DewscopeFoundation & Concealer3 min read
Rare Beauty Liquid Touch Foundation Review: Dry Skin Verdict
A $30 medium-coverage foundation in 48 shades that feels like a serum but is built on light solvents and silicones. It looks skin-like on prepped skin, and dry or flaky complexions get mixed results.
Our verdict
A comfortable, buildable medium-coverage foundation with a very good 48-shade range. The formula opens with light solvents and silicones rather than water or glycerin, so dry or flaky skin gets mixed results unless you prep well. Wear is fair, not long-lasting, and it will not cover scarring or deep discolouration.
Best forNormal to combination skin wanting a light, skin-like base
What we liked
- 48 shades across light, medium, deep and rich tones
- Fluid texture that blends and builds without looking cakey
- Vegan and cruelty-free, with a botanical blend of lotus and gardenia
- Shade finder quiz and weekday live chat help with matching
What held it back
- No moisturising ingredients near the top of the formula
- Dry or flaky skin gets mixed results without careful prep
- Medium coverage only, so scarring and deep discolouration show
- Wear is comfortable rather than all-day for oilier skin
The name promises a serum, and the ingredient list tells a different story. Open Rare Beauty's full list and the first entries are isohexadecane and isododecane, two light hydrocarbon solvents that evaporate after you blend. There is no water or glycerin at the top. That does not make Liquid Touch a bad foundation for dry or textured skin, but it explains why people with dry skin split into two camps about it.
A plain statement of method: we did not wear this for weeks ourselves. This is a close reading of Rare Beauty's page, its full ingredient list, a shade-range check, and what independent reviewers and shoppers report, weighted by what the formula chemistry makes likely.
What the formula is
Rare Beauty describes a "weightless, smooth-glide formula" with buildable medium coverage that dries to a skin-like finish. The base is a super fluid mix of pigment in light solvents and silicones (dimethicone, PEG-10 dimethicone and a silicone resin appear in the list), with silica for a soft blur and a botanical blend of lotus, gardenia and white water lily. The brand says it is vegan and cruelty-free.
The point is practical. A formula built like this spreads in a thin film and sets quickly, so it looks light. It is also why a bare, dehydrated face can look patchy under it: nothing in the first half of the list adds moisture.
