Which are the Best Lightweight Coverage Foundations?
Post last updated: 18/01/2023
If you don't like the feel of full coverage foundations on your skin or simply want a barely-there look and feel to your base, light coverage foundations provide the perfect amount of pigment to even out skin tone and enhance your complexion.
What is a key benefit of using a lightweight foundation?
Undetectable on the skin, lightweight foundations blend seamlessly and can be built up in particular areas to give you a little more coverage wherever you may need it.
Which skin type are lightweight foundations best for?
Ideal for all skin types, but especially oily skin as lightweight textures leave skin feeling hydrated with coverage that won't cake or leave a greasy shine. Many lightweight coverage foundations are water-based and act like serums, so they won't clog your pores making them perfect for blemish-prone skin.
Our Picks of the Best Lightweight Coverage Foundations
With a variety of finishes and textures, we have curated an edit of the best lightweight coverage foundations to help you find the perfect formula for your skin type and concerns.
- MAC Face and Body Foundation
- The Ordinary Serum Foundation
- Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation
- Estée Lauder’s Sheer Double Wear
- NARS Light Reflecting Foundation
- Illamasqua Beyond Foundation
- NUDESTIX Tinted Blur Foundation
- The Organic Pharmacy Hydrating Foundation
- BY TERRY Hyaluronic Hydra Foundation
10 of the Best Sheer Foundations
Go lightweight this Summer, with our selection of the best sheer foundations and creams for a fuss-free flawless base.
M·A·C Face and Body Radiant Sheer Foundation
M·A·C’s Face and Body Sheer Foundation is the ultimate summer staple you need in your makeup kit. The lightweight formula provides up to 8-hours of comfortable wear, offering an undetectable finish for your freshest skin to date. Apply sparingly or build up to medium coverage – the choice is yours!
Perfect for: all skin types
105
£35.00
The Ordinary Serum Foundation
With a flawless skin-like finish, The Ordinary Foundation works to even out skin tone and add a natural glow to your complexion. The Ordinary’s proprietary spreadability system allows the radiant foundation to feel just like a serum on the skin, gliding over fine lines and imperfections for a healthy-looking base.
Perfect for: all budgets
236
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation
Water-based and oil-free, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation adds long-wearing, luminous coverage to the skin while still feeling lightweight. One of the most-loved formulas from the brand, the Skin Foundation can be used on all skin types and keeps the skin looking fresh and flawless all day long.
Perfect for: oily skin
30
Estée Lauder Sheer Double Wear
Discover a fresh-faced glow with Estée Lauder’s Sheer Double Wear, an ultra-lightweight version of the original Double Wear formula. The foundation has a fluid texture that can be built to your preferred intensity, offering up to 12-hours of oil, sweat and humidity-resistant wear. This one’s perfect for summer months, giving shine control, anti-pollution protection and added SPF20.
Perfect for: lightweight, long-wear coverage
1
NARS Light Reflecting Foundation
Light up from within with the NARS Light Reflecting Foundation. The foundation rewards your skin the perfect summer radiance, thanks to innovative light reflecting technology. Enriched with biomimetic oat and cacao peptides, the blurring formula delivers a soft, prismatic glow and a skin-like finish, perfect for sunnier days.
Perfect for: a radiant finish
667
RRP: £41.00Current price: £32.80
Illamasqua Long Wear Foundation
A dewy, glass-skin base can be yours at a moment’s notice, thanks to Illamasqua’s glow-boosting foundation. The sheer formula helps to hydrate your skin with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, while laying down a seamless canvas for a luminous finish. Available in 25 shades, find the perfect tone to enhance your natural radiance.
Perfect for: a 'your skin but better' finish
527
RRP: £33.00Current price: £16.50
NUDESTIX Tinted Blur Foundation
If lightweight coverage is what you crave, discover NUDESTIX. The blurring foundation is powered by innovative technology inspired by Korean skincare, featuring 18 natural extracts to protect and balance skin. Tinted pigments ensure a soft, feather-light base that’ll leave you feeling fresh throughout the warmer months of the year.
Perfect for: retaining balanced skin
11
£32.00
The Organic Pharmacy Hydrating Foundation
Combining makeup and skincare, this hydrating foundation delivers sheer, buildable coverage for a radiant glow. It instantly blurs the look of imperfections, infused with hyaluronic acid to hydrate and nourish the skin. Housed in eco-friendly packaging made from glass and tree-free paper, the all-rounder foundation is mindful of our planet too! This one’s perfect for keeping hydration levels topped up through the day.
Perfect for: hydrating dry skin
BY TERRY Hyaluronic Hydra Foundation
Keep your base looking fresh with this weightless liquid foundation, offering sheer-buildable coverage with a second-skin finish. Skin-fit technology help to balance the look of shine, while adaptive light glowing pigments restore life and vitality to the skin. Topped with hyaluronic acid to hydrate and SPF30 to protect, the foundation supports a revitalised, summer-ready complexion.
Perfect for: buildable coverage
76
£53.00
