Foundation is, as its name implies, the groundwork for the rest of your makeup routine. If your foundation is too cakey, pilling or even too sheer, it can throw off your entire look. During the pandemic, you may have tossed your foundation aside and opted for Instagram filters as you weren’t seeing many people in person. Now that the world has reopened, it’s time to find the perfect foundation that will make you look like you did with those filters. We’ve rounded up 12 of the best foundations to give you an IRL filter for your face.
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Oil-Free Foundation ($64)
For natural-looking but still radiant coverage, you need Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation. The formula is lightweight and silky, creating medium coverage with a satin-like finish. You can layer more makeup on top or head out with just the foundation and a slick of mascara.
Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Everyday Perfection Bouncy Makeup ($40)
With a unique ingredient blend of peppermint, ginseng and caffeine, this foundation refreshes tired, dull skin, while also perfecting texture and tone for a seamless look. The bouncy-gel formula also uses a network of polymers that mimic the skin’s natural movement, so imperfections are blurred without appearing as if there’s a film covering the skin.
Lancome Skin Feels Good Nourishing Foundation ($35)
Create a “no-makeup makeup” look while achieving a velvety smooth glow with this oil-free foundation. Good-for-your-skin ingredients like hyaluronic acid combined with antioxidants protect the skin from free radicals and pollution while also offering SPF 23 to prevent sun damage.
Bali Body BB Cream ($30)
While this is technically a BB cream and not a full-coverage foundation, we can’t help but love its ability to give a natural coverage and dewy glow without masking our skin’s natural beauty. Plus, it’s 100-percent vegan friendly and offers SPF 15—talk about a win-win!
ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint ($48)
The best part about ILIA’s Skin Tint is the skin-care benefits that come with it. The formula features hyaluronic acids, plant-based squalane and niacinamide, which aim to even your skin tone and soften fine lines and imperfections while providing coverage. The skin tint will leave you with a dewy finish that still looks like your own skin, all while protecting you from sun damage.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter Foundation ($44)
Although this product isn’t technically a full-coverage foundation, it will create a filtered look no matter what products you use it with. Here’s how it works: The hybrid complexion booster can be mixed with any foundation—regardless of color or texture—to create an Instagram filter appearance (hence its name) on the skin. It can also be simply worn on top of foundation or on its own for a similar effect. Unsurprisingly, the makeup photographs beautifully, blurs imperfections and offers an understated shimmer for a glowy finish.
Nudestix Nudies Tinted Blur Stick ($32)
For those who don’t love liquid foundations, this cream-to-powder stick formula is a godsend. The multitasking product offers soft-matte coverage with shade-adjusting pigments to blend with real skin tone for the most natural-looking finish you’ll ever wear.
Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint ($26)
This Skin Tint definitely lives on the lighter end of the spectrum when it comes to coverage. The formula is ultra-thin and has a barely there element to it. However, it does promise to even out your skin’s appearance and provide a dewy finish. One unique aspect of the formula is the Diamond Powder, which provides a brightening, soft-focus effect while minimizing the appearance of pores, much like a filter.
Saie Slip Tint ($32)
If you have drier skin, Saie’s Slip Tint is for you. The hydrating formula provides a tinted, dewy look while locking in moisture and protecting you from the sun.
it CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ ($30)
This CC+ Cream was developed with plastic surgeons to create a top-notch full-coverage, color-correcting foundation. The formula features a myriad of ingredients that are good for your skin, including hydrolyzed collagen, peptides, niacin, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants and vitamins. These ingredients help reduce the appearance of acne, scarring, wrinkles, redness, dark circles and large pores.
Fenty Beauty Eaze Drop Blurring Skin Tint ($30)
If you’re looking for light-to-medium coverage that vows to withstand humidity and sweat, Fenty Beauty’s Ease Drop Blurring Skin Tint is for you. The formula leaves skin appearing blurred and smoother and promises not to transfer.
Milk Makeup Blur Liquid Matte Foundation ($40)
Milk delivers a lightweight formula that yields full coverage, so if you’re looking to cover things up and keep them hidden, this Blur Liquid Matte Foundation is for you. The serum-like texture glides on to blur pores with a smooth, matte finish.
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