Make Up Forever's High Definition Elixir was formulated to make TV actors' skin look flawless when they appear on HDTV, which required skin to appear faultless under the magnification that comes along with such high definition close-ups. That meant no fine lines, no crows' feet, no wrinkles which are always picked up without fail at such high image resolutions.

A pleasant side effect to this end was a serum that also provided immediate hydration for very dehydrated skin, since keeping skin plump with moisture is key to preventing wrinkles and fine lines.

As a serum, application is almost foolproof. It comes with a dropper applicator that allows you to pick up the right-sized amount of serum for use.

The liquid has a smooth, silky feel and glided onto skin very easily. It was also easily and quickly absorbed by the skin when I patted the serum onto my face. Yet it was also light enough to be used on the eye area as well, without that overly-rich feel. It also helped to calm dry, red patches on my face.

The serum was absorbed by my skin after two to three minutes of patting it in. For those of us who can't live without our serums, this one helped to save time, since you don't have to wait too long to feel that skin is adequately plumped up with moisture, and yet dry enough to apply your make-up base afterwards.  So yes, it did live up to its claim of instant hydration. And to further save on time, you can also mix it directly with your favourite foundation or concealer so you skip the additional step of applying a serum first.

Since I don't appear on television at all, I can't really comment on whether my skin looked flawless on HD images. But I was quite satisfied that it allowed my make-up base to glide on with little effort, since I do usually have a problem with dry patches on my skin that don't get adequately covered by my usual foundation and powder.

Retails for S$60 at Sephora, ION Orchard.