If the texture of the foundation doesn’t work with your skin type, even the best foundations can appear bad. The improper base can exaggerate peach fuzz, settle into fine wrinkles, and grab onto skin flakes when your complexion is dry. Hydrating products can help with that.
The Overall Best Foundation for Dry Skin
Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth Foundation
Over the years, I’ve tried (what seems like) hundreds of foundation formulae, but this one is the one I always end up using. It’s one of those few products that always works for me, regardless of whether I’m experiencing a very dry sensation, a horrible makeup day, or an outbreak. The product applies smoothly, giving you a dewy appearance without ever feeling oily. With SPF 18, buildable medium to full coverage, and elegant, luxurious-feeling packaging, the Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth is an affordable option that offers significant longevity and hydration benefits. It also has almost 20,000 five-star ratings on Amazon, making it the finest for dry skin. My lone grievance? There is room for improvement in the shade range.
The Most Dewy Foundation
Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40
Desire the look of glazed doughnuts? Your best option is the Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint. Available in 30 hues, it boasts a dewy finish that feels weightless, natural ingredients, moisturising hyaluronic acid, and SPF 40. To achieve a comfortable, long-lasting shine on the skin, apply a little coating of this solution to those with very dry skin. Applying setting powder over top is crucial for me and anybody else with dry skin that occasionally leans combo, especially during the hot summer months when perspiration is unavoidable.
The Best Foundation for Long-lasting Hydration
Make Up For Ever HD Skin Hydra Glow Hydrating Foundation
Because the main component of this new formula is Make Up For Ever’s renowned Hydra-Skin Booster Complex, which is intended to replicate the moisturising and smoothing properties of a sheet mask, it is ideal for anyone with dry, rough skin. It feels light on the skin and blends easily.
The Best Foundation to Protect Against Blue Light
NARS Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation
With its serum-like texture, this foundation produces a finish that looks natural and dewy. Because it’s lightweight and easy to apply, it’s suitable for summertime use on the beach or to cover up flaws on the skin. Moreover, it has components that will gradually lighten your skin tone, such as cacao peptides to guard against environmental stressors and blue light, biomimetic oat to lessen redness, and Japanese lilyturf to reinforce your skin’s barrier.
The Best Lightweight Foundation
Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Liquid Touch Weightless Foundation
The well-known foundation by Selena Gomez truly lives up to its name; in fact, I’d say it’s among the lightest options available. The product offers a decent amount of coverage and is buildable, buttery smooth, and never clogs my pores. When I want to level out my complexion without feeling like I’m wearing makeup, this is what I reach for.
The Best Foundation for Dry Combination Skin
Dior Forever Skin Glow Hydrating Foundation SPF 15
Not too matte nor too dewy, the Dior Forever Skin is a fantastic middle-of-the-road alternative. It leaves my skin with a satin finish that I can build up for full coverage at night or wear during the day to swiftly level out my complexion. The finest aspect? I feel quite comfortable wearing it without blush, bronzer, powder, or other makeup that I often require to look reasonably put together because the result is so natural-looking.
The Most Hydrating Foundation
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin
The natural finish of this medium-coverage foundation lasts the entire day. No matter how many times I touch up with powder during the day, it never sticks to dry places or feels tight on the skin because it is enriched with moisturising hyaluronic acid. Every time I use this cream, I’m pleasantly astonished by how smooth and young my skin looks. This foundation gives the impression that I’ve been doing my at-home face masks and skin care routines, even if I haven’t. It’s true that the brand says it helps plump the skin.
The Best Viral Foundation
Laura Mercier Real Flawless Weightless Perfecting Foundation
This new Laura Mercier product has undoubtedly been making waves on TikTok, and for good reason. It applies with ease and melts into the skin in a matter of seconds, particularly when used with the extremely popular Makeup Forever 108 Straight Brush. A tiny amount goes a long way, and the waterproof formula doesn’t separate, look cakey, or feel heavy for up to 12 hours. Reviews really claim that it leaves the skin feeling nourished and healthy.
The Best Clean Foundation for Dry Skin
Saie Glowy Super Skin Weightless Hydrobounce Serum Foundation
Dry skin lovers will love Saie’s serum-like, glow-boosting complexion products, and this weightless foundation is no different. HydrobounceTM complex, the main component, has five times the moisturising power of conventional hyaluronic acid.
