23 Best Foundations for Mature Skin to Flatter Your Complexion

Infused with 10 botanical oils and plumping hyaluronic acid, the GH Beauty Lab test-winning IT Cosmetics tinted cream goes on like a moisturizer, leaving skin soft and glowy. It’s also packed with SPF 50 to protect your face from the sun — the best anti-aging defense of all! It beat 29 other foundations the Beauty Lab’s test and earned the only perfect score for smooth-looking coverage. Makeup artist evaluators found it was one of the best formulas for mature skin.

Created especially for mature skin, this serum foundation from L’Oréal Paris effectively perfects, hydrates and protects skin with a high level SPF. In studies, 83% of women said the lightweight, radiant finish formula doesn't settle into lines or wrinkles and it improved skin hydration eight hours after application thanks to moisturizers like hyaluronic acid.

Though the foundation isn't heavy, reviewers expected it to be lighter since it's marketed as a serum foundation.

The cream foundation received the highest score for providing hydration, evening skin tone and concealing sun blemishes, according to testers. It also had a pleasant scent, but testers noted that it did not provide long-lasting coverage and had trouble blending it in.

“I liked that this doesn't have a noticeable scent to it. It is easy to apply onto my brush and on my face,” says GH Beauty Lab Senior Chemist Danusia Wnek. “It spreads nicely and has medium coverage that conceals a bit of my red spots. I like the way the packaging looks.”

This Lancôme tinted moisturizer with hyaluronic acid feels like a silky, rich cream on skin, not makeup and is one of GH's beauty director's go-to picks. “It provides the perfect amount of coverage, hiding spots and discoloration without settling into lines or caking, and gives skin a natural-looking youthful glow,” she explains.

With Olay moisturizer swirled right in, this CoverGirl cream compact foundation is the ultimate product for a one-step face. While some cream formulas can feel heavy and cakey, this Beauty Award winner is lightweight while still offering great coverage. It’s even pigmented enough to double as a concealer. GH Beauty Lab pros like that it feels velvety and blends flawlessly, and the packaging makes it great for keeping in your bag for on-the-go touch-ups.

Some muscle may be required to open the packaging, as some reviewers complained the twist-off top was hard to budge.

A GH Beauty Award winner and Good Housekeeping Seal star, Mary Kay’s creamy medium- to full-coverage foundation delivers hydrating and anti-aging effects via ingredients like softening vitamin E, radiance-enhancing niacinamide and smoothing peptides. In a study, over 90% of testers found that it smoothed the look of lines after one week of use and gave skin a luminous finish instantly, per Lab analysis.

Though most considered the radiant finish a plus, some found it too glowy.

When we tested this best-seller in our Lab, it lived up to its name, receiving top scores for leaving skin smooth, spreading easily, absorbing quickly and blending well. "The name 'HD skin undetectable' is fitting because the foundation has a very light, fresh texture and undetectable feeling on skin," says Chiara Butler, Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab reviews analyst. Testers love that it lasts all day and is buildable. Most could cover acne scars, although some had to use concealer. "Fantastic product, feels luxurious, light but good coverage," Wnek adds.

Giorgio Armani's luxurious foundation balm glides over skin to give full satiny coverage that blurs pores, redness, spots and uneven texture. "This formula really hides everything yet feels silky on skin," GH's beauty director says. Plus, the compact comes with an applicator sponge and a mirror for touch-ups on the go.

GH Beauty Lab senior chemist Sabina Wizemann likes Chantecaille's unique gel-like formula because it won’t settle into fine lines and wrinkles and leaves a fresh, natural-looking finish. The foundation is sheer but evens skin tone and is easily buildable if you prefer a more full-coverage look or need to cover a blemish or age spot. While it feels like a creamy skincare product, it’s not tacky or too shiny.

