The sun has not yet set on minimalist make-up, but the long-lived ‘clean girl’ trend is now making space for bolder, more techniques-reliant looks, which a new generation of liquid foundations is helping facilitate.
These new foundation innovations post-’clean girl’ are focusing on weightlessness, long-lastingness and skin care, but in formulas with plenty of coverage oomph too.
“For the past few years we have been in such a minimal, ‘no-make-up make-up’ era, with a huge emphasis on super-dewy skin,” says Amy Liu, founder and CEO of make-up and skin care brand Tower 28.
“But I think we are starting to see the pendulum swing back a little, and we will see a move towards more coverage and natural, softly matte finishes rather than everything being quite so glowy.”
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Commenting on make-up trends generally, Sterling Jones, New York-based beauty historian and founder of The Beauté Study, says: “There is still ‘clean girl’ inspiration – we still have the mauves and the neutrals – but we are now pairing that with the ‘glam girl’ of 2016 with her bold techniques.”
For liquid foundation, this has translated into demand for products marketed as ‘soft natural,’ ‘velvet matte,’ or ‘soft radiance,’ she adds, explaining: “The technology is becoming a lot more in-depth, but the language is more in-depth too.”
Next-generation natural matte foundations
Recent foundation launches veer towards long-wear mattes, such as Rare Beauty’s True to Myself Natural Matte Longwear Foundation, Beauty Red Carpet Skin Luminous Longwear Serum Foundation from Hung Vanngo, and Fenty Beauty’s big September launch Pro Filt'r Fluid Flex Natural Matte Longwear Foundation, which replaced the brand’s Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation.
Rihanna's Fenty Beauty launched a new complexion line, retiring its Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
Formulation-wise, Dr Dominika Andrys, Cosmetic Scientist, Formulator and founder of Beauty Brand Formula and Beauty Brand Hub, shares that “interesting work is happening in film-for
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