By Erin Jahns
last updated
In the UK alone, roughly one in 10 people are currently living with rosacea, a skin disease which involves the tendency to blush or flush more easily than your average Josephine and which can spread beyond the face to the ears, chest, and back.
As theAmerican Academy of Dermatology reports, rosacea actually has four subtypesthat can result in the aforementioned flushing and visible blood vessels in addition to other frustrating symptoms like persistent redness, swelling, acne-like breakouts, bumpy texture, and more. Dryness, stinging, burning, and a scaling, flaky texture can be other not-so-fun side effects.
(Image credit: @emilydidonato)
Not surprisingly, all of the above make shopping for skincare and makeup hard.Many formulas are drying, irritating, or filled with icky ingredients that just won't play nicely with rosacea or skin that's prone to chapping, redness, or dehydration.
According to celebrity esthetician Renée Rouleau(who has also been my skin hero), steering clear of highly active ingredients, overexfoliation, hot water (store your skincare in the fridge!), and allergen-ridden products and embracing protective, gentle, and calming ingredients (think physical sunscreens, chamomile, white tea, etc.) is a fabulous game plan for managing rosacea. Another good idea? Opting forthe best foundations that will not only help camouflage redness or other related complications like bumps and uneven texture but will also heal, soothe, and definitely not exacerbate the volatile situation. Ahead, we're highlighting 11 of the best foundations for rosacea, organised by how much you're willing to spend. Keep scrolling!
If You Have £20 and Under to Spend…
Physicians Formula
The Healthy Foundation
Even though I don't have rosacea, I do get a lot of redness and have easily irritated, acne-prone skin. This affordable foundation is long wearing, lightweight, and super buildable in coverage. Even a small amount does major work on red, inflamed skin, and thanks to SPF, hyaluronic acid, vitamins, antioxidants, and the brand's Brightening Complex featuringChinese Wu Zhu Yu extract, your skin will actually look and feel better post-wear.
Nyx Professional Makeup
Born to Glow Naturally Radiant Foundation
This is the newest foundation from Nyx, and it's pretty awesome. It's vegan, is only £10, comes in a whopping 45 shades (not necessarily the norm when it comes to drugstore brands), and boasts a natural, luminous-looking finish that's medium in coverage but buildable, so you can customise depending on how red or upset your skin is.
E.L.F. Cosmetics
Flawless Finish Foundation
This budget-friendly foundation is a best seller for a reason. It's amazing, and if you were blindfolded, you'd never know it wasn't over £40 (let alone under £10). It comes in 40 shades,it's featherlight in texture and oil-free, and it's specifically designed to tend to uneven skin tone and texture.
If You Have £20 to £30 to Spend…
Fenty Beauty
Pro Filt'r Hydrating Longwear Foundation
Fenty Beauty newness always incites excitement, but this fresh launch is especially welcome for those with finicky skin. RiRi made this fab new foundation to be extra hydrating (a necessity if you're red and irritated), with the added bonus of extra-long wear that can be customised with medium-to-full coverage—whatever your skin is craving.
Vichy Laboratories
Dermablend Corrective Fluid Foundation
Sometimes, long-wear foundation formulas—especially the ones specifically designed to camouflage redness—can look and feel like a mask on our faces. Not cool. However, that's not the case with this beloved, high-performance pick from Vichy. It stays exactly where you apply it; it instantly makes your complexion look smoother, brighter, and more even; and it packs in a helpful dose of 24-hour foundation for good measure.
Estée Lauder
Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup
This is such an OG favourite—the cult-loved long-wear, full-coverage foundation was doing it all before everyone else. Not only is the shade range amazing (and, ahem, always has been), but it's also guaranteed to do you and your face well for a full 24 hours. (I used to wear it all night long during my college days.)It is also clean, non-comedogenic, and free of oil, fragrance, and parabens—good news if you have rosacea and redness.
If You Have £30 and Over to Spend…
Huda Beauty
#FauxFilter Foundation
Complete with skin saviours like hydrating argan oil and centella asiatica and devoid of annoying things like SLS, SLES, and parabens, this filter-like full-coverage foundation essentially swipes away the appearance of redness, acne, and other hyperpigmentation issues. The effect is airbrushed luminosity. A bold claim, we realise, but one that's completely warranted.
Urban Decay
Stay Naked Weightless Foundation
Urban Decay's new formulation ofits cult-loved Naked Foundation does not disappoint and is an especially great recommendation if youhaverosacea. The coverage is super impressive while being so lightweight you basically feel like you aren't wearing anything on your face—the dream. It also does this special thing where your pores look basically invisible, and if necessary, this foundation will stay on your face for a full 24 hours with its natural-looking matte finish still perfectly intact.
It Cosmetics
CC+ Cream With SPF 50+
This magical and best-selling CC cream from It Cosmetics is like the skin-perfecting kitchen sink of the foundation world. If you have rosacea, you'll appreciate it's colour-correcting talents, protective SPF, and other skin-loving fare like hydrolysed collagen, peptides, niacin, hyaluronic acid, antioxidants, and vitamins aplenty.
Charlotte Tilbury
Airbrush Flawless Longwear Foundation
New in from the glowing complexion queen herself, this airbrush-like foundation is another great option if you have rosacea. The coverage is full, the finish is matte, and the formula has a host of innovative technologies that are literally very cool—such as the brand's trademark AirCool, which provides an immediate AC effect on hot, irritated skin.
Kevyn Aucoin
Foundation Balm
This foundation from legendary brand Kevyn Aucoin is hot off the presses, and lucky for you, it's fantastic for covering and soothing redness. Even though it's a balm, it still offers a satisfying ratio of coverage, feels super silky and hydrating, and has the most luxe ingredientssuch as hyaluronic acid, avocado oil, and antioxidants, such as vitamin E.
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Erin Jahns
Beauty Director
Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.
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