Creating a Skincare Foundation Brand: Combining Makeup and Skincare

According to a QYR search report on Google, the global cosmetic foundation market is expected to reach $1.85 billion by 2029. The report also pointed out that the cosmetic foundation market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be 6.7% in the next few years. This growth is mainly due to the rising demand for beauty products, especially the increasing demand for multifunctional skincare foundations.

Many may be curious about what a nourishing liquid foundation is and how it differs from a traditional liquid foundation. Simply put, a nourishing liquid foundation provides concealer effects and is rich in skincare ingredients, which nourish the skin and improve its health while applying makeup. On the other hand, traditional liquid foundations focus more on makeup effects and lack the added function of skin care.

Finding the proper liquid foundation manufacturer is vital to create your skin care foundation brand. In this article, I will take you through the most popular skincare foundation brands and products and show you how to successfully create your nourishing liquid foundation product line from scratch.

What is Skincare Foundation

Regarding the skincare foundation, Bobbi Brown’s Serum Foundation is one of the representative products, but it is not as good as advertised. As a personal experience, I wouldn’t say I like it, and many users and bloggers have mixed reviews.

In addition to the Bobbi Brown’s Serum Foundation, Estée Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Liquid Foundation and Dior Prestige Le Nectar De Teint foundation also claim to contain high concentrations of skin care ingredients that can nourish the skin.

So, what is a skincare foundation? Can it protect the skin? Many luxury makeup brands add skin care ingredients to their liquid foundations, but whether these ingredients are effective in cosmetics is worth discussing.

As the name suggests, skincare foundation refers to adding skincare ingredients to the liquid foundation. For example, Bobbi Brown Serum Foundation contains 20 skincare essences to moisturize and repair freeze-dried skin, while Estée Lauder Liquid Foundation contains repairing ingredients such as linseed oil. These ingredients do have skincare effects. When they are added to essences or creams, they can help repair the skin. However, whether they can also work is questionable when they are added to a liquid foundation.

The reason is that before applying foundation, the skin has completed the basic skin care steps (such as essences, lotions, etc.). The membrane formed by these skin care products has played a sealing role, and the nutrients the skin can absorb are completed. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the skin care ingredients in the liquid foundation can be effectively absorbed by the skin, and the skin care effect may be minimal.

In addition, the liquid foundation itself is not used for skin care. So why do brands still add these ingredients to liquid foundation? The fundamental reason is that they hope to reduce the potential damage of makeup to the skin by adding skincare ingredients. Even if it cannot significantly improve the skin condition, it can at least play a specific protective role to prevent harmful cosmetic ingredients from burdening the skin.

Top 10 Best-Selling Skincare Foundations: A Market Overview

RMS Beauty – UnCoverup Cream Foundation

• Coverage: Medium
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Cream

RMS Beauty’s “UnCover-Up Cream Foundation” is a skincare cream foundation designed to provide natural, buildable coverage while creating a lightweight, luminous finish. Its unique formula combines cold centrifuged organic coconut oil, wild-caught Brazilian palm oil, and organic jojoba oil to ensure skin is deeply nourished and hydrated. The foundation also contains RMS’ signature adaptogenic herbal blend, carefully selected by brand founder Rose-Marie, which includes nine proprietary adaptogenic ingredients. Not only does this herbal blend help even out skin tone and texture, calms the skin and improves overall skin texture.

ILIA – True Skin Serum Foundation

• Coverage: Medium
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Liquid

ILIA Beauty’s True Skin Serum Foundation is a lightweight foundation designed to provide medium coverage with a natural finish. This innovative formula combines powerful skincare ingredients like Niacinamide and Allantoin to work synergistically to visibly improve the appearance of skin. Over time, these ingredients reduce the appearance of uneven skin tone and texture, leaving skin looking more even-toned and smoother.

