THE 10 BEST MAKEUP PRODUCTS FOR DRY SKIN TO GUARANTEE A GLOW
Let’s set the scene – you’ve sourced a foundation that perfectly matches your skin tone, your concealer is applied seamless, and you’ve nailed your contour... but after a couple of hours your complexion looks drier than the Saharan desert than anything fresh, radiant or bright. Sound familiar? You might be part of the dry skin community.
Now, having dry skin doesn’t just mean a more dedicated skincare routine, it also means being selective about the makeup you use. But that's not to say you can’t enjoy makeup – it’s all about choosing the right formulas. To make life easier, we’ve gathered the best makeup for dry skin so you can achieve a glowing, luminous look that lasts.
In This Article:
- What Ingredients To Look For When Shopping For The Best Makeup For Dry Skin
The Best Makeup For Dry Skin - Natasha Denona Hy-Gen Primer Serum
- Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer Hydrating
- PATRICK TA Major Skin Hydra Luxe Skin Perfecting Foundation
- MAKE UP FOR EVER SUPER BOOST SKIN TINT
- Sculpted by Aimee Hydra Tint
- Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concealer
- Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer
- Saie Dew Blush
- SIMIHAZEBEAUTY Skin Suede Melting Bronze Balm
- Kosas Cloud Set Airy Setting & Smoothing Mist
- The Best Makeup For Dry Skin FAQs
WHAT INGREDIENTS TO LOOK FOR WHEN LOOKING FOR THE BEST MAKEUP FOR DRY SKIN
When looking to restock your beauty bag with the best makeup for dry skin, selecting the right products is all about understanding the formulations that will work best for your complexion. The key focus should always be hydration—dry skin needs moisture to look smoother, plumper, and healthier. Look for foundations and tinted moisturisers enriched with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane, which help lock in moisture throughout the day.
In addition to hydration, opt for lightweight, breathable formulas that allow your skin to glow naturally without feeling heavy or cakey. Avoid overly matte or powdery products, as they can emphasize dryness and texture. Buildable coverage is also important—it gives you flexibility to achieve a soft, radiant finish without layering on thick, heavy products.
Finally, consider makeup that offers added skin benefits, such as SPF protection, antioxidants, or soothing ingredients— to support your skin while enhancing your final finish. With these tips in mind, you can choose products that not only look beautiful on skin but also help your complexion feel nourished and comfortable all day.
Now that we know what to look for, let’s dive into some of the best makeup for dry skin.
THE BEST MAKEUP PRODUCTS FOR DRY SKIN
Natasha Denona Hy-Gen Primer Serum
Recommended Retail Price: £43.00Current price: £32.25
Start your routine as you mean to go on with Natasha Denona’s Hy-Gen Primer Serum. Offering up to 72 hours of hydration and softness, this face primer is powered by crystal-like, ultra-fine reflective pigments that leave a lit-from-within glow you can see through your foundation. Crafted from the brand’s innovative Skin Thirst Relief Complex which uses a blend of hyaluronic acid, natural moisturising sugars and powerful humectants, it offers skin short term moisture that also strengthens your complexion's ability to regulate its own hydration levels over time. If that’s not one of the best makeup for dry skin, we don’t know what is!
Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer Hydrating
Recommended Retail Price: £21.50Current price: £17.20
Another fan favourite is Laura Mercier’s Pure Canvas Primer Hydrating. Like a tall glass of water for thirsty complexions, this primer features moisturising olive oil extract to visibly smooth and marine hydra botanicals to replenish skin, promote long term moisture and envelope your complexion in a veil of hydration that lasts all day.
PATRICK TA Major Skin Hydra Luxe Skin Perfecting Foundation
Recommended Retail Price: £52.00Current price: £41.60
Cloak your complexion in a luminous finish with PATRICK TA’s Major Skin Hydra Luxe Foundation. This lightweight, buildable foundation is enriched with glycerin, allantoin, and squalane to plump and hydrate the skin while minimising fine lines. It delivers a natural, blurred “second-skin” finish perfect for dry skin types.
MAKE UP FOR EVER SUPER BOOST SKIN TINT
Recommended Retail Price: £32.00Current price: £24.00
Powered by grapefruit extract and hydrating hero hyaluronic acid, MAKE UP FOR EVER’s Super Boost Skin Tint is your short cut to a more radiant looking complexion. Marrying makeup with an innovative, skincare first formulation, this clever push-to-dispense tube features a sheer-yet-buildable formula that sinks into skin seamlessly for a weightless, your-skin-but-better finish.
