Image: Elate Cosmetics
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliated; we may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. We only ever add brands & products we truly believe in. Thank you for supporting the brands who are making the beauty industry a better place!
The Best ORGANIC & NATURAL FOUNDATIONS
Whether we choose to use it every day or occasionally, foundation is a must-have for many of us who wear makeup. It helps blur imperfections and cover blemishes, and it creates an even base for the rest of our makeup.
Unfortunately, most foundations we can find at the store or online are full of toxic chemicals that are bad for our skin, health, and the planet.
But thankfully, we do not have to buy those to have healthy-looking, flawless skin. Organic and natural foundations are a great alternative to chemical-laden ones, and the good news is that they are becoming more and more popular and easy to find.
In this article, we have rounded up 12 clean beauty brands offering organic and natural foundations made with non-toxic ingredients!
WHY CHOOSE AN ORGANIC & NATURAL FOUNDATION?
Conventional foundations contain many harmful chemicals and substances that clog our pores and cause our skin to break out. Even worse, exposure to those chemicals can lead to serious health issues in the long run as many of them are carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, or allergens.
On the other hand, an organic and natural foundation is made with plant-based, non-toxic ingredients that are harmless to our skin and health. Not only that, their formulas even support skin health thanks to their moisturizing and nourishing ingredients.
An organic and natural foundation is also a better choice for the planet because fewer chemicals are released into the environment, air, and water. It is also often cruelty-free and vegan, and some are even refillable and packaged using sustainable materials!
WHAT INGREDIENTS SHOULD YOU SEARCH FOR?
Always buy from a brand that discloses all its ingredients. Once you see the ingredient list, make sure it does not contain any parabens, phthalates, fragrances, formaldehyde, talc, silicones, sulfates, synthetic fillers, preservatives, artificial dyes, or any other toxic chemicals.
An organic and natural foundation is usually formulated with clean ingredients such as fruit, vegetable, tea, or flower extracts, aloe vera, natural clay and waxes, corn starch, vegetable squalane, or different plant-based oils like jojoba, coconut, argan, or castor seed oils.
If you can, buy a foundation made with USDA-certified organic ingredients.
OUR TOP PICKS FOR ORGANIC & NATURAL FOUNDATIONS
1. ILIA’s True Skin Serum Foundation
Vegan / Dermatologist-tested / Safe For Sensitive Skin
Price: $54
ILIA is a clean beauty brand offering cruelty-free products, including a medium-coverage foundation available in 30 different shades. This foundation will give you a natural finish; you will not even know you are wearing it once it melds with your skin! It features potent skincare actives such as niacinamide, which helps smooth skin texture and refine uneven tone, & allantoin to soothe skin.
Both ingredients also visibly improve how your skin looks and minimize redness, pores, and lines.
ILIA’s breathable formula also contains aloe vera, which hydrates and nourishes your skin, and other natural ingredients like jojoba oil and jasmine flower extract. Made for sensitive skin, it is formulated without parabens, phthalates, mineral oil, petroleum, or other harmful chemicals.
The foundation was even named “Best Multi-Tasking Foundation” in PureWow Editors’ Pick in 2022!
The brand is a member of 1% For The Planet, and its bottle is made of recyclable glass. You can also have the pump and cap recycled by ILIA’s partner, the Pact Collective, which provides you with a prepaid shipping label.
2. Elate Cosmetics
Vegan / Refillable / Carbon Neutral
Price: $32-37
Elate Cosmetics is a certified B Corporation that thoughtfully designs low-waste beauty products. You can choose between a liquid and pressed powder foundation, both of which are available in 10 different shades.
The Refresh liquid foundation offers buildable, lightweight sheer coverage but is tinted enough to even out your skin tone. It is formulated with hyaluronic acid to hydrate the skin and bamboo stem extract to restore elasticity.
It also contains argan shell powder, a 100% natural pigment, and radish root ferment filtrate, which is a natural antimicrobial preservative.
We love that this foundation is refillable and packaged in a glass bottle with a recyclable plastic pump and ashwood lid!
You can also buy Elate Cosmetics’ pressed foundation formulated with bentonite clay, jojoba oil, and Vitis vinifera. It delivers medium coverage with a semi-matte finish and is designed to moisturize, protect the skin, and repair collagen while mattifying and absorbing the skin’s oils.
Elate Cosmetics plants a tree for every order and donates 2% of its profits to social and environmental causes!
3. RMS Beauty
Refillable / Water-Resistant (ReEvolve)
Price: $52-58
RMS Beauty uses non-toxic, skin-loving ingredients to create makeup and skincare essentials that nourish the skin & enhance your natural beauty.
The brand has two liquid foundations available in 16 different shades.
Its Uncoverup foundation provides medium to full coverage with a luminous, dewy finish while smoothing, nourishing, and blurring imperfections.
Very hydrating, it is formulated with wild-crafted buriti oil, organic coconut oil, and RMS Beauty’s signature herbal blend. Silica also boosts the coverage of dark spots and redness. Plus, it is contained in a glass jar with a recycled plastic cap.
