Makeup Artists And Vogue Editors List Down 15 Of The Best Foundations For Mature Skin
Beauty

15 Best Foundations for Mature Skin, According to Makeup Artists and Vogue Editors

Courtesy of Jones Road

Embracing your look as you age means adjusting your makeup regimen to suit your ever-evolving skin—something the best foundation for mature skin can certainly help with. To veil anything from dark spots to fine lines, the right complexion products make all the difference.

These Are Makeup Artists’ & Vogue Editors’ Favorite Foundations for Wrinkles & Aging Skin

The All-Around Pick: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Why We Love It

When we tapped makeup pros Carolina Dalí-Trites, Tobi Henney, and Janice Kinjo, each of them recommended Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation. While Kinjo notes it’s her go-to “that won’t settle into fine lines,” Dalí-Trites believes it “looks and feels like a second skin.” Henney shares that she reaches for this formula while working with Diane von Furstenberg for an event or photoshoot: “I use this a lot in my work, as it creates the most flawless base for all skin types.”

  • Product Details: Inspired by charmeuse silk, this oil-free foundation is infused with finely milled color pigments to impart medium coverage and a radiant, airbrushed finish that resembles a lit-from-within glow.
  • Shades: 40
  • Key Ingredients: Glycerin, Armani’s Micro-Fil Technology
  • Finish: Skin-like, blurred, and glowing
  • Coverage: Medium
  • Best For: All skin types

The Weightless Wear: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation Hydration and Longwear

Why We Love It

Celebrity makeup artist Meredith Baraf, who counts Brooke Shields, Erin Andrews, and Frankie Foye as clients, shares a laundry list of foundations that “melt into the skin and don’t tend to creep into fine lines and wrinkles or accentuate pores.” One of them is this weightless Chanel pick.

  • Product Details: Formulated with 40% water and light-reflecting pigments, the foundation has a silky, barely there feel and instantly hydrates skin for up to 12 hours.
  • Shades: 35
  • Key Ingredients:  40% water, light-reflecting pigments, glycerin, meadowfoam seed oil, jasmine stem extract
  • Finish: Glowy, hydrated
  • Coverage: Light-to-medium
  • Best For: Dry, dehydrated skin or daily wear

The Serum Foundation: Ilia True Skin Serum Foundation

Why We Love It

Dalí-Trites calls Ilia’s her go-to for mature skin because it “adds moisture, gives the skin a healthy natural glow, [and] good amount of coverage while still letting the skin look like skin.

  • Product Details: Think of this as the high-coverage counterpart to its acclaimed Super Serum Skin Tint. Kinjo says it’s “for those who want clean, vegan makeup [that] will keep skin glowing all day.” While niacinamide and allantoin help brighten and soothe skin, this is formulated to counteract the look of pores, redness, and uneven skin tone through its weightless medium-coverage formula.
  • Shades: 30
  • Key Ingredients: Niacinamide, allantoin, aloejojoba seed oil, jasmine flower/leaf extract
  • Finish: Medium
  • Coverage: Skin-like
  • Best For: All skin types, sensitive skin, anyone with uneven skin tone or redness

The Tinted Balm: Jones Road What The Foundation

Why We Love It

The draw to Jones Road’s foundation is that it’s more like a tinted balm than the complexion products you’re likely used to. That being said, this can be applied like a moisturizer—scooped out of its jar and blended with fingers. (A brush or sponge certainly works, too.) Remember: a little goes a long way!

  • Product Details: Mixed into a cream-like consistency, this blends jojoba oil and sodium hyaluronate (a small form of hyaluronic acid) to achieve a fresh, glowing complexion. An excellent pick for summer, expect buildable, light to medium coverage.
  • Shades: 12
  • Key Ingredients: Sodium hyaluronate, jojoba seed oil, glycerin, castor seed oil, ginger root oil
  • Finish: Skin-like
  • Coverage: Light-to-medium
  • Best For: All skin types or daily wear

The Tinted Moisturizer: Saie Slip Tint

Why We Love It

Not ready to give up the feel of a warm-weather tinted moisturizer? Baraf cites Saie’s formula as her pick. Sheer, dewy coverage truly never goes out of season.

