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Best Full Coverage Foundation for Mature Skin in 2024

Full-coverage foundation and mature skin may sound like they don’t belong in the same sentence. That’s because, more often than not, full-coverage foundations dry out the skin. They’re often too heavy for drier skin that has wrinkles and lines. Often, but not always.

With so many different types of foundations available, there are plenty of full-coverage foundations for mature and older skin that are hydrating and lightweight.

The best ones contain skincare ingredients that help to plump, hydrate and protect the skin against free radical damage.

I may only be in my 30s but I’ve already noticed a difference between my skin in my 20s and now. My skin is much drier and I do have the odd line here and there.

The solution to that is to use makeup designed for mature skin, so I’ve gone ahead and done my research along with some trial and error, to find the best full-coverage foundations for mature skin!

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Best Hydrating: It Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ Full Coverage Foundation

It Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 12
  • Finish: Matte
  • Cruelty-Free: Yes
  • Sunscreen: Physical sunscreen with SPF 50

Is it for you?

It Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ Full Coverage Foundation has the best hydrating formula making it ideal for dry or combination skin. It’s also non-comedogenic, meaning it won’t clog pores, making it suitable for acne-prone skin as well.

This CC cream from IT Cosmetics is a bestselling foundation, particularly for mature skin. It’s full coverage while also hydrating, color correcting and protecting the skin with SPF 50.

You can use it as a full-coverage foundation, SPF, brightening colour corrector, hydrating serum, poreless finish primer, dark spot concealer, or tinted moisturising cream.

The formula is infused with collagen, hyaluronic acid, and antioxidants to help improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

It Cosmetics CC+ Cream with SPF 50+ is ultimately a water-based foundation that smoothes over mature skin like an expensive cream. It helps accentuate your features, but not your texture.

Pros

  • Clinically-tested
  • Infused with collagen and hyaluronic acid
  • Lightweight and full-coverage
  • Covers redness, scarring, and wrinkles
  • Hydrates and protects the skin

Cons

  • May not work well for oily skin

Best Anti-Aging: Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Aging Perfector SPF 20

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Aging Perfector SPF 20

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 6
  • Finish: Dewy
  • Cruelty-Free: No
  • Sunscreen: Chemical sunscreen with SPF 20

Is it for you?

With its unique formula of retinol, the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Aging Perfector SPF 20 is the best anti-aging full-coverage foundation for mature skin.

Get instant benefits of both, a great foundation formula and retinol in one product with the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Aging Perfector SPF 20.

Using the power of retinol and sunscreen, this tinted moisturiser/foundation is clinically proven to smooth your skin’s texture and reduce the appearance of fine lines.

The effects last even after you take it off. You can build it up from a buildable sheer layer to a full-coverage lightweight finish.

This water-based foundation gives you a dewy moisturising finish. And with a chemical sunscreen base, the shade you see is the shade you get. It doesn’t oxidize or get chalky after a few hours.

Apply it to your face and it will stay that way till you take it off. I need to mention that it looks incredibly age-defying on the skin! The full-coverage texture looks natural and the formula’s not sticky, despite it being loaded with moisturisers like olive extracts, retinol, and arginine.

Pros

  • Anti-ageing
  • Contains retinol and other antioxidants
  • Buildable full-coverage formula
  • Moisturising
  • Has SPF
  • Lightweight formula

Cons

  • Very limited shades
  • Contains alcohol and fragrance

Best for Large Pores: bareMinerals Barepro Performance Liquid Foundation

bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 20

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 40
  • Finish: Natural-matte
  • Cruelty-Free: Yes
  • Sunscreen: Physical sunscreen with SPF 20

Is it for you?

bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 20 is the best full coverage foundation for mature skin with open pores. The foundation covers pores leaving you with flawless skin.

The bareMinerals BAREPRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 20 is dermatologically tested and proven to improve your skin in as little as a week!

This full-coverage foundation blurs pores and imperfections while improving the appearance of skin texture over time. With just one pump, it delivers lightweight, oil-free, photo-friendly makeup.

It’s an extremely comfortable full-coverage foundation to wear even on mature skin.

It contains Natural Bamboo Stem Extracts that provide a smooth, soft-focus finish. And is infused with Papaya Enzymes to gently plump up your skin’s texture both immediately and over time.