You can also buy the company’s ReEvolve water-resistant, anti-aging foundation, which delivers smooth, long-lasting medium coverage with a satin, natural finish. Made with moisture-rich vegetable squalane, organic aloe vera, and an herbal blend, it will firm, tone, hydrate, and soften your skin. Non-comedogenic, it won’t clog your pores.
We also love that this foundation is refillable and its outer carton is made of 100% post-consumer recycled waste!
4. Fitglow Beauty
Vegan / Gluten-Free
Price: $55
Fitglow Beauty is a small woman-owned company selling skincare products and treatment makeup formulated with plant-based ingredients that are free of silicones, waxes, and heavy oils.
Its products are particularly made for skin facing challenges such as redness, premature aging, dehydration, and sun damage. The brand’s foundation sold in 18 shades is a lightweight and buildable foundation that seamlessly blends on your skin. It provides medium coverage while creating a natural, skin-like finish.
Fitglow Beauty’s foundation contains organic ingredients and an herbal blend of skin superfoods, which helps target loss of elasticity and radiance. It detoxifies and clarifies the skin while soothing and protecting it from environmental pollution.
The foundation is also formulated with vitamin C, heartleaf, artemisia as well as licorice and bearberry extract, which brighten and even out skin complexion. It comes with a practical built-in doe foot wand applicator, and it is ethically made in small batches in the USA.
The brand is certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny and gives back to charities like environmental nonprofits and local women’s shelters.
5. INIKA Organic
Vegan / Organic / SPF
Price: $45-55
INIKA Organic offers natural and organic skincare and makeup products that are effective and completely free of synthetic and nasty chemicals. Its makeup is infused with rich mineral pigments and pure botanical extracts to provide skincare benefits to the skin.
The brand has different vegan foundations, from a classic liquid foundation with hyaluronic acid to a loose mineral foundation in powder form.
They are made with certified organic and natural ingredients such as magnolia bark, hectorite, and sugarcane extracts, green tea, or argan oil.
Some of the mineral foundations even provide chemical-free SPF 25 sun protection to protect your skin against harmful UV rays.
INIKA Organic does not test on animals, and it won many awards in the clean beauty industry in the past few years! It is also certified plastic-neutral, meaning that for every kilo of plastic it uses, a kilo is collected and recycled. The plastic is turned into fence posts to help rebuild devastated farming communities.
6. 100% PURE
Vegan / Gluten-Free / Fruit Pigmented / Made in USA
Price: $46-48
100% PURE is a California-based company providing organic and natural skincare and cosmetics. It has five non-toxic, fruit-pigmented foundations that deliver medium to full coverage and a variety of different finishes, from satin to matte to dewy.
You can choose from liquid and pressed powder foundations sold in at least half a dozen shades.
What they have in common is that their formulas are full of beneficial nutrients and made with clean ingredients such as organic aloe vera juice (to soothe and hydrate the skin), turmeric extract, eucalyptus, acai berries, chamomile, or goji berries.
100% PURE sources its pigments from fruits, tea, and vegetables to avoid commonly used artificial colorants and heavy metal dyes. The formulations are entirely free of harmful chemicals, synthetic preservatives, and artificial fragrances.
The brand is also certified carbon-neutral and does not test on animals. Plus, at checkout, you get to choose whether you want 100% PURE to donate the cost of a tree to Trees For The Future or a vegan meal to a shelter dog in China.
7. Rituel de Fille
Vegan / Gluten-Free
Price: $42
Rituel de Fille handcrafts makeup products focusing on uniquely bold, lasting colors. You can buy its 3 Drop Weightless serum foundation in 24 different shades, and you will love it no matter your skin type.
It provides buildable medium coverage but it is so lightweight that you will forget you are even wearing foundation! Its formula is cruelty-free, vegan, and made with natural ingredients like organic marula oil and rosemary leaf extract.
Rituel de Fille also makes its foundation with JD Phyto-Or 1%, a hyper-potent carotenoid active. This active combines pure fermented phytoene, produced through mycelial fermentation in a zero-waste process, with organic jojoba oil. JD Phyto-Or 1% is proven to protect the skin barrier and support radiance, elasticity, firmness, and evenness of skin tone.
The brand’s foundation creates the perfect glowy, natural finish! It is also gluten-free and formulated without fragrance, parabens, synthetic dyes, talc, PEGs, and phthalates.
8. Juice Beauty
Vegan / Certified Organic Ingredients
Price: $45
Juice Beauty sells clinically validated skincare and vibrant plant-based makeup products formulated with organic ingredients.
Its Flawless serum foundation has a weightless texture and provides a long-lasting, buildable medium to full coverage.
It is made with plant-derived phyto-pigments that are infused into a unique base of USDA-certified organic botanicals.
Its age-defying formula contains smoothing coconut alkanes to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, pores, and lines. Crushed rose phyto-pigments (rich in vitamins and color) are also added in addition to antioxidant-rich, organic grape seed oil, which helps with skin protective benefits.