  • Product Details: The Saie Slip Tint utilizes a blend of hyaluronic acid, pansy flower, and licorice root extract to brighten, hydrate, and protect skin with ease.
  • Shades: 14
  • Key Ingredients: Zinc oxide 15% grape seed oil, sodium hyaluronate, glycerin, licorice root extract, aloe, coconut fruit extract
  • Finish: Dewy
  • Coverage: Sheer-to-light
  • Best For: Dry-to-combination skin, UV protection

The Lightweight Oil Foundation: Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Complexion Drops

Why We Love It

Gucci Westman previously described the latest complexion solution from her eponymous beauty line as “a lightweight oil that—when you apply it to your face—becomes more like a cushiony serum.” The formula is powered by supercharged skin-care actives: ginseng extract, sunflower and almond oil, pomegranate extract, tsubaki oil, ginger root complex, and a skin-shielding complex. These come together to not only condition the skin but to even tone and smooth texture.

  • Product Details: What’s more, the weightless light-to-medium tint blends with ease to reveal a dewy, radiant finish perfect for year-round wear.
  • Shades: 20
  • Key Ingredients:  Ginseng extract, sunflower, and almond oil, pomegranate extract, tsubaki oil, ginger root complex, a skin-shielding complex
  • Finish: Dewy
  • Coverage: Light-to-medium
  • Best For: Dry-to-combination skin or daily wear

The Illuminator: Tom Ford Shade and Illuminate Soft Radiance Foundation SPF 50

Why We Love It

“This foundation has great coverage and is perfect for those with drier skin types,” says Henney. “The shade range is beautiful, and the packaging is super chic!”

  • Product Details: Tom Ford’s Soft Radiance foundation features a blend of SPF 50, hyaluronic acid, natural oils, and noni fruit extract to condition and calm skin. On the complexion front, light diffusing powders ensure the perfect luminous, medium-to-full-coverage wear.
  • Shades: 40
  • Key Ingredients: SPF 50, hyaluronic acid, natural oils, and noni fruit extract
  • Finish: Blurred but glow-y
  • Coverage: Medium-to-full
  • Best For: All skin types, glam (think: events or camera-ready), UV protection

The Gel-Cream: Glossier Stretch Fluid Foundation

Why We Love It

In British Vogue’s acting beauty and wellness director Lauren Murdoch-Smith test of Glossier’s new foundation, she said it was “ticking all of the boxes.” Why? It’s a hydrating elixir that doesn’t sink into fine lines, nor get overly dewy after a few hours of wear. 

  • Product Details: With light-to-medium coverage, this feels like a lightweight moisturizer on and delivers a natural finish. Formulated with 89% skincare ingredients—including squalane, glycerin, wild rose berry and plankton extract, and amino acid-coated pigments—Stretch Fluid Foundation is sure to be a hit.
  • Shades: 32
  • Key Ingredients: Squalane, glycerin, wild rose berry, plankton extract, amino acid coated pigments
  • Finish: Skin-like
  • Coverage: Light-to-medium
  • Best For: All skin types or daily wear

The Stick Foundation Formula: Merit The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick

Why We Love It

If a stick foundation is more your speed, Baraf is a fan of Merit’s lauded complexion stick. It’s especially useful for mess-free application, storing in your makeup bag, or combining the benefits of a foundation and concealer in one.

  • Product Details: Formulated in partnership with esthetician Biba de Sousa, this features a blend of fatty acids and sea daffodil to lock in moisture and minimize the look of dark spots. Give this formula a swipe to test its light-to-medium-coverage wear.
  • Shades: 20
  • Key Ingredients: Sea daffodil extract, fatty acids
  • Finish: Skin-like
  • Coverage: Light-to-medium
  • Best For: All skin types or daily wear

The Fine Line Smoother: Pat McGrath Labs Sublime Perfection Foundation

Why We Love It

Looking to achieve runway-ready glam that won’t settle into fine lines? Look no further than Pat McGrath Labs’s foundation. The formula is basically everything you’d want in a foundation for mature skin: lightweight, hydrating, and natural satin finish while smoothing skin wherever you place it. 

  • Product Details: This does this by a masterful blend of polymers (for long-wear), pigments treated with amino acids (for its creamy texture and buildable coverage), plus diamond core powder (to boost radiance and blur lines or pores). According to the brand, blend with your hands for a sheer finish or a brush for medium coverage.
  • Shades: 36
  • Key Ingredients: Smoothing polymers, amino acid-treated pigments, diamond core powder, 
  • Finish: Skin-like, satin-y
  • Coverage: Medium
  • Best For: All skin types

The Camera-Ready: Shiseido Synchro Skin Radiant Lifting Foundation SPF 30

Why We Love It

“I love this foundation for when I’m getting my clients ready for a red carpet or important event,” says Henney. “I use this on my client Vera Wang, and we love how it looks on the skin and in photographs.”

