Was 2024 the year we ditched the heavy, cakey formulas and finally embraced the best lightweight foundation? If we keep in mind the weightless iterations that brands like Gucci, Saie, Ilia, and Rose Inc. have debuted, it’s safe to say that the answer is a resounding yes.
In the past, medium-to-full-coverage makeup almost certainly meant a heavier-than-desired texture, but the trend for second-skin “I woke up like this” makeup has resulted in formulations that are barely there but also efficacious—veiling fine lines, dark spots, and acne.
Vogue’s Favorite Lightweight Foundations
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“We’re all craving skin care as makeup—products that perform, feel good on, and enhance our skin instead of covering it,” notes Saie founder and CEO Laney Crowell. That said, her own troubles finding a foundation suitable for her sensitive, acne-prone skin type informed the brand’s latest complexion drop—the Saie Glowy Super Skin Foundation. Similarly Gucci’s Éternité De Beauté Luminous Matte Finish Foundation, which made its runway debut during Fashion Week, offers a one-of-a-kind full-coverage, matte-finish formula that manages to still remain breathable. “When shooting backstage for the show, I was like, Oh, my God, it actually works,” admits Gucci global makeup artist Thomas de Kluyver. “When [the product] really works, you don’t need to fake it.” Nowadays everyone from beauty-industry vets to the everyday consumer can tell when natural, comfortable wear is at the heart of any formula. It’s all about the way it sits on the skin hours past application, the featured ingredients, and of course, an inclusive shade range. Read on to learn more about the aforementioned lightweight foundations—plus a handful of makeup-artist- and editor-approved elixirs—that have a magical way of mimicking real skin.
Best Overall: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation Hydration and Longwear
- Why We Love It: Certainly one of our favorite Chanel foundations, we’ve found this formula excellent for daily wear thanks to its weightless feel and natural-looking radiance. Designed for long-lasting hydration, the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow is made of more than 40% water, with moisturizing agents, antioxidants, and light-reflecting pigments to improve the look and feel of skin.
- Key Ingredients: Water, light-reflecting pigments, glycerin, meadowfoam seed oil
- Shades: 35
- Finish: Radiant
- Coverage: Light-to-medium
- Size: 1 fl oz.
Best Matte Finish: Gucci Éternité De Beauté Luminous Matte Finish Foundation
- Why We Love It: This Gucci foundation is an excellent choice for someone partial to matte-finish makeup. Take your pick of 40 shades across four undertones (warm, cool, neutral, and olive). What makes it special is its breathable wear yet luminous full-coverage finish suitable for oily to slightly dry skin types, according to Kluyver. The formulation is enriched with hyaluronic acid and black rose oil to optimize skin’s moisture levels, plus bamboo powder to quell excess shine. A little goes a long way; De Kluyver recommends applying your favorite primer first and then blending with a brush for 24-hour wear—perfect for day-to-night glam.
- Key Ingredients: Hyaluronic acid, black rose oil, bamboo powder, glycerin
- Shades: 40
- Finish: Matte
- Coverage: Full
- Size: 1 oz
Best Skin Care–Makeup Hybrid: Saie Glowy Super Skin
- Why We Love It: The first test of this new arrival felt more like a serum than a makeup product. (In fact, Vogue’s Senior Beauty Writer, Kiana Murden, was so excited to wear it daily that I waited weeks for my shade to be available.) Saie glowy foundation boasts a nourishing, plumping blend of 85% skincare ingredients and 15% weightless pigment. “The star of the foundation is Hydrobounce Complex, a proprietary active blend that’s composed of cross-linked and nonequilibrium [hyaluronic acid], polyglutamic acid, and rice-bran peptides,” Crowell explains. Squalane is also featured for a hydration boost and skin-barrier support.
