The 14 Best Stick Foundations of 2024

Best Overall

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Stick Foundation

$50 at Amazon $43 at Sephora

A creamy formula that glides on like a second skin and imparts a gorgeous natural finish? Check and check. This Make Up For Ever product is all your foundation dreams realized. Designed for all skin types, the full-coverage formula helps conceal everything from redness and blemishes to scarring and dark circles. But the best part is that although it does some heavy-duty masking, the finish doesn’t look cakey. Plus, you can apply just a stroke or two for a more natural-looking, medium coverage. While it features a natural finish, beware that it does get a bit dewier as you wear it, so we recommend that those with oily skin apply just a lightweight moisturizer before application.

Coverage: Medium to full | Shade Range: 18 | Finish: Natural satin | Size: 0.44 ounces | Cruelty-Free: No

Best Budget

Wet n Wild PhotoFocus Stick Foundation

$6 at Amazon $7 at Ulta $6 at Target

We love an affordable makeup gem, and this budget buy from Wet n Wild is one of the best. It offers full coverage that's really buildable but in a way that’s not too thick or mask-like. Infused with argan and sunflower seed oils, the product feels hydrating on the skin but still dries down to a soft, matte finish. It's easy to blend out with a brush or makeup sponge, and once applied, it gives the complexion an even, blurred effect. While it's not the most long-wearing pick on this list, it looks beautiful for around six hours before signs of fading start to appear.

Coverage: Medium to full | Shade Range: 21 | Finish: Semi-matte | Size: 0.42 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Splurge

Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick

$45 at Sephora $75 at Walmart View on Tomford.com

Read Full Review: Tom Ford's Traceless Foundation Stick Feels Like a Second Skin

Creamy and malleable, this formula is easy to tailor to your desired coverage but building it up. Spot-apply it and blend with a damp sponge for a sheer look, or swipe and buff in for a full face. It's very quick and easy to blend across the face, and once applied, it creates the most stunning, skin-like finish. Though it feels really comfortable as you wear it, it does have a rich texture, so it does get more luminous throughout the day—keep this in mind if you have oily skin. It's a great pick for mature skin. While there's no denying how pricey it is, the luxurious finish and the amount of product in the stick make it a fair value.

Coverage: Medium to full | Shade Range: 37 | Finish: Natural| Size: 0.5 ounces | Cruelty-Free: No

Best Medium-Coverage

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick

$54 at Sephora $40 at Walmart View on Walmart

Read Full Review: I Only Wore Liquid Foundations Until This Stick Formula Won Me Over

If you're looking for a foundation stick that will give you significant coverage but still let your complexion show through just a bit, this is the one for you. It’s not thick like other stick formulations—instead, it glides on easily and almost melts, resulting in a complexion that looks even and satin-like. It's a great option for people with oily skin, but it's also really nice if you have dry skin and don't want something too glowy—just know that it can emphasize dry texture, so be sure to exfoliate and moisturize first.

Coverage: Medium | Shade Range: 43 | Finish: Natural | Size: 0.31 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Full-Coverage

Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation Stick

$50 at Amazon $25 at Sephora $50 at Ulta

Want bulletproof coverage that won’t budge? Lancôme has got you covered. This handy stick ticks all the boxes: It's full-coverage, long-wearing, transfer-proof, and buildable. There’s a lightweight SPF in there too, but we suggest layering over your regular sunscreen for adequate protection (can’t have too much of a good thing). Though it provides excellent, full coverage, it manages to maintain a blurred, natural-looking finish on the skin. It's a great option for special events, but it's also totally wearable for every day.

Coverage: Full | Shade Range: 22 | Finish: Natural matte | Size: 0.33 ounces | Cruelty-Free: No

Best Long-Wearing

Hourglass Cosmetics Vanish Foundation Stick

$49 at Amazon $49 at Sephora $49 at Ulta

Byrdie’s resident foundation expert Holly Rhue loves this Hourglass offering for a multitude of reasons. First, it’s waterproof and long-wearing, meaning it can withstand whatever your day wants to throw at you. While it’s heavy in pigment (three times the amount found in regular foundation), the warmth of your skin will ensure it blends like a dream. Expensive, yes, but it's worth it—trust.

Coverage: Full | Shade Range: 32 | Finish: Natural | Size: 0.25 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best Shade Range

Huda Beauty Skin Finish Buildable Foundation Stick

$39 at Sephora $39 at kohls.com

Want super fresh skin on the go? Makeup guru Huda Kattan’s FauxFilter stick is seriously amazing stuff. The tapered, triangular tip makes it easy to spot apply in tricky areas, while the creamy finish makes blending easy. It does give skin a filtered look, but in a natural, believable way. And if you struggle to find foundations that match your skin tone, this one is worth trying, as it has a diverse shade range that features tons of different depths and undertones. Call it magic or just really good makeup, but take our money regardless.

