I Tried This New High-Street Foundation, and It Changed My Opinion of the Brand

I’m going to be frank; I’m very rarely raving about a No7 product. The brand has been a mainstay in my mum’s makeup bag for decades, so I would dip in and try things, but I think as I started exploring with the wealth of skincare and makeup brands out there, No7 took a back seat.

However, there’s no denying that the brand knows how to craft a good base product, as it usually mixes in some of its skincare prowess too. And the new Restore & Renew Serum Foundation is no different. The brand describes it as a “multi-benefit” foundation thanks to its ingredient credentials, which include collagen peptide technology, pro-retinol, ceramide complex and vitamin C alongside the SPF 30. With 18 colours to choose from, the shade range is more limited than some other mid-range foundations, but these 18 shades are divided equally between light, medium and deep skin tones.

I went for the shade Amber, and it’s my perfect winter hue. The finish is light, but you can definitely build up coverage to medium if you prefer a fuller look. I applied it with my buffing brush of choice, the By Joyadenuga Foundation Brush ( £18), and it blended so well. Evening out my skin tone is the main thing I look for from my base products, and this foundation does this really well. Sometimes when you have different skin tones across your face, you find yourself having to match one part, and the other can end up looking a bit like a mask, whereas this is so sheer it can be blended and layered up where appropriate. 

You can tell it has skincare qualities, as the texture is really serum-like and smooths on top of other products really well. In terms of lasting power, as it’s a natural-looking finish, if you have oily skin, you’ll need to powder your T-zone throughout the day. I had to do this, but luckily, with translucent powder, there was no caking when I layered it on.