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The 8 Best Hydrating Foundations For Dry Skin: Rich, Velvety & Silky-Smooth

Jamie Schneider
Author:
October 18, 2024
Jamie Schneider
Former Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor
By Jamie Schneider
Former Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor
Jamie Schneider is the former Senior Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.A. in Organizational Studies and English from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in Coveteur, The Chill Times, and Wyld Skincare.
best foundation for dry skin
Image by mindbodygreen
October 18, 2024
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If your skin runs dry, chances are a handful of skin care ingredients truly make your heart sing: moisturizing oils, like jojoba and coconut, as well as star hydrators like glycerin, hyaluronic acid, and aloe (plus a few soothing agents, like colloidal oat, for good measure). And guess what? You can find all these ingredients in makeup, too: "If your skin is dry, you want to look for a higher concentration of any nourishing ingredients like jojoba oil, aloe vera, and shea butter," says celebrity makeup artist Kristen Arnett about finding the right foundation for your skin type.

Essentially, if you're looking for a foundation that won't flake midday, you'll want to seek out the moisturizing formulas that provide a bit of slip—which, more often than not, have a cream or liquid texture. Powdery, mineral formulas do have their time and place, but on dry skin, "It's just going to make things look way dryer," Arnett notes. 

Check out our favorite foundations for dry skin below—each boasts a cushy texture, a seamless application, with varying amounts of coverage for your complexion.

ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Foundation

If you're looking for sheer coverage, this dewy, tinted serum is a noteworthy grab. Squalane and hyaluronic acid are the stars of the formula, along with niacinamide to help smooth skin texture and zinc oxide for extra sun protection. 

Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Foundation, ILIA ($48)

ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 Foundation
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Kosas Tinted Face Oil Foundation

More of a tinted moisturizer-foundation hybrid, this lightweight number also lays quite sheer, but the silky texture makes it a dream to layer, if you so choose. It's the cocktail of oils that make the texture so smooth: avocado oil, jojoba oil, camellia seed oil, and rosehip seed oil, to name a few. 

Tinted Face Oil Foundation, Kosas ($42)

Kosas Tinted Face Oil Foundation
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Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint Clean SPF 30 Foundation

This skin tint has the application down to a science. Perfect for precise coverage (say, if you're looking to spot conceal or mask discoloration), simply pump the pen-like applicator and glide the rollerball across any targeted areas. With grapeseed oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, and squalane, the formula sinks comfortably into the skin. 

Sunshine Skin Tint Clean SPF 30 Foundation, Milk Makeup ($42)

Milk Makeup Sunshine Skin Tint Clean SPF 30 Foundation
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RMS Beauty "Un" Cover Up Cream Foundation

This rich formula features coconut oil, jojoba oil, castor seed oil, and buriti oil (which is chock-full of antioxidants and fatty acids, like oleic acid1) and offers a seamless medium to full coverage. Plus, it contains turmeric, ashwagandha, and St John's wort—prepare for maximum radiance.

"Un" Cover Up Cream Foundation, RMS Beauty ($52)

RMS Beauty "Un" Cover Up Cream Foundation
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The Lip Bar Skin Serum Foundation

Olive oil, glycerin, oat oil, and coconut oil make this lightweight serum-foundation moisturizing and skin-soothing, and the brush attachment makes application a breeze. Just pump the product, swipe, and blend wherever you need coverage—the sheer formula is pretty buildable, too, and it comes in 26 gorgeous shades. 

Skin Serum Foundation, The Lip Bar ($28)

The Lip Bar Skin Serum Foundation
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Beautycounter Skin Twin Featherweight Foundation

Another sheer, buildable formula that lets your natural skin texture shine. It instantly fuses to your complexion, with jojoba esters, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid plumping it with moisture. 

Skin Twin Featherweight Foundation, Beautycounter ($45)

beautycounter foundation
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Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Beauty Butter

A decadent, air-whipped foundation pumped with the brand's signature argan oil (commonly referred to as "liquid gold" since it has anti-inflammatory properties and can help with skin barrier repair2), along with shea butter, sunflower seed oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, marula oil, jojoba oil, and a host of antioxidant-rich fruit extracts. The whipped texture is rich, yet lightweight, and oh-so-satisfying to blend. 

Whipped Argan Oil Beauty Butter, Josie Maran ($40)

Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Beauty Butter
mindbodygreen

Lily Lolo Silk Cream Foundation

This cream foundation provides an even, lightweight base (simply bounce a damp beauty blender on the surface and blend away), or swirl your finger on the pan to spot conceal more precise areas. With jojoba, grapeseed, sunflower seed, and argan oils, it will offer a velvety-smooth texture that's layer-friendly.  

Silk Cream Foundation, Lily Lolo ($26)

Lily Lolo Silk Cream Foundation
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