For foundations, we ladies want the best foundation. Face-perfecting foundations always exceed expectations.
Even beauty editors can attest that foundations are one makeup category worth splurging tons of money on. Best foundations provide the best finish, longevity, and naturalness we long for.
With the different combinations of skin tones1 come different drugstore foundations. A very selected group of drugstore foundations is worth applying to your skin.
It has to have that natural finish and is cruelty-free to apply the entire day.
According to the makeup artist
According to the makeup artist Jasmi Lo, a good foundation blends easily. Whether you have oily or dry skin, getting the best complexion of your skin2 is what a good drugstore foundation does.
Are you curious to know which affordable drugstore foundations are the best? Discover some of the best foundation formulas you should use depending on your skin tone.
Let’s look at the best drugstore foundations, including flawless finish foundations. Here, you know the best drugstore foundation for sensitive skin.
1. Loreal Pro-matte Liquid Long-wear Foundation
We have reviewed this drugstore foundation, one of the best foundations in the market. Various makeup artists have appreciated this full-coverage foundation.
Celebrities like Hilary Duff and Olivia Holt have used the same foundation.
The creamy formula offers great coverage. It is best when applied with a dense foundation brush. Loreal Paris claims the foundation works up to 24 hours without the flats.
This long-wearing liquid formula offers a smooth finish and hides dark circles all day. It gives the skin an airy, light texture with a Demi matte finish.
It provides the users with a semi-matte finish with medium to buildable coverage.
2. Maybelline Fit Me Dewy Smooth Foundation
Maybelline New York presents the Fit Me range of products, introducing the dewy smooth foundation.
This formula offers different shades of undertones and finishes. The foundation gives medium to full coverage. It also works as a defined concealer3. It comes in two different formulas: mattifying and hydrating.
The hydrating tint gives a natural and luminous finish. It is the same as any tinted moisturizer, providing a flawless finish and skin tone. It also has a feature of SPF 18, which protects the skin from harmful UV rays of the sun.
2.1 Ingredients
The foundation contains active ingredients that melt into the skin for a radiant finish. Its contents include vitamin E, which cures rough patches and smoothens the skin texture. It also contains beneficial hyaluronic acid.
Dermatologists love hyaluronic acid4 for its wonders on the skin.
We can always use it when you want a full-coverage foundation and something light.
This drugstore foundation works best when applied with a beauty sponge. Various beauty editors have preferred this liquid foundation as an affordable and satisfying option.
3. NYX Cosmetics Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Foundation
The slogan of NYX professional makeup goes as a full coverage foundation that won’t stop for 24 hours. It is said to conceal imperfections and expertly enhance your best features.
Ultra matt finish is what it is. It is perfect for multitasking, which involves basic concealing to next-level contouring. They infuse it with vitamin E to get the best results.
Shades
NYX Cosmetics brings you almost 45 shades of drugstore foundations. This lightweight formula is best for buildable coverage. The color stays for almost 24 hours after application.
This drugstore foundation is excellent for oily skin types. It gives a matte foundation finish that is not suitable for dry skin.
The foundation is best when applied with a dense beauty sponge. Anyone with darker skin can search for the foundation that best suits them from their vast collection of shades.
4. L’Oréal True Match Luminous Makeup
Lorean presents the true match range, offering drugstore foundations with healthier and more powerful ingredients.
If you are looking for a drugstore foundation that is also healthy, then this is the one. It is luminous for the skin when applied. They have the potential to improve your complexion the more you apply them.
It gives all-day hydration and contains 40% pure water. It contains antioxidants and Vitamins C and E for improved clarity and skin tone. Its Liquid Light Technology, for an instant, gives a luminous glow all day long.
It provides medium and full coverage and is available for combination skin. Darker skin tones that cannot find a perfect foundation should go for it.
The foundation is available in 15 shades and is suited for oily and dry skin5. Its many ingredients make it appreciated by every skin type.
5. Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hours Foundation
Are you looking for a foundation that doesn’t slip or slide? Rimmel has created a formula foundation that goes the extra mile–or, shall we say, an hour.
This long-lasting foundation provides 25-hour wear to take your makeup looks from the morning breakfast to dinner and drinks with no touch-ups required.
If you prefer a full-coverage and high-glam look, this is your match made in heaven. The high-pigmented color and semi-matte finish mask every blemish, imperfection, and dark spot, leaving you with seamless skin that lasts 25 hours a day.
Rimmel Lasting is arguably the best foundation for oily skin types. It keeps skin matte, not flat, contains shine throughout the day, and reduces the attention of pores. The value is in the name!
This creamy, skincare-inspired drugstore foundation provides buildable medium coverage with a natural look.
It feels super light on the skin and looks very easy, with a satin finish, which we love for all skin types. The formula consists of some hydrating and antioxidant factors.
6. J. Cat Aquasurance Compact Foundation
Drugstore foundation powders can also provide full coverage, paradoxical to popular belief. This is our favorite on that front, restoring to camouflage the skin and a high-coverage liquid.
This powder foundation works for all skin types, with a natural satin finish, and you can even spray it with a dewy setting spray or use a makeup sponge with a bit of glycerine to make it a touch more luminous.
It only comes in 8 shades, which is insufficient for us. You can purchase it from any retail cosmetic store.
Suppose you want quick, easy, natural-looking makeup. It provides an oil-free look. It evens out the skin tone and controls oils, but it doesn’t cake up or suppress too much of the skin.
