The best new makeup launches are boasting serum formulas. Here's why you need to try these concealer, foundation, bronzer, blusher, lipstick and mascara hybrids.
Few beauty products give you more bang for your buck than makeup hybrids, which fuse a thwack of flattering tint with a host of skincare benefits. Enter serum cosmetics; foundations, blushers, lipsticks, concealers and more that envelop each of those qualities in textures that glide over your skin.
But it’s not just the beautiful feel and the second-skin nature of these tints that pleases. So, how about a little refresher course on what a serum is? More concentrated than a moisturiser, these treatment fluids boast a feather light feel, and are designed to target specific beauty woes such as dark spots, fine lines and dehydration.
In makeup, this sees Bobbi Brown’s new concealer camouflage dark circles while tackling pigmentation, while Perricone MD’s blusher lends a firming boost to cheeks. And, such is the buzz surrounding serum makeup, you can now wear a full face of flattering tints that are simultaneously treating your t-zone, under-eyes, lips and lashes.
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Sephora Bright Future Gel Serum Concealer, around £9.17
One of the many wonderful things about the introduction of UK shipping on Sephora is the store’s eponymous line of skincare, makeup and beauty tools. Their formulas are as forward thinking as those of the many premium brands they sell, with their Gel Serum Concealer standing as dark circle-diffusing proof.
A silky slip of a tint, its weightless texture allows the luminous pigments to veil over creases, camouflage circles and seamlessly brighten skin. A bonus for the sleep-deprived: the pineapple ceramide works overtime, bumping up the brightness under your peepers the more you sweep it on.
Serum Makeup: Perricone MD No Blush Blush, £29
If anyone gets no makeup makeup, it’s Perricone MD. The brand has created an entire line-up of tints that enhance our natural features and offer a bonne mine glow that boasts a certain born-with-it quality. The dream.
One such product is the No Blush Blush, a cheek serum in a self-adjusting hue that cleverly mimics the tone you naturally flush. It also imparts a pleasing SPF30 and DMAE – a molecule that helps to firm the skin for a gradual lifting of cheekbones.
Serum Makeup: Perricone MD No Lipstick Lipstick, £25
Another no makeup makeup marvel by Perricone MD, this anti-ageing lip serum is as youth boosting in colour as it is in formula. A your-lips-but-better rosy flush fuses with a shot of Neuropeptides to instantly sculpt in a pillowy pout and restore fullness over time. Throw it in your handbag for the prettiest no-mirror-needed touch-ups.
Serum Makeup: Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Concealer, £28
The beauty of a serum texture really comes into play in this light concealer, which floats over dark shadows to seamlessly buff them away. From a brand that’s known for its superlative correctors, this doesn’t disappoint, as light-boosting pigments eschew cakey coverage in favour of a second-skin finish.
Best of all, a buy as smooth and easy to blend as this slippery serum means you won’t be tugging your delicate eyes – a crucial quality. Throw in a reparative blend of Cordyceps Mushroom, Indian Tree Root, and Bamboo Grass, and your potential for lines and shadows should be significantly lowered.
Serum Makeup: Stila One Step Bronze Skin Tone Illuminating Bronzing Serum, £24
For those who seek to get on board with the trend for contoured
cheekbones, Stila has cocktailed a tawny, sculpting hue with this
velvety face serum. The result is a warm wash of colour that defines
bone structure in the most believable, easy-to-buff way, or – if
contouring isn’t for you – the look of skin that’s spent a weekend in
Cannes. We’d say that’s a win-win.
Serum Makeup: By Terry Mascara Terrybly, £33.50
Don’t be fooled by this mascara; far from a mere lash-boosting lacquer, it imparts a lengthening serum within the ultra-glossy formula. The tightly packed bristles sculpt in the most voluminous of flutters, while the XXLash complex takes care of condition and promotes healthier, speedier growth.
Serum Makeup: Estée Lauder Youth-Infusing Brightening Serum & Concealer, £28.50
Estée Lauder has crafted a match made in heaven with this dark circle-ditching duo. On one end of the double-sided pen sits a heavy-duty concealer, designed to hide angry breakouts, dark circles and lingering redness.
On the other, you’ll find the Youth-Infusing Brightening Serum, a dewy liquid that hydrates, firms and plies your peepers with colour-correcting optics that deplete shadows. Talk about a dream team.
Serum Makeup: Bourjois Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer, £10.99
For those who like to see their primer – not just feel it on their skin – Bourjois has created a tinted number that draws light to flagging pores. It’s the gold-flecked, rosy pigments that amp up your complexion’s radiance levels, while the light gel texture and serum formula hold beautifying benefits all of their own.
You see, the primer is designed to both boost the glow and hydration in your skin, and the serum makes this job less greasy than other moisturising primers. Skin feels soothed and smooth all day with a dewy – but never shiny – finish that means you won’t be pulling out the powder on the hour.
Serum Makeup: bareMinerals bareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation, £26
Bare Minerals excels in making foundations that are just a joy to apply and wear, and this dewy, brightening serum base might be our favourite of the bunch. A cossetting fluid that keeps skin hydrated through even the longest days, it blends out so beautifully that just a drop is enough to enhance your whole face.
And what of its skincare credentials? This serum is supercharged with Lilac Plant Stem Cells and Vitamin C to promote a brighter, more even-looking skintone. The result is an instant veil of coverage that dials down imperfections and redness, while the hard-working blend pampers skin to makeup-free perfection over time.