IT COSMETICS – Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare

• Coverage: Medium
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Liquid

Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare is an innovative, hydrating foundation designed to help you achieve a more beautiful complexion and a flawless, bare-skin look in just two weeks. This medium-coverage foundation reduces the appearance of pores and imperfections and provides all-day hydration and a natural glow. Its unique formula contains hyaluronic acid, aloe vera extract, and vitamins E and B5 to deeply nourish the skin and visibly improve its texture.

IT Cosmetics combined the expertise of plastic surgeons with the skincare knowledge of dermatologists to develop this skin-loving formula, ensuring you get noticeable results.

NARS – Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation

• Coverage: Medium
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Liquid

Winner of an Allure Best of Beauty Award, NARS Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation is an advanced makeup-skincare hybrid foundation. Designed to deliver a natural finish, it quickly blurs and smoothes skin while improving skin clarity.

The foundation contains up to 70% of skincare ingredients, including Biomimetic Oatmeal, to visibly improve skin clarity. At the same time, Cocoa Peptides and Milk Thistle feature a light-reflecting complex that helps enhance the skin’s natural radiance. Additionally, Japanese Ophiopogon helps retain moisture and supports a strong skin barrier.

M.A.C – Studio Radiance Serum Powered Foundation

Coverage: Light
Finish: Natural
Formulation: Liquid

Studio Radiance Serum Powered Foundation is a new, innovative foundation that instantly hydrates the skin by over 209%, leaving it plumper, smoother, and more radiant. This breakthrough foundation not only provides instant hydration, but over time, it helps skin appear more hydrated, healthier, and more radiant all day long. The formula contains up to 80% skincare bases and 33 ingredients, specially enhanced with 10% hyaluronic acid solution, olive oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E to nourish the skin deeply.

Kosas Cosmetics – Revealer Skin-Improving Foundation SPF 25

• Coverage: Medium
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Liquid

This medium-coverage, sun-protective foundation provides a natural, dreamy finish that blends instantly like a second skin to blur, smooth, and visibly minimize the appearance of pores. Formulated with a powerful blend of Hyaluronic Acid, Niacinamide, Peptides, Squalane, Vitamin B5, Arnica, and Caffeine, it’s clinically proven to hydrate, brighten, soothe, plump, and protect—a clean sun-protective foundation for the skincare fanatic.

Iris&Romeo – Best Skin Days™ SPF 30

• Coverage: Light
• Finish: Radiant
• Formulation: Cream

This tinted moisturizer combines makeup, skincare, and SPF 30 protection to provide natural coverage and radiant, dewy results while protecting skin from UVA/UVB and blue light.

1. Hyaluronic Acid & Glycerin: As excellent humectants, hyaluronic acid locks in moisture deeply, while glycerin helps retain moisture to ensure skin stays hydrated for long periods.
2. Vitamin C & Bulgarian Damascus Rose Complex: High concentrations of serum ingredients support natural collagen production and improve skin firmness and elasticity.
3. Non-Nano Mineral Zinc Oxide: As a reef-friendly SPF 30 shield, it protects against UVA/UVB and blue light to ensure skin safety.
4. Vitamin E: With powerful antioxidant protection, it helps fight free radicals, slowing down factors that can cause skin damage and accelerate aging.

ROSE INC – Skin Tint Serum Foundation

• Coverage: Light
• Finish: Radiant
• Formulation: Cream

This product is a lightweight, non-comedogenic tinted serum designed to plump and smooth skin for a clear, skin-like finish. It contains Sodium Hyaluronate to visibly plump skin and smooth the appearance of fine lines, Squalane, a 100% plant-derived humectant to help increase skin moisture, and Acetyl Tetrapeptide-2 to provide an adequate environment to Protect and keep skin healthy and vibrant.

