The Best Foundations For Dry Skin
{Dry skin} can manifest itself in many ways: your face could feel tight and uncomfortable, look dull or red and flaky, or have pronounced {fine lines}. And the winter months can only exacerbate the problem (joy of joys…). So it’s a good idea to get savvy when it comes to picking the right {foundation}.
The wrong foundation can result in cakiness and the product settling into creases – no thank you! What you want is a foundation that’ll cocoon your skin in moisture, combining the nourishing qualities of skin care with the complexion-perfecting powers of foundation for a smooth and even finish.
Scroll on down to find our pick of the 10 best foundations for dry skin (thanks to Cult Concierge expert {Syhem}). But first, some tips to help you pick your foundation and prep your skin…
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN CHOOSING A FOUNDATION FOR DRY SKIN
Always, always, always look for ingredients that help draw moisture into the skin – {hyaluronic acid} is an undeniable winner for dehydrated complexions, while vitamin E and glycerin can also help to lock in moisture. Look for plant oils as well – think coconut, argan, jojoba – these will help to nourish and boost moisture levels too.
Another thing to consider is the type of finish you’d like to achieve. You’ll be hard pushed to find a mattifying foundation that will suit dry skin, but there are plenty of options for achieving a natural look or a dewy glow.
HOW TO PREP DRY SKIN FOR FOUNDATION
A key factor in achieving a flawless finish is prepping your skin beforehand. Apply your serums and moisturiser (not forgetting SPF), and seriously consider using a primer too.
{Lait-Crème Concentre} from {Embryolisse Laboratories} works as a fantastic moisturiser and primer in one (formerly the preserve of French pharmacies, this crème has gradually achieved beauty icon status) and will create a hydrated canvas for your base make up to blend smoothly and evenly. And then it’s time for foundation – below are our top 10 foundations for dry skin.
THE TOP 10 FOUNDATIONS FOR DRY SKIN
19
£82.00
14
Tired of dry skin ruining your natural radiance? Look no further than this weightless, creamy foundation from {Shiseido}. It features an exclusive blend of humectants that binds moisture to your skin for 24-hour hydration. Dry skin, be gone! Then there’s its radiant microcrystals and extracts of mandarin peel and beech tree bud, which help to naturally illuminate your skin (while shielding with SPF 30) for a healthy, radiant appearance that lasts throughout the day.
Coverage: Medium to full Shades: 29 Finish: Radiant SPF: 30
32
RRP: £68.00Current price: £34.00
The Cream Foundation from {SUQQU} features 13 different Japanese skin care actives that help to hydrate dry skin. And while it hydrates, the clever formula transforms your parched, drab pallor – granting skin both an instant and lasting glow. Its luminous coverage evolves over time, from a ‘Top Glow’ to a ‘Middle Glow’ and finally a ‘Base Glow’, giving you radiance that digs deep and lasts all day long.
Coverage: Medium and buildable Shades: 23 Finish: Radiant SPF: No
11
With a base of aloe and coconut followed by deeply moisturising apricot, sunflower and acai berry oils, this hydrating formula from {Exa} is a godsend for dry skin. And we haven’t even mentioned the hit of hyaluronic acid yet. Nor the soothing maqui berry. Nor the anti-pollution actives to shield against free radicals. It really is a hard worker! This is a must for dry-skinned city dwellers after nourished skin and a dewy finish.
Coverage: Light and buildable Shades: 43 Finish: Satin SPF: No
184
£62.00
Packed with ultra-nourishing ingredients like squalane, camellia seed oil, hydrogenated coconut oil and phytosphingosine, this creamy foundation stick from {Westman Atelier} boosts moisture levels like nobody’s business. Fine lines and tell-tale signs of angry skin are visibly reduced. In their place: a supple, plump bounce and an incredibly healthy glow.
Coverage: Medium and buildable Shades: 21 Finish: Natural SPF: No
23
RRP: £121.00Current price: £96.80
More than just make up, this creamy and nourishing foundation from {Clé de Peau Beauté} comforts parched skin and provides 24-hour hydration. That’s all thanks to its infusion of skin care ingredients, like hydrolyzed silk and argan oil, which nourish your skin and promote inner brilliance. This is the perfect dewy foundation for dry skin, leaving you with a flawless glow that oozes health.
Coverage: Medium to full Shades: 31 Finish: Dewy SPF: No
197
£38.00
Infused with hyaluronic acid and coconut water to replenish moisture levels and alpine rose for skin health and resilience, this Cult favourite from {Too Faced} is ideal for dry skin. The oil-free, non-drying formula offers medium-to-full, undetectable coverage for “I woke up like this” levels of flawlessness. Prime first to give it the best possible base and to guarantee a smooth finish.
Coverage: Medium to full Shades: 35 Finish: Natural SPF: No
47
£20.00
Satisfy your dry skin needs while getting your foundation fix with {LYS Beauty}’s nourishing skin care/make up hybrid. Moisture-slurping hyaluronic acid is accompanied by the likes of avocado, jojoba, rapeseed and grapeseed oil to nourish your skin and keep on improving the look and feel of it over time, and the lightweight formula diffuses into your complexion seamlessly for a flawless veil of sheer-to-medium coverage. Now that’s what we call an overachiever…
Coverage: Sheer to medium Shades: 35 Finish: Natural SPF: No
123
For on-the-go application, this handy portable stick formula from {Huda Beauty} is soon to become your ride or die. The creamy stick is rich in skin-nourishing coconut oil, which makes the formula melt into dry skin in a way that feels super moisturising. And this dreamy, creamy meltiness gives the formula an ultra-spreadable and blendable quality - it can be spread and blended out as an illuminating skin tint or built-up to cover and blur imperfections as an everyday foundation. Versatility at its best!
Coverage: Light and buildable Shades: 39 Finish: Natural SPF: No
114
£61.00
This divine, oil-free foundation by {Pat McGrath} takes the super-soft texture of a serum and unites it with a buildable, medium, soft-focus coverage and a weightless finish. More than just a foundation, you’ll find a unique ‘Vita-Serum Complex’ within this illuminating formula, designed to boost hydration by activating the natural production of hyaluronic acid and ceramides – a dream come true for dry skin!
Coverage: Medium and buildable Shades: 36 Finish: Satin SPF: No
10
Infused with {La Mer}’s famous youth-prolonging Miracle Broth, plus hydrating oils and botanicals, this foundation works to encourage cell regeneration, hydrate the skin and soften lines, while enhancing skin’s radiance. It’s somewhat of a multi-tasking miracle worker! And that’s before we’ve even got started on its complexion-perfecting powers – blurring imperfections with a fresh, silky and weightless finish that lasts throughout the day.
Coverage: Medium and buildable Shades: 28 Finish: Natural SPF: 20
Et voila! Ten foundations that your dry skin will absolutely love.
Find out more about how to choose the best foundation.
Cult Beauty’s Content Editor and a Cult Beauty OG, Verity loves nothing more than the marriage of language and lip balm. A quintessential Libran, she’s a self-professed magpie for luxury ‘must-haves' and always pursuing the new and the niche — from the boujee-est skin care to cutting-edge tech. Balancing an urge to stop the clock with her desire to embrace the ageing process (and set a positive example for her daughter), Verity's a retinol obsessive and will gladly share her thoughts about the time-defying gadgets, masks and treatments worth the splurge...
