Some kind of base product is a beauty bag staple for most makeup wearers. More specifically, the best cream foundations combine moisturising benefits with a flawless, natural finish – making them a godsend for dry and mature skin. They may feel less familiar than traditional liquid foundations, but these rich and creamy bases have plenty of perks.
Among the best foundations to suit changing seasons or ageing skin, cream foundations usually contain additional skin-loving ingredients to both treat and cover. “Cream foundations can be a beautiful choice for someone looking for great coverage with a natural, balmy, skin-like finish,” says makeup artist Jessica Kohn, education and events manager for Laura Mercier. “Because of the cream-wax base, [they] look beautiful on dry skin types, skimming over any texture issues and nourishing skin."
As a result, these formulas melt into the skin without caking or pilling, blending seamlessly with the best cream blushers and best cream bronzers. Another perk is their coverage: “The high pigment load means that you can use a small amount of product to cover a variety of skin concerns,” Kohn explains.
That said, they aren't all created equal. “Remember that the specific benefits of a cream foundation may vary depending on the brand and formulation,” says pro makeup artist Lan Nguyen-Grealis. But whether you prefer the ease of foundation sticks, the no-spill advantages of a more solid cream-balm or a squeezy tube, after much testing, we've reviewed the very best options...
The best cream foundations, reviewed by our beauty experts
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RRP: £42 | Coverage: Light/medium | Finish: Glossy | Number of shades: 16
The brainchild of the legendary Bobbi Brown, Jones Road has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2020. What The Foundation has quickly become a cult buy thanks to its fresh-faced finish. Part foundation, part moisturising balm, it has a slightly oily consistency – in fact, at first we could see where the jojoba oil had separated from the formula in the jar. It therefore needed mixing to blend it together with the pigment again before applying. This oil content is why it glides so seamlessly onto the skin; dry and dehydrated skins will lap it up.
If your complexion is rough and thirsty and you want to know how to fix dry skin, you'll love the way this instantly imparts life, vibrancy and a bucket load of glow to your skin. It has a glossy, almost shiny, finish and initially skin is left feeling damp – a turn-off for anyone with oily skin, but welcome for drier complexions. You can apply this with fingers but, because it's a pot, we found this got messy quite quickly. A brush or sponge is your best bet – especially if you want to avoid ruining a white shirt.
Reasons to buy: Feels nourishing
Avoid if: You have oily skin
RRP: £28 | Coverage: Light | Finish: Creamy | Number of shades: 25
We found Fenty's Eaze Drop Foundation Stick a joy to apply. Swipe a little onto your forehead, your nose, each cheek and your chin and, in our experience, that's comfortably enough coverage for your entire face. You can use a brush to blend things out, but the quickest way is definitely with your fingers. Its texture is so light that it melts into the skin instantly, so there's no cakiness to contend with. It's creamy, not at all oily and builds nicely, too. One particularly exhausted morning, we also added a sweep beneath each eye and it worked wonders in disguising tell-tale dark circles.
There's also the added benefits of some skincare ingredients here – murumuru butter to nourish and sodium hyaluronate for hydration. Plus, the packaging is 100% recyclable, so once you've used your last swipe it can go directly into your plastic recycling without much need for rinsing or scraping.
Reasons to buy: Creamy finish
Avoid if: You like fuller coverage
RRP: £35 | Coverage: Sheer | Finish: Glowy | Number of shades: 6
Billed as a 3-in-1 tinted complexion balm, this product focuses on making skin look and feel healthy. It's perhaps a stretch to describe it as a foundation, as the consistency is so light, but it still delivers those smoothing, tinting and glow-boosting benefits to the skin. Mario Dedivanovic (the makeup artist behind the brand whose most famous client is Kim Kardashian) recommends applying it with a brush for enhanced results. Either way, the initial coverage is super sheer.
It is possible to build this formula somewhat, but we wouldn't say it's the best cream foundation for mega coverage. Similar to What The Foundation, we'd only use it if we were having quite a good skin day to begin with, or if we were enjoying a chilled Sunday and wanted something lower key. Just keep in mind that, as it's designed to warm your complexion, the shades will deepen (rather than match) your skin tone, giving you a bronzed effect. If you're not keen on that, going up a shade may yield a closer match.
Reasons to buy: Feels like silk on the skin
Avoid if: You don't want a warming, glowy finish
RRP: £68 | Coverage: Medium | Finish: Radiant | Number of shades: 23
Great coverage and radiance don’t always go hand in hand but this buy prioritises both. You can expect SUUQU’s cutting-edge tech and a luxurious-feeling formula that's infused with 13 Japanese extracts, including silk protein and green tea, a powerful antioxidant. We found the jar made applying it a bit messy, but scooping out the foundation did emphasise its sensorial, silky texture. In a few sweeps, our skin tone looked more uniform and our dark circles were no longer visible.
