Why This New YSL Beauty Foundation Is Laura Summer Makeup Staple

For Laura Harrier, beauty is simple. “The goal isn’t perfection,” she tells ESSENCE. “It’s feeling like the best version of yourself.” And, this summer, her “best version” is wearing a foundation that feels like her skin, but cushier: YSL Beauty’s new Skin Affair Soft Glow Cushion Foundation. 

In a love affair with summer’s soft glowing skin, cushion foundation is a liquid foundation soaked into a cushioning sponge and housed in a compact. In true YSL Beauty fashion, the compact doubles as an accessory. The quilted pack has a pearly pink finish with an oversized Cassandre logo pressed on top next to a gold keychain, which Harrier hooked onto her belt loop in the campaign. 

As for the formula, the foundation uses amino acid coated pigments to melt into the skin (the deepest of the 31 shades is “Deep Cool 12”), while squalane and polyglutamic acid to hydrate and minimize the appearance of pores. The formula and application style is popular in Asia with YSL Beauty referencing Korean cushion technology and soft glow finish to formulate Harrier’s serum-infused complexion obsession. 

“I love that beauty is treated as a way to enhance who you are, not change who you are,” the model, actress, and US local ambassador says about YSL Beauty. “The products are things I genuinely use in my routine and every time something new comes out I can’t wait to try it.” Now, with summer less than one week away, she’s keeping her makeup lightweight and simple. 

First, she taps on the Cushion Foundation to even out her skin tone. “I love how easy the application is and how natural the finish is,” she says. “I’m a big fan of makeup that just looks like skin.” Then, she sculpts her cheekbones, forehead, and eyelids with bronzer, before putting on her finishing touch: YSL Beauty lip liner topped with their Candy Glaze Lip Gloss. 

While she’s known for her summer-ready makeup, “the older I get, the more I focus on what’s happening from the inside out,” Harrier says. From sleep and health to the rituals she feels grounded in, according to her, beauty and wellness go hand in hand. “My wellness routine changes depending on where I am, but the things I always come back to are sleep, movement, hydration, and taking a little time for myself every day,” she says. “I travel a lot and spend a lot of time on set, so I’ve learned that consistency matters more than perfection.”

Finding even more time for her beauty and wellness rituals, “I’m excited for a summer that feels a little slower,” she says. “My work is such a huge part of my life, but I always come back feeling most inspired when I’m out in the world, exploring new places and really living life.” With beautifully cushioned skin, of course.