7. Neutrogena Skin clearing Oil-Free Blemish Fighting Liquid Foundation with Salicylic Acid
This is worth seeking if you have acne-prone skin6. This formula is unique thanks to 0.5% salicylic acid, a slight chemical exfoliant known for its ability to open pores and diminish breakouts.
As one of the best makeup products, it gives the skin medium coverage, so you may still want a drugstore concealer.
It offers a Demi-matte finish that will work for ordinary, combination, and oily skin without pointing out dry patches or flakiness.
It’s a great formula, and we hope it comes in a pump bottle.
8. CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Star Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation
It has high coverage and is very mattifying if you have oily skin and difficulty keeping your foundation on.
This is one of the best foundations for longevity since it self-sets and stays on the skin even after a long workday.
It won’t even rub off on your phone! Since it is highly mattifying, if you have any dry patches, this will emphasize them.
8.1 Ingredients
It contains Ensulizole, a chemical sunscreen7 agent that gives powerful protection in the UVB (280-320nm) range, with its peak protection at 306 mm.
Its unique property is that it is not oily but water-soluble, unlike most sunscreen agents, so it is ideal for creating light, oily skin-compatible formulas. It is also relatively photostable and can protect the formula’s other less stable UV filters.
It is recognized worldwide and can be used up to 4% in the US and 8% in the EU.
The most common skincare element of all. It has good old water, aka H2O. You can usually find it right in the first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the most popular thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that dislike dissolving in oils but water.
9. The Ordinary Serum Foundation
If you like the look of this one, then you need to be speedy with adding it to your basket – it’s one of The Ordinary’s fastest and best-selling formulas.
They suspend color pigments in the signature’ spreadability system’ to create a lightweight color serum that softens and is perfect for the skin.
It gives a natural look and boasts a semi-matte finish that lasts all day long. It’s the perfect foundation for dry skin types.
Go for this liquid foundation if you want to be called an honest beauty.
Since launching, this serum foundation has caused a severe stir for solid reasons. Color pigments are suspended in the spreadability system to produce a lightweight color serum that easily glides onto the skin, making your complexion look sleek, radiant, and subtly perfected.
Fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes, and imperfections are dimmed as the semi-matte finish provides a natural coverage that lasts all day.
You can quickly get your genuine match as the foundation arrives in 21 versatile shades with all undertones accounted for, everything from very fair to fair and deep mature skin.
And, as if it couldn’t get any better, an infusion of SPF 15 gives all the sun safeguard you need.
Satisfying all of your skincare and makeup needs, this cult-favorite foundation is nothing but a one-stop shop for a fresh and perfect face.
10. Milani Conceal & Perfect 2 In 1 Foundation & Concealer
Who doesn’t admire a makeup multi-tasker? Milani comes through with an affordable formula that’s one part foundation and one part concealer so that you can tuck away dark circles, blemishes, and redness with simplicity.
Supposedly, this foundation can withstand the Grammy and Coachella sets and red carpets, making it a must-have for your glam bag.
Milani Conceal & Perfect 2 In 1 Foundation & Concealer is handy in the following shades:
Shades
- Nude
- Cream
- Creamy Nude
- Golden Toffee
- Golden Vanilla
- Hazelnut
Born in Milan in 2002, Milani is a progressive brand with big solutions. Stocked in stores and drugstores across the globe, the everyday price of this luxury range contradicts the outstanding quality.
It’s that fascinating combination that makes Milani your best friend in beauty.
11. Cover FX Custom Cover Drops
Cover FX gives you complete control over your coverage with these ingenious foundation drops.
The more you apply the drop, the fuller the coverage, as the settled pigment delivers customizable makeup. Wear them alone or blend them with your favorite liquid products to produce the likes of tinted moisturizers, serums, and oils.
High-quality, ethically focused, and passionate about clean skincare – it’s easy to see how Cover FX is becoming the must-have brand in your delicacy set. Varied and customized, their 40 award-winning formulas complement your natural beauty and inspire killer confidence.
Cover FX Custom Cover Drops are available in the coming shades:
Shades
- G Deep 2
- G Deep 3
- N Deep 4
- N Deep 5
- P Deep 3
- P Deep 5
Conclusion
We know that it sometimes pays to be a foundation elitist, especially if you want to put a flawless and indistinguishable base.
But, when we say Drugstore Foundation has come a long way, they’re intensely giving high-end luxury formulas a race for their money.
With brands now serving up inclusive shade spaces and ingredient-led formulas with the same budget-friendly price, you’d be a fool to give them the frozen shoulder.
Give them a try, and let us know which suits you best.
- Kinyanjui, Newton M., et al. “Fairness of classifiers across skin tones in dermatology.” International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. ↩︎
- Hernandez, Jason. “Beauty, Complexion, and Self-Esteem.” ESSAI 4.1 (2006): 25. ↩︎
- Rassman, William R., et al. “Scalp micropigmentation: a concealer for hair and scalp deformities.” The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology 8.3 (2015): 35. ↩︎
- Goa, Karen L., and Paul Benfield. “Hyaluronic acid.” Drugs 47.3 (1994): 536-566. ↩︎
- Spencer, Thomas S. “Dry skin and skin moisturizers.” Clinics in Dermatology 6.3 (1988): 24-28. ↩︎
- Mills Jr, Otto H., and Richard S. Berger. “Defining the susceptibility of acne-prone and sensitive skin populations to extrinsic factors.” Dermatologic clinics 9.1 (1991): 93-98. ↩︎
- Burnett, Mark E., and Steven Q. Wang. “Current sunscreen controversies: a critical review.” Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine 27.2 (2011): 58-67. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Namita Soren