The real USP for us is its sunlit luminosity. SUQQU calls it a "self-renewing glow," meaning it gets better the longer you wear it. There are three stages. When first applied, the immediate freshness comes from the moisturising reflection oils. As these sink into the skin, pearlescent pigments come into play, reflecting light. Then later, your natural sebum mixes with the foundation for more natural skin show-through. It’s probably not as suitable for blemish-prone and oily skin, but it’s a tonic for dry, dull skin.
Reasons to buy: Shades available in different undertones
Avoid if: You don't want the messiness of a pot
RRP: £113 | Coverage: Medium/full | Finish: Luminous | Number of shades: 31
The idea of foundation isn’t to pad out wrinkles like Polyfilla, but to simply even out the complexion. This is our pick for mature skin for several reasons. Firstly, rather than being a foundation with added skincare, it feels more like a face cream with added pigment (and exceptional payoff at that). It marries Japanese tech with precious ingredients, such as platinum golden silk essence, plus it boosts skin repair and improves its brilliance over time.
Secondly, the radiant, lit-from-within finish acts like a kind of airbrushed filter, reflecting light and making everything look smoother. Because of all these lovely nourishing ingredients, the foundation bends with lines and creases rather than sitting in them conspicuously. The result is radiant, healthy-looking and natural – in fact, it’s hard to tell where skin and makeup meet. Throw in a bit of sun protection, making this one of the best foundations with SPF on our list, and it’s a home run.
Reasons to buy: Improves skin over time
Avoid if: You're on a budget
RRP: £16 | Coverage: Full | Finish: Natural matte | Number of shades: 16
It was bafflingly difficult to find cheaper options for the best cream foundations, but this compact is both fairly affordable and performs well. The case is sturdy and the formula solid, meaning you can chuck it in your handbag without worrying about any spillages. A satisfyingly squidgy sponge is nestled neatly in the top section, the cream-to-liquid base is housed underneath. The sponge worked well enough and got right into the nooks and crannies of our faces, but it also applied nicely with fingers, especially when targeting areas that we felt needed extra coverage. It also diffused nicely with a brush, so you can utilise your best makeup brush, if that's your preferred method of application.
Though it's enriched with moisture-magnet hyaluronic acid, which keeps everything nice and bouncy, this is the most "solid" of any on our list, so we were concerned it could go flaky on our winter-battered skin. But it skimmed over dryness without caking, blurred the look of pores and flexing with our facial creases. The product description is a bit misleading with words like "radiance" and "glow", as we found the finish to be a demi-matte (velvety, not dewy).
Reasons to buy: Enriched with hyaluronic acid
Avoid if: You don't like a sponge
RRP: £80 | Coverage: Medium to full | Finish: Naturally radiant | Number of shades: 15
Even the best cream foundations don’t always play so well with oily skin. That’s why we’ve included Chantecaille’s award-winning base in our round-up. The oil-free formula and gel-cream texture work well for those with oily and combination skin types. This was also one of the longer-lasting foundations we tried – it still looked pretty even and uniform by the end of the day, which impressed us.
Again, the jar packaging, with its additional internal plastic lid that is inevitably always covered in foundation when you open it (you know what we're talking about, right?) was a bit messy. But once applied, it was easy to blend and melted into skin. This can probably be attributed to the 60% water formula, boosted by a raft of natural botanicals including aloe and arnica.
Reasons to buy: Provides immense coverage
Avoid if: You have a smaller budget
RRP: £40 | Coverage: Light to medium | Finish: Naturally radiant | Number of shades: 20
MERIT has amassed a legion of unwavering fans in its first few years. The formulas are powered with vegan ingredients that work to improve the skin. Each one plays into that glowy, "no-makeup-makeup" aesthetic. This is one of their most popular products, offering mess-free application in a travel-friendly format and combining the benefits of foundation and the best under-eye concealers in one twist-up stick. It’s also got some great skin-loving credentials, with plant-based squalane, vitamin B5 and antioxidants to keep skin soft and smooth, plus sea daffodil to target dark spots.
The coverage is less than some others on our shortlist, enhancing rather than plastering over your natural skin. However, the stick format makes it possible to build coverage on precise areas to somewhat disguise any "imperfections". The stick itself is more "solid" than Milk Makeup's, so we found it easier to blend with a brush over fingers. But if you assume stick foundations will be heavy and cakey, this one will surprise you.
Reasons to buy: Foundation and concealer in one
Avoid if: Coverage might not be enough for some
RRP: £59 | Coverage: Medium to full | Finish: Luminous | Number of shades: 16
If your skin is desperate for a big dose of hydration, this RMS Beauty foundation will help to re-plump it with moisture. Enriched with organic coconut and buriti oils, it feels quenching as soon as it hits the skin, like a lovely, rich night cream – except here, there's also a phenomenal colour payoff that immediately disguises any dark spots and redness or other discolouration.
