How to Find the Best Foundation for Your Skin Type
Finding the best foundation is a crucial step to achieving radiant, youthful-looking skin. But, with so many options to choose from, which formula is right for you?
Look for complexion products that match your tone and have the right texture to hide blemishes. And consider nourishing ingredients like aloe extract, jojoba oil and mastic that help skin look hydrated.
Fenty Beauty Foundation
When Rihanna launched her makeup line Fenty Beauty in 2017, she did something revolutionary—not only did she create a foundation shade range that was one of the most inclusive of its time, but she also created a formula that actually works for all skin types. Her Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation is an oil-free, medium to full coverage foundation that lasts all day and does not budge even against sweat, humidity, or oil.
The Allure Best of Beauty Award winner comes in 50 boundary-breaking shades so that every woman can find her perfect match and feel included. The formula features climate-adaptive technology that’s resistant to sweat and humidity, and it is made without any pore-clogging ingredients.
We recommend pairing this foundation with a good moisturizer or facial oil so your skin doesn’t get too dry by the end of the day, especially if you have normal or combo skin. You can also use the foundation as a concealer, too, because it can hide dark circles and blemishes easily.
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation
This Chanel product is a water-based foundation that comes in a light plastic bottle. It’s a bit more compact than the typical Chanel foundation, but still holds 30ml of the product.
This foundation offers light to medium coverage and a natural, glowing finish. It contains pearly particles to unify skin tone and reduce signs of fatigue, as well as light-reflecting mineral powders to create a healthy glow. It also has SPF 15 to protect against UV rays and is infused with hydrating ingredients like sodium hyaluronate (the water-soluble salt form of hyaluronic acid) and brown seaweed extract.
The formula is easy to blend with a sponge or brush, and it’s suitable for most skin types. However, if you have lots of blemishes to cover and need something more full-coverage, I’d recommend the La Prairie Skin Caviar Concealer + Foundation Sunscreen SPF 15. It has a similar light-to-medium coverage but is enriched with caviar extract for lifting and firming benefits.
Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation
This luminous formula combines pearlescent pigments and rose extract to brighten skin, leaving it looking fresh-faced and hydrated. It also boasts a high concentration of water for 18 hours of hydration, making it great for those with dry or combination skin.
If you don’t want a full coverage foundation, but still need something to cover up redness or spots, this liquid foundation from Lancome is the answer. It offers a natural-looking matte finish, and is sweat- and humidity-resistant. It’s also formulated with antioxidant moringa seed extract, vegetable glycerine and hyaluronic acid, so it’s nourishing as well as long-wearing.
While it does contain alcohol, which I know irks some people who indiscriminately bash any product that has it in it (it’s balanced with other skin-conditioning ingredients), this is an exceptionally good foundation to try. It’s a little more expensive than Fenty Beauty, but you get a bigger shade range and the foundation has a lovely light smell to it.
Sasha Plavsic Makeup
Ilia Beauty founder Sasha Plavsic was a branding executive in the fashion and beauty industry before she broke up with her fiance, moved back home to Vancouver, and launched her boundary-breaking makeup brand. Her mother encouraged her to read the ingredient list of her favorite lip balm, which was full of unsafe ingredients—and that’s what gave her the idea to launch a clean beauty line.
ILIA is all about “skin-first makeup” that blends skincare and foundation into one formula. It’s made with natural and organic ingredients like jojoba oil, shea butter, niacinamide, yarrow root, and aloe vera. Plus, it’s housed in sleek, beautiful packaging that begs to be shown off on Instagram.
Try ILIA’s cult-favorite Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 for medium coverage that combines dewy makeup + sunscreen into one step. Its unique, silicone-free formula features botanical emulsifiers and the hydrating power of salicornia (a sea succulent) and hyaluronic acid. The best part? It looks and feels completely natural.
Take a look at foundation from Avon.
