There are more than 14 million people living with rosacea in the United States alone, making it an extremely common skin condition. If you happen to be one of those people, then you know that your needs for the foundation are different than people without rosacea.
Rosacea causes redness, small bumps, and increased sensitivity. This means some heavier foundations or those formulated with harsher ingredients can actually be detrimental for your skin.
However, more and more foundations are being made with fuller coverage and lighter ingredients. This means breathable, lightweight foundations that cover up your concern areas are possible!
But, it can be tough to find them.
In order to help you, we’ve compiled a list of the top 15 best foundations for rosacea! Keep reading to see if you can’t find the perfect foundation for you.
Top 15 Best Foundations for Rosacea:
1. Laura Geller Baked Balance-N-Brighten Color Correcting Foundation
Liquid foundations don’t work for everyone. However, if you’re struggling with rosacea, you may find that your options are limited.
No worries though! This foundation is whisked and baked on terracotta slabs for a luminous, solid foundation.
Despite not being a liquid foundation, the Laura Geller foundation has a creamy texture. It goes on smooth and blends for a flawless finish.
It only comes in nine different shades. However, it’s designed to color correct and blend in with your skin for a wider range of matches.
This foundation allows for a more natural-looking complexion free of common concerns such as redness. It leaves your skin looking radiant and illuminated while not irritating conditions like rosacea.
2. Dermablend Smooth Liquid Foundation for Dry Skin
With 15 different shades in a range of skin tones, Dermablend helps make sure that you’re going to find your perfect color match. It’s dermatologist-tested to be suitable for all skin types and fragrance-free and non-clogging.
You can apply it with a brush, sponge, or your fingers, allowing you to easily incorporate it into your routine. It also has buildable coverage and SPF protection from harmful UV rays.
What makes this one of the best foundations for rosacea is that it’s designed to deliver all-day hydration to soothe dry skin and redness. It also has medium, buildable coverage that helps cover up any lingering redness without making it worse.
Related: Best Foundations for Dry Skin
If you find that this brand works best for your skin concerns, they also have other products designed the same way for a full-face look without any discomfort.
3. It Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC
This full-coverage foundation works to correct your skin while covering imperfections. The benefits don’t stop there, though.
Rosacea is a photoaggravated skin disorder. This means that prolonged exposure with light and UV rays can cause your skin to redden.
As a result, you’ll want to protect your skin.
This foundation provides SPF 50+ protection. This will help keep your skin tone even throughout the day.
It also provides color-correcting benefits. This will help correct any lingering redness.
It has anti-aging properties that aid. As a result, you don’t have to worry about exaggerated pores or foundation settling in fine lines.
Related: Best Foundations for Large Pores
Since it’s a BB cream-style foundation, it’s designed to blend into your skin tone. That means that, even though the color range is limited, you should be able to find the right shade for you.
4. Oxygenetix Oxygenating Foundation
Originally designed for medical use on burn patients, this foundation has no added occlusive oils, water, fragrance, or preservatives. It’s designed to be as gentle and breathable as possible, making it one of the best foundations to cover redness for rosacea without aggravating your skin.
It includes soothing ingredients such as aloe vera gel which glide on smoothly while helping reduce and prevent redness. If you’re worried about photoaggravation, it also has SPF 30 to protect you from UV rays.
Plus, it’s water-resistant for up to 90 minutes. This makes it great for wearing by the beach or to the gym.
If you suffer from acne, then you’ll appreciate this foundation’s acne control. Since it’s infused with Vitamin E oil, it’ll also help heal old acne scars and discoloration while moisturizing.
6. Juice Beauty Foundation
This buildable to full-coverage formula blends seamlessly for a flawless finish while delivering a noticeably smoother, more youthful-looking appearance. It’s formulated with helpful botanicals, antioxidants, and vitamins for gentle coverage that improves your skin while you wear it.
Since it does have gentle, hydrating ingredients such as aloe, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C, it’ll help reduce any redness for your rosacea while soothing your skin. It works best when used after a moisturizer or serum and can be layered for either a sheer finish or full coverage.
Related: Best Serums for Oily Skin
It comes in 11 different shades to help you find the best color match for you. It’s non-greasy, non-clogging, and even helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
It’s important to make sure that you shake well before each application. Since this is a plant-based foundation, it has a tendency to separate.
6. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup
With over 42 shades, you’re almost guaranteed to find the perfect color match for your skin! It’s designed to last for up to 15 hours, rain or shine.
It’s easy to apply and blends for all-day coverage without excess grease or shininess. It’s also buildable so you can either go with a thin layer for everyday wear or more for days you’re worried about redness showing through.
As with all makeup bought online, double-check to make sure that the item is authentic before applying it to your skin. This will help prevent any coverage issues.
7. Becca Ultimate Cover 24 Hour Foundation
With 15 different shades, this oil-free, full-coverage liquid foundation looks on almost all skin tones and feels weightless.
It stays put for as long as 24 hours and provides water-resistant wear. That means that, while you may not be able to wear it in the pool, you can definitely wear it to the gym or in high humidity.
It uses skin correcting pigments to help match and blend your skin tone for an even, smooth finish. It’s not cakey and won’t sit in the fine lines or wrinkles around your eyes, helping prevent that crepey appearance.
Since it is buildable with ultimate coverage, it’ll cover dark spots, acne scars, and even redness associated with rosacea while providing oil-free hydration.
