13 best foundations for mature skin that deliver hydration and added radiance
As you get older, changes to your skin tone and texture may prompt you to reconsider the way you wear make-up. You may find formulations you once loved are no longer flattering, for example. The good news is that all it takes is a couple of tweaks to your technique or a switch-up of product to reignite the magic that make-up can bring.
Getting the base right is key whether you’re going for that no-make-up make-up look or a full face. We asked international make-up artist Caroline Barnes, whose clients have included Nigella Lawson, Michaela Coel and Kylie Minogue, to share some tricks of the trade when it comes to foundation for mature skin. For the complexion product to look its best, Caroline suggests starting with a good skincare routine: “Exfoliation and hydration create a smooth, light-reflective surface for make-up to fuse with.”
Hydration is key here: once you’ve moisturised, moisturise some more. “Hydrate really well. Skin should be slightly tacky to the touch. You may need to apply moisturiser twice in the morning after the first layer has absorbed but it does make a difference. This added hydration will help the foundation to blend seamlessly into the skin.” Hyaluronic acid is a good ingredient to look for both in your moisturiser and foundation. Caroline believes it’s “key for keeping the skin continually hydrated over the day. It enables the foundation to be flexible and less likely to look dry and patchy after a few hours”.
One issue we tend to notice as we get older is products settling into fine lines and creases during the day. Caroline’s advice is to “avoid matte foundations and don’t overload the skin with powder. Keep your base light and only cover imperfections with an opaque concealer”.
In testing, we looked for foundations that could last the day, felt comfortable on the skin, wouldn’t sink into lines and creases and gave an immediate, visible improvement to the complexion.
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The best foundations for mature skin are:
- Best overall – Bobbi Brown intensive skin serum foundation SPF40: £48, Lookfantastic.com
- Best for uneven skin tones – Estée Lauder futurist hydra rescue SPF45: £36,Lookfantastic.com
- Best for online shade matching – Il Makiage woke up like this flawless base foundation: £36, Ilmakiage.com
- Best for instant gratification – Trinny London BFF serum de-stress: £39,Trinnylondon.com
- Best for lifting and firming –Giorgio Armani designer lift smoothing firming foundation: £46,Lookfantastic.com
- Best high street buy –No7 protect & perfect intense advanced all-in-one foundation: £17.50, Boots.com
- Best for luminosity – Chantecaille future skin gel foundation: £72, Cultbeauty.co.uk
- Best for glow – SUQQU the cream foundation: £68,Selfridges.com
- Best for oily skin – Clinique even better clinical serum foundation: £30.60, Lookfantastic.com
- Best value for money – Catrice Cosmetics true skin hydrating foundation: £6.95, Justmylook.com
- Best for dry skin – Mac studio sculpt SPF15 foundation: £27, Lookfantastic.com
- Best for brightening – Pat McGrath skin fetish sublime perfection foundation: £60, Net-a-porter.com
- Best for multi-tasking –Omorovicza complexion protector SPF20: £62, Cultbeauty.co.uk
Bobbi Brown intensive skin serum foundation SPF40
Best: Overall
Rating: 10/10
As we mature, it’s not always about wanting to look younger, it’s about wanting to look better: less tired, less sallow, healthier. Luxuriously rich without being heavy, this foundation delivers. We felt it made skin look “expensive” – as if you spend your time between yacht and dermatologist’s clinic. With natural extracts of cordyceps, lychee, bamboo and apple, the serum formulation feels nourishing and adds luminosity. It hydrates while ultra-fine pigments smooth the complexion. Extra points for the high SPF too.
Buy now £48.00, LOOKFANTASTIC
Estée Lauder futurist hydra rescue SPF45
Best: For uneven skin tones
Rating: 9/10
Blending skincare and make-up, this is a wonderfully moisturising formula with ion charged water and chia seed extract. Plumping, illuminating and very flattering, we loved this one for its silky feel and light yet full coverage. It smoothed over large pores, fine lines and evened out skin tone a treat. We also rated the high SPF and the packaging which sits upside down – the pump is at the bottom, letting you make the most of every last drop. Eight new shades were recently added increasing the shade range to 28.
Buy now £36.00, Lookfantastic.com
Il Makiage woke up like this flawless base foundation
Best: For online shade matching
Rating:9/10
A viral sensation across social media, the killer USP here is its online shade matching service. From an impressive range of 50 shades, it picks your perfect match and, if it’s not right, you can return it (for free, in any condition) within 60 days. With mature skin-friendly vitamin E and hyaluronic acid, the formula provides a forgiving medium to heavy coverage that gives a matte finish without looking flat. We loved it for the way it blurs imperfections and pigmentation to leave an even smoothness (and yes, it got our shade right first time).
Buy now £36.00, Ilmakiage.com
Trinny London BFF serum de-stress
Best: For instant gratification
Rating: 9/10
With Trinny London, you can rest assured that the products have been tried and tested for real life, mid-life needs by Trinny herself – as evidenced on her entertaining Instagram feed. Not strictly a foundation, this formula is a make-up/skincare hybrid. Active ingredient neurophroline counteracts the effect stress has on making skin look haggard while hyaluronic acid moisturises and antioxidants boost radiance. We were also impressed by the high level of pigment which gives skin polish without looking overdone. It’s a brilliant quick fix with (long term) benefits.
