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With summer creeping up on us, it's time to look into a good long-lasting foundation.
It's great for weddings (whether you're the bride or the guest), or simply when you're too busy or feeling too lazy to reapply. As many long-wear foundations usually provide full coverage, they're also pretty useful when you want extra coverage for blemishes or dark spots.
Long-lasting foundation formulas have historically been heavy and chalky, often sinking into pores and fine lines. However, there's new technology and innovation to solve those issues and all the ones we've tried here are lightweight but still provide full coverage that lasts without looking or feeling heavy or unnatural.
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But finding the right formula can seem like an impossible task. So to save you time, money and disappointment, we've researched hundreds of expert and consumer reviews, and tested the top-rated long-wearing foundations to come up with the best.
Here are the best long lasting foundations you can buy:
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This high-performance long-lasting foundation has a weightless texture and a breathable oil-free formula that provides medium to full coverage with a matte finish. It promises up to 15 hours of wear — and I can confirm that it does stay in place for hours upon hours.
In addition to evening out skin tone and minimizing the look of pores and blemishes, the foundation has fine oil-absorbing powders to help you stay matte throughout the day. It's also resistant to humidity, water, and sweat so you can go straight from work to al fresco happy hour.
Laura Mercier's Ultra-Longwear Foundation comes in 30 shades, ranging from very fair to very deep. There are plenty of options for warm, cool, and neutral undertones too.
This is my go-to long-wear foundation. I love how it feels on my skin — lightweight and comfortable, but with full, smooth coverage that covers my blemishes. The formula is fairly thick so you don't need much, but it still lasts all day long. My skin never feels dry or tight, and I haven't had any irritation either. It's expensive, but I feel it's worth the investment.
This foundation is also highly rated by countless beauty sites including Rank and Style and Byrdie. It also has a 4.1 out of 5-star rating on Sephora with nearly 2,000 reviews, with one shopper commenting, "The texture and coverage of this product is amazing! It goes on light as a feather but isn't cakey. It lasts throughout the day and doesn't smudge or come off easily."
Pros: 30 shades; oil-free; buildable coverage, good for all skin types; good for sensitive skin; non-comedogenic; sweat-, humidity-, and water-resistant; free of sulfates, parabens, and synthetic fragrance
If you're looking for a foundation with gives you great coverage that lasts all day — and without a hefty price tag — Physicians Formula The Health Foundation is our winner.
Drugstore foundations keep getting better and better, so you don't have to break the bank to find a good long-lasting formula that stays in place.
The Health Foundation by Physicians Formula is a lightweight and breathable long-wearing foundation that gives you medium coverage with a satin finish.
Not only is it packed with ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and vitamins A, C, and E to brighten, hydrate, and repair your skin, it also has SPF 20 for sun protection. The foundation comes in 16 shades with options to suit all skin undertones.
In testing, Physicians Formula The Health Foundation felt very comfortable on my skin and gave me a more even complexion. I wore MC1 and it matched my skin tone really well, blending easily with a slightly dewy finish, which is unusual for a long-wear foundation with good coverage. However, the doe-foot applicator did feel clumsy to use and was a bit messy.
It's not just me who recommends this foundation. It's highly rated on Cosmopolitan and Elite Daily, and Amazon reviewers give it an average of 4.0 out of 5 stars, with one happy shopper commenting, "This is an amazing foundation. It's natural and provides enough coverage to make the tone of your skin uniform without being cakey."
However, while the foundation is listed to be free of synthetic fragrances, some shoppers did report that they found the smell too strong. This might be due to the natural fragrance from the ingredients themselves, and not necessarily one that's added to make the foundation smell nice.
Pros: 12 shades; great price; contains SPF 20; non-comedogenic; satin finish looks natural; suited for all skin types including sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin; free of synthetic fragrances, parabens, gluten, and animal cruelty
Cons: Doe-foot applicator is a bit messy, doesn't last as long as other long-wear foundations, some might find the smell too strong
The lightweight formula contains breathable, flexible polymers that deliver a comfortable, natural look that lasts all day — literally. When the foundation debuted in 2011, it was only meant to last up to 15 hours but was been reformulated in 2018 to last a full 24 — which the brand claims to have clinically proven.
The hyaluronic acid keeps the transfer-, sweat-, and humidity-resistant formula from feeling like a moisture-sucking mask on your face. There's also an impressive range of 40 shades from very fair to very deep, covering a broad range of undertones to ensure the closest match possible. Best of all, the airless pump bottle keeps the formula from oxidizing and changing colors — which is the last thing you want after you've paid $36 for a bottle of your ideal shade.
