The 11 Best Natural Foundations for a Flawless Complexion

by Katie Andrade March 03, 2022

Foundation is the backbone of every makeup look, but with clean makeup and organic skincare brands creating endless options—each with an ever-growing shade range—finding the right one to suit your skin tone, type, and texture is no easy feat.

From full and medium coverage to powder and liquid foundations, navigating synthetic fragrance-packed formulas with potentially questionable chemicals can be a treacherous journey (trust us, we've been there!).

The most important things to consider when choosing a natural foundation is ingredients, skin type, coverage, and colour matching.

  • Ingredients: Look for foundations with clean and natural ingredients that are beneficial for your skin, such as plant-based oils and extracts.
  • Skin Type: Take into account your skin type to choose a foundation that addresses specific concerns and provides the desired finish. Need some help determining your skin type? Take our Skin Quiz
  • Coverage: Determine the level of coverage you prefer, whether it's light, medium, or full, to ensure the foundation meets your expectations.
  • Colour Matching: Find a foundation shade that closely matches your skin tone to achieve a seamless and natural-looking finish. It's helpful to swatch and test shades on your jawline or wrist for an accurate match.

To help narrow down your choices, we've curated a list of cruelty-free, plant-potent, and (dare we say) incredible natural foundations made with skincare ingredients—so you can feel confident in not only your choice but your skin too!

Whether you're looking to add hydration with a cream or liquid formula (thanks jojoba seed oil and shea butter!), want to mattify with a pore minimizing powder, or have sensitive skin that requires extra TLC—we've got you covered (literally).

From industry-leading brands like ILIA and RMS Beauty to underrated powerhouses like Ere Perez and Sappho New Paradigm, we've picked the top choices for every skin need.

Here are the 11 Best Natural Foundations:

Best Natural Foundation Overall

ILIA - True Skin Serum Foundation

Price: $54

Review: 4.6/5

The True Skin Serum Foundation from ILIA has gained a cult following for a reason.

Equal parts skincare and color correction, its hybrid formula is packed with active botanical oils like nourishing jojoba seed and certified organic aloe leaf juice.

Offering weightless medium coverage that blurs imperfections and soothes signs of redness, it leaves your skin silky smooth and looking like, well, skin!

We recommend setting this serum foundation with a powder—especially if you have more oily skin—to lock in even coverage, so you can face each day in the best way.

With eighteen shades ranging from fair to caramel to deep, you’re guaranteed to find one that not only matches but enhances your complexion.






Best Natural Foundation Powder

Alima Pure - Satin Matte Foundation

Price: $38

Review: 4.5/5

Powder foundations are a godsend for mattifying oil-slick skin. The trick (which we're here to help you master) is finding one that doesn't diminish your glow.

Alima Pure’s award-winning, satiny solution should do the trick, plus some.

Its buildable formula is made with just four natural ingredients (including mica and three mineral pigments) that provide a natural and flawless complexion without the worry of blemish-causing, blocked-in sebum.

Dip, tap, and brush this potent powder across your face for a light dusting of sheer to medium color or use it to set for a locked-in, full coverage look.

This loose powder is available in forty-five shades—from cool to olive complexions—making it easy to find your perfect match.






Best Natural Foundation for Dry Skin

Sappho New Paradigm - Organic Liquid Foundation

Price: $54

Review: 4.6/5

Before you decide to kick this liquid foundation to the curb in fear of a tacky finish that highlights flakes, let us explain why it might be exactly what your dry skin needs.

Designed to hydrate as it covers, it works to save a nourished complexion from dreaded dryness that can sneak up any time of year, but especially in the cooler months!

Its silicone-free, vegan, and certified organic formula glides over dry patches effortlessly, settling seamlessly into skin.

The holy trinity of certified organic ingredients (we're talking about you, shea butter, jojoba seed oil, and aloe vera!) work in harmony to moisturize and lay down a breathable veil of skincare-infused coverage that lasts all day.

Plus, fourteen versatile colors, with pink, camel, and deep undertones, leave your skin looking airbrushed in the most natural way.






Best Natural Foundation for Acne Prone Skin

W3ll People - Bio Powder Foundation

Price: $27

Review: 4.5/5

Foundation gets a bad rap when it comes to acne-prone skin.

With the potential of pore-clogging ingredients and accentuating breakouts, it feels impossible to find a blemish-friendly foundation made without any aggravating nasties.

Cue this easy-to-apply pressed powder foundation that’s made with ultra-fine mineral pigments to effectively cover up without caking for a smooth appearance.

Your sensitive skin will enjoy this talc-free rarity that absorbs excess oil, controls shine and gives you that "no-makeup makeup" moment, thanks to its versatile shade range that works for every skin tone.

And with all-natural, certified organic ingredients—like vegan squalene and magnolia bark—your reactive skin will be kept calm and in check.






Best Natural Foundation for Mature Skin

Kjaer Weis - Invisible Touch Liquid Foundation

Price: $48

Review: 4.7/5

In the world of richly pigmented formulas, this aging skin fave works to magically turn back time as it gets buffed into the skin.

Okay, it doesn't quite have the power to reverse time, but it does provide some pretty great coverage.

Hydrating, certified organic jojoba, rosehip, and sweet almond seed oils, help brighten and smooth signs of aging (like a lack of skin elasticity) for a more youthful-looking complexion that radiates.