8. Jane Iredale Liquid Minerals Foundation
When you have rosacea, you may not be able to wear just any old foundation. You’ll want something that helps cover the redness and any bumps while not further aggravating your condition.
That’s where the Jane Iredale foundation comes in.
Rather than being your typical foundation, this is actually a serum that features pigment for coverage. This means it helps cover up any skin conditions while remaining gentle and moisturizing.
It provides hydration, diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, minimizes the appearance pores, and evens out skin tone. This makes it one of the best foundations for rosacea and covering redness.
9. Glo Skin Foundation
This pressed mineral powder foundation provides breathable, buildable coverage that lasts with skin-nourishing antioxidant support for all skin types. It’s talc-free and non-comedogenic for acne-prone skin and it provides antioxidants and nutrients vital to skin health and radiance.
Related: Best Powder Foundations for Dry Skin
The best way to apply this foundation is with a flat top Kabuki brush. This allows you to either apply a sheer layer or build-up for full coverage with a semi-matte finish.
When applied with a sponge, you may get a crepey texture. It’s important to use a brush so that you can buff the foundation into your skin for flawless coverage.
It comes in 23 shades and has ingredients that help deflect sun rays. This is especially helpful with rosacea since harsh light tends to aggravate the conditions.
10. Physician’s Formula The Healthy Foundation
This long-wearing, the breathable foundation provides lightweight, buildable coverage with a satin finish. It comes in 12 different shades, which, while a bit limited, still provides you the opportunity to find your best match.
This is called a healthy foundation for a reason. It’s infused with beneficial ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E.
It even has SPF 20 to protect you from UV rays. This can help prevent any rosacea flareups if you plan to spend a long time in the sun.
The Physician’s Formula foundation has been tested to be safe for sensitive skin and be hypoallergenic.
Related: Best Foundations for Sensitive Skin
11. Perricone MD No Makeup Foundation
This skin-improving treatment foundation is designed to perfect your complexion with buildable coverage and a semi-matte finish. It provides a semi-matte finish for all skin types with buildable coverage that smooths the look of imperfections.
Related: Best Foundations for Combination Skin
Perricone skincare-infused makeup fuses effortlessly with the skin to create a luminous glow and natural flush of color.
It’s light on your skin so that it remains breathable and doesn’t clog your pores. And, since it’s a serum, it also provides a nice breath of moisture that won’t leave you shiny.
One of the biggest downfalls in the limited shade range. It only has 7 shades, with very few designed for darker skin tones.
12. Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Foundation
With 25 shades, Tarte gives you a wide variety of options to help find your perfect skin tone match. However, the best aspect is its namesake ingredient.
The Amazonian clay is one of the best ingredients out there for skin that needs a gentler touch. It soothes redness and irritation while providing deep moisture and healing.
Related: Best Moisturizers for Rosacea
Despite being clay, it doesn’t go on thick. This means its breathable all day.
This foundation is designed to be non-oily and provides SPF 15. One thing to note, however, is that this makeup is not waterproof.
It’s also not full coverage. With rosacea, this is something to be wary of because you may need something with more coverage during bad flareups.
13. Pacifica Foundation
With a wide range of 30 oil-free, anti-shine shades, you’ll find that picking the right Pacifica foundation for you is easier than expected. The non-comedogenic, dermatologist-tested formula goes on smooth and covers pores all day long.
It’s free of silicone, parabens, phthalates, talc, BHA, BHT, petroleum, and drying alcohols for healthier, more radiant skin with every wear. As a result, after weeks of use, you may find that your skin naturally feels smoother and looks healthier.
However, since it is a little bit thicker, if you have more mature skin with fine lines and wrinkles, this may not be the best foundation for you.
14. Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Longwear Foundation
This oil-free soft matte foundation is made with climate-adaptive technology that’s resistant to sweat and humidity without clogging your pores. It’s 100% cruelty-free and won the 2018 Allure Best of Beauty Breakthrough Award.
Related: Best Cruelty-Free Foundations
Before applying this foundation, make sure to shake well. This helps activate the foundation and keep it well-mixed and ready to go for all-day makeup.
It easily builds from a medium to full coverage foundation to give skin an instantly smooth, pore-diffused, shine-free finish.
If you’re worried about finding the perfect match for your skin tone, don’t be! The Fenty Beauty foundation comes in 40 shades.
It’s lightweight, breathable, and perfect for everyday makeup no matter where you go.
15. NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Foundation
With a range featuring 45 different shades, finding your perfect match has never been easier. Every creamy liquid shade glides on smooth, delivering matte coverage that stays true up to 24 hours.
It’s lightweight, waterproof, and easy to apply each and every day. You can also build it up in problem areas, which is an extra benefit with shopping for the best foundation for rosacea.
If you’re worried about it causing a flareup with your rosacea, don’t be! It’s formulated to be gentle with non-comedogenic ingredients that are designed for each and every skin type.
If you find that it’s not absorbing into your skin the way you would like, try experimenting with different application techniques. Sometimes, a damp makeup blender is all you need to get that smooth, flawless finish.
Related: Best Dewy Foundations
Joan S. Wilson is a lifelong makeup and skincare enthusiast. She used to work as a makeup artist for 5 years. Joan is always curious and wants to learn more when it comes to makeup and skincare. She tries her best to make other people’s skin health better. This is why Joan is so passionate about writing articles on beauty topics. She always looks for products that are high-quality, dermatologist-tested, and does that it says on the label. In every article, she shares her knowledge to make your life healthier and happier!