- Key Ingredients: Water, hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, rice-bran peptide, squalane, marshmallow root extract
- Shades: 36
- Finish: Radiant
- Coverage: Medium, buildable
- Size: 1 oz
Best Buildable Coverage: Dior Forever Skin Glow Foundation SPF 15
- Why We Love It: Dior Forever Skin Glow is celebrity makeup artist Sabrina Bedrani’s pick for best lightweight foundation. “It gives a nice dewiness and is very buildable,” she details. “When applied with a wet sponge or Beautyblender, it’s literally like a second skin.” Alongside SPF 15, this offers 86% skin care ingredients, including iris, hibiscus, and wild-pansy extracts to revitalize and protect skin during your wear.
- Key Ingredients: Titanium dioxide, glycerin, hibiscus flower extract
- Shades: 42
- Finish: Radiant
- Coverage: Medium-to-full
- Size: 1 oz
Best Foundation Stick: Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick
- Why We Love It: Westman Atelier’s foundation stick first goes on as a rich cream but manages to blend like a dream (and it can also be used as a concealer). It’s so good that Gwyneth Paltrow, Elle Macpherson, and Gracie Abrams have been cited as fans. Not to mention pro makeup artist Wendy Rowe revealed the foundation as a staple in creating Sienna Miller’s enviable glow. Backed by Westman Atelier’s clean-beauty ethos, this foundation stick is enriched with many good-for-you ingredients. Squalane, berryflux vita extract, camellia seed, and coconut oil are the stars, providing protective, soothing, and hydrating benefits.
- Key Ingredients: Squalane, berryflux vita extract, camellia seed, coconut oil, mica
- Shades: 21
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Medium, buildable
- Size: 0.31 oz
Best for Acne-Prone Skin: Glossier Stretch Fluid Foundation
- Why We Love It: We get it—those with acne-prone skin must proceed with caution when adding a new beauty product to their routine. Luckily, Glossier’s foundation is non-comedogenic, with an 89% skincare-based formula thanks to squalane and glycerin leading the ingredients list. The result? A your-skin-but-better natural finish that boasts up to 12 hours of wear.
- Key ingredients: Aqua, squalene, glycerin, wild rose berry extract, plankton extract, rosa canina fruit extract
- Shades: 32
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Light to medium
- Size: 1 oz.
Best Skin Tint: Summer Fridays Sheer Skin Tint
- Why We Love It: Summer Fridays’ lightweight, breathable formula offers just enough coverage to veil the appearance of imperfections without a greasy feel. As an added benefit, tiger grass reduces redness while the combination of squalane and hyaluronic acid moisturizes skin. Just don’t forget to shake the bottle before applying for an even finish!
- Key Ingredients: Tiger grass, glycerin. hyaluronic acid, squalane, vitamin E, safflower, avocado oil
- Shades: 12
- Coverage: Light
- Finish: Natural
- Size: 30 mL
Best for Sensitive Skin: Ilia True Skin Serum Foundation
- Why We Love It: Looking for a touch more coverage than Ilia’s beloved Super Skin Tint? Meet the the clean beauty brand’s foundation that melts right in to enhance skin on first application. (For what it’s worth, this has been my go-to foundation for the last few months.) Formulated with sensitive skin types in mind, this is infused with niacinamide, allantoin, and aloe to deliver a host of soothing, smoothing, and hydrating benefits similar to your favorite face moisturizer.
- Key Ingredients: Aloe leaf juice, niacinamide, allantoin, rice hull powder, jojoba seed oil
- Shades: 30
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Medium
- Size: 1 oz
Best for Mature Skin: Jones Road What the Foundation
- Why We Love It: “It’s a tinted moisture balm, but it adds coverage in the places where you most need it,” Bobbi Brown, the acclaimed makeup artist, previously told Vogue of her viral formula. Because of its easy application and seamless blend, this is known to deliver a pro-grade glow to mature skin.