It’s a self-setting foundation with no oxidisation or long-drying times. You’ll love that with its good ingredients, it still manages to be transfer-resistant and colour-true. And speaking of colour, it has almost 40 shades to choose from with extremely natural undertones! 

Pros

  • Dermatologist tested
  • Oil-free
  • Non-acnegenic
  • Non-comedogenic (won’t clog pores)
  • Contains SPF
  • Vegan and cruelty-free
  • Buildable full-coverage formula
  • Hydrating

Cons


Best for Wrinkles: Lancôme Rénergie Lift Makeup Liquid Foundation

Lancome Renergie Lift Makeup Liquid Foundation

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 25
  • Finish: Radiant
  • Cruelty-Free: No
  • Sunscreen: Physical sunscreen with SPF 27

Is it for you?

Lancôme Rénergie Lift Makeup Foundation is the best full-coverage foundation for wrinkles and fine lines. It has beautiful coverage that lasts throughout the day giving your skin skincare benefits too!

I love most Lancome foundations, and this one is no exception with its gorgeous facelift effect that it has on the skin! The Lancôme Rénergie Lift Makeup Foundation is made with skincare ingredients.

It contains pure vitamin E that delivers smoother, younger-looking skin and rewinds the years while you go about your day!

This foundation is an ultra-lightweight, medium to full buildable coverage finish. It gives the skin a seamless veil that covers it up with a mix of a tinted concoction of caffeine, vitamin E, iris extract, corn kernel extra, soybean oil, linseed extracts and New Zealand black tree fern.

It visibly minimises the appearance of imperfections, including fine lines, wrinkles and dark spots. Comfortable to wear, it’s easy to apply and glides onto the skin.

What I love most about it, is how it gives my skin a gorgeous natural finish that lasts impeccably well throughout the day! It’s hydrating without becoming oily, and has the added bonus of SPF! It’s hard not to love this foundation!

Pros

  • Transfer-resistant
  • Fragrance-free
  • Non-comedogenic
  • Dermatologist tested
  • Long-wearing formula
  • Made from pure vitamin E and other antioxidants
  • Ultra-lightweight cover over redness, scarring, and wrinkles
  • Moisturising

Cons

  • Contains alcohol

Best for Dry Skin: Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Foundation SPF 45

Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Makeup SPF45

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 20
  • Finish: Radiant
  • Cruelty-Free: No
  • Sunscreen: Physical sunscreen with SPF 45

Is it for you?

Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Foundation is the best foundation for mature and dry skin due to its hydrating and moisturizing ingredients.

If you have dry skin like me, you’ll know the worst offending areas are around the nose and mouth. Finding a good foundation that won’t make those areas appear patchy, can be quite the struggle.

Well, let me introduce you to the Estée Lauder Futurist Hydra Rescue Moisturizing Foundation.

Its hydrating and moisturizing ingredients ensure that it never looks dry, even around the nose and mouth! It’s lightweight and comfortable to wear, and it has SPF, which I love!

This high-performing skincare foundation is infused with IonCharged Water, plus probiotic technology and chia-seed extracts. These ingredients help keep your skin moisturised throughout the day!

It’s clinically tested to soothe visible redness and irritation and to protect your skin against pollution with its antioxidants.

It’s a flawless foundation with breathable coverage that covers every imperfection and pigmentation. This foundation has all your mature skin needs.

Pros

  • With broad-spectrum UVA/UVB SPF
  • Clinically-tested
  • Dermatologist-tested
  • Ophthalmologist-tested
  • Non-acnegenic
  • Moisturising
  • Lightweight formula

Cons

  • Contains alcohol and fragrance

Best for Redness: Dermablend Flawless Creator Drops

Dermablend Flawless Creator Liquid Foundation Drops

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 22
  • Finish: Matte
  • Cruelty-Free: Yes
  • Sunscreen: No

Is it for you?

Dermablend Flawless Creator Liquid Foundation Drops is the best full-coverage foundation for redness and hyperpigmentation. From oily to dry and aging, every skin type can benefit from this foundation.

The Dermablend Flawless Creator Liquid Foundation Drops instantly make your makeup look like it’s done by a pro.

The ultra-lightweight coverage provides a flawless thin layer of full-coverage makeup. It covers everything in its tracks, from hyperpigmentation to rosacea.

Formulated with only 10 ingredients, it proves that less is more! A little goes a long way too. Use one drop for a tint and up to 4 for full coverage.