When put to the test, Smashbox Studio Skin 15 hour Wear Hydrating Foundation was easy to apply and felt very light on my skin. My complexion looked much more even but natural, and any imperfections I had disappeared. I loved the satin finish too, which gave my skin a soft glow and I was impressed that it lasted all day.
This foundation is beloved by everyone, with tons of praise on InStyle, Byrdie, and Ulta, where it also has an average 4.3 out of 5 stars from more than 2,500 reviewers.
Pros: Oil-free; won't oxidize; 40 shades; good for all skin types including dry, sensitive, and acne-prone skin; transfer-, sweat- and humidity-resistant; formulated without parabens, SLS, phthalates, fragrance, talc, animal cruelty, and animal byproducts
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full-Coverage Foundation SPF 15 provides full coverage for up to 12 hours with clean mineral pigments and nourishing vitamins. While other formulas listed here have liquid or creamy textures, this one has a mousse-like consistency that feels lightweight on skin.
The oil-free formula contains Amazonian clay to hydrate and calm skin, vitamin E to soothe and protect against free radical damage, clean mineral pigments that won't irritate sensitive skin, and SPF 15 for sun protection. The foundation doesn't technically bear the Clean at Sephora seal, but it is made without a lot of the same potentially irritating chemicals like mineral oil, sulfates, parabens, and more.
Even more impressive is the extensive shade range — there are 40 shades that span fair to deep, and with various undertones too.
I loved the feel of this foundation when I tested it. The squeeze tube made it very easy to get just the amount I needed, and my skin looked smooth and felt soft. Even after wearing it all day, my skin still looked amazing and wasn't irritated.
Foundation can be a double-edged sword if you're prone to acne. You might want to cover up blemishes but don't want to aggravate your skin with heavy makeup in case it makes things worse.
Each of the 43 shades provides up to 16 hours of full color-correcting coverage so any redness from current breakouts or hyperpigmentation from previous ones disappears instantly. Marine sugar cane and natural mineral powders help soak up excess oil and shine, while glycerin and shea butter hydrates skin. Note that there isn't any salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to help manage any acne.
In testing, I was amazed how lightweight it felt, though I definitely suggest starting off with a small amount otherwise the full-coverage formula can look too heavy. My skin looked smooth and natural, and it easily covered my acne blemishes. My skin didn't break out even after wearing it for hours.
Makeup primer is one of those steps you might be tempted to skip, but you'll be happier with your foundation application if you don't.
It can help make your makeup apply more smoothly and last longer, and depending on the formula, can also help mattify and decrease the appearance of large pores.
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer is our top pick because it gives skin a velvety smooth finish to help base products glide on and stay in place all day long.
Here are the best makeup primers you can buy in 2019:
Tinted moisturizers are the perfect multitasking beauty product that help even out your skin tone while providing extra hydration and SPF.
Our top pick is the Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer with Broad Spectrum SPF because the award-winning product moisturizes and protects skin with SPF 20 while leaving you with a healthy, dewy finish. It comes in 15 shades, and there's an oil-free version too.
Here are the best tinted moisturizers you can buy:
A good makeup setting powder must cut down on shine without caking, look natural but last for hours, mattify but enhance luminosity, and remain undetectable on most skin tones.
The right formula will lock your makeup into place and cut down on shine without mattifying you within an inch of your life or making you look cakey and overdone.
Hopefully this list of my five favorites will help you cut through the noise and find the one that's right for you.
Here are the best makeup setting sprays you can buy:
Finding your ideal concealer shade is tricky, so we tested a bunch to find the best concealer you can buy.
The best formulas can make you look airbrushed with very little product required. I put a bunch of highly rated concealers to the test over several weeks. This list features my top five favorites.
One of the major grievances I have with lipstick is that you apply it only to find your lips are bare the next time you look in the mirror. The solution is to amp up your beauty arsenal with a long-lasting lipstick that will stay put all day or night long.
In this guide, you'll find everything from cult favorites to drugstore steals. For luscious lips that last all day, read on in the slides below to discover our top picks. Muah!
Here are the best long-lasting lipsticks you can buy:
If there's one thing many women never leave home without, it's mascara. It makes your eyes pop and brightens up your face in an instant. We tested dozens of mascaras to find the best, and Chanel Le Volume Mascara is our top choice because it delivers long, lush lashes that last all day.
A bronzed glow can make you look healthier and feel more confident, but we all know how damaging sunbathing can be. Faking it with a bronzer is a much safer option. For the ultimate sun-kissed glow in an instant, Becca's Sunlit Bronzers are our top pick.
