pores and play down fine lines without sitting in them thanks to blurring spheres held within the colour. For the best effect, apply a little to the centre of the face and buff outwards so it almost disappears. A brush is suggested but fingers work as well if you’re going for a fine layer. The coverage can be built up and the lit-from-within finish lasts up to 16 hours.
Buy now £46.00, Cult Beauty
IL MAKIAGE Woke Up Like This Foundation
For those who prefer a matte finish that can be built up from medium to full, this luscious cream is ideal as it won’t sit heavily on the skin or leave a mask-like density. A little blends out easily into a veil that hides pores and shadows but still allows the skin’s natural texture to show through.
Hyaluronic acid and vitamin E have been added to help hydrate and plump up lines for a smoother surface, while corrective powders work to camouflage redness and blemishes as light–diffusing spheres create an even, illuminated finish. There are 50 shades to colour match your complexion to too.
Buy now £36.00, IL MAKIAGE
Verdict
As a foundation formulated with all of Givenchy’s exceptional skincare knowledge, the Prisme Libre Skin-Caring Glow Foundation gives a more mature complexion all it needs when it comes to care, then fuses it seamlessly with colour.
The difference in plumping hydration and radiant glow can be seen instantly and the texture really feels like a second skin. Although the coverage is more translucent than some other foundations, the formula still manages to perfect the complexion and hide imperfections. Plus it keeps the skin feeling hydrated all day. All that from a delicate veil of colour can’t be beaten.
