Can You Mix Foundation with Moisturizer?

By: Margaux Reese
October 18, 2023

If you’re looking to streamline your skincare routine, you might be wondering, "Can you mix moisturizer with foundation?". While many skin and makeup products don't always mix, these two make for a great pairing.

When you mix foundation with moisturizer, you can get the best results from both products. Essentially, you're engaging in a kind of personalized skin care routine to get the right balance of skin protection, aesthetic coverage, and moisturizing elements that you're seeking.

Mixing foundation with moisturizer lets you find a color blend that's perfect for your skin tone and achieve a balance that feels lighter on your face. When you mix the two, they’ll also last longer.

It can take some experimenting to find the best moisturizer to mix with foundation, but it can be done safely and without minimizing the main properties of either product. Read on to learn more about the benefits of combining foundation and moisturizer.

Is It Okay to Mix Your Foundation with Moisturizer?

Yes, it's okay to mix foundation with moisturizer.

The ingredients used in both products shouldn’t react negatively with each other, or lose their potency or effectiveness when they're mixed together. Mixing is actually good for your skin because you can find the right combination of ingredients that it responds to best.

It’s important to note that when considering mixing your hydrating skincare products with your foundation, there's a difference between serum vs. moisturizer. Usually, it’s recommended that moisturizer is mixed with foundation, not serum.

This is because serums are typically highly concentrated and aren’t meant for all-over, everyday application. With moisturizer, you get to reap the benefits of hydration, and a formula that’s easy to mix with your foundation of choice.

Graphic featuring an illustration of various makeup brushes on the right and copy on the left that reads, “3 Considerations for Mixing: Silicone or water-based formulas are easier to mix; Use smaller amounts of each, less is more; Test your moisturizer and foundation together first”.

What Are the Benefits of Mixing Foundation with Moisturizer?

There are a lot of benefits of mixing foundation with moisturizer that are worth taking advantage of.

The main benefits to keep in mind are:

  • Natural-looking coverage.
  • More radiant skin with a soft glow.
  • Moisture that’s locked in for the day.
  • Conceal dull skin and discoloration.
  • Hydration and healing.

With this clever combination, you can keep your skin hydrated, conceal dull skin, and treat dry patches while smoothing and enhancing your complexion.

Not only that, but you’ll save time, applying both at once. Who doesn’t love an opportunity to spend a few more minutes in bed?

Combining both products lets you control how much of each product goes on your skin, so you can create your ideal coverage. You may prefer to use less of one product and more of another for any number of reasons. Below, we’ll give some tips for mixing these two formulas.

How to Mix Foundation with your Moisturizer

Before you start mixing these two products together, you’ll want to consider consistency. When you mix incompatible formulas, you might end up with something that’s much more cakey than you’d like.

That doesn’t mean you can’t combine different formulas. You can mix powdered foundation into your moisturizer, but you'll want to keep an eye on the powder-to-liquid ratio. Too much powder can cause the moisturizer to cake.

Here are the basic steps for mixing foundation with moisturizer.

  1. Start with a dime-sized amount of both products next to each other on your hand or a smooth, clean surface.
  2. Use a makeup brush, blender, or your clean finger to mix them together.
  3. Keep mixing until you reach the consistency and color you're seeking.

Make sure that no streaks are visible in your blend as this can make for streaky or uneven application. Also check the consistency and make adjustments by adding a little more foundation or moisturizer. You can tell if you need one or the other by how the mix feels when you touch it.

Graphic demonstrating that the more foundation you use with your moisturizer, the more coverage you’ll get.

What Portions of Moisturizer & Foundation Should You Mix?

As previously mentioned, start with a 50/50 split of foundation and moisturizer. The results of this initial blend shows you how well the two products mix together, the final color, and the consistency. From there, you can use different ratios to find out which one achieves the result you want.

Here are some ratios you can try to achieve different results.

  • For lighter coverage: Use 2 parts moisturizer and 1 part foundation to create a more sheer coverage.
  • For more coverage: Start with slightly more than 50% foundation to foundation and blend, then increase the amount of foundation to get the desired coverage.

Experiment with different ratios to find the balance that works best for your skin. There are no right or wrong portions for mixing foundation and moisturizer together. You might even choose to vary up the combination day-to-day depending on how your skin feels or whether you’re wearing full makeup.

Tips for Mixing Your Foundation & Moisturizer

Graphic titled “What to Use to Mix Moisturizer & Foundation”. On the left, there is an illustration of makeup brush with text underneath that reads, “Makeup Brush: Powder or liquid formulas. On the right, there is an illustration of a beauty blender with text underneath that reads, “Beauty Blender: For liquid formulas”.

Make sure to use a blending tool for this purpose only. You want to make sure that you apply a streak-free blend that's even in color. When you've blended the mixture to your satisfaction, use a clean tool to avoid contamination with other colors.

Check the consistency as you mix the two products together. If you find that the combination is too thick or isn't blending well, add in a little more moisturizer to thin out the mix.

What Is the Best Foundation to Mix with Moisturizer?

Generally, when combining foundation and moisturizer, you want to switch to foundation that's a slightly darker shade than the one you currently use.

This is because the color of the foundation typically becomes lighter with the addition of the moisturizer, and you want to make sure that the blending results in the right color.

You might also want to look for products that contain ingredients that take care of your skin while the product is being worn, such as a hydrating makeup or a formula that contains essential vitamins for your skin.

Close-up of a woman applying foundation to her cheek with a brush.

These are some of our favorite foundations to mix with moisturizer:

This foundation features a whipped texture that blends beautifully. It evens out your complexion and has light coverage that disguises imperfections. It also contains milk lipids, ceramides, a multi-vitamin complex, and collagen-building peptides that improve the health of your skin every time you wear it.

It also uses zinc oxide and titanium dioxide that provides SPF 30 protection from the sun and environmental exposure.

The Natural Finish foundation provides hydration and SPF 20 sunscreen in a pressed powder formula. You'll have to gently scrape the surface of the foundation to mix it with a moisturizer, but it should be easy to do.

The foundation on its own is delicate and doesn't require a heavy application for it to work. It can round out your current moisturizer with sun protection, a soft tint, and silky texture.

This formula features a bronze tint that will give your skin that sunkissed look without the damage. It won't impart an orange glow as many bronzers are known to do, and it applies smoothly so you don’t have to worry about a streaky complexion.

This mineral sunscreen also contains our EnviroScreen® Technology that provides protection from pollution, blue light, and more.

It’s great for pairing with a moisturizer, especially when you want to adjust the color of the bronzer to complement a particular color in your skin tone. You can also use the foundation to lighten or darken the bronzer as you desire.

The best moisturizer to mix with foundation is one with a thinner consistency and gentle ingredients that will effectively moisturize your skin.

Create Your Own Personalized, Hydrating Makeup

There's not much that can go wrong when you're mixing moisturizer with foundation. All you need to remember is to start with a darker foundation color than what you usually wear, use products that have a thin consistency, and don't be heavy-handed with either product.

Remember that there are no hard and fast rules about blending and mixing the two because you can create any shade you like.

The major benefit to mixing foundation with moisturizer is one of getting everything you want for your skin in one product application. The result is less makeup on your face while getting a base layer that provides you with a smooth, even canvas for the rest of your makeup.

At Colorescience, we create mineral cosmetics made with nutrient-rich formulas, including foundations—like the Natural Finish Mineral Foundation SPF 20—that are perfect for mixing with the moisturizer of your choice.

Our line of foundations is designed to help your skin look its best protecting you from the sun. Find your next favorite mineral foundation by shopping our selection today.