Buy now £39.00, Trinnylondon.com
Giorgio Armani designer lift smoothing firming foundation
Best: For lifting and firming
Rating: 8/10
Armani is famously good at foundation and this one is specifically created to flatter mature skin. It contains “Armani electric blue pearls”, a luminous blue pigment that makes skin look lifted, paired with firming skincare actives. We liked the balance of lightweight formulation and medium coverage and the fact that a little goes a long way. The emollient, liquid consistency moved with our skin rather than lying on top like a mask. The finish is matte yet glowy, with a nice natural sheen – and it lasted well too.
Buy now £46.00, Lookfantastic.com
No7 protect & perfect intense advanced all-in-one foundation
Best: High street buy
Rating: 8/10
The protect & perfect range has become a mature skin stalwart on the high street with its affordable, actives-packed products. This foundation, designed for “the first signs of ageing”, includes collagen peptide-based technology to plump, pro-retinol to smooth and vitamins A and C plus an antioxidant complex to guard against free radicals and protect the skin. Not to mention an impressive SPF50+. Great value for money, we liked this one for its ability to cover imperfections and smooth out tone. It needs to be blended in well for the best results.
Buy now £17.50, Boots.com
Chantecaille future skin gel foundation
Best: For luminosity
Rating: 9/10
A sophisticated foundation that elevated our skin to a more luminous level, this is dewy skin in a jar. We loved the oil-free, gel texture, made up of 60 per cent water and seaweed, which feels wonderfully cool on the skin. It has flattering light-reflecting pigments, aloe, camomile and arnica to soothe along with antioxidants including rosemary, green tea and rice bran. It melts seamlessly into the skin, feels luxurious and made our skin look naturally good.
Buy now £72.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk
SUQQU the cream foundation
Best: For glow
Rating: 8/10
This foundation contains SUQQU’s signature glow-giving properties for a your-skin-but-better look. What’s more, the high-tech formula is designed to adapt to skin throughout the day, keeping you glowing from dawn ‘til dusk. Within the (display-worthy) jet black and gold pot lies green tea extract and silk protein, collagen and amino acids to keep skin protected and moisture levels topped up. It’s not one for those looking for full coverage but if you have generally good skin that you just want to look dewier and fresher, this beautiful cream gives a great glow.
Buy now £68.00, Selfridges.com
Clinique even better clinical serum foundation
Best: For oily skin
Rating: 8/10
Serum formulations are a godsend for more mature complexions. They blend with the skin (rather than lying on top and then settling into lines) and bring the benefit of skincare ingredients such as the vitamin C, salicylic acid and hyaluronic acid present here. Dispense a small amount to start with as the formula is highly concentrated. We loved the natural look of the satin matte finish which didn’t budge even following a stickily humid walk. Our skin felt plumper and looked brighter (also kudos to the tactile, egg-shaped, recyclable bottle).
Buy now £30.60, Lookfantastic.com
Catrice Cosmetics true skin hydrating foundation
Best: Value for money
Rating: 9/10
With moisturising hyaluronic acid and watermelon seed extract, True Skin can hold its own next to formulas ten times the price. We rated it for its ability to successfully cover redness and blemishes. It offers a good level of coverage while still feeling light and comfortable to wear. The finish, slightly more matte than dewy, lives up to its “real skin” claim, giving a natural, polished look. We also loved the way it dispenses cleanly and easily.
Buy now £6.95, Justmylook.com
Mac studio sculpt SPF15 foundation
Best: For dry skin
Rating: 8/10
For those looking for full coverage, this fairly thick cream foundation contains silicone-coated pigments that stick to skin without looking too heavy thanks to a gel base. We liked the way it felt on our skin (it contains shea butter and we definitely felt its nourishing properties) and the way it lasted through a long working day. It goes on easily, blends in well and kept skin moisturised. We found it especially good on dry skin.
Buy now £27.00, Lookfantastic.com
Pat McGrath skin fetish sublime perfection foundation
Best: For brightening
Rating: 9/10
This is soft-focus in a bottle: it seems to blur out the bad bits (pigmentation, fine lines) and accentuate the good. Superstar make-up artist Pat McGrath is an expert in the field so it’s no surprise that this is one serious piece of kit. It contains a complex which encourages the skin’s natural production of hyaluronic acid and ceramides, resulting in plumped up, juicy skin. The complex formula also smooths the skin’s texture and illuminating pigment scatters light to make skin appear brighter. We especially liked the sheer, liquid consistency which sinks into the skin and allows you to layer up to your perfect coverage.
Buy now £60.00, Net-a-porter.com
Omorovicza complexion protector SPF20
Best: For multi-tasking
Rating: 8/10
More of a face tint than a foundation, we’ve included it here because we feel mature skin sometimes craves a lightweight formula rather than a full-on foundation. This all-purpose BB cream combines sunscreen (although you may want to add on a separate higher SPF), concealer, foundation and an anti-ageing cream. With vitamin C to brighten, it also contains hyaluronic acid microspheres which drip feed the potent moisturiser into the skin for daylong hydration. We felt it left our skin firmer, softer and more even. It’s like wearing a forgiving, flattering veil.
Buy now £62.00, Cultbeauty.co.uk
The verdict: Foundations for mature skin
Bobbi Brown’s intensive skin serum foundation won out for combining a quality skincare boost with really flattering coverage. If you have the budget then Chantecaille’s future skin gel foundation is a beautiful product that makes skin look radiant and we were also really impressed by the Catrice cosmetics true skin hydrating foundation which belies its bargain price by offering a genuinely good foundation that works well on mature skin.
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