Although the dropper-style applicator isn’t the most practical and can be a bit annoying to use, it makes sense when you’re mixing your foundation with other skincare ingredients.

This is exactly what Derablend had in mind when they developed the foundation. It’s made to mix with your moisturiser, serum, sunscreen, and more.

This foundation is oil-free and sets to a matte finish that never looks cakey, dry, or even mushy. Its unique silky texture leaves the skin with a natural finish.

Pros

  • Dermatologist-tested
  • Non-comedogenic
  • Sensitive skin-tested
  • Allergy tested
  • Fragrance-free
  • Hydrating
  • Smudge- and transfer-resistant
  • Ultra-lightweight

Cons

  • No SPF
  • The drop applicator can be annoying to use

Best Dewy: Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals Foundation

Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals A Foundation

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 13
  • Finish: Dewy
  • Cruelty-Free: Yes
  • Sunscreen: No

Is it for you?

Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals A Foundation is the best full-coverage foundation for mature skin with a dewy finish. It also wins for the most fun foundation too, with its original packaging and formula

The Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals A Foundation is a quirky makeup product that is definitely original and different!

It’s formulated in bead-like spheres inside an airless pump which dispenses into a silky liquid that features light-reflecting minerals to diminish the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and any other skin imperfections.

If you’re all about clean, mineral makeup that supplements your skin with skincare ingredients, you have to try this foundation. It’s soothing and hydrating formula makes it the perfect base for mature and aging skin.

It contains cooling aloe vera that brings relief to redness while hyaluronic acid binds moisture to your skin for a smooth and younger-looking complexion.

The texture is unlike any other. A mousse-like airbrushed pigment over your face that covers all you want to be covered, including fine lines, visible wrinkles and redness, even your acne scars.

Everything about it puts the fun in makeup, from the packaging to the results!

Pros

  • Minimal Ingredients
  • Vegan
  • Non-comedogenic
  • Very hydrating
  • Fragrance-free
  • Clean, mineral beauty
  • Soothing
  • Lightweight formula

Cons

  • Very limited shades & shade options
  • No SPF

Best Full-Coverage: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 44
  • Finish: Matte
  • Cruelty-Free: Yes
  • Sunscreen: No

Is it for you?

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation is the best foundation for full coverage due to how it applies naturally, yet still gives solid coverage.

Flawless in name and flawless in coverage, that’s exactly how I’d describe the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation.

Lightweight in texture, yet full coverage, it’s long-lasting, weightless and has a hybrid skincare makeup formula.

It contains the brand’s Replexium skincare formula that helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles making it ideal for mature and aging skin.

It also has MossCellTec No. 1, a mix of hydrating ingredients to replenish your skin’s water stock; and AirCool, a soothing compound to keep your skin calm under heated conditions.

You’ll enjoy a flawless finish with this foundation. It fuses with your skin smoothly without clogging or accentuating your pores, lines and imperfections.

Pros

  • Vegan-friendly
  • Sweat-proof
  • Humidity-proof
  • Transfer-resistant
  • Moisturising & hydrating
  • Huge shade range
  • Soothing

Cons

  • Contains fragrance and alcohol
  • No SPF

Best Drugstore: Burt’s Bees Goodness Glows Liquid Foundation

Burt's Bees Goodness Glows Liquid Foundation

IN A NUTSHELL

  • Shade Range: 18
  • Finish: Luminous
  • Cruelty-Free: Yes
  • Sunscreen: No

Is it for you?

Not only is Burt’s Bees Goodness Glows Liquid Foundation the best drugstore foundation, but it’s also the best for sensitive skin.

Radiant skin after a full day of makeup isn’t usually a possibility, however, with the Burt’s Bees Goodness Glows Liquid Foundation, you get exactly that! It’s thanks to the 98.9% natural ingredients of this foundation, that it delivers time and time again!

It’s both moisturising and hydrating because of the mix of Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Honey, SoyBean Oil, Glycerin, and Sunflower Seed Oil it contains.

Despite that it’s a full-coverage foundation, it’s still lightweight and comfortable to wear.

Be aware that even though it’s fragrance-free, it has honey in its ingredients and a slight honey scent.