Blur the (fine) lines with only two-to-three drops for full coverage, or use it to effortlessly conceal spots for a minimal makeup day that allows your natural beauty to shine through.

Twenty-four luminous shades meet your skin exactly where it’s at to ensure it looks and feels the most authentic.

To help you find your shade, here's a closer look at how the shades and how they show up on various skin tones:






Best Natural Foundation for Full Coverage

Fitglow Beauty - Foundation+

Price: $63.5

Review: 4.7/5

We believe Fitglow Beauty has nailed it with a clean full-coverage formula—but the fact that it’s loved and approved by makeup artists across the globe, says so much more.

Turn to this complexion-enhancing foundation when in need of a full-on look that suits any occasion.

Infused with ingredients like herbal hyaluronic acid and Vitamin C, this photo-filtering foundation is ideal for enhancing all skin tones and types (yep, even sensitive!).

Plus, thanks to its ultra-buildable consistency, you can take your makeup from a soft and sheer daytime look to full and flawless come night with a few extra pumps.

Choose from a shade range of eighteen tones, extending across the lightest and darkest tones for a softly perfected look.

Best Natural Foundation for Hydration

Ere Perez - Oat Milk Foundation

Price: $39

Review: 4.6/5

Ere Perez is known for its natural and organic makeup that’s free of synthetic dyes—and this clean foundation is no exception to that ethos. It's sure to become your go-to for an even, natural glow.

But, don't let its lightweight feel fool you!

With eight shades to choose from—designed to suit a large range of skin tones with subtle variations—it boasts intense hydration for medium coverage and a long-lasting dewy finish.

Just as the name suggests, oat milk gives this moisturizing, natural formula its comforting base that dry skin will drink up (just like you do with your morning oat latte!).

Enjoy the emollient benefits of peach fruit extract and vitamin E that provide you with brighter, healthier-looking skin without the cakey finish.






Best Natural Foundation Stick

W3LL PEOPLE - Bio Stick Foundation

Price: $38

Review: 4.5/5

Stick foundation was a popular trend in the '90s for chic, on the go application. So, of course, it's made a swift return to many makeup bags.

W3LL PEOPLE’s take on this swipe-and-glow formula features natural ingredients and a rich and creamy texture that glides across the skin for light to medium coverage with minimal effort.

Thanks to its compact size (and easy application using just your fingertips), it's great for throwing in your bag for quick touch-ups throughout the day.

Plus, its shade range of fourteen with neutral, pink, and yellow undertones is perfect for balancing out any skin tone.

But want to know this luminous stick's best-kept secret? It is an excellent option for precise facial contouring—just be sure to grab it in two shades darker for dreamy definition.

Best Natural Foundation for Oily Skin

Alima Pure - Pressed Foundation

Price: $28

Review: 4.5/5

Let's strip it back to the powdered basics (but in a cool, cruelty-free, and synthetic fragrance-free type of way).

Get ready because this best-selling pressed powder foundation packs a lot of punch!

Each of the seventeen shades is enriched with six active botanical oils and extracts—including evening primrose oil to soothe, argan oil to moisturize, and organic chamomile flower extract to calm even the most sensitive skin.

Thanks to its pressed mineral pigments, it leaves you soft with a foolproof finish that doesn’t feel cakey or tight. Plus, it limits unwanted spillage you get with a loose powder!

It also wins big on minimal waste with its refillable compact! Need we say more about this all-natural super powder?






Best Natural Foundation Cream

"Un" Cover-Up Cream Foundation

Price: $52

Review: 4.5/5

Seeking a full coverage foundation without the cover-up? Say hello to your new top-shelf, year-round staple.

This makeup artist-made and approved emollient foundation provides buildable coverage for a healthy, dewy glow that’s just right.

With shades from ivory to sienna to ebony, you’re bound to find a color match that looks natural and undetectable—a finish everyone seeks.

Nutrient-dense, natural oils (like jojoba, buriti, and coconut) leave skin feeling supple and soft, while RMS Beauty 's proprietary adaptogenic blend drapes skin with extra environmental protection.

Try warming this multi-use foundation between your fingers, stipple it into the skin with a brush, or apply it generously with a damp sponge. What we’re trying to say is the versatility is endless!






Best Natural Foundation Two-In-One

ILIA - Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40

Price: $48

Review: 4.7/5

We've all heard it before, "sunscreen is just as important in the winter as it is in the summer”.

So, maybe it's time we protect our skin from those harmful rays year-round.

Meet everyone's SPF BFF—an oil-free skin tint that feels like a serum but offers seamless coverage for a more cohesive complexion.

Made with non-nano zinc oxide and skin-loving active ingredients like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and vegan squalene, it combines skincare, makeup, and sun protection into one easy-to-use dropper bottle.

With an expansive shade list (we're talking 30!) ranging from extra light to extra deep and every tone in between, ILIA has simplified finding the best color match for your skin tone.





How we chose the best natural foundations on this list

These natural foundations were meticulously curated by our team of experts based on their innovation, performance, and buzz-worthiness. At the Detox Market, all of the products we carry have pure ingredients, exceptional performance, and cruelty free formulations. We've been the trusted clean beauty experts for over a decade, cutting through the clean beauty noise and providing you with nothing but the best in green beauty. You can learn more about our commitment to clean beauty here .





Related Posts:

Related articles

Back to News
Go to full site