- Key Ingredients: Sodium hyaluronate, jojoba oil, ginger root, castor-seed oil
- Shades: 12
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Light-to-medium
- Size: 1.14 oz
Best Sheer Finish: Monika Blunder Blunder Cover All in One Foundation
- Why We Love It: “The cream just melts into the skin and disappears—you can wear as little or as much as you want depending on the application,” says Bedrani of this foundation-concealer hybrid. Pro tip: “For a lighter touch, use a wet sponge or wet Beautyblender, and for more coverage, use a brush.” A good application will reveal a sheer, natural-looking finish across its 20 shades. Thanks to a nourishing blend of botanical extracts this foundation calms sensitivities and boost moisture.
- Key Ingredients: Arnica flower, edelweiss, and rosemary), sunflower-seed oil, aloe vera, and chamomile
- Shades: 20
- Finish: Natural
- Coverage: Buildable
- Size: 0.62 oz
Best Weightless: Clé de Peau Radiant Fluid Natural SPF 25
- Why We Love It: You’ll undoubtedly get your bang for your buck with Japanese luxury brand Clé de Peau. This foundation provides full coverage with a lightweight feel and buildable finish. This formulation features hyaluronic acid for skin hydration and silk extract for a lit-from-within glow.
- Key ingredients: Silk extract, sodium hyaluronate, peptides, zinc oxide/ titanium dioxide (SPF)
- Shades: 24
- Coverage: Lightweight, buildable
- Size: 1.2 oz
What is a lightweight foundation?
“Lightweight foundations are going to be the closest to a ‘skin-like’ finish on the market since they’re a hybrid of skin-care compounds and foundation pigment,” explains professional makeup artist El DeBratto. Meaning: this type of foundation offers the most of amount makeup coverage through a skincare lens.
Celebrity makeup artist Nicole Bueno shares a tip for distinguishing a lightweight foundation from the rest. The trick? Apply a bit to the back of your hand and see how it feels. “Lightweight foundations will feel less dense than heavy ones. It may have an airy quality, whereas a heavy formula will be dense, which means you should use sparingly with a light hand,” she says.
What are the benefits of a lightweight foundation?
Bueno considers lightweight foundations a go-to for many of her clients. “They tend to be water-based, so they’re very breathable on the skin, less prone to creasing, and good for those with oily skin or everyday makeup wearers,” she says. Thanks to their buildable coverage and easily blended formulas, Bueno considers lightweight foundations the most user-friendly choice for makeup novices and experts alike, as well as those with more mature skin.
Are all lightweight foundations sheer?
Fear not—lightweight foundations aren’t necessarily sheer. “Although not exclusively always sheer in coverage, in general lightweight foundations going to be on light-medium coverage side given that these formula’s are known for their subtle blurring and hydrating properties,“ says DeBratto. “These formulas give a wash of buildable color without fully hiding imperfections in one application. These are especially great for people who have beautiful natural features, such as freckles, that they want to accentuate and let peak through.” In fact, these dynamic foundations come in a range of different coverage levels. “A lightweight foundation can have fuller coverage while still feeling nice and breathable on the skin,” says Bueno.
How To Apply a Lightweight Foundation
Bueno’s favorite method for best application is a damp makeup sponge, working well with lightweight foundations’ often water-based formulas. Simply apply foundation to the back of your hand, blotting the sponge into the product and then onto your face in a dabbing motion. “A damp sponge will always be my favorite because it consistently applies the perfect coverage. Then, if needed, I can build up coverage in certain areas or skip to spot concealing with a tiny brush,” she explains. Best of all, you can continue repeating this easy application process until your desired coverage is achieved.
Meet the Experts
- Sabrina Bedrani is a brand ambassador for Dior and pro makeup artist whose clients include Gal Gadot, Margot Robbie, and Heidi Klum.
- Laney Crowell is the founder and CEO of Saie Beauty.
- Thomas de Kluyver is Gucci’s global makeup artist, who is known for his transformative beauty looks and fashion collaborations.
- Nicole Bueno is a celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Mariah Carey, Michelle Williams, Danai Gurira, Laverne Cox, Leyna Bloom, and more.
- El DeBratto is a non-binary New York-based editorial makeup artist whose clients include Coco Rocha, Flower Beauty, Kristin Ess, and Glamour Magazine.