Heavy foundations have their place in a makeup toolkit — they sometimes work on younger skin and are great as stage makeup. But for everyday use? Not so much.
When you have mature skin and are adding heavy foundation on top, it can be a recipe for throwing a spotlight on the texture in your skin. It becomes increasingly more important as we age to choose foundations that are formulated with aging skin in mind. This means choosing more lightweight foundations that contain moisturizing ingredients and are free of harsh additives that can make your skin dry and emphasize fine lines and wrinkles.
If you want your foundation to glide on and stay put with as little effort as possible, and aren’t a fan of the look of makeup when it settles into lines and wrinkles, avoiding these three foundations is a wise move. Instead, choose water-based foundations with a dewy or natural finish and layer the product as needed to conceal anything you want to hide and help your skin tone look more even and naturally flawless.
1. Matte Foundation
Matte foundation removes all shine from your skin, but in doing do, it requires a drier texture and formulation, and this can settle into fine lines and wrinkles and make any flaking on your skin look worse. Because these matte formulas absorb light and don’t reflect it back, they can also leave your skin looking less vibrant and healthy and more ashen. A dewy or satin finish will do more to add hydration to mature skin and make it look more radiant and youthful.
2. Powder Foundation
Any makeup with a powdery finish is going to be more drying than a liquid formulation that contains hydrating ingredients. For that reason, powder foundations aren’t the best option for mature skin since they are more likely to appear cakey on the skin and settle into pores, fine lines, and wrinkles. Adding to the list of reasons why powders aren’t the best foundation pick after a certain age, they aren’t as easy to blend as liquid or cream formulas, which makes them more likely to sit on the skin and stick to dry patches.
3. Foundations That Contain Alcohol
Foundations that contain alcohol can dry out the skin and cause irritation, while compromising your skin barrier and failing to help your skin retain moisture. Constant contact with alcohol on the skin can also reduce elasticity and affect your skin’s firmness. If you think your foundation could be contributing to a drier complexion as of late, make sure you read ingredients labels carefully and avoid makeup that contains alcohol.