Sculpted by Aimee Hydra Tint
Recommended Retail Price: £24.00Current price: £18.00
Having gone viral on TikTok for a reason, Sculpted By Aimee’s HydraTint Moisturising Tint Serum is considered one of the best makeup products for dry skin. With a silky-soft formula enriched with Centella asiatica and peptides, this hardworking tint offers a buildable, barely-there finish that works to elevate the look of your complexion. Plus, with the added SPF20 it also helps protected your skin from UV rays.
Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Concealer
Recommended Retail Price: £45.00Current price: £36.00
Infused with self-setting technology (ideal for drier skin types!) Westman Atelier’s Vital Skincare Concealer is the skin-mimicking essential for a dewy-looking base. Delivering a glowy finish that minimises the look of dark circles, blemishes and pigmentation, this creamy concealer is powered by peptides, gentian root, coffee leaf and liquorice extracts that work to firm your complexion over time. Dreamy to blend and offering skin a moisturising yet airy finish, it's a beauty bag essential ideal for thirsty complexions.
Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer
Recommended Retail Price: £28.00Current price: £22.40
Conceal your blemishes and dark circles without your complexion looking heavy with Charlotte Tilbury’s Beautiful Skin Radiant Concealer. Working to contour, brighten and concealer, this multitasking marvel is infused with everything from pore-refining niacinamide, light-reflecting mica pearls and soft-focus silica, for a finish that’s smooth and luminous. But that’s not all... Enriched with plumping plant-based collagen, and radiance-boosting vitamin C, it helps improve the appearance of your under eyes the more often you use it.
Saie Dew Blush
Recommended Retail Price: £22.00Current price: £15.40
Looking for a one-way ticket to just pinched cheeks? Enter: Saie’s Dew Blush. Brimming with skin loving ingredients including elderberry, evening primrose and mulberry extract, this buildable formula delivers everything from a subtle hint of tint to a full-on pop of colour that brightens, moisturises, nourishes, soothes and protects skin from environmental aggressors. Ideal for drier skin types, this blush sinks into skin for a lit-from-within finish to rival a brisk winter walk or a day out in the sun.
SIMIHAZEBEAUTY Skin Suede Melting Bronze Balm
Recommended Retail Price: £25.00Current price: £18.75
Searching for one of the best makeup for dry skin that grants a seamless just-been-to-the-beach sheen? Introducing: SIMIHAZEBEAUTY’S Skin Suede Melting Bronze Balm. Powered by the brand’s unique Hydra-Sphere Complex that delivers unique encapsulated hyaluronic acid to plump up your complexion, this clever cream-to-powder balm has a silky-soft finish that can be used to bronze and sculp your face, lips and eyes.
Kosas Cloud Set Airy Setting & Smoothing Mist
Recommended Retail Price: £34.00Current price: £25.50
Set everything in place without messing with your makeup thanks to Kosas’ Cloud Set Airy Setting & Smoothing Mist. Formulated with agave tequilana leaf extracts to reduce the look of texture and saccharide isomerate to minimise shine while boosting hydration, this ultra-fine mist helps keep your skin fresh and complexion comfortable and nourished for up to 12hours. Use to refresh throughout the day or as your last step in your routine, we guarantee this will quickly become a staple for prepping and setting makeup for dry skin.
THE BEST MAKEUP FOR DRY SKIN FAQs
What happens if you put foundation on dry skin?
If you apply foundation directly onto dry skin without any prep, it’s likely to cling to flaky areas, appear cakey or patchy and may separate or wear off more quickly than it would on properly prepped skin, so we always recommend doing your full skincare routine for dry skin and then applying a primer before your foundation or skin tint.
Is primer good for dry skin?
Yes. As mentioned in our roundup of the best makeup products for dry skin, a primer is essential when prepping dry skin for makeup. Hydrating primers are usually enriched with moisture-locking ingredients that help the skin appear smoother and plumper, making them an excellent makeup for dry skin choice.
Why does my makeup look dry even with moisturiser?
Your makeup can still look dry even if you use a moisturiser, often because your skincare routine isn’t suited to your skin type. Dry skin typically benefits from gentle exfoliation to remove dead skin cells, along with a nourishing serum and moisturiser. If you want a full rundown of the best routine for dry skin, read our dedicated blog here.
Rina is Cult Beauty’s Midweight SEO Copywriter and has always had a passion for beauty and skin care (rich moisturisers are her obsession). What started as a love for The Body Shop and their famed Born Lippy lip balms (in ‘Watermelon’ of course!), she is now more interested in finding products with proven effectiveness instead of broken promises. A loud and proud VIEVE fan, Rina owns nearly every item of the range and recommends the brand to anyone who will listen... When she’s not intently reading ingredient lists, you can find her either immersed in multiple true crime podcasts or a fantasy romance novel, with an *extra* hot cappuccino in hand.
