Out of all the versions in this group No7 foundation review, the No7 Restore & Renew Serum Foundation was our favourite. It gave us light-to-medium coverage and it masked our blemishes with ease. The shade matched our skin tone very well and it gave a natural finish.
A close second was the No7 Stay Perfect Superlight. Even though it gave light-to-medium coverage, it covered blemishes well and the shade matched almost exactly. This would be the perfect everyday foundation, it worked well with both primers and gave a lovely natural finish – our skin looked like, well, skin.
No7 Stay Perfect Foundation was in third place, while the Essentially Natural Foundation came in, in fourth and the No7 Lift & Luminate Triple Action Serum Foundationcoring just 1 out of five for consistency, staying power, and longevity despite being one of the most expensive.
I put the Boots No7 foundation range to the test to determine which is the best No7 foundation with before and after photos
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Best No7 foundations at a glance
No7 has, in many ways, changed the game when it comes to affordable, effective skincare and makeup and this includes its wide foundation range.
There are 18 No7 foundations and they average at £15 each, which we’d consider as mid-range, if not erring on the side of cheap/affordable.
I explain more about which foundations I tested (and why I couldn’t review all of the foundations) below.
You can also jump to the relevant sections by clicking the links in the box to the left.
If you’re not yet sure which No7 foundation shade you need, Boots offers a couple of options.
It has a Foundation Finder tool on its website, or you can access its Foundation Analysis tool from the No7 Beauty site. Alternatively, you can arrange a virtual consultation with a No7 expert in-store. If you opt for this route, you can also take away some foundation samples to help you decide at home.
We’ve also got a guide on how to find your perfect foundation match AND an in-depth guide to the No7 foundation shades in our No7 foundation colour chart.
Or keep reading to discover what I think are the best No7 foundations.
READ NEXT: How to find your perfect foundation match online and in-store
If you want to jump straight to the winner, click here.
Clicking the link on each product name will take you to the corresponding No7 foundation review below.
WANT MORE GROUP TESTS? Best MAC mascara | Best Benefit mascara | Best Charlotte Tilbury foundations | Best MAC foundations | Best Drunk Elephant moisturiser
Price: £18.50 | Buy now
mamabella rating: 1/5
We were unimpressed with this No7 foundation almost immediately. When applied with a foundation brush we could see streaks on top of the skin that clung to dry patches
We were unimpressed with this No7 foundation makeup almost immediately. When applied with a foundation brush we could see streaks on top of the skin that clung to dry patches.
The result was better when we used a beauty blender however, the Lift & Luminate Triple Action Serum foundation did still cling to dry patches – regardless of whether we were using the silicone primer or the water-based one. Although it was worse when used with the former.
The consistency is a light-medium runny liquid, and this gave light coverage. It did leave our skin with a glow, as the Luminate part of its name would suggest, but we instantly had to powder our oily areas. The foundation overall felt like it would slip off the face no matter which primer you use. Given that this is one of the most expensive No7 foundations in the range, we were highly disappointed.
@victoria_woolly_web This is the first of the No7 foundations I’ve tested…with more to come next week and later in July! #fyp #foundations #foundation #foundationmakeup #foundationroutine #makeup #liquidfoundation #foundationday #beauty #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #tiktok #love #like #follow #fypge #likeforlikes #foryourpage # ♬ Sunroof – Nicky Youre & dazy
Price: £15 | Buy now
mamabella rating: 2/5
mamabella | mamabella This foundation contains SPF15 and the consistency holds the SPF, which is why there was a slight white cast. We suggest going a shade darker
We found this No7 foundation left our skin looking ashy at first. It did slightly oxidise, but we still had to add a little bronzer to warm our complexion up. This foundation contains SPF15 and the consistency holds the SPF, which is why there was a slight white cast. We suggest going a shade darker.
READ NEXT: What is SPF and why is it so important?
This Beautifully Matte foundation held nicely throughout the day and we think it’s definitely better suited for oily skin types. We particularly liked that our T-zone wasn’t oily at the end of the day, which takes some doing. As promised, this foundation truly did give a matte look, although if you apply too much we found that this full-coverage foundation left our faces looking a bit cakey.
The consistency and texture are rather thick and almost mousse-like, and we found it hard to work into the skin because we noticed it can dry quite quickly. You really have to work hard to blend this No7 foundation in.
It’s a lot easier with a damp beauty blender than a foundation brush, but it did cling to dry patches regardless of our application technique or which primer we used. Also, the sacrifice we had to make for matte skin is that it left our complexion looking a little flat.
@victoria_woolly_web WTF is that applicator though day 48: No7 Beautifully Matte #fyp #fypシ #foundations #mamabella #no7 #foundationreview #makeuptiktok #foundationtest ♬ Sunroof – Nicky Youre & dazy
Price: £10 | Buy now
mamabella rating: 2/5
Out of all the foundations in this No7 foundation group test, the Essentially Natural foundation gave the lightest coverage
Out of all the foundations in this No7 foundation group test, the Essentially Natural foundation gave the lightest coverage.
The shade came out lighter than expected, which is largely because of its SPF15 rating. The foundation worked well with silicone and water-based primers, and we preferred the look we used with the foundation brush because we felt it gave that bit more coverage where needed. Using a beauty blender gave more of a natural finish, which this foundation is designed to do and is ideal if that’s what you’re going for.