  • Product Details: Get your skin camera-ready with Shiseido’s foundation, designed to adjust to your skin’s needs. Featuring a blend of SPF 30, mandarin-peel extract, light-adjusting technology, luminous pearls, and microcrystals, this foundation refines skin texture, reduces the look of hyperpigmentation, and smooths fine lines. The finish is medium-to-full coverage, along with water-, transfer-, and crease-resistant wear.
  • Shades: 30
  • Key Ingredients: Light-adjusting technology (smooths skin), radiant microcrystals (also makes skin appear smoother), luminous pearls (corrects hyperpigmentation)
  • Finish: Blurred, soft-focus
  • Coverage: Medium-to-full coverage
  • Best For: Glam (think: red carpets or events!), all skin types, UV protection

Celebrity-Approved: Clé de Peau Radiant Fluid Foundation

Why We Love It

In Maye Musk’s installment of Vogue’s Beauty Secrets, she began her makeup routine with Clé de Peau’s Radiant Fluid Foundation. At 73, the model is now partial to more natural-looking makeup, thanks in part to this foundation’s bare-skin-like finish.

  • Product Details: Infused with hyaluronic acid and skin-luminizing properties, this foundation is crafted to enhance your skin’s glow, suppleness, and moisture. Not to mention, there’s even SPF 25 to protect against UV rays. Apply it with a sponge, as Musk does, or your preferred brush, for light-to-medium coverage. 
  • Shades: 24
  • Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, glycerin, citrus junos seed extract, rosa roxburghii fruit extract, hydrolyzed silk
  • Finish: Glow-y
  • Coverage: Sheer-to-medium
  • Best For: All skin types

The Skin Care Hybrid: Sisley Sisleya Le Teint Anti-Aging Foundation

Why We Love It

“The best foundations use great skin-care ingredients,” says Kinjo. “You want ingredients that help collagen production, like my favorite Sisley Paris Sisleÿa Le Teint Anti-Aging Foundation.”

  • Product Details: Persian acacia, chlorella, soy peptide, and white willow extracts are only a few of the ingredients that power Sisley’s light-coverage foundation. While these work to reveal a radiant, supple complexion, mica and powder pigments promote a smooth, even base.
  • Shades: 20
  • Key Ingredients: Persian acacia, chlorella, soy peptide, white willow extracts, adenosine, cherry blossom extract, vitamin E
  • Finish: Skin-like
  • Coverage: Light
  • Best For: All skin types

The Matte Finish: Dior Forever Matte Foundation SPF 15

Why We Love It

One may assume that a matte-finish foundation is out of the question, so as to avoid exaggerating the look of skin texture or fine lines. Baraf, however, recommends Dior’s foundation (in the matte or glow variant) as a suitable option.

  • Product Details: Powered by mineral pigments and floral extracts of wild pansy, nasturtium, and iris, Dior’s matte foundation is anything but drying and provides smooth, soft-focus coverage and a nourished complexion.
  • Shades: 42
  • Key Ingredients: Iris, rose, and wild pansy extracts
  • Finish: Matte
  • Coverage: Medium
  • Best For: Normal-to-oily skin, UV protection

The Intensive Hydrator: Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation

Why We Love It

Those partial to a cream foundation, especially throughout colder temperatures, should consider Koh Gen Do’s Maifanshi Moisture Foundation. Kinjo dubs it a “hydrating formula with great coverage.”

  • Product Details: Despite its creamy texture, it delivers sheer-to-medium wear that moisturizes and blurs skin texture thanks to a blend of mineral pigments, aloe extract, jojoba oil, squalane, and shea butter.
  • Shades: 12
  • Key Ingredients: Mineral pigments, aloe extract, jojoba oil, squalane, shea butter
  • Finish: Sheer-to-medium
  • Coverage: Skin-like
  • Best For: Normal-to-dry skin

How to Apply Foundation for Mature Skin

So you’ve discovered your favorite foundation above, but you’re still a bit unsure how to apply it. If we’ve learned anything in recent years, it’s that your technique makes all the difference.

“A key to looking youthful as we age is avoiding heavy or cakey makeup; less is definitely more here,” says Baraf. “You can use thin layers of product to build in places if need be. Most important is layering your gorgeous skin care underneath your foundation to ensure your foundation melts into your skin and looks fresh.”

