The Best Foundations For Every Skin Type, Tried and Tested (2024)

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For particularly reactive or highly blemish-prone skin, there is no better foundation than Oxygenetix Oxegenating Foundation SPF 25. Forget the rather un-sexy packaging, this imparts an even, second-skin finish, plus it’s non-comedogenic and oil-and fragrance-free, meaning it only does what it was made to do: make your skin look good. Elsewhere, Chantecaille’s Future Skin Oil-Free Foundation is rich with light-reflecting pigments that work to reduce imperfections, and can be built up for adjustable coverage.

Best foundation for dry skin

Look for words such as “glow” or “luminous” when choosing a foundation for dry skin, and seek out formulas with extra skincare ingredients. Hyaluronic acid and vitamin E are great options for those who suffer dry skin. Look to hydrating serums and primers to prep skin before applying a foundation, too. They will help ensure your foundation lasts, and that it feels comfortable on the skin. With hyaluronic acid, cordyceps and an SPF of 40, this hybrid serum-foundation, the Bobbi Brown Intensive Serum Foundation SPF40, will help to hydrate and soothe skin while delivering a luminous, even-toned complexion. Meanwhile, Clé De Peau Beauté’s Radiant Fluid Foundation Natural uses the brand’s signature Skin-Empowering Illuminator, a blend of five hero ingredients including Japanese pearl extract and platinum golden silk essence, to boost your cells’ reparative abilities all the while providing 24-hour long coverage.

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Packed with skin-quenching hyaluronic acid, the By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Foundation SPF30 is as much a hydrating serum as it is a foundation. It creates a soft finish that feels comfortable on the skin. If Fenty’s original Pro Filt’r foundation was too dry for your skin type, then look no further than Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Hydrating Longwear Foundation, which is formulated specifically with dry skin types in mind – thanks as always, Rihanna. This one is as long-wearing and skin-smoothing as the last, but with added grape seed oil to nourish and hydrate.

Yves Saint Laurent took its amazing Touche Éclat Complexion Highlighter, turned it into a foundation with the Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Éclat Foundation. True luminosity, great coverage and a lightweight application in one bottle. The Rose Inc Skin Enhance Luminous Tinted Serum offers sheer coverage and hydrates the skin without clogging up pores.

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Best foundation for full coverage

The term “full coverage” might conjure visions of heavy, powdery make-up, but thankfully those days are long gone. Full coverage foundations now disguise any blemishes, even out skin tone and colour correct, while also leaving you feeling and looking radiant. Offering full coverage via a buildable formula that feels light and looks like your skin (but better), the Gucci Fluide De Beauté Natural Finish Foundation is brilliant for those who like a versatile product. With hydrating glycerin and soft focus powder technology in the formula, it’s your quick ticket to gorgeous, velvety skin. A cult foundation for good reason, MAC’s Fix Fluid Foundation, doesn’t only offer full coverage and a luminous glow, it also lasts for 24 hours without slipping off.

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Best foundation for long wear

When you’re out all day and need your foundation to last from dusk until dawn, only a long-wearing formula will do. Happily, the latest formulations offer radiance without looking heavy and dull, so you won’t have to compromise on glow. The Valentino Beauty Very Valentino Foundation is a game changer. Offering 24 hour long-wear, it is velvety to the touch, breathable and delivers flawless coverage. Oh, and there’s also a wide range of shades and undertones for every skin tone. Dior’s brilliant foundations rarely disappoint. With a particular focus on the important of skin health, this Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation lasts throughout the day while looking after skin, thanks to its hydrating properties.

For a flawless finish, the Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Foundation is your guy. Despite feeling light as air, it offers medium coverage and won’t move for up to 15 hours, making it a reliable friend in your make-up arsenal. Waterproof, light and comfortable on the skin, L’Oréal Paris Infallible 24hr Freshwear Liquid Foundation is brilliant, and for under £15, you really can’t go wrong.

Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup SPF 10 has a cult following – no wonder, really, when you consider its phenomenal colour range, great coverage and long-lasting results. It’s great for summer, in particular, as it lasts well even in humidity. As the “mother” of make-up, Pat McGrath knows what it takes to magic dull skin back to life. The Pat McGrath Labs Sublime Perfection Foundation mimics her touch, offering a perfect, flawless finish while hydrating skin and blurring the parts you’re not so happy with. There’s a great shade range, too.

Best foundation for mature skin

The key rule for buying a foundation if you have mature skin is to opt for something lightweight, hydrating and glow-giving. Heavier formulas often settle into fine lines and can dull the skin’s natural healthy shine, so opt for products that contain skincare benefits. An ultra-lightweight, sheer formula, the Sisley Phyto-Teint Nude Foundation feels almost like a serum upon application, and delivers radiance with a natural-looking sheer coverage. The “Vita-Light” complex helps enhance your skin’s natural glow, giving you a lit-from-within look. The hyaluronic acid helps keep skin hydrated, plump and smooth all day long. Within the clever Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation SPF30 lies a blend of transparent pearls, micro-crystals and advanced optical filters that add a dewy dimension to skin, while hydrating it. It works brilliantly for all skin types, and mature skins will love it for its ability to bring the skin to life.

This pot of gold isn’t found at the end of the rainbow, but it does contain the ingredients to make skin as bright as one. A hybrid skincare and make-up formula, the Dolce & Gabbana Beauty Glorious Skin Perfect Luminous Creamy Foundation protects from pollution and sun damage while imparting a beautiful radiant sheen over skin, diffusing fine lines and evening out skin tone. Powered by 24-karat gold, Guerlain Parure Gold Skin 24H No-Transfer High Perfection Foundation offers 24-hour coverage to luminous effect.

Best foundation for sheer coverage

For skin that looks just like your skin, only more radiant, opt for a sheer foundation. Offering a natural finish while still providing decent coverage, it can be difficult to find a formula with staying power. Thankfully, though, make-up technology has advanced hugely in recent years, and today’s sheer, lightweight foundations offer a perfecting effect without looking like they’re there at all. Charlotte Tilbury knows a thing or two about creating brilliant make-up, and her latest addition, Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Foundation, is another triumph. Beautiful skin does exactly what it says on the tube. It’s a light-to-medium coverage foundation that delivers a real-skin finish, leaving you with a gorgeous healthy glow. The Nars Sheer Glow Foundation offers illuminated skin at the swish of a brush. It can be built up where you need more coverage and contains an array of different skincare ingredients, including turmeric extract and antioxidants, to help protect the skin day to day.