The Best Skin Tint for Deep Skin Tones
Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Soothing Serum Skin Tint Foundation
Skin tones have advanced significantly over time. The days of universally applicable hues that didn’t really fit everyone are long gone. There are several alternatives available for light, medium, and dark complexion tones in this contemporary rendition by Danessa Myricks, a Black-owned firm. In comparison to conventional skin tints, it offers a respectable level of coverage and is enhanced with ceramides, peptides, and cactus extract—ingredients that are beneficial to dry skin.
The Best Light Coverage Foundation
Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Dewy Foundation Drops
Aharon adores this liquid solution since it leaves her complexion looking dewy without being too moisturised. Squalane is listed as the first component. Along the way, it enhances firmness, texture, and radiance for individuals who prefer to combine skin care with makeup. If you like less shine, apply setting powder to finish, or omit it to embrace the shimmering Twilight look.
The Best Foundation Stick for Dry Skin
L’Oreal Paris Infallible Longwear Foundation
This foundation is creamy and simple to use, blurring pores to give the skin a more radiant, smoother appearance. Anticipate medium coverage, which will conceal flaws without giving the impression that you’re wearing an impermeable mask. Touching up while on the run is also made simple with the stick application.
The Best Oil-Free Foundation for Dry Skin
Giorgio Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk is a cult favourite, and with good reason—it’s really pricey. Lightweight and blending seamlessly into skin, the fluid texture doesn’t stick to dry areas or settle into creases. It’s the ideal foundation for the remainder of your makeup regimen because it blends in easily. It’s a fantastic medium-coverage choice that never appears cakey, according to Dreadon. Because of my wide pores and tendency to get oily in my T-zone, I like that Luminious Silk offers an oil-free consistency and a beautiful blurring effect. There’s a reason why beauty experts and celebrity makeup artists have loved it for so long!
The Best Foundation for Mature Skin
Laura Mercier Flawless Lumière Radiance-Perfecting Foundation
This Laura Mercier foundation is perfect for mature skin because of its lightweight, water-based texture, which also makes it simple to apply and doesn’t settle into fine wrinkles. I never have to spend additional time blending or tugging at my skin because this foundation is one of the few that melts into the skin with just one stroke of a brush or sponge. When I combine it with other items in my cosmetic arsenal, it never draws attention to my texture or separates it, making it ideal for those of us who like to construct “foundation cocktails” to get the shade and formula of our dreams.
The Best Tinted Face Oil
Kosas Tinted Face Oil
It will be especially appreciated when the weather becomes stormy. This is a tinted facial oil. It has a very subtle, pleasing colour and functions exactly like a regular oil, locking in the moisture.
The Best Tinted Sunscreen
Tower 28 SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation
Tower 28’s reef-safe SPF 30 foundation is the perfect lightweight option for a last-minute application before you hurry out the door. It provides the necessary coverage yet is sufficiently light for a natural look. Because of its combination of glycerin and acids, Dreadon suggests it if you want your skin to seem hydrated without looking overly makeup-edgy.
The Best Foundation for Summer
Chanel Vitalumière Aqua
Chanel’s liquid foundation is a pricey but worthwhile investment. Because of its watery nature and remarkable lightness, the product is refreshing, simple to apply, and ideal for hot summer nights or tropical vacations where fuss-free makeup is required. It produces medium coverage that resembles a second skin, only more radiant and better-looking rather than pasty, dry, and exhausted. This is your best option if you desire skin that looks young and healthy. Expert advice: Shake well before use to avoid the thin formula separating.
The Best Full Coverage Foundation for Dry Skin
IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream With SPF 50
What if your go-to moisturiser provided all-day, full coverage as well? This foundation feels the closest to a moisturiser because of its creamy texture. Not only does it effectively conceal redness and eczema, but it also has SPF 50+. It provides a perfect, full coverage finish that never looks cakey, especially when used with the beloved Airbrush Blurring Foundation Brush from IT Cosmetics.
The Best Longwear Foundation for Dry Skin
NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation
We can confirm that, 14 hours after applying NARS’s 16-hour foundation, ours was still looking good. This foundation provides some of the broadest coverage of all the foundations tested here, but it doesn’t dry down flat or mask-like. You could find that you don’t even need to use a second concealer after all. A little goes a long way.
Clé de Peau Beauté The Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 21
It is quite pricey—$270 for a single beauty item. However, the price tag makes more sense if you consider Clé de Peau’s foundation to be the high-end skin care product that it is (the ingredients list is full of antioxidants and skin-plumping components) and take into account the attractive packaging. There’s absolutely no need to use a sponge or brush because the recipe is so creamy and applies so smoothly (but I did). In fact, the package instructs you to apply it like a skin lotion, using your hands. With very little blending, any dark blotches or redness around my chin and nose disappeared instantaneously.
