Choose the best foundations for your skin type from my collection of light, medium, and full-coverage foundations that are formulated to look gorgeous on all skin textures.
9 minute read
Darlings, the foundation you choose can make or break a look! The success of your foundation look largely depends on whether the formula is suitable for your skin type. Some foundations will wear beautifully on dry skin but can cause problems for oily or combination skin and vice versa, so knowing your skin type is the secret to choosing the best foundation for you and avoiding any foundation creasing, caking, or separating.
In this guide, I’m sharing my tips and tricks on choosing the perfect foundation for normal, dry, oily, and combination skin types. I’ll also introduce you to my magical foundation collection and give some tips and tricks on which one I think you’ll love the most!
Tilbury Tip: Not sure what skin type you have, darling? Discover my guide to skin types, here!
Creating my foundation formulas has been a labour of love, darlings. I’ve formulated each of my foundations to look gorgeous on every skin type, blending colour and science to create formulas that were born to take over the runway and the world!
In my collection, you’ll find sheer, light, medium, and full-coverage options, including my NEW! skin tint, [Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint hydrating foundation stick!] Each of my foundations are special, but if you want to find the formula that perfectly complements your skin type, discover my guide to choosing the best foundation for your skin and learn foundation tips and tricks for dry, oily, combination and normal skin types, below.
Discover more about my foundations in my guide to foundation finishes
Dry skin types are prone to dry patches, skin redness, and flaking. This can cause problems when applying foundation as skin texture can become rough and chapped which prevents foundation from gliding on smoothly.
Hydrating ingredients to rehydrate skin and create a smoother-looking skin texture
Cream or liquid formulas that are emollient and won’t cling to dry patches
Glowy or radiant finishes that illuminate dull-looking skin
Dry skin is prone to dry patches and flaking, so it’s important to use a hydrating foundation that helps to quench skin with moisture. Using a foundation that’s enriched with hydrating skincare ingredients helps dry skin to look and feel smooth and supple while creating a beautiful base for the rest of your makeup. I like to use dewy and glowy foundations like my Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint hydrating foundation stick on dry skin types because they hydrate the complexion while creating a luminous finish that helps dry, sullen skin to look healthy and full of life.
Charlotte’s Best Foundation for Dry Skin: NEW! Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint light-coverage stick foundation
Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint hydrating foundation stick is a perfect foundation for dry skin. It’s an emollient-rich stick foundation that glides on to create a super-natural, no-makeup look. Powered by a skin barrier defence-boosting matrix of hyaluronic acid, Daikon radish seed oil, and vitamin E, Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint helps skin to retain more moisture while delivering a soft-focused, ring light-effect glow that lights up the look of even dry and dehydrated skin.
Tilbury Tip: If you have dry skin but are looking for more coverage, discover my medium-coverage foundation Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation; it bathes skin in brightening rose complex and hydrating hyaluronic acid for a beautiful, radiant finish. For a full-coverage option, choose AIRbrush Flawless Foundation with youth-boosting REPLEXIUM™, and always remember to prep your skin with Charlotte’s Magic Cream before applying for a rush of hydration – it’s my immediate skin revival moisturiser that leaves skin feeling instantly 2x more hydrated!*
Oily skin can affect the longevity of a foundation. People with oily skin can experience foundation separating, creasing, and breaking down on the face, and their skin can become shiny as excess oils begin to seep through foundation.
Oil-free + water-based formulas to avoid adding more oil to your complexion
Self-setting and longwearing formulas that lock down and are resistant to creasing
Natural or matte finishes that help to mattify shine and blur the appearance of pores
Foundation can apply seamlessly onto oily skin, but as time passes and the skin’s natural oils begin to seep through, it can start to break down and slide around the face. I’ve formulated all of my foundations to wear beautifully on every skin type, but for those with oily skin that want some extra reassurance that their foundation is going to stay all day, I always recommend Airbrush Flawless Foundation. Foundation can apply seamlessly onto oily skin, but as time passes and the skin’s natural oils begin to seep through, it can start to break down and slide around the face. I’ve formulated all of my foundations to wear beautifully on every skin type, but for those with oily skin that want some extra reassurance that their foundation is going to stay all day, I always recommend AIRbrush Flawless Foundation.