Coverage: Medium to full | Shade Range: 39 | Finish: Natural | Size: 0.44 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Contouring

Fenty Beauty Match Stix Matte Contour Skinstick

$32 at Sephora $32 at Ulta $32 at kohls.com

If you want a foundation stick that doubles as a contour, this is a fantastic option. The texture is lightweight but super matte, so carving out facial contours is surprisingly easy—all you need is a dense face brush and a little patience. If you’re new to the game, we suggest tracing the product along the underside of your cheekbones, across the top of the forehead (almost in the hairline), and along the jaw. Blend until it’s undetectable, and marvel at your bone structure.

Coverage: Medium | Shade Range: 8 | Finish: Matte | Size: 0.25 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Fair to Medium Skin

Nudestix Nudies Tinted Blur Stick

$32 at Amazon $32 at Sephora $32 at Ulta

This innovative product is like a tinted moisturizer in stick form. Unlike more pigment-heavy options, this goes on quite sheer, blurring the look of pores, blemishes, and uneven skin tone. If you’re someone who prefers CC creams and barely-there coverage, you’ll love this. The line contains a great mix of warm- and cool-toned shades for lighter skin hues, so if you struggle to find shades that are fair enough for your complexion, this is a great option.

Coverage: Sheer | Shade Range: 10 | Finish: Natural matte | Size: 0.22 ounces | Cruelty-Free: No

Best for Dark Skin

Blk/Opl True Color Stick Foundation

View on Amazon $15 at Ulta $11 at Target

The BLK/OPL line is formulated specifically for deeper skin tones, so the shade offering here is excellent if you have deep or dark skin and struggle to find shades that match your skin's depth and undertones. The coverage is second to none, so it works well on hard-to-conceal blemishes and dark spots. It's quick and easy to blend, looks excellent on skin, and wears beautifully.

Coverage: Full | Shade Range: 24 | Finish: Velvet matte | Size: 0.5 ounce | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Oily Skin

Milk Makeup Flex Foundation Stick

$19 at Amazon $36 at Sephora $32 at Walmart

Occasionally, oily skin and matte finishes don’t mix—the oil just causes the product to settle or separate. Milk Makeup offers a solution with Flex, a workable but mattifying option that won’t crack or crease when midday shine appears. The secret ingredient is marshmallow root, an extract that gives the product bounce and freedom to move with your facial contours (rather than against them).

Coverage: Medium | Shade Range: 36 | Finish: Natural | Size: 0.35 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Dry Skin

Westman Atelier Vital Skin

$68 at Sephora $68 at Nordstrom $68 at goop.com

If you typically don’t like stick foundations because you don't find them to be emollient enough, this product will convert you. The texture is light and blendable, and the stick itself is full of skin-loving ingredients like vegetable-derived squalane, camellia seed oil, and coconut. It's also a great pick for sensitive skin. The texture is heavenly, and working it into the skin hardly takes any effort. Best of all, it provides lasting hydration for dry skin types.

Coverage: Medium | Shade Range: 21 | Finish: Natural and radiant | Size: 0.31 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Body Makeup

Dermablend Body Foundation Stick

$32 at Amazon $30 at Ulta $32 at Dermstore

Stick formulas can be a great choice for covering scars, acne marks, tattoos, and other markings that are notoriously difficult to conceal, and this heavy-duty stick designed for the body covers them all. With a long-wearing formula, it resists transferring and smudging, yet blends in easily into skin with a creamy, emollient feel. You can also build up the coverage by tapping it layer by layer onto your skin.

Coverage: Full | Shade Range: 10 | Finish: Matte | Size: 0.4 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes

Best for Sensitive Skin

Merit The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Foundation and Concealer Stick

$62 at Amazon $38 at Sephora View on Meritbeauty.com

The last thing you want if you have sensitive, reactive skin is a product that feels heavy and cakey. Merit's The Minimalist Foundation and Concealer Stick feels light and looks extremely natural on the skin, providing light-to-medium coverage. With fatty acids and sea daffodil extract, it feels nourishing and smooth and helps keep skin soft as it blurs imperfections. And it's free of mineral oil and other irritants that can aggravate sensitive skin or cause breakouts.

Coverage: Medium | Shade Range: 20 | Finish: Natural | Size: 0.2 ounces | Cruelty-Free: Yes