The Best Base Makeup of 2021

A buildable powder with an invisible finish, One/Size Turn Up the Base Versatile Powder Foundation lets us control the intensity of our coverage.

Packing rich pigment into a dense bullet, BLK/OPL Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation goes on creamy and blends seamlessly.

Estée Lauder Double Wear Sheer Long-Wear Makeup blurs pores and obscures fine lines with the lightest finish in the game.

LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation uses hyaluronic acid to keep skin dewy while it diffuses imperfections.

And the airy, mineral-based pigments in BareMinerals Original Liquid Mineral Foundation hover over creases instead of settling into them; a few drops conceal everything — and feel like nothing.

There's more to Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer Brighten & Correct Duo than meets the eye. The dual-ended stick blurs, brightens, and hydrates for a wide-awake look you've got to see to believe.

The elegant pigments in Bodyography Professional Cosmetics Skin Slip Full Coverage Concealer blend so beautifully, you'll almost regret having to squander them on a zit (almost).

Makeup by Mario Soft Pop Powder Blush is saturated enough to create a gorgeous flush — and fine enough to let your cheeks peek through it.

With the richness of a balm and the stay-put-ness of a stain, Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Melting Blush imparts a wash of color that's indistinguishable from your own skin.

For the frost-averse, Pixi +Rose Radiance Perfector delivers dewy warmth with a subtle rose tint and hydrating ceramides.

The only reasonable alternative to swallowing a light bulb: Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Ultra Glow Highlighter seems to illuminate skin from within using finely milled, high-wattage shimmer.

Like a cushion of air, Stila Heaven's Hue Highlighter yields to the warmth of
your fingertips and melts into skin, creating a weightless veil of light.

Our editors had to test the entire 10-shade spectrum of Joah Beauty Crystal Glow Tinted Luminizer Stick. It's a tough job, but someone has to look like a walking advertisement for glass skin.

A lush stick with a soufflé texture, Em Cosmetics So Soft Multi Faceplay glides over the high points of the face, depositing warmth right where you want it.

We love anything that's well-edited, especially if it's going on our face. Containing one sculpting cream and one bronzing powder, Patrick Ta Beauty Major Sculpt Crème Contour & Powder Bronzer Duo defines in the most refined way possible.

It takes a single Live Tinted Huestick to do the work of an entire makeup bag. In Perk, Balance, Rise, Origin, and Found, the creamy crayon disguises dark circles, protects with antioxidants, and drapes lips, cheeks, and eyelids in sheer color.

A sweep of Giorgio Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Glow Setting Powder instills radiance and erases shine — because it's brilliant enough to know the difference.

Colorless and weightless, Mary Kay Translucent Loose Powder is like a real-life filter for your face.

The genius of Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bronzing Face Drops is that it piggybacks on your normal routine for hassle-free color. Add a few drops to your daily moisturizer for a light tint; mix in a few more for a deeper bronze.

A quick spritz of XX Revolution Quick FiXX Mattifying Setting Spray minimizes shine for the long haul, so you can set your makeup and then forget your makeup.

And for a luminous finish that refuses to quit, MAC Fix+ Magic Radiance keeps skin plump and pliant while it perfects.