We enjoyed this foundation's dewy and light-reflecting finish, which left our skin looking like we had just checked out of a five-star spa. We can’t say whether or not it would have a soothing effect on reactive skin, as our tester's is fairly hardy, but what we can say is that it's a fantastic choice for particularly dry and/or mature skin types.
Reasons to buy: Deeply moisturising
Avoid if: You have oily skin
RRP: £40 | Coverage: Full | Finish: Matte | Number of shades: 15
If you're after full, uncompromising coverage, then this foundation could be The One. The long-wearing, waterproof formula and matte finish make it a great option for any time you need real staying power. Not all of feel comfortable wearing only a sheer tinted moisturiser, but this masks any skin gripes without melting off or clogging pores. Speaking of which, this probably offered the best concealment in this entire guide, disguising acne scars, redness, dark spots and even varicose veins. It is, quite simply, a confidence boost in a tube.
It's worth noting that, with such good coverage, you can expect this to feel a little heavier. We learned firsthand that a little goes a long way and it looks best applied with a makeup sponge to skin that is well moisturised.
Reasons to buy: Waterproof, 12-hour wear
Avoid if: You prefer a lighter level of coverage
How we tested the best cream foundations
To thoroughly assess the contenders for the best cream foundations, we wore each one for at least a full day – some two or three days in a row, others even longer. We were keen to cover all budget levels, but found that the caveat to rich, indulgent formulas loaded with skincare ingredients is they tend to be pricier. Most came from mid-range brands and luxury designer names.
As well as price, we took the following factors into account during the testing process to decide which were the very best.
- Packaging
- Number and range of shades
- Ease of application
- Level of coverage
- Finish
- How it looked on the skin initially
- How it wore through the day
Jessica Kohn works as Lead Artist as part of the Laura Mercier team. She has loved beauty from a young age and has developed a signature look that involves glowing skin with a touch of lip colour.
With more than two decades of experience, Lan is a well-established makeup artist who has worked with celebrities including Beverly Knight, Paloma Faith and Nicole Scherzinger.
Rose-Marie Swift is a makeup artist with more than 30 years of experience. She is also the founder of makeup brand RMS Beauty, the name behind one of the cream foundations in our guide.
Your cream foundation questions, answered
Is cream foundation better than liquid?
Liquid foundations are more familiar to most of us than their cream counterparts. So, what’s the difference? “As its name implies, cream foundation has a thicker consistency than liquid foundation,” explains makeup artist Rose-Marie Swift, founder of RMS Beauty. “This usually means the ingredients are more hydrating than liquid formulas.”
The other difference is to do with coverage. “Cream foundation often contains a higher pigment load than a liquid foundation or even a powder,” Kohn explains. “Liquid foundations often have a more water-like base and therefore are thinner in texture and can vary in coverage from sheer to medium-buildable.” Cream foundations, therefore, tend to lend themselves better to evening out skin tone.
How should you apply a cream foundation?
The difference in the texture of liquid vs cream foundation means that the best method of application varies slightly. "Since cream foundations are slightly thicker, they may require more work to apply so if you aren’t particularly good with blending, it’s best to use a foundation brush or beauty sponge to apply these to your skin," says Swift.
Kohn likes to apply Laura Mercier's Silk Crème Foundation using her fingers. “This allows the warmth from your fingers to melt the product into the skin and means you use the smallest amount of product to get your desired result," she explains. "This is important to prevent product overload and possible creasing throughout the day. I then take a damp sponge, pressed over the top to make sure the product is diffused and blended to perfection.”
Is cream foundation good for older skin?
“Cream foundation is often recommended for mature skin for several reasons,” says Nguyen-Grealis. "Mature skin tends to be drier and cream foundations are typically more hydrating than, say, powder. They can help nourish the skin and prevent a cakey or dry appearance.
"They also provide buildable coverage, allowing you to conceal age spots, fine lines and imperfections without looking heavy or settling into creases,” she continues. “They’re also easy to blend, which gives a smoother appearance. Finally, cream foundations are comfortable to wear, feel more lightweight and are less noticeable on the skin than other types of foundation.”
What's more, if you choose the right formula for your skin type, they can last well throughout the day, meaning you're less likely to feel the need to reapply. “Remember, the key to flawless makeup application on mature skin is proper skincare and preparation,” Nguyen-Grealis adds. “Ensure your skin is well-hydrated and use a good primer before applying foundation for best results.”
Is cream foundation more expensive than other types?
After our extensive testing we found that, unfortunately, you often need to pay more of a premium for the best cream foundations – which is why those included here in our rigorously tested guide are generally mid-to-luxury in price. But that extra investment does pay off by leaving the skin with a comfortable, glowing finish that looks natural and wears well throughout the day.
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