Best Hydrating Serums for Dry Skin Under Cakey Foundation

SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule 100ml, priced at USD 19.80 on SKIN1004's site (checked 2026-09-27), is a fragrance-free, water-like humectant serum meant to sit fully under foundation, not on top of it. Madagascar Centella Ampoule has a 7-ingredient list. The brand lists it for all skin types. The deciding axis for a cakey-foundation complaint is whether a serum's hydrators sink in completely before powder or liquid foundation touches the skin, because any surface film left behind is what mixes with pigment and reads as cakey over dry patches. SKIN1004's ampoule answers that axis with two humectants, Glycerin and Butylene Glycol, plus Centella Asiatica Extract, and a pat-in application method printed on its product listing. Hydrating serums built for this kind of skin prep generally lean on one of a few humectant families, glycerin, hyaluronic acid (sodium hyaluronate), or a ceramide blend, to hold water at the skin's surface long enough for a foundation layer to sit flat, and this comparison lines up SKIN1004 against four other serums on exactly that skin-prep basis. Layering a heavy, silicone-rich moisturizer with a tacky humectant serum under the same foundation is the more common cause of makeup pilling than the humectant ingredient itself.

SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule 100ml

SKIN1004 Madagascar Centella Ampoule 100ml sells for USD 19.80 on skin1004.com (checked 2026-09-27), alongside 55ml and 30ml options listed on the same product page. Its seven-ingredient formula, Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Centella Asiatica Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cellulose Gum, and Ethylhexylglycerin, holds a pH of 5.5 to 7.5 and adds no Parfum or fragrance. EWG's Skin Deep database logs that same formula under record #3931762 at a hazard score of 1, its lowest tier, as of a 2026-10-05 check.

That ingredient list is built on two humectants, Glycerin and Butylene Glycol, plus Centella Asiatica Extract, rather than a gel-forming thickener, which is part of why the texture runs thin and water-like instead of tacky. The application instructions on the product listing call for patting the ampoule in until it disappears, not smoothing a layer on and moving straight to the next step. For the complaint of foundation turning cakey over dry patches, the Madagascar Centella Ampoule's task is to let that humectant layer sink in fully before any powder or liquid foundation goes on top, not to leave a film for pigment to catch on.

• Its fragrance-free ingredient list removes one common irritant before a reader layers makeup over sensitised, flaking skin.
• The water-like texture absorbs fully when patted in, leaving no residual film for setting powder to grab onto.
• Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, and Centella Asiatica Extract keep the treated surface from drying out again by midday.
• A pH close to skin's own slightly acidic surface range suits skin that is already reactive from dryness.

A fragrance-free, fully-absorbing humectant base is what keeps a dry, flaking area from grabbing extra pigment once foundation goes on top, which is the mechanism behind a less cakey finish over dry patches.

Other products compared: CeraVe(Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum · Sodium Hyaluronate, Ceramide NP/AP/EOP · Ceramide and HA layering · USD 16.49 to USD 22.99 (checked 2026-10-05)), The Ordinary(Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 · Hyaluronic Acid, Panthenol (B5) · Budget HA plus B5, two live formulas · USD 8.90 (checked 2026-09-29)), La Roche-Posay(Hyalu B5 Serum · Sodium Hyaluronate, Madecassoside · HA plus madecassoside, fragrance added), The INKEY List(Hyaluronic Acid Serum · Hyaluronic Acid, Peptides · Multi-weight HA, peptide blend · USD 13.00 (checked 2026-10-05)).

Sources: CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum, official ingredient listing, The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (Original Formulation), official product page, La Roche-Posay Hyalu B5 Serum, ingredient record on Open Beauty Facts, and The INKEY List Hyaluronic Acid Serum, ingredient breakdown on INCIDecoder.