Summer Beauty Bases
This week I’ve gone shopping with my trusty 1980s jelly basket for summer bases. Do you change your foundation in the summer months? You should, if you don’t already. Summer means we can get away with something lighter, more of a tinted moisturiser than an actual foundation. You want to let any summer glow shine through, and if you get a holiday tan, you may need a slightlt different shade anyway.
I love the range of bases available in the beauty market these days, from BBs to CCs, to light foundations, light coverage, tinted moisturisers, and heavier bases for winter, or evenings. Gone are the days of too few shades, too few formulas, and too thick foundation. But I do find if friends ask me beauty questions, invariably it is about their base.
So, here are a super-seven of my favourite bases of the moment, perfect for a summer time beauty change to your norm.
Super-seven summer bases…
Chanel Les Beiges All-In-One Healthy Glow Fluid SPF15, £34, houseofofraser.co.uk This is a really lovely base, and a little goes a long way – whcih is just as wel, because it’s just a 30ml tube. It’s really luminous, light, comfortable on, goes on so easily, and feels so light on. It’s formulated with a complex of cotton flower and white rose plant cells, and also contains a hyaluronic acid derivative to ensure hydration, so it was perfect for my dry skin. It has an SPF15 which is good, but I do prefer a higher SPF on my face if the sun’s out. But you can easily pop and SPF on under this. I used shade No10 – the lightest, and I love it. If I get a bit of a tan, I can mix in a little liquid bronzer.
Aveda Inner Light Mineral Tinted Moisture Broad Spectrum SPF15, £25, aveda.co.uk The shade I have been trialing is 00 Sheer – that means no colour at all. Only for the very brave, and skin-confident. You can add conceler where needed, of course. This is oil-free, and the sheer shade has an almost UV like glow when you first pop it on your hand, but once blended in it gives the most amazing shine and luminosity. I think I would like to try this one under another foundation as well, almost like a luminosity primer.
MAC Face And Body Foundation, £21.50 for 50ml, maccosmetics.co.uk My bottle is a big 120ml bottle, but really 50ml is enough, so thank you MAC for bringing this wonder-base out in a smaller size! I love this base, it provides light to medium buildable coverage, so you can adapt it to your own needs. It gives a natural satin-shine finish – it looks SO natural on. It is skin-conditioning, and it feels brilliant. It’s water-resistant and long-wearing, and I do know that if I have this on, I don’t need to worry about my base all day. A genius product.
Bases in a bag…
Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Multi Targeted BB Cream SPF30, £17, boots.com This one is new to me, and I really like it. It has a high SPF 30 protection which is great for me in theb summer, and it is moisturising and brightening. It’s actually very brightening, thanks to the licorice extract. For some, it may come across as abit too ‘shiny’ but I like the dewy look in the summer. You can use this as a primer, if the coverage isn’t enough for you.
Clarins HydraQuench Tinted Moisturizer SPF15, £230, clarins.co.uk Contains hyaluronic acid and Katafray bark extract, as well as mineral pigments. I wore this every day for about a week, and every time I looked at my skin I was like ‘wow, you look great!’. I really think this base is that good. It moisturises continuously, leaves the skin supple, soft and comfortable, revives the radiance of your skin, and I can honestly say that this gives you a healthy glow. Try it. You will notice this!
Ole Henriksen Perfect Truth CC Creme SPF30, £29, debenhams.com I’m not overly familiar with this brand, so this was exciting to try. It’s a CC cream that promised to brighten, protect 
and perfect your complexion in one step. It contains five sources of Vitamin C and, oh my, the smell – it’s AMAZING! It smells SO good, fresh, citrusy, fruity and good enough to eat!
It also contains tripeptide-5, nourishing ceremides and sodium hyaluronate which all work to reduce fine lines, even skintone and plump and firm. It is a lovely delicate, sheer, illuminating base. It does add luminosity and it does brighten.
I used the light shade, which has a yellow base, and was a good match for me. It comes in Medium as well as Light.