Juice Beauty also makes sure to include vitamins C and E for antioxidant protection, and organic aloe vera juice to soothe and hydrate the skin.
The foundation comes in a glass bottle and is shipped in packaging made from recycled and FSC-certified materials.
The brand won many awards and its products are cruelty-free, vegan, and approved by the Environmental Working Group.
9. Ecco Bella
Vegan / Organic Ingredients / Gluten-Free
Price: $27
Ecco Bella is a cruelty-free makeup and skincare brand making beauty products using organic, plant-based ingredients.
The company sells a natural liquid foundation that provides buildable coverage and a smooth application. Its pure, clean formula contains organic aloe vera, which has anti-aging properties, lightens blemishes, heals, and moisturizes the skin.
Ecco Bella’s foundation also features light-reflecting pigments that help shield your skin from blue light and enhance it with a subtle luminosity. Plus, it is formulated with natural clay, honeysuckle flower extract, and saccharide isomerate, a natural sugar that binds water to the skin, acting as a reservoir for continuous moisture.
The foundation is long-lasting, non-comedogenic, and helps protect the skin from the aging effects of the environment. It is also free of parabens, talc, gluten, and artificial dyes.
Ecco Bella sources its ingredients from ethical suppliers and is a Green America-certified business.
10. Kjaer Weis
Certified Organic Ingredients / Refillable
Price: $46-70
Kjaer Weis is a sustainable beauty brand that makes zero-waste its priority with its refillable and sustainably packaged products.
It has two natural foundations, both of which come in a variety of different shades. Made to even and smooth the skin, its Invisible Touch liquid foundation offers breathable and buildable coverage from a sheer tint to more medium coverage. It is hydrating and long-lasting and it will give you luminous, bright skin!
Its lightweight formula contains a blend of cold-pressed oils and natural waxes, hyaluronic acid for sealing in hydration, and certified organic chamomile water to soothe and calm the skin. The foundation is also formulated with Kjaer Weis’ proprietary brightening extract, which builds a dewy glow and gives diffused radiance to your complexion.
You can also get the brand’s refillable Cream foundation, designed to perfect your complexion and provide buildable, velvety coverage. You can either buy a refill or get it in one of its beautiful cases made from an alloy of metals or leather-looking red card paper.
11. Well People
Vegan / EWG Verified / Derm Developed
Price: $27
Well People creates clean, cruelty-free makeup and skincare products powered by plants. It sells two vegan foundations made with natural ingredients, both of which are verified by the Environmental Working Group.
Its Bio pressed powder foundation will hydrate your skin while effectively controlling shine, absorbing oils, and smoothing your complexion.
Its lightweight, talc-free formula is infused with clean ingredients like organic corn starch and olive-derived organic squalane. It also contains ultra-fine pigments that allow you to customize your coverage into a natural, semi-matte finish.
You can also get Well People’s Bio Stick, a creamy multi-use foundation stick that blends into the skin and lasts all day. It provides a natural, satin finish and is designed to feel weightless on the skin. This foundation is formulated with castor seed oil, rejuvenating vitamin E, and safflower seed oil. Very versatile, you can use it as a foundation, bronzer, or concealer!
The brand does not use any synthetic fillers, sulfates, fragrances, or preservatives. It also works with a Fair Trade Certified factory, and its boxes are printed on FSC-certified paper.
12. Laws of Nature Cosmetics
Vegan
Price: $28-38
Laws of Nature Cosmetics is a black-owned cosmetics brand celebrating every shade and color of skin. It sells four foundations in diverse shades for your complexion needs.
You can choose from two liquid foundations, a powder and a stick. They provide different coverages (from sheer to medium and full) and finishes (natural, semi-matte, and satin).
The brand formulates them with natural and organic ingredients and without silicones, talc, parabens, and artificial fragrances.
Laws of Nature Cosmetics’ best-selling product is its Crème foundation, which blends easily and provides buildable medium coverage. This breathable, creamy formula contains vitamin E to help reduce UV damage to the skin.
For a more multi-purpose product, choose the brand’s Complexion stick. You can use it as a foundation, bronzer, concealer, or contour stick! It is made with aloe vera and chamomile extracts and provitamin B5 to moisturize, soothe, and reduce skin inflammation.
Everything the company creates is handcrafted, vegan, and cruelty-free!
About the Author
Eva Astoul is a French freelance writer, specializing in content related to sustainability, simple living, and a growth-focused healthy lifestyle.
She runs her own blog, Green With Less, to inspire people to live a more minimalist and sustainable life.
MAKE SURE TO PIN THE PHOTO BELOW TO SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER!
WANT MORE SUSTAINABLE BRANDS? VISIT OUR BRAND DIRECTORY!
Our Brand Directory is home to hundreds of sustainable brands, from makeup to cleaning supplies, from underwear to shoes. We have broken everything down by category for easy shopping, along with discount codes unique to Sustainably Chic viewers.
