Boots No7 Essentially Natural Foundation 40ml - Warm Ivory

Product Information

This Beautifully Matte foundation held nicely throughout the day and we think it’s definitely better suited for oily skin types. We particularly liked that our T-zone wasn’t oily at the end of the day, which takes some doing. As promised, this foundation truly did give a matte look, although if you apply too much we found that this full-coverage foundation left our faces looking a bit cakey.

No7 Essentially Natural Foundation - Boots

Each No7 foundation was tested on our face with a silicone primer and a water-based primer. We also tested these No7 foundations with a foundation brush and a beauty blender in an attempt to mimic the various combinations we expect you will use and experience. I'm the same age as you OP and have been looking for the same holy grail as you for a few years now. We were unimpressed with this No7 foundation almost immediately. When applied with a foundation brush we could see streaks on top of the skin that clung to dry patches. We’re unsure why Boots doesn’t offer the same shade range across each type of foundation, or why it can be so difficult to tell which shade you are in each type.

Identify your skin tone

Out of all the foundations in this No7 foundation group test, the Essentially Natural foundation gave the lightest coverage Even though it gave light-to-medium coverage, it covered blemishes well and the shade matched almost exactly. This would be the perfect everyday foundation, it worked well with both primers and gave a lovely natural finish – our skin looked like, well, skin. We did favour the beauty blender application because it gave a smoother-looking complexion, but the difference was marginal. Also worth trying Dior Forever. Again it covers well but feels light on the skin and is great around the eyes. The consistency is a light-medium runny liquid, and this gave light coverage. It did leave our skin with a glow, as the Luminate part of its name would suggest, but we instantly had to powder our oily areas. The foundation overall felt like it would slip off the face no matter which primer you use. Given that this is one of the most expensive No7 foundations in the range, we were highly disappointed.

No7 Essentially Natural Foundation 40ml - Boots No7 Essentially Natural Foundation 40ml - Boots

We’re very pleasantly surprised by how well this foundation performed. So much so, it surpassed our previous favourite No7 foundation, the No7 Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation. The Restore and Renew Serum foundation gave us light-to-medium coverage and it masked our blemishes with ease. Over the day, this No7 foundation felt breathable and it sat well on our face without ever settling into our fine lines or wrinkles. It was the only No7 foundation that didn’t sit in any flaky patches on the skin, making this the best No7 foundation for dry skin. What’s more, we didn’t even have to touch up our oily T-zone as much as we expected. The No7 Stay Perfect foundation is highly buildable and works well with a silicone primer. It was easy to work into the skin and it gave a natural finish, which we likedThe shade matched our skin tone very well and it gave a natural finish. We also loved that it left our skin looking glowing, smooth and most of all healthy.

No7 | Foundation - Boots No7 | Foundation - Boots

Take a look at your bare skin in the mirror in natural light to identify which skin tone you have, ranging from fair, light, medium, medium/rich and rich. You might find that instead of just being one tone, you’re a combination of a few skin tones such as light-medium or medium-rich. If you’re really struggling to work out what type of skin tone you have, ask a friend to help or visit a local beauty counter for assistance. Knowing which skin tone you have will make it a lot easier to determine which foundation colour will suit you most.

Check your undertone

Despite the fact it gave decent coverage with a single application, we did try building it a little more to see how well it would cope and it performed admirably. It didn’t leave our skin looking caked. The shade came out lighter than expected, which is largely because of its SPF15 rating. The foundation worked well with silicone and water-based primers, and we preferred the look we used with the foundation brush because we felt it gave that bit more coverage where needed. Using a beauty blender gave more of a natural finish, which this foundation is designed to do and is ideal if that’s what you’re going for. I like the EL Futurist Hydra Rescue one - it covers the redness in my cheeks really well but is not ageing around the eyes like Double Wear.