Bobbi Brown – Intensive Serum Foundation SPF 40/30

• Coverage: Light
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Liquid

This serum foundation with SPF contains 75% skincare ingredients, including cordyceps, to provide fuller, brighter-looking makeup instantly and over the long term. It boosts the skin’s natural vitality with the energy of cordyceps and ginseng, leaving the skin looking healthier and more radiant. It effectively replenishes moisture, plumps and softens the skin, and reduces the appearance of fine lines and dryness. The formula also contains a broad-spectrum UV filter, deep sea ferments, and vitamin E to protect against the sun, free radicals, pollution, and blue light, ensuring a non-cakey, non-crease, true-to-color makeup that is also sweat-, humidity- and water-resistant.

Estee Lauder – Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Liquid Foundation SPF 20

• Coverage: Medium to Full
• Finish: Natural
• Formulation: Liquid

Re-Nutriv Ultra Radiance Liquid Foundation SPF 20 is a luxurious liquid foundation designed to provide skin with long-lasting hydration and radiance. Infused with advanced Re-Nutriv skincare technology, its formula helps skin feel soft and smooth while improving the evenness of skin tone and minimizing the appearance of imperfections and pores. The foundation’s silky texture provides moisture for long-lasting, fresh-looking, moisturized skin. In addition, SPF 20 protects against UVA and UVB rays, helps maintain skin elasticity and density, and prevents the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, while sodium hyaluronate provides intense hydration.

Skincare Foundation vs. Traditional Foundation: Key Differences

Skincare Foundation is a product that combines skincare and makeup functions. It has a light and breathable texture and can give the skin a healthy and natural luster. Compared with traditional liquid foundation, it is not just a cosmetic but also rich in various nutrients, which can effectively improve skin problems such as dullness and large pores.

The following are the main differences between skincare foundation and ordinary foundation:

Product Efficacy

The function of skincare foundation is not limited to concealing blemishes but also provides skin care effects such as moisturizing, repairing, and care so that the skin can be nourished while applying makeup.

Ordinary liquid foundation mainly focuses on covering skin blemishes and even skin tone.

Product Ingredients

Skincare foundation usually contains vitamins, antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, etc., to help repair and nourish the skin.

The ingredients of ordinary liquid foundation focus more on providing makeup with lasting effect and concealing ability and may not contain additional skincare ingredients.

Product Texture and Use of Feeling

Skincare foundation has a light texture and is more suitable for people with more skin problems or who need extra nourishment.

Regular liquid foundations have a thicker texture and robust coverage, but they may clog pores and burden sensitive or unhealthy skin.

In general, skincare foundations are more suitable for consumers who want skincare benefits during makeup. In contrast, regular liquid foundations are ideal for users who need higher coverage and long-lasting makeup effects.

Market Trends of Skin Care Foundation

Multifunctional Products

More and more makeup brands are incorporating skincare ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and antioxidants into their foundations, providing multiple benefits such as moisturizing, repairing, and sun protection.

Light Texture

More and more consumers are choosing light and breathable foundations to achieve a natural finish and comfort rather than heavy makeup.

Clean Ingredients

As consumers pay more attention to ingredient safety, many brands launch non-toxic, chemical-free skin care foundations, emphasizing “clean beauty.”

Personalized Customization

Some brands, such as Fenty Beauty、M.A.C, offer personalized customization services, allowing consumers to choose the right ingredients and shades based on their skin tone and skin type.

Sustainable Packaging

The rise in environmental awareness has made sustainable packaging a trend, with many international brands considering reducing the use of plastics in their designs and using recyclable or refillable materials.

Suitable for Sensitive Skin

Skincare foundations increasingly pay attention to sensitive skin needs, launching fragrance-free and non-irritating formulas to ensure safety and comfort.

Technological innovation

Using advanced technologies such as microencapsulation technology (Serum Foundation) and bioengineered ingredients to enhance the performance and effect of foundation, achieving better makeup and skin care effects.

