This new balm foundation is Photoshop levels of good

I’ve had to keep three big secrets this year. My best friend’s engagement. Her fiancé asked me to get involved in the ring-choosing process — and thank goodness he did. This is not the time to “be different”, chaps. Topaz is rarely a good idea. Then there was my pregnancy, although everyone knew the moment I politely declined a glass of red. “She would never,” they correctly whispered behind my back. And the third? Six weeks of having to keep shtoom about one of the best foundations you’ll ever try. There have been NDAs, embargoes and weekly reminders that I had to zip it.
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I first discovered the foundation over breakfast with the founder, Jamie Genevieve, who had flown in from Scotland especially. The PR scoured the room to make sure no one was peeping, she squeezed the formula on to the back of my hand and returned the evidence to its non-branded box. Genevieve started to dab my face, when I noticed an acquaintance walking towards me. We all looked down with a “nothing to see here” smile, although there was lots to see. Half of my face looked flawless.
Indeed, forget the engagement and pregnancy. Not being able to tell you about this foundation has been the almighty struggle. “Sarah, your skin! What’s the secret?” “It’s the Vie … the v v v good foundation!”
But the embargo has finally lifted and I can blurt it out. Vieve Skin Nova Complexion Balm (£34, vievebeauty.com) is being launched on August 29 and it is Photoshop levels of good. No, really. Anything that covers skin this seamlessly is usually mask-like and cakey, but somehow this evens and unifies and yet still feels velvety and bouncy on the skin. I can’t work out what makes it so good. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s a balm, so it’s packed with equal parts hydrating skincare and buildable pigments. I dab it on routinely all over my face in the same way that Genevieve did at our breakfast — less sweeping, more blotting, and the finish is wow-factor skin. My unsightly red burst capillaries? Vanished without a trace. Pigmentation? Gone with the wind. And my general lacklustre reflection is now a glowy skin finish with a beautiful warmth, in that imperceptible way.
On the subject of excellent foundations, I have more newness to share. Many of you will be well acquainted with It Cosmetics’ full-coverage Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream (cultbeauty.co.uk). The renowned campaign shows the rosacea-prone founder applying it to one side of her face — and the result is showstopping. You imagine it can’t live up to the hype when you try it yourself, but it does: people with acne, pigmentation, redness and general unevenness swear by it. Now, by popular demand, the company has masterminded a lighter, dewier counterpart, CC+ Nude Glow Skin Tint (£38, boots.com). This brightening serum gives a fresh-faced, glowing complexion — laid-back, off-duty weekend skin that you will adore and appreciate for day to day.
While talking bases, I feel it’s my duty to touch on Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint Hydrating Foundation Stick (£35, sephora.co.uk) because people keep asking about the coverage. I am 99 per cent on board with the name: “Unreal”: a bit dramatic, but yes. “Sheer”: correct, yes. “Glow”: definitely, yes! “Tint”: big, huge yes. “Hydration”: sure, yes. “Foundation”: hold on. This delivers luminous, candlelit radiance, but a traditional foundation that covers and evens out skin? This is not it. I know this comes down to a personal, preconceived notion of why you use a foundation. If you’re in the market for ultra-light coverage then this is a treat. For trickier skin types like mine, I adore using it under foundation.
I can hear the tut-tuts when I recommend this final foundation because the price tag is astronomical. I would normally steer clear of recommending a product that’s over £100 but a make-up artist used Clé De Peau Beauté Radiant Cream Foundation (£113, cultbeauty.co.uk) on me and the glamorous, porcelain skin finish for the day ahead was quite something. Think Instagram’s smoothing “Paris” filter without any filter. Take note of my “day ahead” claim — I don’t make that point lightly. While many foundations have a tendency to slip and slide away by lunchtime, this formula looked immaculate for the entire day. If your bank balance allows it, then it is my duty to put this on your radar. And while waxing lyrical about Clé De Peau Beauté, I will throw its Concealer (£55, cultbeauty.co.uk) into the ring because the creamy stick is a work of art. Like a magic wand, it can make all my brown patches and skin gripes disappear without your being able to detect a mark of make-up.
But I’ve digressed. Back to base. What a relief to get all these secrets off my chest today. With September around the corner and that new season mood creeping up on us, it’s time to lay the foundations for your back-to-work complexion.