The 23 Best Foundations, Concealers, and Highlighters of 2018
A great look starts from the ground up, so finding base makeup that works for you is kinda sorta the most important thing. It brings to mind that oft-used phrase that if the foundation is strong, the whole structure can last ages. We're pretty sure whoever came up with it was referring to architecture, but we believe it holds true for the architecture of your makeup look, too. A gorgeous complexion is a masterpiece of a look on its own, a cosmetic statement that says: I know 80 ways how to use a goddamn Beautyblender, and nothing can stop me now. When your foundation, concealer, contour, and/or bronzer are on just the way you like it, it's a pretty invincible feeling — though one that's only as invincible as the products you build them with. Over the past year, we’ve slathered, blended, brushed, set, and sculpted with scores upon scores of base products to narrow down the champions for 2018: the best complexion-perfecting products you can get your hands on and your brushes in. And once you've found your base — whether that’s a full-coverage foundation, a concealer you can use for every bump and blemish, or a skin tint that makes it look like you’re wearing nothing at all — you can keep on building your beauty look with even more stellar products by checking out the entire list of Allure's Best of Beauty winners.
PRIMER
A thin layer of L’Oréal Paris Infallible Matte-Lock Mattifying Primer absorbs oil and blurs pores, delivering a Facetuned-like finish that lasts all day.
$13 (Shop Now)
PRIMER
If you’re on the dry side, First Aid Beauty Hello Fab Coconut Skin Smoothie Priming Moisturizer keeps skin dewy and pliant while it perfects.
$28 (Shop Now)
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PRIMER
Think of Erborian CC Red Correct as a green screen — for your face. The formula cancels out redness with light-green pigments that adapt to your skin tone, creating the illusion of an even canvas.
$44 (Available in October 2018)
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FOUNDATION: Light Coverage
Formulated without water or oil, Dermablend Flawless Creator skims on and blends seamlessly, giving skin a naked look.
$40 (Shop Now)
FOUNDATION: Medium Coverage
With its light moisture and semimatte finish, Marc Jacobs Beauty Shameless Youthful-Look 24-H Foundation covers imperfections but never, ever the texture of your skin.
$46 (Shop Now)
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FOUNDATION: Full Coverage
If pores could talk, they’d be praising Maybelline New York SuperStay 24HR Full Coverage Foundation. The pigment-rich formula stays put and doesn’t smother.
$12 (Shop Now)
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FOUNDATION: Long-Wearing
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup works its budgeproof magic on runners, workaholics, night owls, and chronically busy moms. We know because we tested it on them all.
$42 (Shop Now)
FOUNDATION: BB Cream / Tinted Moisturizer
BareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream doesn’t skimp in the pigment department. Or the moisturizing department. Or the skin-so-luminous, people-think-you-had-a-facial department.
$30 (Shop Now)
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BLUSH: Powder
The rich color and chiffon texture of Flower Beauty Flower Pots Powder Blush allow you to build your ideal blush: sheer and romantic or deep and lusty.
$10 (Shop Now)
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BLUSH: Cream
The dual-ended Wander Beauty On-the-Glow Blush and Illuminator sculpts the high points of your face and gives your apples a healthy flush as it sets into a soft powder.
$42 (Shop Now)
HIGHLIGHTER: Powder
It may glint like metal, but Maybelline New York FaceStudio Master Chrome Metallic Highlighter is soft enough to blend with your fingertips. That means you can deposit a glow wherever — and whenever — you want it.
$10 (Shop Now)
HIGHLIGHTER: Liquid
L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Glow Amour Glow Boosting Drops yield a wash of light so natural, it’s impossible to overdo.
$15 (Shop Now)
HIGHLIGHTER: Cream
For the frost averse: Ciaté London Dewy Stix makes skin look radiant without a trace of shimmer; the balmy texture alone deposits a gorgeous sheen.
$26 (Shop Now)
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HIGHLIGHTER: Holographic
Pearly and prismesque, Milani Hypnotic Lights Powder Highlighter plays up your bone structure and makes it easy to strobe like a pro.
$13 (Shop Now)
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CONTOUR KIT
KKW Beauty Powder Contour & Highlight Kit lets us contour with a capital K (as in Kardashian). The large compact holds two highlighters and a pair of matte sculpting powders for creating surreal definition; a dual-ended brush blends and buffs.
$52 (Shop Now)
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POWDER: Pressed
A sweep of Laura Mercier Translucent Pressed Setting Powder goes on like gossamer, feels like nothing, and makes us forget we ever had a T-zone.
$38 (Shop Now)
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POWDER: Loose
The featherlight particles in Becca Hydra-Mist Set & Refresh Powder float on top of the skin’s surface, blurring imperfections without sinking into lines.
$38 (Shop Now)
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CONCEALER: Under-Eyes
We usually skip undereye concealer, preferring the look of circles to exaggerated lines. But Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Concealer targets both darkness and wrinkles with vitamin C and lightweight moisture.
$28 (Shop Now)
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CONCEALER: Blemishes
After dabbing on Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer, we don’t think our zit actually deserves the creamy texture and elegant finish. Then again…what zit?
$30 (Shop Now)
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FACIAL SELF-TANNER
Hydrating and vitamin-rich, Tan-Luxe The Face transforms your daily moisturizer into an antioxidant cocktail, and your skin into golden perfection. Add a few drops for a light tint; mix in several more for deeper color.
$49 (Shop Now)
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BRONZER: Matte
Infused with cocoa powder, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer smells like dessert. The real treat is the warm matte finish it adds to our face and chest.
$30 (Shop Now)
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BRONZER: Shimmer
The superfine mineral reflectors in Dior Diorskin Mineral Nude Bronze catch the light, creating the most natural sheen under the sun.
$48 (Shop Now)
SETTING SPRAY
Any setting spray can hold our makeup in place (yawn). A light mist of Urban Decay All Nighter Long Lasting Makeup Setting Spray keeps it looking fresh and newly applied, so creases never crop up.
$32 (Shop Now)
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