While foundation serves its purpose, sometimes you want a more natural look that lets your real skin shine through. Lighter alternatives like skin tints, tinted moisturizers, and bronzing drops offer your complexion a healthy, natural glow that looks anything but caked on. Plus, many of these products are skincare-makeup hybrids that benefit the complexion with skin-loving ingredients. They’re one and done, making your mornings a breeze. Here are nine of the best foundation alternatives for a natural glow.
9 Best Foundation Alternatives For a Natural Glow
1. L’Oréal Lumi Glotion
A natural skin tint, L’Oréal’s Lumi Glotion is a glow enhancer that hydrates and illuminates your skin. Infused with glycerin and shea butter for all day hydration, it can be worn alone in place of foundation for a healthy, sun-kissed glow sans sun. Available in five shades for all skin tones, and suitable for sensitive skin, give Lumi Glotion a try for an all day radiant glow. As well as using it as a foundation alternative, you can also use it as a highlighter, applying it above the cheekbone, and on your forehead, cupid’s bow, and chin.
2. ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint (SPF 40)
ILIA’s skin tint is bursting with complexion-loving ingredients, while providing light coverage and a dewy finish. It combines makeup, skincare, and SPF in one, with ingredients like niacinamide to smooth skin texture and tone, hyaluronic acid to plump the skin, and plant-based squalane to hydrate and improve elasticity. On top of that, it comes in 30 different shades and is free of silicones, oil, fragrance, and chemical sunscreen. Dispense a quarter-sized amount into your palms and apply to clean, bare skin like a serum.
3. bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Moisturizer (SPF 30)
Another 3-in-1 multitasker, this product is a moisturizer, skin tint, and SPF that contains hyaluronic acid to boost hydration for a dewy, healthy looking glow. It visibly evens skin tone and is buildable for sheer to light coverage. Use your fingertips to dot it onto your cheeks, forehead, chin and nose, then blend outward. If you want to add more coverage, continue layering with a foundation brush. It’s safe for sensitive skin and ideal if your skin is more on the dry side.
4. PÜR 4-in1 Tinted Moisturizer (SPF 20)
Simplify your beauty routine with this 4-in-1 tinted moisturizer that combines moisturizer, primer, foundation, and SPF. The skincare-infused formula gives you natural looking coverage, helps protect you from the sun, and boosts hydration. Included in the formula is PÜR’s exclusive Ceretin Complex, a one-of-a-kind ingredient that helps renew the look of the skin. Use this tinted moisturizer alone for a one-step, natural glow. Smooth a small amount onto clean skin and blend for desired coverage.
5. Saie Slip Tint (SPF 35)
A light coverage tinted moisturizer, the Saie Slip Tint provides sheer, dewy coverage to reveal a natural glow. It’s chock full of nourishing and hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, liquorice root extract to brighten and refine, and 100% mineral zinc oxide for clean SPF protection. Use this moisturizer as your daily skincare, makeup, and SPF in one. Apply it generously to your hands and blend it all over your face. If you’re looking for hydrated, radiant, illuminated skin, Saie Slip Tint has you covered.
6. Lune+Aster RealGlow Skin Tint
Lune+Aster’s skin tint provides radiant lightweight coverage, so it’s great if you want your natural skin to shine through. It offers customizable sheer to medium coverage and contains light-diffusing coated mica for a natural, radiant finish. Formulated with ingredients like vegan collagen to help improve hydration and smooth the skin, vitamin E to hydrate, repair, and protect, and liquorice extract to support skin’s elasticity, it pretty much does it all. Apply it with your fingertips, starting at the centre and moving outwards to cover your entire face.
7. Versed Mood Lighting Glow Drops
For a more serious glow, opt for these face serum bronzing drops. Formulated with superfine light reflecting pigments that both enhance the skin’s natural glow while evening out the complexion, these drops are a must in your morning makeup routine. Each glowy luminizer drop boosts hydration levels and plumps elasticity for noticeably smoother skin. It’s made with vitamin E and peptide polyglutamic acid (hyaluronic acid’s more powerful relative) alongside blackberry extract to strengthen the skin’s barrier. Wear these buildable glow drops solo, under makeup, or mixed into skincare for a seriously gorgeous glow.
8. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector (SPF 30)
When it comes to tinted moisturizer, Laura Mercier knows how it’s done. This product provides your skin with a sheer hint of coverage and effortless dewy finish, making it an excellent alternative to foundation. This skincare-makeup hybrid improves your skin over time with macadamia and kukui seed oils that help increase the skin’s moisture levels long-term, while reducing the signs of visibly dry skin. A broad spectrum SPF 30 plus a powerful blend of antioxidants vitamin C and E help protect the skin from damaging effects of the environment. Place a small amount on the back of your hand and apply with clean fingertips, focusing on one area at a time and blending well.
9. First Aid Beauty Bronze + Glow Drops
Looking for a product to give you that lit-from-within glow? These bronze and glow drops help even skin tone, blur pores, and instantly bronze the skin. Formulated with 5% niacinamide, the drops hydrate and strengthen the skin’s moisture barrier while giving your complexion a healthy glow without clogging pores. The lightweight formula blends to feel invisible on the skin and layers seamlessly with other skincare and makeup. Apply drops to create a custom glow layered or mixed with skincare or makeup, and glow like you’re on vacation.
These foundation alternatives are the best of the best to give your skin a healthy, natural glow. We hope you love them as much as we do!
This post contains affiliate links.
Did you love this roundup of the best foundation alternatives? We’d love it if you shared this post on Pinterest!
Looking for more amazing makeup products? Make sure to follow our Beauty Board on Pinterest!