Another of Wizemann's favorites, this Nars tinted moisturizer is ideal for getting a no-makeup, natural look. It's her go-to product when traveling: "The perfect multi-tasker, it protects with SPF 30, hydrates and keeps my skin tone looking even and glowy," Wizemann says. The cream is easy to apply with your fingers to perfect skin without adding extra heaviness, plus you can easily build up the coverage.

The best hydrator of the GH Beauty Lab's CC cream test, this sheer tinted Olay formula improved skin over time, too, including fading dark spots. According to Lab measurements, it moisturized better than any other CC cream tested, increasing hydration levels by 36% over six hours and minimizing the appearance of brown spots and pores over four weeks.

While most love the radiant finish, some found it left their skin too shiny.

Chanel's high-end foundation lives up to its legacy: The base imparts skin with an "expensive-looking" glow, restoring lost radiance. "This is one of the best true foundations I've ever tried: It really covers and evens out skin, yet somehow looks natural and luminous," GH's beauty director raves. "It makes skin look perfect, even when it's not."

More than just makeup, this buttery L’Oréal Paris tinted balm foundation is boosted with anti-agers like peptides. Beauty Lab data analysis showed that the light-to-medium-coverage solid formula instantly makes skin look smoother.

However, one reviewer complained that the formula tends to move around, so setting powder is needed to help it stay in place.

This product is great if you want a flawless face without many extra steps. CoverGirl's silky base is a triple-duty primer-concealer-foundation hybrid. With just one application, you'll get the coverage of a concealer, and, true to its name, it'll last all day. That's why it won a GH Beauty Award! Evaluations showed that the blendable formula stayed in place while still feeling light on the skin and not looking heavy or cakey.

Keep in mind that the formula dries super fast, according to reviewers, so you'll want to blend quickly.

This waterproof foundation will endure your sweatiest days while offering natural-looking full coverage. “Makeup still looked flawless after having it on all day (98°F weather),” says one reviewer. The application is also easy and mess-free, making it great on the go.

However, one reviewer with oily skin said her complexion looked shiny after a few hours.

Makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury’s base delivers medium satin-finish coverage in a lightweight cream that feels more like skincare than makeup. GH Beauty Lab pros found that the lightweight, cruelty-free formulation, a GH Beauty Award winner, is not heavy on skin and gives a lasting glow.

Some reviewers found the foundation could rub off or transfer after a few hours of wear.

Tailored to the deepest of skin tones, Uoma Beauty's soft matte foundation in an impressive 51 shades comes in customized formulations for different skin color groups, including rich tan, brown and dark brown. "The most perfectly matching foundation I may have ever had," an Ulta reviewer marveled.

However, some reviewers found it to be drying.

This GH Beauty Award- and test-winning No7 foundation is infused with skincare ingredients like wrinkle-smoothing peptides and vitamins C and E to firm and brighten skin. The medium-coverage pick impressed in our Lab’s recent test thanks to a believable radiant finish and the fact that it went on and blended smoothly. Makeup artist evaluator Philippides called it “very impressive” and “flawless.”

Though the foundation has SPF 15, dermatologists recommend at least SPF 30 for enough protection, so another sunscreen should be worn underneath.

A base that gives a true no-makeup look, lightweight YSL Beauty provides dewy light to medium coverage that stays put, a rare feat for a tinted moisturizer. In GH Beauty Lab evaluations, the GH Beauty Award-winning formula spread well, subtly covered imperfections and evened skin tone. The coverage lasted all day, even on a tester with oily skin, and didn’t irritate another user with very sensitive skin. “I like how sheer it is — it gives a glowy, barely-there look yet evens skin tone.”

While people generally liked the scent, some found its fragrance too strong.

With only five ingredients, this mineral foundation was formulated to let pores breathe, which one GH beauty writer says "feels virtually weightless on skin." Powder foundations can get cakey when you build them up, but our writer says, "This one blends naturally with your skin whether you are going for sheer or full coverage. It also lasts all day and won't settle into fine lines and wrinkles." One reviewer commented, "It makes my skin look youthful, and I am 70 years old."

One caveat: The loose powder can be a little messy.