Why <em>Bazaar </em>Editors Love Hourglass’s New Luminous Foundation for Summer

Reported by Harper's Bazaar.

Summer beauty has a reputation for stripping things back — skin tints, SPF sticks, the general fantasy of waking up and looking effortlessly dewy without doing anything. Which is why it's worth paying attention when a medium-coverage foundation becomes the obsessive pick of an entire beauty team heading into the hottest months of the year.

The product in question is Hourglass's Illusion Luminous Glow Foundation SPF 30, and according to Harper's Bazaar, multiple editors across different skin types and foundation habits have quietly made it a daily staple. The formula leans on hyaluronic microspheres to hydrate, blur, and even tone without the cakey, crease-prone finish that makes most SPF-infused, medium-coverage foundations such a gamble by noon. The editors tested it through full office days and reported that it looked as fresh at the end of the day as it did at first application — no separation, no transfer, no grease.

Who It's Actually For

Beauty director Jenna Rosenstein, who has dry, reactive skin and describes herself as particular about foundations, called out the finish specifically: genuinely glowy, with a natural sheen that reads healthy rather than sparkly or slick. Her one caveat — the formula runs on the thicker side and carries a faint sunscreen scent. Commerce editor Katie Intner, who rarely reaches for foundation at all, found herself wearing it to the office on ordinary days; she noted a bouncy, water-like initial texture that melts into skin like a tint despite its fuller coverage. Beauty commerce editor Tiffany Dodson Davis pointed to the nearly five-star Sephora rating as validation, adding that the formula pairs well with a separate sunscreen rather than replacing it. The SPF 30 is a bonus, not a substitution. Technique matters too — a densely packed foundation brush lets you buff the coverage exactly where you need it.

The Illusion builds on Hourglass's existing reputation with their Veil Hydrating Skin Tint, delivering more coverage without sacrificing that lit-from-within finish the brand has become known for. It's a harder brief to execute than it sounds — most formulas that promise glow-with-coverage end up doing neither particularly well. This one seems to have figured out the ratio.

If your summer skin routine has always been about doing less, this is the rare foundation that earns a permanent spot in the lineup without asking you to compromise on how your skin actually looks.

Read the original at Harper's Bazaar.