The 4 Best Foundations of 2025

Liquids

Testers liked Armani Beauty’s Luminous Silk Foundation’s feel and finish, which is similar to our Dior pick, but it costs $40+ more per ounce. Also one of our testers thought it smelled strange, like a mix of chemicals and dirty water.

The CoverGirl+Olay Simply Ageless Skin Perfector Essence Foundation was light on the skin — but took far too long to dry, was too sheer, and seemed to highlight testers’ fine lines in an unflattering way.

The E.L.F. Cosmetics Soft Glam Satin Foundation left our testers’ skin looking patchy and cakey. And storing the squeeze tube cap-down (the most intuitive way) made for a messy overflow when opening.

We found the Fenty Soft Lit Naturally Luminous Hydrating Longwear Foundation to be insufficiently buildable, and the coverage didn’t last a full day.

Our testers appreciated the intensity of Haus Labs Triclone Skin Tech Medium Coverage Foundation’s coverage. That said, they found it tended to pill, crack, or cling to dry patches.

MAC Studio Radiance provided full coverage, but folks noted that it felt heavy on the skin, and often looked patchy after application.

Since the Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth Foundation comes with neither a pump nor a dropper, testers considered it too messy.

The Nars Light Reflecting Skin Improving Medium Coverage Foundation was long-lasting, and even managed to stay put throughout a night of dancing for one tester. However, it did dry out our skin a bit.

The Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Foundation Hydrating & Blurring Luminous Longwear Serum Foundation was oddly (annoyingly) highly transferable and hard to wash off. One tester commented, “There might be some on me for the rest of my life.”

The lightweight Tirtir Mask Fit Red Foundation Cushion was one of our testers’ favorites, but the application and shade matching was too complicated.

Creams

Testers loved how luxurious Dior Forever Skin Perfect felt. But in a face-off with our far more affordable pick, Essence Foundation Stick, it didn’t perform substantively better.

The Lys Triple Fix Blurring & Hydrating Skin Tint Foundation Stick had good coverage but felt greasy to most of our testers.

Merit The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Stick clung to dry patches and triggered breakouts for some of our testers. Though all testers agreed it blended well and had longevity, there were more affordable options that worked just as effectively.

The Westman Atelier Vital Skin Full Coverage Multi-Use Foundation Stick was one of our testers’ least favorite formulas; they disliked how much product they needed to achieve their desired coverage and found it hard to blend.

Powders

Testers’ first frustration with Bare Minerals Original Loose Talc-free Powder Mineral Foundation was in finding a shade match. Then, they were further disappointed with how it looked and felt on the skin. One tester pointed out that “it covers like icing on a cake” — and that’s not a compliment.

Despite its name, Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder is actually more of a cream-to-powder, but testers didn’t care for the innovation, and weren’t impressed with the coverage, feel, or staying power.

The L’Oréal Paris Infallible 24H Fresh Wear Foundation In A Powder was a huge no for our testers. Not only was the packaging fallible (most of the compacts we ordered from Amazon arrived cracked, with powder spilling out) but the makeup itself did not look good on most of our tester’s faces, with one noting it’s “like my face had dandruff.”

Milani Conceal + Perfect Smooth Finish Cream-to-Powder Foundation delivers a full, even coverage — but testers didn’t like how it tended to settle into fine lines.

We also ruled out a number of other foundations from Bare Minerals, Benefit, Chanel, Charlotte Tilbury, Clinique, CoverGirl, Dermablend, E.L.F., Fenty, Givenchy, Hourglass, Huda Beauty, Ilia, Il Makiage, Jones Road, Juvia’s Place, Kosas, L.A. Girl, Lancôme, Laura Gellar, MAC, Maybelline, Morphe, Make Up For Ever, Nars, Neutrogena, Nyx Professional Makeup, One/Size, Prada, Pur, Revolution Beauty, Rose Inc., Sephora Collection, Tarte, Too Faced, Urban Decay, Yves Saint Laurent, and Wet n Wild. We chose not to test them for a variety of reasons, including insufficient or unfavorable reviews, limited shade ranges, or concerns related to value.

This guide was edited by Rory Evans and Jennifer G. Sullivan.