Does Skincare Foundation Harm the Skin

The ingredients of skincare liquid foundations of different brands are different. Some products may contain ingredients that are harmful to the skin, such as alcohol, fragrances, certain chemical preservatives, etc. These ingredients may cause skin irritation, allergies, or dryness. However, the ingredients of most skincare liquid foundations have been strictly tested and verified to ensure safety and applicability to the skin. Therefore, correctly choosing a skincare liquid foundation that suits your skin type and following the correct method of use will generally not cause harm to the skin. If you are allergic to a product ingredient or have other skin problems, please consult a professional before use.

How to Choose the Right Skincare Foundation for Your Brand

Are you searching for the perfect skincare foundation for your makeup routine? There are several key factors to consider when choosing the proper skincare foundation for your brand. Let’s dive in and explore what to consider when selecting the best foundation for your brand.

Building a Skincare Foundation Brand: Know Your Customer

When choosing the best foundation manufacturer to build your brand, you should research and determine your target market’s age, skin type, and their needs, preferences, and pain points. Consider what your audience values, such as clean ingredients, cruelty-free options, or specific effects (matte, dewy)

• Skin Type: Understanding your customer’s skin type (oily, dry, combination, or sensitive) is fundamental to choosing a foundation formula. This will directly impact their needs for foundation texture and ingredients.
• Coverage: What level of coverage do your customers want? Customers vary in their coverage needs. Some customers may seek full coverage to hide imperfections, while others may prefer a lightweight, buildable formula for a natural finish.
• Finish: The type of finish (matte, dewy, or satin) is crucial to your foundation’s overall look and feel. Understanding your customers’ preferences can help you choose the right products to meet their aesthetic needs.
• Long-Lasting Makeup: Long-lasting makeup is a key feature that many customers care about, especially those needing makeup to stay on all day. When choosing a foundation, consider waterproof formulas or products designed for long-lasting makeup to meet customers’ needs for makeup to last longer.
• Key Ingredients: Customers may focus on skincare ingredients in foundations, such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, peptides, and antioxidants, or look for foundations with specific benefits, such as anti-aging properties, sun protection, or deep nourishment.

With Xiran Cosmetics Foundation Manufacturers: Find the Right Skin Care Foundation

After fully understanding the target market and customer information, when selecting a liquid foundation supplier, communicate the required product features to the supplier. This communication will directly affect your brand reputation and customer satisfaction.

• Expertise and Experience: Working closely with Xiran Cosmetics, we have a team of professional engineers with over 15 years of experience specializing in formulation and manufacturing. We can customize a unique skincare foundation based on your specific requirements.
• Samples and Testing: We provide free custom samples for you to test and evaluate. Once the product arrives, you can perform a makeup test to evaluate the texture, coverage, and overall performance. If you have any questions, we always welcome your suggestions for revisions.
• Packaging Design Options: Choose a practical and beautiful design to ensure consumers can easily use and apply the foundation. At the same time, considering that some customers attach importance to recyclable and sustainable packaging, we provide environmentally friendly packaging solutions that meet current market needs.
• Ingredient Safety: Ensuring that all ingredients comply with safety regulations in the target market is critical to winning consumer trust and maintaining brand integrity.
• Labeling Requirements: Familiarize yourself with relevant labeling laws to ensure that all claims on the packaging are accurate and compliant.

Summary

Choosing the proper foundation manufacturer is critical to running a successful makeup business. In the process of working with Xiran Cosmetics to develop a skin care liquid foundation, it is crucial to fully understand the target market and customer needs. With more than 15 years of professional experience, our engineers can provide unique formulas based on customers’ requirements. In addition, we provide free customized samples to ensure that customers can evaluate the texture and performance of the product in actual use and make necessary adjustments at any time.

In terms of packaging design, we focus on the combination of practicality and aesthetics while taking sustainability into consideration to meet the needs of modern consumers for environmentally friendly products. Finally, ensuring ingredient safety and label compliance is the basis for maintaining brand credibility and consumer trust. Through these efforts, we are committed to creating high-quality skin care liquid foundations for our customers and enhancing brand value and market competitiveness.