Rare Beauty’s Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation Gave Me Filtered Skin IRL

We put Rare Beauty's Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation to the test after receiving a complimentary sample from the brand. Keep reading for our full product review.

As a makeup artist, I’m not particularly moved by beauty drops from celebrities. I wonder about the level of involvement and sincerity behind the creation of the products. Are they just trying to cash in? Do the products even hit? These are questions that need answers.

The Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation from Selena Gomez’s brand Rare Beauty has been garnering buzz ever since it debuted. The number of positive product reviews and endorsements from other artists I know made me wonder if Gomez and her team were on to something, so I decided to see what the Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation was about for myself. Keep scrolling for my honest thoughts.

About My Skin: Sensitive, combination, and acne-prone

With my sensitive skin and acne, I keep my complexion routine pretty simple; I always make sure to use products that are non-comedogenic and gentle enough for sensitive skin. When I’m having a minimalist makeup day, I use Tarte's Shape Tape Concealer on my dark spots and will either use the Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder or the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder to set.

When I’m wearing a full face of makeup, I love foundations with sheer to medium coverage that can give me a natural-looking glow, so I usually reach for Armani Beauty's Luminous Silk Liquid Foundation or the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. Since the Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation has buildable coverage with a natural finish, using it in place of my favorite products was pretty easy. Over the course of three weeks, I wore Liquid Touch at home, when I worked, and when I was going out for dinner with friends.

How to Apply: With your fingers, brush, or beauty sponge

Rare Beauty recommends shaking the bottle thoroughly and applying a dot of foundation onto your skin—the foundation is very pigmented, so less is more. The brand also suggests using your fingers or a short-haired, dense foundation brush to buff the product into your skin really well. A beauty sponge works too, but you may find it soaking up a lot of product since the formula is quite thin. 

The Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation is best suited for balanced or combination skin, but Rare Beauty provides application tips for other skin types. For dryer skin, the brand suggests using a hydrating moisturizer and a primer that boosts your skin’s radiance before applying the foundation. For anyone with oily skin, Rare Beauty advises using a primer that blurs over pores and controls oil before applying the foundation and setting with a powder after.

Personally, I never put applicators directly onto my face, especially when I’m experiencing a breakout—I don’t want to risk bacteria ending up on the doe-foot, then cozying up to the remaining product when I put it back in the bottle. Instead, I place the product from the applicator onto the back of my clean hand. Each time I wore the Liquid Touch foundation, I prepped my t-zone with a mattifying primer and used a dense foundation brush for application.

The Results: Velvety, natural-looking skin

When I first applied the Liquid Touch foundation, I was concerned that I didn’t select the right shade. I ordered the shade 380W, which Rare Beauty describes as a medium tan shade with golden undertones, but it looked deeper on the back of my hand before I blended it in. Once I started buffing it into my skin, it matched my complexion perfectly. The brand was right in their description of the formula: It’s so intensely pigmented that you need to work it into your skin well before you can make an accurate assessment of how the shade looks and wears.

The foundation is thin, lightweight, and exactly how I expected a serum-like foundation to feel. When I finished applying it, my skin had a lovely velvety appearance and looked incredibly natural—not overly dewy, matte, or artificial-looking. Only a few of my dark spots were still showing, and I was impressed at how quickly I was able to even out my complexion without my skin looking thick. The brand recommends only adding an extra layer of product in the areas you need it, so I went back in on certain areas of my cheeks and stippled the foundation over the few dark spots that were still visible. It took me less than five minutes to achieve a base that was ready for my blush and bronzer, cutting down my application time for complexion products by five to 10 minutes easily.

The brand recommends that anyone with oily skin use a mattifying primer and powder to set the foundation, and I think that’s an important tip to emphasize. My t-zone is incredibly oily, and after hours of wear, my forehead, nose, and the surrounding skin had a subtle shine—but not enough for me to feel the need to touch it up, thanks to my mattifying primer and translucent powder. If you have super oily skin or prefer a more matte look, don’t skip the brand’s suggestion for primer and powder.

On the Rare Beauty website, the brand claims that the foundation is suitable for sensitive skin, and I back that statement 100 percent—I didn’t experience any stinging, rashes, or itching any time I put it on, which is how my sensitive skin responds when it’s irritated. Wearing this foundation was a total win for me, and Rare Beauty is definitely a celebrity beauty brand I can get behind. If the other products are anything like this foundation, this brand is legit.

The Value: Surprisingly affordable 

Priced at $29 for 30 ml of product, I think the Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation is very affordable for how well it performs and how much is in the bottle. The amount of product is comparable to most foundations, but the price is lower than many of its competitors that perform at the same level. Additionally, you need such a small amount of product that you could have this product for several months before needing to buy another one.

Similar Products: You have options

The Ordinary Serum Foundation: Smoothing over the texture of the skin while remaining incredibly lightweight and natural-looking, The Ordinary's Serum Foundation ($8) is undoubtedly one of the best affordable foundations with a skin-like finish. If you want a product similar to Liquid Touch without having to spend too much, set your sights on this foundation.

MAC Cosmetics Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Hydrating Foundation: If you find that your skin needs a little more moisture with a foundation, MAC's Studio Waterweight SPF 30 Hydrating Foundation ($38) is a hydrating product with a natural, satin finish.