Finding a great foundation can be a difficult and even overwhelming experience. Your friend raved about one foundation, but maybe another one didn’t like it. You read tons of rave reviews about a different foundation online, but when you bought it yourself, it didn’t work for you. Sound familiar?

In general, there are a lot of amazing drugstore foundations out there, but it certainly takes some digging to find them. And the key to finding the one that’s perfect for you? Skin type. It’s the reason one foundation may look amazing on one person but horrible on another. That’s why it is crucial that you assess your skin type before purchasing the product in order to have the most flattering look.

Below, I’ve broken down each of the four most common skin types, and a great drugstore foundation for each (with the exception of “normal” skin, which can wear all three foundations).

Table of Contents

Skin Types

In general, there are four main skin types: normal, oily, combination, and dry.

• Normal: Luckily for you, your skin appears evenly toned and you suffer from few breakouts. Your skin is not overly dry or oily. You can pretty much wear whatever foundation you want – they will all work for you, more or less.
• Oily: If you notice that your face tends to get shiny after a short period of time, then you probably have oily skin. This is more obvious in the T-Zone area, which is across your forehead and down the bridge of your nose. Oily skin types typically don’t have many dry areas.
• Dry: Your skin often feels tight and looks flaky. You may get dry patches especially around the nose and chin area. This usually gets worse in the winter.
• Combination: Your skin displays characteristics of both oily and dry skin. You likely have an oily t-zone (nose, forehead, and chin), but dry patches on the rest of your face.

Now that you have an idea of your skin type, on to the foundations!