We thought this foundation would be runny due to the fact it gives such a natural finish but it actually has a thicker, light/medium consistency. It was very easy to work into the skin and didn’t cling to our dry patches on our skin.
It blended nicely, but towards lunchtime, we noticed that it sunk into the creases on our forehead, and into our fine lines/wrinkles. Our T-zone became rather oily, quickly. We needed to touch this foundation up during the day otherwise our skin would have been super shiny by the evening.
Price: £15 | Buy now
mamabella rating: 3/5
The No7 Stay Perfect foundation is highly buildable and works well with a silicone primer. It was easy to work into the skin and it gave a natural finish, which we liked
The No7 Stay Perfect foundation is highly buildable and works well with a silicone primer. It was easy to work into the skin and it gave a natural finish, which we liked.
It doesn’t really give full coverage to begin with, which is why you’ll need to build up to that kind of coverage if that’s what you’re after. As a result, the No7 Stay Perfect foundation could be a good foundation to cover all bases – lighter coverage for the day and fuller coverage at night. It also offers true-to-colour shade, even with SPF15.
The consistency and texture are medium and we found using a makeup brush gives more of a medium coverage while using a beauty blender gives a lighter look. Despite it being called Stay Perfect, it did leave our T-zone rather oily at the end of the day.
@victoria_woolly_web A drop of 10 percentage points is the top end of average. Yet the finish isn’t as drying as this would suggest #fyp #fypシ #viral #mamabella #foundationtest #foundations #foundationreview #foundation #bestfoundation #bestfoundationuk #bestfoundationever #bestfoundationforoilyskin #bestfoundationformatureskin #hydratedskin #hydration #hydrationstation ♬ BREAK MY SOUL – Beyoncé
Key ingredients
We’ve listed the key ingredients and their benefits in the No7 Stay Perfect foundation below.
What other No7 Stay Perfect foundation reviews say:
“I always use this foundation, never fails me. Best applied with a damp beauty blender for a fuller-looking coverage or foundation brush. Very good match to my natural skin tone and doesn’t leave my face looking cakey.” – Daniella
“After trying this foundation I’m not liking it because it sits in any lines under your eyes and makes your skin look flat and dull. Coverage not medium, more like light.” – Juniepoos
Price: £19.95 | Buy now
mamabella rating: 5/5
mamabella | mamabella The No7 Restore and Renew foundation is the best No7 foundation of all the versions we’ve tried
We’re very pleasantly surprised by how well this foundation performed. So much so, it surpassed our previous favourite No7 foundation, the No7 Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation. The Restore and Renew Serum foundation gave us light-to-medium coverage and it masked our blemishes with ease.
The shade matched our skin tone very well and it gave a natural finish. We also loved that it left our skin looking glowing, smooth and most of all healthy.
The consistency is quite runny because it is such a lightweight foundation, but this consistency means it’s easily buildable, too. We used two pumps and that was enough coverage for the whole face and onto our neck, we heavily moisturised our skin instead of using a primer and it worked really beautifully.
It also played nicely with our concealer, bronzer and blusher. It gave our concealer a good base to blend into and our face didn’t feel sticky after applying the foundation.
Over the day, this No7 foundation felt breathable and it sat well on our face without ever settling into our fine lines or wrinkles. It was the only No7 foundation that didn’t sit in any flaky patches on the skin, making this the best No7 foundation for dry skin. What’s more, we didn’t even have to touch up our oily T-zone as much as we expected.
@victoria_woolly_web The second No7 foundation on test: Restore and Renew #fyp #fypシ #mamabella #foundationreview #foundations #foundations #makeuptiktok #foundationtest #viral #no7 #bootsuk @No7 ♬ Sunroof – Nicky Youre & dazy
There are 18 No7 foundations – 12 of which are liquid foundations and of these, two are classed as tinted moisturisers, and one is a BB cream. The rest are compacts (one); powders (three); or come in stick form. Additionally, two have been discontinued.
This left eight like-for-like liquid No7 foundations we could test. We picked the top five but we plan to review all of the foundations on this list.
Asterisks next to the foundations listed below are those we reviewed for this No7 foundation group test.
SHOP NO7 FACE RANGE
In a bid to make sense of the different No7 foundation shades we’ve created the following infographic.
It lists each of the Boots No7 foundation shades in order with their corresponding numbers and undertones (where available). We’ve then mapped these shades to the relevant foundations.
Note: The higher the number the lighter the foundation. All of the No7 foundation shades on the graphic below are in shade order running from fair to deep.
In addition to these shades, the No7 HydraLuminous AquaRelease Skin Perfector comes in the shades Fair, Light, Medium, Medium Rich, Rich and Deep. The No7 Intelligent Colour Foundation comes in the shades Fair Light, Fair, Medium, Rich and Deep.
CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE THE FILE IN A NEW TAB
mamabella | mamabella For this No7 foundation group test, we centred on the liquid options in order to make the most direct like-for-like comparison.
However, because the shade choices across these ranges vary so wildly, only a selection of the range features a suitable skin tone match (which for us is Warm Beige, for the record). Plus, the majority of foundation options only have around 15-20 shades, which is a really small selection by comparison to many other brands.
We’re unsure why Boots doesn’t offer the same shade range across each type of foundation, or why it can be so difficult to tell which shade you are in each type.
Each No7 foundation was tested on our face with a silicone primer and a water-based primer. We also tested these No7 foundations with a foundation brush and a beauty blender in an attempt to mimic the various combinations we expect you will use and experience.
