The latest beauty obsession taking over TikTok promises what every tired woman secretly wants: glowing, naturally flawless skin that looks as though you’re wearing nothing at all.
Dubbed the ‘no-make-up’ make-up look, the trend has amassed millions of views, with creators claiming they’ve ditched heavy foundation in favour of a fresher, healthier complexion. At the centre of the craze is Meroda’s Changing SPF Foundation which, at the time of writing, has sold more than two million bottles worldwide.
The primary claim is that you never have to guess or match your foundation shade again. The product goes on as a white cream, which then automatically adapts to your unique skin tone. A single shade is designed to adjust across a spectrum of fair to medium skin tones.
And, on paper at least, I’m not surprised at its popularity.
The promise is undeniably appealing. Less make-up. Less effort. Better skin. What’s not to love? As the mother of two young children, who survives on considerably less than the recommended eight hours of sleep and often treats coffee as a substitute for water, the idea that I could shave ten or 15 minutes off my morning routine while somehow looking younger, brighter and more well-rested felt almost too good to be true.
The videos certainly make it look that way. A few dabs with a damp sponge, a quick blend, and suddenly the creator appears to have the sort of naturally luminous complexion usually reserved for those who drink green juice, meditate daily and have never known the chaos of a school run.
Needless to say, I was intrigued, and decided to order the product online.
After waiting almost two weeks for the bottle to arrive, my expectations had been thoroughly built up. This was, supposedly, the product that would make my normal foundation redundant.
Nicole wearing her own Charlotte Tilbury make-up prior to the Meroda make-under and using the Meroda Changing Foundation
Meroda’s viral Changing Foundation, which it says ‘seamlessly adapts to your unique skin tone upon application’, £28.95
A Meroda advert, illustrating how amazing my skin will look post make-under
Sadly, reality was rather less impressive.
The result was that I looked… fine.
Not dramatically different. Not transformed. Certainly not like I’d stumbled across the beauty industry’s best-kept secret. My complexion looked slightly more natural, but also noticeably less glowy. And despite the product’s promise of a barely-there finish, it was obvious I was wearing make-up – just make-up that offered less coverage than my usual foundation.
In fact, had I reached for a lightweight tinted moisturiser instead, I suspect I would have achieved much the same result, only with fewer lofty expectations attached.
Still, I thought perhaps I was initially missing something.
I persevered for the rest of the week, convinced that maybe the magic lay in how other people perceived it. After all, the TikTok videos are full of comments from viewers insisting people keep asking what they’ve done differently.
Nobody asked me. No friends commented. No colleagues remarked that I looked especially fresh-faced or well-rested. Not a single person noticed my supposedly luminous, ‘your skin but better’ complexion. And that’s because, for all the clever marketing, the finished result simply isn’t revolutionary. It’s make-up. Perfectly pleasant make-up, admittedly, but make-up nonetheless.
Concerned I might be judging it too harshly – or perhaps that my Irish complexion simply wasn’t the ideal canvas for such a sheer product – I enlisted the help of our social lead, Kanika Banwait, to put it to the test too. If the glow was going to reveal itself, surely it would do so on a different skin tone.
Kanika before and after the Meroda make-under. Kanika found the Meroda foundation left a slightly white cast and took away some of her glow
Kanika was concerned when the foundation came out white, but impressed with how it gradually blended into her skin.
‘Saying that, it didn’t quite get my colouring right and left a slight white cast, despite being for labelled as the “fair to medium” skin option,’ she says.
‘During winter this would probably be fine as I’m more pale, but I felt the foundation actually took away my summer glow and tan, and left me looking a bit flat. The texture and coverage is good, but the colour of my face is noticeably different to my neck.’
To be fair to Meroda, the ‘no make-up’ trend isn’t without merit. It does encourage a lighter hand and reminds us that healthy-looking skin starts with good skincare rather than piling on layers of foundation. And for those who prefer minimal coverage, products like these may well tick the right boxes.
But none of those ideas are particularly groundbreaking. Make-up artists have been using sheer bases, strategic concealing and luminous finishes for years. TikTok has simply wrapped familiar techniques in glossy packaging and an irresistible promise that this one bottle will somehow make us look effortlessly flawless.
By the end of the week, I had returned to my usual routine.
Not because I dislike natural-looking make-up, but because I realised I already owned products that made my skin look just as good, if not better. My trusty Charlotte Tilbury foundation still gives me the coverage and glow I actually want, and if I fancy a lighter finish, a tinted moisturiser does the job perfectly well.
As for the Meroda bottle? It’ll probably end up in the bottom drawer of my desk at work, brought out only on those rare occasions when I’ve forgotten my make-up bag or run out of my usual favourites and need something to tide me over until lunchtime.
