Choosing the right foundation isn’t just about finding your perfect shade. Your skin type can also make a big difference to how your base looks and wears throughout the day.
From hydrating formulas for dry skin to lightweight options for oily complexions, finding the formula that works for you will do wonders for the final look of your makeup.
Indeed, the right formula can help enhance your complexion, even out your skin tone and leave you feeling confident in your makeup. So knowing what to look for matters.
Here’s how to find the best foundation for your skin type – plus the formula to try for an effortless everyday base.
Dry skin
If your skin tends to feel tight, flaky or dry, look for a foundation with a hydrating or moisturising formula that leaves your complexion looking fresh rather than flat. A dewy or radiant finish can also help give dry skin a healthy-looking glow.
Look for: Hydrating ingredients, a radiant finish and buildable coverage.
True Match Hyaluron Tinted Balm Foundation by L’Oréal Paris
$42.49 at Chemist Warehouse
A great pick for dry skin, this lightweight tinted balm combines makeup with skincare benefits to leave your complexion feeling hydrated and looking radiant. Its 80% skincare base, enriched with hyaluron and a nourishing oil blend, provides buildable, healthy-looking coverage without feeling heavy.
Giorgia Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
$130 at Sephora
A great choice for dry skin, this lightweight foundation delivers a natural, radiant finish without feeling heavy or cakey. Enriched with niacinamide and glycerin, the formula provides 24-hour hydration while helping to smooth and brighten the appearance of the complexion.
Nars Light Reflecting Foundation
$109 at Mecca
This lightweight foundation is a great choice for dry skin, helping to smooth the look of texture and create a more even, radiant-looking complexion. Its makeup-skincare formula helps blur imperfections while improving the appearance of skin clarity over time
Oily skin
If your complexion tends to become shiny throughout the day, look for a foundation with a lightweight formula and a finish that helps keep excess shine under control. Avoid applying too much product, as heavier layers can sometimes emphasise texture.
Look for: Lightweight formulas, long-wearing coverage and a natural or matte finish.
Bare Minerals BarePro 24HR Wear Skin-Perfecting Matte Liquid Foundation
$87 at Mecca
A great choice for oily skin, this full-coverage foundation delivers a comfortable matte finish while helping control excess oil. Powered by silica and mineral SPF 20, the long-wearing formula stays put for up to 24 hours while helping even skin tone and improve texture.
M.A.C Cosmetics Studio Fix Fluid SPF15
$89.91 at Adore Beauty
This foundation is a great choice for oily skin, with a lightweight, breathable formula that provides buildable coverage and a natural-looking finish. Infused with sugar kelp extract to help control oil, it delivers comfortable 24-hour wear while resisting sweat, humidity and transfer
Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation
$20.99 (usually $27.99) at Adore Beauty
This lightweight foundation is made with oily skin in mind, helping mattify shine and refine the look of pores for a smooth, natural-looking finish. With 40 shades to choose from, it’s easy to find a match for your skin tone.
Combination skin
Combination skin can be tricky to balance, with oiliness through the T-zone and drier areas around the cheeks. Rather than choosing an overly matte or rich formula, look for something versatile that leaves your skin looking even and natural.
Look for: Buildable coverage, a natural finish.
Makeup by Mario Surrealskin Foundation
$97 at Sephora
This breathable, serum-like foundation is a great choice for combination skin, offering buildable coverage with a luminous, skin-like finish. Its lightweight formula provides 12-hour hydration and long-lasting wear, while blending seamlessly with both powder and cream products
Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Foundation
$97 at Sephora
This award-winning foundation offers customisable medium-to-full coverage with a lightweight, natural second-skin finish. Its high-performance formula is waterproof, sweat-, transfer- and humidity-proof, while antioxidant-rich ingredients help skin look brighter and healthier with every wear.
L’Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Freshwear Foundation
$37.99 at Chemist Warehouse
This lightweight, breathable foundation is a great choice for combination skin, delivering long-lasting coverage without feeling heavy. The smudge-proof and transfer-resistant formula helps keep your complexion looking fresh, even and crease-free throughout the day.
Mature skin
For mature skin, the goal isn’t necessarily to cover everything. Lightweight, buildable formulas can help even out the complexion without settling heavily into fine lines or making skin look overly made-up.
Look for: Lightweight textures, hydrating ingreidents and buildable coverage.
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Foundation
$93 at Sephora
This buildable, breathable foundation is a great choice for mature skin, delivering medium-to-full coverage with a dimensional, natural-looking matte finish. Enriched with glycerin and hyaluronic acid, it helps maintain skin’s moisture while smoothing the appearance of pores and imperfections without settling into lines or caking.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter
$96 at Mecca
This multitasking complexion enhancer is a great choice for mature skin, helping illuminate, blur and smooth the appearance of the complexion. Wear it alone, underneath or mixed with foundation for a fresh, radiant finish that gives skin a healthy-looking glow.
IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream
$74.78 at Adore Beauty
This multitasking CC cream is a great choice for mature skin, combining full coverage with skincare and SPF 50+ protection. Enriched with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and vitamin E, the hydrating formula helps smooth the appearance of wrinkles, pores and uneven skin tone while leaving a natural-looking finish.
Read more:
- The ultimate guide to caring for mature skin
- These 6 foundations for mature skin won’t settle into fine lines
- 8 beauty products our team is reaching for this spring
