Q. I would like to find a lighter alternative to foundation. My skin is good but needs a bit of evening out. I just don't want to cover it all up in that kind of mask look.

A. You don't say what foundation you are using currently but it does sound as if it’s too heavy. A few suggestions: there are some wonderfully light textured foundations (or bases as they’re known in the trade). Our go-to base is Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, which looks light as a feather on but does, as they promise, ‘help correct and unify the complexion’. Which means basically that it covers blemishes and evens out skintone, as well as letting your skin glow through – so you never get that mask look.

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation comes in 24 shades and costs £42 online at armanibeauty.co.uk, with free delivery, or in store. (Be careful ordering from other online retailers as we found it being sold at a much higher price.) We always recommend trying foundation before you buy so it’s worth visiting a counter and asking the consultant to dab a bit above your jawline, then checking in daylight (store lighting is often misleading, as we’ve found to our cost). The right shade should ‘disappear’ into your skin.

Now on to BB creams, which you should also investigate.  The one our Beauty Bible testers gave a Gold Award to in our 2017 Beauty Bible Awards was one of our personal favourites, Erborian BB Crème/£36 for 45 ml.

This creamy 3-in-1 formulation promises to combine foundation, sun protection and moisturizer in a titchy, nozzled tube.  The extraordinary thing is that the product comes out pale grey but then adapts to your skin tone as it warms on the skin – what Erborian describes as ‘chameleon colouring’.  It comes in three shades for different categories of skin, Clair, the lightest for pale skins, Doré, best for tanned skin, to Caramel, for darker skin tones.

One tester said: ‘A great product. It gives you a hint of warm colour, covers up minor blemishes and imperfection (though not big brown spots), and made my skin look more even toned, which enhanced radiance. It's good for when you want to look made up but without a heavy foundation.’

Another raved: '101/10 for this light silky crème that gives seamless foolproof application. It's a very effective moisturiser, great make up primer, offers an SPF20 screen, enhances radiance, evens out skin tone, helps disguise thread veins, open pores and small blemishes. A make up artist friend commented on how great my skin looked even though I had been ill and going through a very stressful time. I will 100% replace it as I never want to be without it!' 

For more details and to buy online, click here

Photo by Matthew Kane on Unsplash

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