Shades for Days: 12 of The Foundations for Dark Skin

Foundations are the base upon which you build your entire makeup look. But with an endless amount of textures, coverage levels, and finishes, it can be difficult to find the right foundation for your skin. Historically, shade ranges have not always been part of that list, making it difficult for people of color to find a perfect match for their darker skin tone. Thankfully, many beauty brands are becoming more inclusive in their shade offerings, eliminating the need to go on a wild goose chase (or even mix and match multiple products) to find your shade match. Now you could truly say there is an all-star foundation out there for everyone.

However, shade selection is only half the battle in finding the perfect foundation. There are so many other factors to consider including skin type (oily, combination, dry), finish (matte, dewy, natural), coverage (light, medium, buildable, full), and texture (liquid, cream, stick, powder, cushion), and the list goes on and on. Plus, thanks to the latest beauty technology, there are a slew of other benefits we can expect from foundations, from ingredients that impart a blurred filter effect to built-in skincare that helps address everything from oil control to anti-aging.

Below, we rounded up the best foundations for darker skin tones.

Best Overall: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Foundation

This foundation comes in a variety of shades and was created with undertone variations in mind. The formula is for all skin types, but the matte finish will be appreciated by those who have oily or combination skin. Although on the pricier side, it’s worth the splurge because the foundation glides flawlessly onto the skin and doesn’t settle into fine lines or wrinkles. An added bonus is the addition of SPF 10.

Best Blurring Effect: Uoma Beauty Say What?! Foundation

This foundation is available in—count 'em—51 different shades, a true gem for all skin tones. The formula itself is hydrating, but it dries down to a matte, yet comfortable finish. Plus, thanks to a special blurring technology, it can help reduce the look of large pores and fine lines for a flawless base. Say What?! is right.

What Our Testers Say

“No matter your skin tone or type, the Uoma Beauty foundation can give you the customizable matte finish you've been looking for, all while wearing nicely throughout the day.” — Celeste Polanco, Product Tester

Best Long Wear: NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation

NARS is home to a number of cult-favorite makeup products, and their All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation is certainly one of them. As its name suggests, the formula lasts all day long (up to 16 hours) with light-as-air wear that you'll barely feel. Still, it is highly pigmented and offers full coverage over redness and discoloration; one drop can extend across the entire face. Choose from 20 different shades.

Best Matte Finish: Black Up Matifying Fluid Foundation

If a matte finish is what you desire, then add Black Up’s Matifying Foundation to your list. Through the years, this iconic foundation has been revamped to ensure an immediate mattifying effect on application. It comes in 18 shades and we love the sebum-regulating and astringent active ingredients that help the formula look bright and just-applied all day long.

Runner-Up, Best Matte Finish: Clinique Stay-Matte Oil-Free Makeup

Available in 16 shades, this foundation controls oil and helps reduce the appearance of excess shine—choice for anyone with oily or combination skin. The texture is a lightweight gel and it delivers medium coverage over imperfections for up to eight hours.

For extra mattifying action, apply powder over top.

Best Dewy Finish: Beauty Bakerie InstaBake Aqua Glass Foundation

Drawing inspiration from Japan’s minimalist aesthetic, the Insta Bake Aqua Glass foundation is ideal for those who desire a dewy and radiant look. The creamy formula boasts full coverage and long-lasting wear; you'll love the hydrating benefits and the natural glass skin effect it provides—not to mention how easily it glides over the skin, just like a layer of frosting.

Best Sheer Coverage: Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Long Wear Foundation

This is a foundation, but it's so lightweight and hydrating that you might confuse it with a tinted moisturizer. We recommend it to anyone who's after sheer coverage or a no-makeup makeup look. As an added bonus, it's formulated with SPF 19, which is among the higher end for foundations, so you get sun protection plus coverage. Choose from 40 different shades.

Best Medium Coverage: Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation

Comprising a soft, matte, and buildable liquid formula, which contains pineapple and papaya extracts, this award-winning foundation re-defined inclusivity as we knew it with 50 available shades. But beyond that, it does a stellar job at diffusing the look of pores and smoothing out the skin. Oh, and thanks to the climate-adaptive technology, it is sweat and heat resistant, so you can wear it in any season without worrying about makeup meltdown.

What Our Testers Say

“The oil-free formula evened out my skin, kept my T-zone matte, and the shade matched my skin tone seamlessly.” — Bianca Lambert, Product Tester

Best Full Coverage: Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Full Coverage Matte Foundation

This full-coverage foundation does not disappoint, especially because the 30- strong shade range celebrates all skin tones and undertones. With a long- lasting, matte finish formula, it’s packed with skin-unifying pigments that impart an airbrushed finish. Use it to cover up anything from breakouts to dark spots and acne scars with ease, and then get ready for your close up—no filter needed.

Best Splurge: Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish Sublime Foundation

Offering one of the most inclusive shade ranges out there, this 36-shade foundation from makeup artist Pat McGrath stays in place all day. Apply one layer for sheer coverage or build up to medium coverage depending on your skin's needs. Because it's formulated with high-purity pigments treated with amino acids, the end result is always smooth, and the infused diamond core powder ensures a luminous finish that's sure to get you plenty of compliments.

Best Budget: Juvia’s Place I Am Magic Foundation

Juvia’s Place is renowned for its bold, colourful and highly pigmented eyeshadow palettes, but don't sleep on this affordable, full coverage foundation—a newer launch for the brand. Each of the 42 shades in this range is formulated by experts, so you can expect it to even out the skin, help refine its texture, and erase the look of blemishes in one fell swoop.

Best Stick: Iman Cosmetics Second To None Stick Foundation

There are so many things to love about stick foundations—easy application, mess- free carrying, the list goes on. Stick (get it?) this guy into your purse, gym bag, or travel bag for easy access virtually anywhere. You don't have to worry about spills the way you do with a liquid foundation, and the results are just as good. After swiping the formula onto your face, use a sponge or foundation brush to gently blend it out.

What to Look For in a Foundation for Dark Skin

The Perfect Shade

Don’t be so quick to invoke Captain Obvious here. Finding the color that best matches your skin isn’t as simple as swatching a few drops on the back of your hand and making a decision. You’ll first need to establish whether you’ve got warm, cool, or neutral undertones, then try a few color options formulated to that undertone on your jawline and chest to find the best match.

Buildable Coverage

While there’s nothing wrong with a one-stop foundation product, the magic words in foundations nowadays are “buildable coverage,” which essentially means whatever’s inside is like three products in one. They’re formulated to be versatile, giving you sheer coverage with one layer, medium coverage with two, and extra coverage where you need it, like a concealer.

When it comes to finding the perfect foundation for dark skin tones, the ideal candidate will be inclusive of a wide range of shades, formulated specifically for your particular undertone (warm, cool, or neutral), feature the desired finish (matte, dewy, natural, or blurred/pore-perfecting), and provide the coverage you’re after (light, medium, or full).

To ensure a perfect color match, start by identifying which undertones you have, then trying as many shades as possible on both your jawline and chest. However, you must also consider the amount of coverage you want, type of finish, and consistency of the product to ensure it also complements your skin type.

According to makeup artist AJ Crimson, the face is not all one shade: “The biggest mistake women make is that they perceive that they’re one color all over, and I think once they dispel that myth, they’ll have a better and easier time in matching the foundation,” he told us. This means many women of color may require more than one foundation shade to fully highlight the spectrum of their faces.

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