This foundation is worth the hype—it's the best product I've put on my face in months

As a beauty editor I’m lucky enough to be sent my fair share of make-up, but nothing gets me as excited as a new foundation landing on my desk. I can rarely be bothered with wearing eyeshadow or lipstick but I love my skin to look amazing, and the best foundation is a confidence boost in a bottle, instantly making me look fresher, healthier and more polished. And from the moment I tried it, Shiseido’s newest face base has become my firm favourite.

Shiseido Revitalessence Skin Glow Foundation launched at the end of last year and swiftly became one of the most talked about foundations of 2023, with no end of influencers, MUAs and beauty editors rave about it on social media. I was immediately hooked in by its name (I’ll always opt for a radiant over a matte foundation finish), and I like Shiseido skincare, which this is packed full of.

For context, I have combination skin that gets shiny down the T-zone yet patchy around the cheekbones and eyes—and I also often have spots (or post-spot scars) around my chin and redness around my nose that I want covered. I want light, natural-looking coverage—but I need something more than a skin tint. A tough challenge for any foundation, I’m sure you’ll agree.

But after using Shiseido Revitalessence for about a month, I just honestly couldn’t be more obsessed with it. It has a fairly runny consistency that melts seamlessly into the skin at the lightest swipe (I like to use my best foundation brush, but it goes on just as well with a sponge or fingers)—not a hint of patchiness, streakiness or cakiness; it almost becomes the skin. It pairs really well with Shiseido’s new Revitalessence Skin Glow Primer, or in fact any primer, SPF or moisturiser.

The finish is eggshell-like—naturally radiant but not shimmery or dewy—and it feels like it’s really doing my skin some good, thanks to ingredients such as probiotic-rich kefir and niacinamide. It’s such an elegant formula, and it’s just really beautifying; it genuinely makes me excited to look at my skin in the mirror when it’s on, and I look forward to applying it every morning.

The coverage is light-to-medium, and lasts pretty well throughout a normal working day; I definitely need to follow with a concealer over more stubborn spots, and if I was going out for the night I’d probably choose something a little more robust, such as Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation.

Skin Glow is available in a fairly good 28 shades—although it’s not the easiest to find your correct match. There aren’t many Shiseido counters in the UK and there isn’t a handy ‘Find Your Foundation’ tool on the brand’s website (you can do the virtual try-on but it’s not very accurate). If it helps, I have shade 210 Birch, but could probably do with going one shade up.

The other major downside is the price. At £49, it’s one of the more expensive foundations on the market—but a bottle of foundation lasts me about a year, and I would absolutely buy this again. While I’m happy to save on some beauty buys (I think the best mascaras and cleansers are high street ones, for example), I’ve been buying designer foundations since I was 18 (I still remember the joy I felt upon buying my very first posh one: Dior Forever Skin Glow, bought from Fenwick in York with the earnings from my university job at Starbucks). And after reaching for Shiseido Revitalessence Skin Glow Foundation every day for the last month, for me, it’s worth the money. 

But if you are looking for some alternatives, here are a couple of other favourites: