Best Drugstore Powder Foundations

Navigating your way through drugstore products isn’t easy, especially if you have specific foundation goals.

Your budget allows drugstore pricing, but based on your skin type and skin tone, it’s hard to find a match!

In our guide, we’ll be highlighting 10 of the best drugstore powder foundation products for everyone. From deep skin tone and oily skin type to fair and normal, you’ll find what you need.

How to Find the Ultimate Drugstore Powder Foundation for Your Skin

We will be reviewing five of the best drugstore powder foundation products below, but before you check them out, we wanted to go over a few important shopping tips.

• Oily Skin Needs Primer. We have oil problems, and we’re sure that many of you do, too.

If you want the lighter coverage of a powder foundation but find that shine prevails after just 6 hours, then you probably didn’t use a foundation primer.

Get one! It will make your powder foundation last much longer.

• Finding a Shade Match. Drugstore brands aren’t always known for offering us a broad range of shades, but if you always seem to have a problem finding a shade match, make sure you eliminate products that don’t offer many choices.

Numbers 3, 4, 6 and 8 in our table, for example, probably don’t have enough options if you are one of those “in between” shades, so cross them off the list and check out the other options instead.

• Consistency. Loose powder, pressed powder or cream-to-powder. Do you have a preference?

Those with excessively dry skin should avoid loose powders since they’ll usually end up sitting on the surface and enhancing those unsightly patches of dry skin. They’re also messier and not very travel-friendly, so keep this in mind as you compare and contrast products.

Pressed powders offer lighter coverage and are easier to throw in your purse or makeup bag when you’re on the go.

Creamier powder foundations will offer you a higher degree of coverage, making them ideal for nighttime use or when you need something that will get you through the workday.

Do You Need Any Extra Accessories?

Drugstore brands aren’t known for providing us with the best application products, so keep in mind that you might need to purchase sponges or brushes separately if you don’t trust the ones they give you.

Lamora’s flat-top Kabuki is an absolute favorite of ours, and we end up using it for both liquid and powder foundation application.

If you prefer the teardrop-shaped sponge applicator, then Zenda Naturals has an affordable one that costs less than any of the foundations on our list.

From there, it’s just a matter of narrowing down the foundation choices to find the right match for your skin type and skin tone, so head down and check out the reviews of our five favorite products next.

Best Picks of Drugstore Powder Foundations

1. L’Oreal Paris True Match Mineral

Anyone with sensitive skin looking for a loose powder foundation should consider L’Oréal’s True Match Mineral Foundation because everyone raves about the stuff. We loved it, too!

The coverage is great and makes it look like you’re wearing a liquid foundation with a loose finishing powder on top. If your skin is on the oily side, be sure to pair this with a primer to prevent your T-zone from getting shiny.

The shade range is a bit of a disappointment for those with deeper skin tones (Soft Sable is the darkest they offer, which isn’t that dark) and the powder can get quite messy (seriously, you need to cover yourself a towel if you want to save your clothing).

Other than these minor cons, we would say that this is the best drugstore powder foundation for anyone with light to medium skin tones.

2. Physicians Formula Talc-Free Loose

If L’Oréal True Match didn’t quite work for you, then Physicians Formula is a great alternative.

Free, free, free! While it may not be free of charge at the drugstore, it is certainly free of all the junk that anyone with sensitive skin should avoid. They are also cruelty-free, so if you’re an animal-loving makeup user, this brand is safe for you to purchase.

This powder is a surprisingly good alternative to Bare Minerals. If you’re sick of spending so much or accidentally run out of Bare Minerals, we found this to cover almost as well and last just as long.

Coverage is great, but it does have the same messy problem as the L’Oréal True Match did so be prepared for some product waste.

3. COVERGIRL Simply Powder Foundation

COVERGIRL is always surprising us with their re-invention of the powder compact, and with the Simply Powder Foundation, we felt they got the formula right.

If you prefer light coverage, you don’t have oily skin; then we can see this working out well for you. COVERGIRL markets it as a powder foundation that covers like a liquid, but we don’t really It’s a very light pressed powder that is great for touchups throughout the day, so we see it working best for casual, daily wear.

The limited color range makes it quite difficult for many to find a skin tone match, but the coverage is decent, and it does an excellent job of evening out skin tones if you do find a match.

4. Maybelline New York Fit Me Matte Plus

Maybelline’s Fit Me! Matte Poreless Powder foundation is probably one of the most popular choices on our list.

Fans of the liquid version of this product know that it provides higher coverage, but if you want a matte look, the powder is awesome.

Expect lighter coverage from this product. It goes on well and will even out your skin tone while leaving you with that matte finish, but make sure you conceal darker spots on your face prior to applying. Otherwise, they will show through.

If you have oily skin, we highly recommend this for you.

5. COVERGIRL Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Pressed Powder

If you are looking for a high-quality powder foundation that provides excellent coverage without costing too much, this COVERGIRL Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Pressed Powder could be for you. It comes in four shades – 110 creamy natural, 115 classic beige, 120 natural beige, and ivory. One thing about this powder is that although it is a great product, it does contain talc – just so you are aware.

COVERGIRL Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Pressed Powder is a very creamy face powder that is easy to apply with sponges, brushes, and even your fingers. The creamy and satiny finish provide a very radiant look.

This powder is safe for sensitive skin, and should not cause outbreaks. COVERGIRL Advanced Radiance Age-Defying Pressed Powder provides full coverage. As the name implies, it also contains ingredients that should help nourish, hydrate, and tighten skin, thus allowing you to look younger.

Related: Best Drugstore Foundations for Combination Skin