Charlotte’s Best Foundation for Oily Skin: AIRbrush Flawless Foundation full-coverage foundation
AIRbrush Flawless Foundation is my full-coverage, natural-matte foundation for airbrushed, flawless-looking skin! It’s a self-setting foundation that’s formulated to stay all day, gliding onto oily skin and locking down with longwearing coverage that’s resistant to sweat, water, humidity and transfer. It provides full, reliable coverage that feels weightless on the skin, helping oily skin types to create a flawless, poreless-looking base with superstar staying power!
Tilbury Tip: If you have oily skin but prefer a light or medium-coverage foundation, Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint and Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation can work for you, too! Use my AIRbrush icons Airbrush Flawless Finish and Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray to set your foundation for a wear time up to 16 hours!**
The nature of having combination skin is that different parts of the face have different qualities, so it can be difficult to find a foundation that works with the driest and oiliest parts of your complexion.
Buildable and customisable formula that can be layered and blended out effortlessly
Oil-free and water-based to avoid adding excess oil to the T-zone
Hydrating texture that nourishes skin while meshing well with powder
Combination skin can become dry and oily in different areas. To get a flawless-looking foundation application for combination skin, you first need to identify the skin concerns for each part of your face. The oiliest areas of the face are usually the T-zone and around the mouth, and dry patches can emerge in areas like the nose, cheeks and forehead. When applying foundation, you’ll want to hydrate any dry patches while mattifying any areas that are prone to excess oils.
Charlotte’s Best Foundation for Combination Skin: Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation medium-buildable foundation
Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation is perfect for combination skin. It has medium-buildable coverage and a hydrating, skincare-infused formula that allows you to customise your coverage for an even, healthy-looking complexion. Applying Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation over dry patches floods skin with a rush of hyaluronic acid, hydrating the complexion and helping to create a smoother-looking finish. Then, on the oiliest parts of the face, the formula is easy to build up and helps to cover the look of pores. It also pairs perfectly with my Airbrush Flawless Finish pressed powder, so you can apply powder to your oily areas like your T-zone to reduce the look of shine while leaving the rest of the face looking hydrated with a gorgeous glow!
Tilbury Tip: I recommend prepping combination skin with Charlotte’s Magic Water Cream; it’s a fragrance-free gel moisturiser that feels ultra-lightweight on oily skin and provides deep hydration to help remedy dry patches. It pairs magically with each of my foundations including Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint and AIRbrush Flawless Foundation and is perfect for combination skin.
Having a normal skin type means that your skin isn’t overly oily or dry. Normal skin types tend to work well with many types of foundation from matte to luminous to natural-finish options. With all of these options open to you, it’s always best to choose a foundation that feels comfortable to wear and will be good for your skin, too!
Infused with skincare ingredients to benefit and improve the appearance of skin
Feels lightweight and skin-like to offer a comfortable, barely-there feel
Has good longevity and requires minimal touch ups
Darlings, if you don’t tend to experience excess oil or dryness on the face, then you have what is considered normal skin. Since normal skin types don’t have specific skin concerns to address, choosing a foundation comes down to personal preference. Whether you choose a barely there foundation like Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint for a little added coverage or a full-coverage foundation like AIRbrush Flawless Foundation for a full-blown, full-glam makeup look, you can find your flawless foundation match at Charlotte Tilbury Beauty!
Charlotte’s Best Foundation for Normal Skin:
Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint light-coverage stick foundation for no-makeup days
Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation medium-buildable foundation for a healthy-looking foundation look
AIRbrush Flawless Foundation full-coverage foundation for high-glam, full-coverage makeup looks
Each of my foundations is unique and takes a different approach to beautifying the complexion: Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint is a light-coverage dream that softly illuminates the look of skin with a dewy, ring light effect; Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation is a medium-buildable foundation that gives the skin a healthy-looking glow while building coverage to create your best skin look; and Airbrush Flawless Foundation is a full-coverage foundation formulated to stay all day, providing maximum coverage while feeling weightless and looking flawless!
With over 30 years experience, Charlotte Tilbury MBE is the world's number 1 makeup artist and British beauty entrepreneur. Charlotte established Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in 2013, which is now a record-breaking beauty brand that has won over 400 awards.
