The foundation that sells every three seconds – and is so pure you can sleep in it
Foundation is without doubt a wonder product, but if you hate the feeling of it on your skin and the chore of taking it off at night, you're not alone.
Enter Bare Minerals Original Foundation, £27, a lightweight mineral base that contains just five ingredients and helps you to achieve that no-makeup-makeup look.
While it's not recommended you go to sleep without cleansing, the purity of this product means that it won't wreak havoc with your skin if you do. It promotes a healthier, clearer complexion, making it perfect if you suffer from acne.
The award-winning foundation is still going strong after more than 20 years, and one sells every three seconds globally, which really tells you everything you need to know.
It's long-wearing, contains SPF 15, has a natural luminous finish and comes in 30 different shades.
What more could you ask for in your base?
Best foundation for a glowy finish
Guerlain L'Essentiel Natural Glow Foundation 16h Wear, £44, John Lewis
Coverage: Light
Finish: Glow
Shade range: 30
Verdict: This foundation provides a sheer layer of coverage, working to even out skin tone and subtly mask any problem areas. Plus, it has 97% naturally-derived ingredients and helps to protect skin against pollution throughout the day.Save when you shop for the best foundations with our John Lewis discount codes.
Best foundation for a natural finish
NARS Sheer Glow, £35, Cult Beauty
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Dewy, silky and radiant
Shade range: 40 shades
Verdict: If you want a foundation that will create a dewy finish with incredible luminosity, Sheer Glow is the one. The silky foundation enhances natural beauty rather than covering it which makes it the perfect all-day-every-day skin product.Save while you shop for the best foundation with our Cult Beauty discount codes.
Best vegan foundation
KVD Vegan Beauty True Portrait Medium Coverage Shake Foundation, £14, Boots
Coverage: Medium and lightweight
Finish: Airy and totally matte
Shade range: 40 shades
Verdict: The innovative liquid-to-powder formula ensures that the coverage is 100% matte and airbrushed, but not too thick or caked on. Perfect for normal to oily complexions, the clever bi-phase product helps to control shine through the day without clogging pores, making it the ideal addition to your summer make-up bag. Oh, and you can use a Boots discount code when you place your order. You're welcome.
Best foundation for a full but weightless finish
Morphe Fluidity Full Coverage Foundation, £7, Morphe
Coverage: Full but weightless
Finish: Velvety smooth and lightly matte
Shade range: 60 shades (yep, 60!)
Verdict: In a rave review of Morphe Fluidity, one team member said, "I really can't fault this foundation, it delivers on everything it claims. From the full coverage to the truly excellent shade range and long-wear (I wore it for 12 hours and it looked exactly the same at the end of the day as at the start)."
Best foundation for buildable to full coverage
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation, £34, Charlotte Tilbury
Coverage: Medium to high
Finish: Flawless and airbrushed
Shade range: 20 shades
Verdict: Five years in the making, this high-coverage foundation succeeds in covering anything from dark circles to unwanted blemishes. It also has a great range of shades and comes in a rather pretty bottle. Put simply, Charlotte's creation really is magic.
Best foundation for blemish-blurring
Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Foundation, £34, Boots
Coverage: Very full
Finish: Flawless, perfecting and blemish blurring
Shade range: 30 shades through fair, tan and deep
Verdict: After its launch in October 2017, Huda's foundation quickly became a full coverage favourite with Youtubers all over the globe. NikkieTutorials called it out for being particularly long-wear, saying she could go at least 12 hours without powder after applying. Tempted? Use this Cult Beauty discount code when you make your purchase.Save while you shop for the best foundation with our Cult Beauty discount codes.
Best foundation for an ultra-considered shade range
Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, £27, Boots
Coverage: Full
Finish: Airbrushed and velvety
Shade range: 50 ultra considered shades
Verdict: Rihanna blew everyone away when she launched Fenty Beauty – and diversity has always been the name of the game for the brand. Rihanna even flew in women with traditionally tough-to-match skin tones, specifically to cater for them. The velvety soft finish is super long-lasting without being too thick – beauty vloggers have been calling it "Rihanna's skin in a bottle". Amazing.
Best foundation with skincare benefits
Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Skincaring Foundation, £32, Boots
Coverage: Buildable
Finish: Natural but longwearing
Shade range: 40
Verdict: Boasting an array of proven skincare ingredients including hyaluronic acid, Vitamin E and Vitamin C to hydrate and brighten the complexion, this foundation is also buildable, long wearing (an impressive 24 hours of wear), oil controlling and humidity resistant. What more could you want?Save while you shop for the best foundation with these Boots discount codes.
Best waterproof foundation
Smashbox Studio Skin 24 Hour Foundation, £30, Look Fantastic
Coverage: Full
Finish: Matter
Shade range: 40
Verdict: Totally smudge-proof, budge-proof and waterproof, this full coverage foundation will have you covered for as long as you like, without blocking pores or suffocating the skin. Top tip: work fast, this formula dries down in 60 seconds!Save while you shop for the best foundations with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Best foundation on the high-street
L'Oreal True Match Foundation, £9.99, Feel Unique
Coverage: Medium-to-buildable
Finish: Natural
Shade range: 40
Verdict: One of the nation's favourite foundations (and for under a tenner), this is enriched with hyaluronic acid to give skin a healthy dose of hydration and gives a really impressive amount of coverage whilst still looking natural and feeling weightless.Save while you shop for the best foundation with these Boots discount codes.
