16 best foundations for acne-prone skin to conceal blemishes, reduce redness and prevent breakouts

The original It Cosmetics your skin but better CC+ cream does a stellar job at providing lightweight, medium coverage with a dewy finish, but if you want to control shine from oiliness, opt for this matte version instead. There’s few foundations that match the long-lasting power of this, from morning to evening, it maintains a natural-looking finish that conceals spots, bumps, texture and pores well and the SPF40 is just an added bonus. We also love how long this lasts, with previous tubes, we’ve used it daily for well over eight months.

This is a fantastic matte foundation that smooths pores and conceals spots without being full coverage. It’s medium however, with an oil-free formula that’s available in 40 shades – pretty impressive for less than a tenner. It’s a lot more lightweight than we were expecting, with none of the thick, cakeiness that’s common among traditional matte formulas. When we wore it all day and into the evening, we only touched up a bit of shininess on our forehead once, and found only a small amount of powder was needed.

Merit is a newer brand in the UK, having only arrived on our shores in March 2023. However we were left very impressed with its streamlined range of products for eyes, lips and face. One of its hero pieces is this twist up complexion stick, a creamy, lightweight base product that can be used as a concealer or all over as your foundation. This is perfect if you want something compact and easy to blend that won’t cause any mess, takes seconds to apply and is very travel friendly.

The coverage is medium, but very easily buildable, and we liked how we could paint on coverage in targeted areas. It has a radiant, but not overly dewy finish, that lasts well and feels weightless. It’s ideal if you want to conceal spots and inflamed skin, without committing to a full coverage foundation.

This is our all time favourite colour correcting product for tackling redness in our make-up routine. It has a green creamy texture that, when you blend in, adapts to your skin tone for an even toned, luminous finish. It conceals inflammation, blemishes and dark circles all in one, but doesn’t feel like a foundation on the skin. Skin looks smooth and blemishes blurred, and if you want more coverage, it’s easy to layer with your chosen concealer or fuller coverage foundation over the top. We also love using this on areas of our rosacea. It’s a win-win.

Estée Lauder’s double wear is the oldest on our list, having first launched in 1997, but it remains one of the top foundations for its full coverage finish and unmatched staying power. It conceals every blemish and pore, without feeling heavy or looking cakey. Our skin looked smooth and spot-free for hours and the oil-free, matte formula kept our usual shiny T-zone at bay. Our only gripe is it comes without a pump, so dispensing it can be messy – we’d recommend buying a pump to make it easier.

Huda Beauty is well known for its full coverage make-up, but if you’re new to the brand, its #fauxfilter foundation stick is well with the investment. The formula is much more lightweight than you might expect, but blends beautifully with customisable coverage. Having a bad breakout, layer it up. Want something sheerer, just a few swipes over your cheeks, forehead and chin is plenty. It’s longwearing, holding up well in heat, humidity and on sweaty tube journeys with a skin-like finish.

This medium coverage foundation is very fluid and blends easily across the face. It’s in a handy tube which allows you to easily control how much you use and one pump provides a light layer. It’s buildable too, we liked using a little more over particularly porous areas like our nose and forehead. It’s very lightweight and feels like nothing on the skin, but is a lovely base option if you prefer a more natural finish. While it’s matte, it’s not drying, and didn’t cling to patches of dryness on our tester’s cheeks.

Clinique’s anti-blemish liquid foundation has been around for years but remains popular for its fluidity and even finish. It’s extremely lightweight and easy to apply with just your fingers, blends seamlessly, has a medium but buildable coverage and works to prevent breakouts while concealing them too. We liked how it gently neutralised redness and we didn’t see much shine on our T-zone after a whole day of wearing. It’s a great everyday foundation that gets the job done, and we can’t help but love the compact size that’s super easy to store and travel with.

If you want a long-wearing foundation that doesn’t feel like a cakey mask on the skin, Bobbi Brown is your best bet. This liquid formula immediately reduces shine, with a matte finish that conceals redness and pigmentation. It buffs into skin quickly, doesn’t dry down too fast and is buildable if you want more coverage. There’s an extensive shade range of 43 different options, catering to every undertone and the brand’s foundation finder is a very helpful tool for picking the best shade for you.

While we baulked at the high-end price tag of this foundation, its serum-like texture is beautiful and made for a welcome change among some of the thicker formulas we tried. It offers medium coverage that’s very easily buildable, with a thin, almost watery texture that isn’t drying nor heavy, but is weightless on the skin and provides a radiant, semi-matte finish. It’s lovely if you want a foundation that will smooth, soften and blend easily but still feels and looks natural. We added a touch of concealer to cover spots, making customising your coverage easy. A gorgeous luxury product, if you have the budget, it’s well worth buying.

Our list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Fenty Beauty’s first foundation, the pro filt’r soft matte longwear. Firstly, the range spans an impressive 50 shades, catering to all undertones and skin tones, and the brand’s website has a handy foundation shade finding tool to help you get the right one. It’s full coverage, long lasting and non comedogenic – AKA it won’t clog pores. It blends well, we found one and a half pumps was enough for our whole face and we loved using a damp sponge for this. It does dry quite quickly however, so we’d recommend working in sections at a time rather than dotting it all over first.

This vegan formula delivers a lightweight but full coverage finish that’s matte and blurs pores and blemishes without looking cakey. It doesn’t feel heavy on the skin nor does it look like a mask thanks to its skin-like finish. We found it blended best with either a damp sponge or a dense brush and we loved how it didn’t settle into lines around our eyes nor did it cling to patches of dryness on our cheeks. Our oily T-zone loved it too, it instantly mattified and shine throughout the day was minimal.

This mattifying, full coverage formula outperformed many of the more expensive brands we put to the test, while still managing to look natural and skin-like. We also loved how it’s infused with niacinamide which helps improve uneven skin tone and brighten. A little goes a long way and we found using a damp sponge worked best with this if you want to maximise coverage. It also layered excellently with cream and powder products on top, like blusher and bronzer, without budging a bit.

Another popular foundation for acne-prone skin is from Oxygenetix, which cleverly conceals breakouts while healing them simultaneously. This is due to an oxygen complex formula that stimulates skin cell production. The result? A medium, buildable coverage, that feels light as air. It’s both oil and fragrance free, and noncomedogenic, meaning it won’t clog pores. It’s not drying either, and we found it fantastic for sensitive skin that’s prone to redness.

This creamy foundation from skincare is buildable, but very full coverage – we never needed more than one light layer to conceal redness, inflammation, blemishes and pigmentation. It’s a fantastic all in one and in our opinion, the best full coverage foundation you’ll find. Despite this, it doesn’t feel drying or leave you looking powdery or clog pores. Best of all it doesn’t cling to dry, flaky skin surrounding spots.

This is a medium to full coverage foundation that’s enriched with coconut water, hyaluronic acid and rose to help brighten and smooth while providing a flawless finish. Even when you apply a full coverage concealer over the top, it doesn’t separate or pill. It’s also vegan, and blends equally well with a sponge or a dense buffing brush. We wouldn’t recommend using this with your fingers as the high coverage is much easier to distribute with a tool.