The Ordinary Colours: Serum and Coverage Foundation Review

The furore surrounding the launch of The Ordinary Colours was quite something, and quite rightly, since this is an exciting launch from a very exciting skincare brand.  I was *desperate* to get my hands on these and finally did a little while ago, so I’ve been putting them through their paces ever since.  As you’d expect from anything The Ordinary, these are well-formulated, carefully considered and very budget friendly.

There are two formulas: Serum, which offers a lighter, more blendable coverage and Coverage, which, as the name suggests, provides more coverage, although I’ve found both formulas to be very buildable.  There are 21 shades in both formulas, with each shade detailing which way it leans, so N is neutral, P is Pink, Y is yellow etc. I was sent two of each of the formula, each in the two palest neutral shades, 1.0N and 1.1N, and 1.0N was the perfect match for me.  In the swatch, the 1.0N Serum shade looks a lot more yellow for some reason, but on the face it matches the Coverage – presumably that’s to do with the level of pigment in the products.

The Serum foundation was a big surprise as I was expecting something very sheer, but actually it can go to a medium coverage.  It’s a lovely, light and dewy product that feels and looks great on the skin and would likely suit most tastes other than those who like things very matte, although a touch of powder over the top would make that work.  The Coverage foundation is a really good coverage product that gives a dewy finish too, though it’s less dewy than Serum.  It’s very buildable and looks very natural on the skin, without showing any dryness on tricky patches.

As these are such budget products, if you’re like me and you like a good bit of coverage but still want it to look really natural, I’d go for both Serum and Coverage as you can use Serum all over, the follow with Coverage on areas that need the extra help, which is what I’ve done in the images above.  However, if you don’t need a lot of help, the Serum is a great everyday foundation that gives a lovely finish.  Coverage is also a good bet if you’d prefer to skip the extra step as it blends out beautifully and covers almost everything in its path.  Serum Foundation is £5.70 whilst Coverage is £5.90 and both can be found here – link.

*PR Samples