Pros

  • Moisturising & hydrating
  • 98.9% natural ingredients
  • Dermatologist-tested
  • Lightweight formula
  • Long-lasting

Cons

  • Very limited shades
  • Contains alcohol
  • Pricey for drugstore

Tips on Prepping Mature Skin for Foundation & Makeup

Moisturise Regularly

It doesn’t matter if you are 13 or 30, makeup has one major golden rule— and it’s not even about makeup! It’s about skincare. For makeup to look natural and not cakey, it’s your skincare that you need to look out for!

You need to load your skin with moisture to get it ready for makeup. And that’s also for oily skin! Oily skin needs moisture as much as dry skin, only a different type. Check out my tips on how to manage oily skin.

Check Your Base

When your foundation is an oil-free product, your primer should also be oil-free. This ensures that the products don’t react negatively with each other and that there won’t be any melting or greasing. The same applies if you are using oil-based products.

Choose the right applicator

Even youthful skin tends to have different finishes when the foundation is applied with a non-suitable applicator. Take time to figure out what works best for your technique and products— be it a beauty blender, brush, silicon applicator, or something else.

This is because not everyone’s face has the same texture and only certain applicators will get you the best results. My favourite is a beauty blender, but I even find that some products don’t apply so well with it. It’s all about experimentation!

Use a hydrating foundation

As you can see from our list, there are quite a few hybrid foundations- yup, combinations of skincare and makeup!

These are amazing because not only do they work as foundations, but they also improve the skin throughout the day. For mature skin, that is one of the most important factors in a foundation.

Make sure your foundation is hydrating and moisturising. This will allow you to get an opaque veil that’s comfortable and lightweight even after applying a few layers.

Use a setting spray or finishing spray over the powder

While there are “hydrating” finishing powders, powder products can be drying, and that’s especially true for aging, mature and dry skin.

A powder is a good friend to have, but a setting spray is even better for mature skin. Get one that is hydrating and/or moisturising. That being said, if your skin isn’t the extremely dry type, there are a few setting powders that will work amazing for you. Check out these setting powders for dry skin.

Creamy, not cakey

When you get older, you tend to choose liquid or creamy makeup over powdered makeup. It doesn’t matter if it’s your foundation, blush, or lipstick.

This is because these products tend to be the ones with the skincare benefits, and mostly because they’re not as drying as powder products. They fuse with your skin instead of sitting on top of it, which usually looks cakey and heavy.

When you get older, your skin type slowly changes to dry or dehydrated, and as a 30-year-old, I can vouch that I’ve already noticed my skin making that change!

Creamy emollient products tend to cover this up and infuse mature skin with moisturising and hydrating benefits that powders can hardly ever provide.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are plenty of full-coverage foundations for mature skin that will rewind the years.

These foundations will help you look younger giving you smoother skin, with their fabulous ingredients and anti-ageing properties! It’s time to turn the clock back and get a youthful appearance!

Hollie xx

Why Trust Beauty With Hollie

Hollie has tested dozens of foundations for mature and aging skin and loves a natural-looking finish! Hollie has been running Beauty With Hollie since 2016, where she covers all things beauty.

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About Hollie

Hi, I’m Hollie, and I’m passionate about everything beauty. Over the last decade and a half, I’ve tested thousands of products to bring you the best of the best! I also love bringing you fun and creative beauty looks. Learn more.

Beauty profile – 35, dry, aging skin, focused on aging well with a healthy glow and natural makeup look ✨



Anastasia Beverly Hills bareMinerals Benefit Cosmetics Bobbi Brown CeraVe Chantecaille Charlotte Tilbury Clarins ColourPop Dermalogica Dior Dyson e.l.f. Cosmetics ELEMIS Estée Lauder Eucerin Fenty Beauty Fresh Giorgio Armani Hourglass IT Cosmetics L'Oreal Lancome Laura Mercier LORAC MAC Makeup Revolution Maybelline Molton Brown Morphe Nars Natasha Denona Neutrogena NYX Origins Peter Thomas Roth PÜR Cosmetics Revlon Sigma Beauty Smashbox Stila The Ordinary Too Faced Urban Decay YSL


2 Comments

  1. Hello there! Thank you very much for sharing this article on the best full coverage foundation for mature skin. I find it very helpful because I’ve been searching for an original full coverage foundation for my mum. Others make her look cakey and older. I’ll get the Neutrogena healthy skin anti ageing perfector for her. It has everything I want in a full coverage foundation including the fragrance. Thank you for sharing this. 

    1. Thanks for stopping by. Indeed, the Neutrogena foundation is a great choice!

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