10 Hydrating Drugstore Foundations to Quench Your Dry Skin This Winter

There are countless foundation formulas lining drugstore aisles, but finding the best foundation for dry skin can be a challenge. How can you tell which will be moisturizing — and which will be dehydrating? We asked the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab's scientists and top makeup artists to share their expertise on choosing a drugstore foundation that will soften skin, not parch it, as well as even its tone and perfect its look.

"Liquid and cream foundation formulations tend to be better choices for those with dry or dehydrated skin than powders, as their bases are, by nature, usually made with emollient ingredients," says GH Beauty Lab senior chemist Sabina Wizemann, who conducted the Beauty Lab's most recent foundations test. Liquids can also be infused with added hydrating ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid and vitamin E.

When shopping for foundations for dry skin at the drugstore, look for key words such as cream, creamy, hydrating, moisture, moisturizing, moisturizer, dewy, or glow on product packaging. Avoid any formulations labeled matte, oil-free, or for oily or acne-prone skin, which tend to contain less softening ingredients and more pigment or oil-absorbing ingredients, and can dry out skin.

How we test foundation

The GH Beauty Lab has decades of experience testing makeup formulations. When testing the efficacy of foundations, Lab scientists, and professional makeup artists first scan the market for the newest launches across price points. The brand labels on the packaging are then masked to eliminate bias. Next, each foundation is assessed and graded on a variety of attributes, including ease of dispensing and application, formulation texture, spreadability, blendability, buildability, and coverage look and feel on skin.

For products that make skin moisturization claims, such as BB creams, CC creams, and tinted moisturizers, Beauty Lab chemists may also use the Corneometer device to measure the change in skin's hydration levels before and six hours after application. Here, the best drugstore foundations for dry skin you can buy, including full coverage, mineral, and stick formulas, as tested and recommended by the GH Beauty Lab.