When it comes to the best foundation to use, my taste varies from day to day. But one thing I refuse to compromise on is a natural-looking finish. Enter: the e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter.
As someone with quite a lot of skin texture, enlarged pores and acne scarring, you’d assume that I’d avoid glowy foundations with light coverage like the plague, preferring one of the best foundations for oily or acne-prone skin.
But surprisingly, e.l.f’s Halo Glow Liquid Filter - which is probably the most luminous I’ve tried - is one of my all-time favourite foundations, and it’s not just the super affordable price point that keeps me coming back, either.
e.l.f. Is one of my go-to affordable beauty brands for pretty much everything - from lip oils to blushers, the brand never seems to miss. But when I discovered this foundation it immediately took the top spot in my e.l.f. collection.
It's a great foundation for dry or mature skin, thanks to its glowy and super hydrating formula, but here’s how I make it work for my oily/combination skin type…
My review of the e.l.f. Halo Glow Liquid Filter:
Let me get one thing straight from the get-go - this foundation isn’t the one to go for if you’re after full coverage. In fact, I treat it more like a tinted moisturiser than a foundation. The name ‘Liquid Filter’ speaks for itself here, it provides a super light coverage which blurs rather than completely covers any redness or blemishes, allowing the skin to seep through for a natural-looking finish. For this reason I prefer to wear it on days when my blemishes are at a minimum and I want to show off my skin’s natural texture.
Now, let’s talk about the dewy finish, which makes my skin look like it’s just drunk a pint of water. Though this foundation has a discernible sheen in the bottle, when blended into the skin it gives it a glow without any glitter or shimmering particles - so I don’t walk around looking like a vampire from Twilight.
Whenever the weather warms up, I naturally gravitate towards more glowy make-up formulas, and this foundation is no exception. Come summer, I pick a shade or two deeper than my normal foundation, to give my skin an immediate (but barely there) sun-kissed tint. It’s also incredibly hydrating, so it blurs over the dry patches around my nose and between my eyebrows that always seem to crop up come spring.
I’ll be 100% honest with you - if you have oily/combination skin, your T-zone will need a decent dusting of powder immediately after application and throughout the day, but as I’ve already mentioned, my goal when using this foundation isn’t to achieve a flawless, matte and high-coverage base, so this doesn’t bother me.
Crucially, the foundation’s pigment doesn’t break down, clump up or thicken in certain spots (like other lightweight glowy foundations I’ve tried), but instead diffuses throughout the day, so it still looks incredibly natural.
I love to wear it alone on minimal make-up days, but my preferred way to wear it day-to-day is paired with a high-pigment foundation like the Kosas Revealer foundation or Saie Glowy Super Skin Tint - it blends beautifully with other foundation formulas thanks to its lightweight consistency. It’s perfect paired with matte formulas, sheering them out slightly and giving them the dewy/ skin-like finish that I crave.
Overall, this foundation performs way beyond its price tag - right down to its expensive-feeling glass packaging and doe foot applicator. It’s my go-to glowy foundation for days when I want to really show off my natural skin.