Best foundation for a seamless, silky finish
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, £44, Selfridges
Coverage: Medium, buildable and lightweight
Finish: Silky and seamless
Shade range: 30 shades to cover a wide range of skin tones
Verdict: If you're a makeup junkie you've obviously already heard of this one. A Kardashian favourite, this Armani foundation delivers a seamless complexion with silky finish. Use a Selfridges discount code to make your purchase cheaper.
Best powder foundation
bareMinerals Original Foundation SPF15, £29, Look Fantastic
Coverage: Medium and buildable
Finish: Natural and airbrushed
Shade range: 30 shades
Verdict: As far as powder foundations go, this is one of the best buildable coverage formulas on the market. It makes skin looks airbrushed, blurring imperfections without caking and blending seamlessly with the skin. Lightweight and breathable, it's great for those who don't want to feel like they're wearing makeup and is the ideal introduction for new foundation users.Save while you shop for the best foundations with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Best high-coverage foundation
Estée Lauder Double Wear, £33.09, Feel Unique
Coverage: Very high
Finish: Velvety and perfected
Shade range: A mega 60+ beautifully considered shades
Verdict: This is a must have for anyone that loves a high coverage foundation. With its stay-all-day formula and velvet finish, this foundation will leave you with a flawless complexion whilst still feelig lightweight and comfortable to wear. Plus, you can get money off your purchase with a Feel Unique discount code.
Best foundation for a second skin look
Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation, £43, Feel Unique
Coverage: Light but buildable
Finish: Natural and glowy
Shade range: 11 shades but few options for deeper tones
Verdict: Combining light-reflecting powders with silky pigments, this foundation creates the illusion of a sun-kissed glow for 12 hours. Plus, it contains antioxidants to protection skin from environmental aggressors and is available in 35 shades.
Best matte foundation
Clinique Stay-Matte Oil-Free Make-Up, £27.50, Look Fantastic
Coverage: Sheer to medium
Finish: Matte
Shade range: 16 shades
Verdict: Clinique's oil-free offering contains laminaria saccharina extract, which helps regulate sebum production, and willow bark extract, which absorbs oil from the skin's surface. It feels light and keeps skin shine-free.Save while you shop for the best foundations with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Best long-wearing foundation
Bobbi Brown Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation SPF 15, £32, Look Fantastic
Coverage: Full
Finish: Natural matte
Shade range: A whopping 43 shades
Verdict: Very smooth and blendable, this foundation offers brilliant coverage with added glow. Plus, it controls excess oil while keeping your skin moisturised.Save while you shop for the best foundations with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Best foundation for combination skin
Shiseido Synchro Skin Self Refreshing Foundation, £39, Look Fantastic
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Fresh and natural-looking.
Shade range: 30
Verdict: Always at the forefront of beauty technology, Shiseido's Syncro Skin Foundation utilises a clever, self-refreshing formula meaning skin never looks cakey or creased. It also contains Responsive Sensory Technology to adapt to your skin’s condition, texture and tone throughout the day.Save while you shop for the best foundations with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Best foundation for a soft-focused finish
Yves Saint Laurent All Hours Foundation, £36, Look Fantastic
Coverage: Medium to high
Finish: Perfected and flawless
Shade range: 40 shades
Verdict: If you love a flawless base, this is the foundation for you. This gives you the perfect complexion 24/7. The liquid foundation is waterproof and transfer-resistant,and also comes with a soft-focus finish. It's incredible, you've got to try it.
Best foundation for hydration
Urban Decay Stay Naked Hydromaniac Tinted Glow Hydrating Foundation, £29, Urban Decay
Coverage: Medium
Finish: Dewy
Shade range: 12 flexible shades
Verdict: If you are looking for a foundation that quenches skin's thirst, this dewy, glowing formula is what you've been looking for. It's weightless, nutrient-rich (thanks to ingredients such as kombucha filtrate and marula oil) and comes in 12 flexible shades to provide a hydrating, second-skin finish.
Best foundation for pregnancy skin
Tarte face tape foundation, £33
Coverage: Full
Finish: Matte
Shade range: 50
Verdict: If you've got 'pregnancy skin' that's a bit all over the place, this is ideal. It's nourishing, has a matte finish and helps smooth, texture and blur the appearance of pores, fine lines and wrinkles, all whilst covering redness, age spots and blemishes. Oh and it's transfer-proof, waterproof and sweatproof. It really does it all.
Best foundation for oily skin
MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF15 Foundation, £27, Boots
Coverage: Medium to full
Finish: Natural matte
Shade range: 67
Verdict: One of the most renowned foundations not only for its seriously impressive and inclusion shade range, but for its reliable coverage and failsafe finish, too. Always ahead of the curve, MAC has long provided a range of tones and undertones, as well as a large array of shades to cater to all skin colours, and this Studio Fix formula also helps to control oil production and resist sweat for 24 hour wear, and has been tested by dermatologists to ensure it won't exacerbate skin conditions such as acne.Save while you shop for the best foundation with these Boots discount codes.
