The main function of a foundation is to provide your skin with a smooth and uniform appearance while covering minor imperfections. A good foundation can also provide your skin with great skincare benefits like hydration and sun protection.

However, there are still ways to do natural makeup without foundation and it’s simpler than you think!

The easiest way to do a natural makeup look without foundation is to use a tinted moisturizer such as a quality BB cream, a tinted serum, or a light concealer. 

What To Use For Natural Makeup Instead of a Foundation

BB Cream

BB creams, a.k.a beauty balm or blemish balm, are tinted moisturizers that offer sheer coverage. They can cover minor blemishes but shouldn’t be the only thing you use if you are looking for a full-coverage foundation substitution.  They are usually lightweight and come in natural tones which makes them an ideal choice for natural makeup.

Furthermore, BB creams have excellent skin care properties like hydration and moisturization. Some even come with sun protection which makes them ideal for everyday use.

Light Concealer

If you’ve been keeping up with your skincare routine, using a light concealer on only your troubled areas might just do the trick.

Concealers are usually thicker than foundation and are designed to hide tough skin imperfections like dark circles, age spots, and red blemishes.

Concealers usually come in fewer shade options than a foundation but if you can find one that matches close to your skin tone, you may be able to just apply the concealer on a few trouble spots and blend it in with your skin.

If you have blemishes that cover large areas, using a concealer alone may not do the trick and you may be better off with a BB cream.

Tinted Serum

Tinted serums are tinted skincare formulas that provide huge skincare benefits for your skin but can also be used as a lightweight foundation.

They are ideal for people with really light spots that are needed to be covered. However, a tinted serum will not have the same level of coverage as concealer or foundation.

How to Do Natural Makeup Without Foundation

Below, I’ve shared a simple 10-minute natural makeup routine that you can do daily without foundation. This tutorial is provided by a beauty professional, Laura Chawke, who is the owner and founder of Makeup Scholar.

Step 1 – Limit your base makeup to a tinted serum and a light concealer. This is much more forgiving than heavy-coverage foundation and you can easily apply and blend it all over with your fingers.

Step 2 – Use cream products on your cheeks. These are easier to apply and reduce the risk of looking like a clown!

Use a neutral-toned contour cream to add some dimension to your face. Apply higher up on the cheek (just above where the top of your ear connects to the rest of your face) for a lifted look. Add more of this contour to your forehead, just before and slightly into where your hairline starts. Always add a small amount of product because it’s easier to add more than it is to take away!

Step 3 – Using a fluffy blending brush, take some of that same cream contour shade and sweep it along the crease of your eyelids, blending in windshield-wiper motions. This looks natural and blends the whole makeup look together.

Take a light cream highlight shade and apply it with your fingers on the tops of your cheekbones and into the inner corners of your eyes for a glowy and awake appearance.

Step 4 – Add your cream blush in-between the contour and the highlight. You can apply it on the apples of your cheeks for a youthful, awake look, or along your cheekbones to lift and sculpt your face.

Step 5 – Take an angled eye brush and dip it into a dark brown eyeshadow. Using your lower lash line as a guide, draw a line upwards towards the tail of your eyebrows. Press the brush along the outer edge of your upper lash line (very close to the root of your lashes). Create a small triangle shape by connecting the upward line to the base of your upper lashes.

Step 6 – Curl your eyelashes and apply a coat of lengthening and volumizing mascara. If you get mascara on your eyelids, simply wait for the mascara to dry and lift it off with a Q-tip.

Step 7 – If you have oily skin, set your T-zone with a translucent powder.