To make your foundation look like a second skin, the right moisturizer, primer, and perhaps a glow-boosting serum can be helpful even before applying the foundation. Next, Dalí-Trites says to “mist your foundation brush or sponge with a hydrating face mist; this will help add an extra layer of hydration, allowing the foundation to best glide onto the skin and blend seamlessly.” From there, you can go in with concealer to the undereyes (or wherever else) before applying a light veil of powder—especially to the T-zone and around the mouth. Caution against using too much, though. “If you need to take away some shine, use translucent powder sparingly,” says Kinjo. “Overpowering makes your skin look dry.” And there you have it—a flawless makeup base.

Best Primer for Aging Skin: Saie Glowy Super Gel

Why We Love It

Described as a lightweight luminizer, Saie’s Glowy Super Gel is the ultimate under-makeup product for mature skin. 

  • Product Details: Applying this gel feels like a drink of water to dry, thirsty skin and that’s only half the draw to the formula. Working as a sort of all-over highlighter, this imparts a glowing, radiant bronze perfect for a dewy makeup look.
  • Shades: 2
  • Key Ingredients: Vitamin C, papaya seed oil, rosa canina fruit oil, squalane oil

Best Face Mist: Avène Thermal Spring Water

Why We Love It

As Dalí-Trites describes, a hydrating face mist allows foundation to blend into a skin-like finish. Avène’s Thermal Spring Water is one of the best.

  • Product Details: Powered by mineral properties (which help improve skin texture and soften aging skin) and biological properties (from post-biotic microflora to soothe stressed skin), this has all the qualities of an effective face mist.
  • Key Ingredients: Avène Thermal Spring Water

Best Makeup Brush: Clé de Peau High Coverage Foundation Brush

Why We Love It

You’d be surprised how much a good makeup brush can level-up your makeup game, especially when it’s as good as Cle de Peau’s tool known to blend foundation without a trace.

  • Product Details: Here, fine synthetic bristles are packed densely into an angled head to smoothly and seamlessly blend cream and liquid foundations. For the best finish, blend outward from the center of the face to the hairline.

Best Sponge: Beautyblender Original Makeup Sponge

Why We Love It

The choice is honestly yours in the makeup brush versus sponge debate. Those interested in the latter should really look no further than the classic Beautyblender.

  • Product Details: Once wet, this latex-free foam sponge expands and deftly smooths foundation onto skin for a streak-free finish. Plus, it’s designed to absorb water—not product—so you theoretically can use less product.

Best Concealer for Mature Skin: Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat All-Over Brightening Concealer Pen

Why We Love It

We’d argue that the concealer for mature skin is just as important as the foundation, particularly if under-eye bags or dark circles are of concern.

  • Product Details: One of the most acclaimed concealers around for awakening tired eyes (just ask Sofia Richie and Jennifer Lopez), Touche Éclat is formulated to brighten, conceal, and highlight in one fell swoop.
  • Shades: 14
  • Key Ingredients: Vitamin E, ruscus extract, Moroccan calendula extract

Best Setting Powder: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder

Why We Love It

Because a hydrated, glowing complexion is key before applying makeup for women over 50, you’ll want to employ a featherweight veil of setting powder to avoid cakiness. Luckily, this Charlotte Tilbury formula is as imperceptible as they come.

  • Product Details: Designed to quell excess shine, this super-finely milled powder instantly blurs the look of pores and fine lines when applied to the skin. A simple dusting with a brush is all you need to mattify surface oils and lock your look in place for hours.
  • Shades: 4
  • Key Ingredients: Rose wax, almond oil, light-reflecting pearlescent pigments

How to Choose the Best Foundation for Aging Skin

As with other skin-care products, experts recommend picking a foundation with multifunctional, skin-loving properties. “I look for a foundation that targets the concerns of mature skin, such as loss of radiance, uneven skin tone, and moisture balance,” explains celebrity makeup artist Carolina Dalí-Trites. The right level of hydration ensures that the formula melts into skin without caking or creasing. With this in mind, read on to discover the best foundation for older women that pairs immaculate coverage with a natural finish, as chosen by pro makeup artists, Vogue editors, and a few celebrities.

Meet The Makeup Artists We Consulted

  • Meredith Baraf is a celebrity makeup artist who has worked with Brooke Shields, Adriana Lima, and Linda Evangelista.
  • Carolina Dalí-Trites is a celebrity makeup artist and men’s groomer whose clients include Kate Hudson, Hunter Schafer, and Natalia Dyer.
  • Tobi Henney is a celebrity makeup artist who works with Barbara Palvin, Megan Fox, and Poppy Delevingne.
  • Janice Kinjo is a celebrity makeup artist and men’s groomer who specializes in melanin-rich skin. Her clients include Viola Davis, Mindy Kaling, and Donald Glover, 

This article was originally published on Vogue.com. 

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