The Best Wedding Foundations For Brides

Your wedding day is all about love, but, let’s be real, with all eyes on you and the cameras clicking away, your wedding foundation is doing a lot of heavy lifting, so it's natural that you also want to look flawless on your wedding day. It’s not just there to even out your skin tone, it’s there to handle all the happy tears, cheek kisses, and hours of sweaty dancing without budging. Finding the perfect foundation for your big day is like finding the right partner; it has to be reliable, long-lasting, and make you glow! In this guide, we’ll break down how to pick the foundation that will give you that natural bridal glow, while still lasting through whatever the day throws your way. 

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The best wedding foundations for brides recommended by makeup artists

How To Find Your Foundation Shade 

Step 1 - Undertone 

Firstly, find the undertone of your skin. This could be warm, cool or neutral. You can determine this in a few different ways but the easiest way is to look at the veins in your wrist. 

If they are blue/purple, you have a cool undertone. 

If they are green, you have a warm undertone. 

If you have a little of both or it’s hard to tell, you have a neutral undertone. 

All this means is that you should be looking at foundations with different bases to suit your overall undertone. For example, foundations with more of a rosy undertone work best for cool-tone skin. Foundations with more of a yellow undertone work best for warm-toned skin. This should be fairly easy to recognise when shopping for foundations as most foundation names will have ‘cool’, ‘warm’, or ‘neutral’ in the product shade name. 

Step 2 - Coverage 

Coverage is actually another important factor to consider when deciding your foundation shade. Firstly, the level of coverage can make the shade of your foundation more important and can have an impact on the shades you get of your concealer and bronzer. 

If you’re looking for something flawless with high coverage, you’ll likely want an accurate foundation match since this will be essentially a second skin. This also means you’ll seek out a lighter concealer for the under eyes and a skin-match concealer for any blemishes on the face. 

If you’re looking for something more natural with a sheer coverage that provides a glow, it might be better to go a shade lighter so you can add in dimension and colour with bronzer and blush. Since these products are ‘sheer’ in their coverage, they’re more forgiving and you don’t have to stress as much about finding that perfect shade match. 

Step 3 - Swatching 

The last step is to swatch your chosen foundation. The best place to do this is on the jawline. The reason for this is that you can easily see if it matches your neck. Always test your swatches in natural daylight for the most accurate colour match. If you know you’ll want some flash photos on your wedding day, make sure you test the foundation with whatever powder you’ll be using to set to make sure you avoid flashback and also any oxidising of your foundation, which can make it darker than when you initially swatched the foundation.  

What Kind Of Foundation Will Be Best For Your Skin Type 

The finish of your foundation is important for not only the look you want to achieve but also the durability and longevity of your foundation. A dewy finish may look unreal on the morning of the wedding but if you have oily skin we can guarantee that you’ll feel your face melting halfway through the day. No one wants that awkward moment when you hug a wedding guest but leave half of your face on their shoulder! 

Dry Skin

If you have dry skin, we recommend you keep things hydrating. This means a hydrating primer and a dewy or satin finish foundation. The rest of your makeup products like contour, blush and bronzer may also be liquid or cream-based. Just because you have dry skin though doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set your face! Set with loose or pressed powder but opt for a hydrating setting mist to keep that moisture locked in. Perhaps opting for a liquid or oil-based formula works best for you.  
 

Oily Skin 

For those with oily skin, we still recommend sticking with a hydrating primer since that will give you the best results in making your makeup last all day. But perhaps opt for something with more of a gel texture or something lightweight that won’t sit heavy on your skin. Your foundation should be a satin or matte finish. The trick with oily skin is to add that ‘glow’ through your highlighter and setting spray and not your natural sheen that will just melt and break down your gorgeous makeup. Foundation formulas that are oil-free, waterproof, powder, or stick foundations would be a better choice. Stick foundations are usually thicker and may set a lot better on oily skin. 

Combination Skin 

If you have combo skin, you can essentially pick and choose your look! The finish of your foundation is less important than with other skin types. Foundation formulas that are oil-free, waterproof, or powder foundations might work well for combination to oily skin.

The Best Wedding Foundations 

Best Medium Coverage Wedding Foundations

Best Powder Wedding Foundations

Best Full Coverage Wedding Foundations

Best Stick Wedding Foundations

Best Dewy/Satin Finish Wedding Foundations 

How To Make Your Wedding Makeup Last All Day 

You should head to our article for all the tips on making your wedding makeup last all day. But the main points are priming, setting your face with powder, applying a setting spray, where possible choosing matte or long-wearing products (and waterproof if you think you’ll shed a few happy tears), and keeping up with touch-ups throughout the day. 

One last thing to consider is the weather! If you’re having a destination wedding, you should check out our guide to hair and makeup for destination weddings for all our best advice on handling the heat and humidity. Before you can even think about all things wedding makeup and the best bridal foundations, you should focus on your pre-wedding beauty treatments if you decide to give yourself a pamper (we already think your gorgeous face is perfect as it is). For those brides who want an excuse for a HydraFacial, take a look at our pre-wedding beauty treatments schedule that has all the advice on what to book and when.