Whether you want natural or full coverage, a dewy or matte finish, there’s a foundation waiting for you below, and the bonus? Each one has added skincare benefits! Regardless of cost, brand and availability, when it comes to cult-favourite foundations, makeup lovers all over the world, including myself, hail this list as gospel. Scroll to see if your favourite foundation made the list.
1. bareMinerals Original
Best known for: Good-for-skin ingredients
Finish: Satin
Coverage: Full to medium
Format: Loose Powder
Powder foundations don’t get more iconic than this one. As its name suggests, it’s the original powder foundation; launched in 1995, it revolutionised the foundation market with its good-for-skin ingredients. Over the years, it’s become a must-have among influencers, with the likes of YouTuber star Zoella naming it her favourite foundation of all-time. Fast forward to 2022, and it’s available in over 20 shades, plus one person buys a pot every 18 seconds worldwide. Best for those who want buildable coverage and a natural-radiant finish, the loose powder foundation has a soft texture that buffs beautifully into the skin. The talc-free formula contains only five vegan ingredients that help to minimise pores and imperfections and promote clearer-looking skin.
2. Clarins Everlasting Youth Fluid
Best known for: Anti-ageing formula
Finish: Radiant
Coverage: Medium
Format: Liquid
Everlasting Youth is a best-selling foundation for mature skin – three years of research and 186 trials went into making it. It offers medium, long-wearing coverage, a luminous finish that doesn’t settle into fine lines and wrinkles, and contains anti-ageing skincare ingredients. The ingredients in question are collagen-boosting chicory leaf, lifting oat sugars, and red jania, which encourages cell renewal. The liquid foundation also contains a skin tone-optimising complex coated in pears, which give the skin a radiant glow.
3. GUERLAIN Parure Gold
Best known for: Glowing-giving finish
Finish: Radiant
Coverage: Full
Format: Liquid
Parure Gold is one of the beauty industry’s best-loved luxury foundations. The gold bottle previews what lies inside the formula – 24-carat gold pigments and pearlisers that reflect light to illuminate the skin. The high-end base is loved by many; some adore it for its radiance, others for its natural yet full coverage, while mature skin types love that it doesn’t highlight signs of ageing and contains collagen-boosting ingredients and a dose of SPF for UV protection.
4. Lancome Teint Miracle
Best known for: Hydrating formula
Finish: Radiant
Coverage: Medium
Format: Liquid
Hydration is the reason this foundation is a best-seller. The base has a high water concentration, which helps the skin feel smoother and look more unified for twelve hours. A favourite of those with dry and mature skin, the foundation offers buildable coverage and a dewy-radiant finish.
5. Shiseido Synchro Skin
Best known for: Innovative technology
Finish: Satin
Coverage: Medium to full
Format: Liquid
SynchroSkin took the makeup world by storm when it launched. The satin finish foundation contains innovation that the market hadn’t seen before, ActiveForce TM Technology. An exclusive Shiseido complex, ActiveForce TM Technology protects the finish of your foundation by adapting to your environment. Whatever your base is against, be it sweat, facial movement or oiliness, the formula adapts to ensure it looks flawless. That’s not it either; the buildable foundation also contains Responsive Sensory Technology, which maintains the skin’s radiance, polymers to protect against pollution and patented Smart Correcting Powder which enhances the skin’s texture and tone. Hi-tech doesn’t cut it!
6. Vichy Dermablend
Best known for: Full coverage
Finish: Matte
Coverage: Full
Format: Liquid
Vichy Dermablend is known worldwide for its full coverage finish. You may recall the viral Dermablend video from 2014, which shows a makeup artist using Dermablend to cover someone’s head-to-toe tattoos; the results are mind-blowing. The high coverage result is due to a high concentration of high-coverage pigments inside the formula, so those with acne often reach for it. The dermatologically recommended base offers 16-hour coverage that it isn’t heavy or caky, is easy to blend in, and is even suitable for sensitive skin.
