Serving a full skin tone spectrum of lewks.
Nude makeup is finally getting its long overdue makeover. For far too many decades, the beauty industry almost exclusively catered to white skin tones. Shade ranges would feature a plethora of options for fair skin and only one or two suited for Black and Brown skin. Those options were alienating, frustrating, and limiting. How can you do a nude makeup look without your shade of nude?
While the beauty industry still has work to do to become a more inclusive space, there have been small steps forward. To date, many established brands have expanded shade range offerings. New brands made for BIPOC shoppers by BIPOC makeup lovers have also done wonders to diversify the makeup shade ranges available. The increase in options is amazing, but comes with its own set of challenges. Between celebrity brands, luxury brands, clean and sustainable options, and affordable drugstore brands, it can be overwhelming to even pick out a single concealer. Happily, keeping these nude makeup brands in mind when you’re no-makeup makeup shopping will help simplify the hunt.
Whether you’re looking for something your sensitive skin will love, a brand that uses only clean ingredients, or an affordable foundation that actually matches your skin tone, consider this nude makeup brand guide all you’ll need to shade match to your heart’s content.
We at Elite Daily only include products that have been independently selected by our editors. We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Tower 28 For A Tinted Sunscreen
Sensitive skin doesn’t have to keep you out of the makeup world. Tower 28 is changing the game by creating products that are calming for even the most easily irritated skin types. One favorite is its SunnyDays Tinted Sunscreen, which comes in 14 different shades. It even has the National Eczema Association's Seal of Acceptance.
LYS Beauty For A Serum Foundation
Everything at LYS Beauty is made with 100% clean ingredients, according to Clean at Sephora. All of the brand’s products are gluten, talc, fragrance, and mineral oil-free, so say goodbye to nasty irritants you don’t want anywhere near your face and hello to its Triple Fix Serum which comes in 41 different tones. It has hyaluronic acid for hydration, turmeric as an antioxidant, and avocado oil to help your skin retain even more moisture.
EM Cosmetics For A Glowy Bronzer
EM Cosmetics makes makeup that is practically skin care, including its Corselette Bronzer. This product has shea butter, peptides, and rice powder to keep your skin hydrated and softer than your favorite pillow.
Live Tinted For A Color Corrector
You can do an entire nude makeup look with just one or two of Live Tinted’s Huesticks. They can be used as eyeshadows, blushes, or as lipstick. Being able to build color using similar tones is key when building a nude makeup look so you definitely want one of these in your back pocket.
Maybelline For A Blurring Foundation
Since it was founded back in 1915, Maybelline has been at the forefront of affordable beauty. Its Fit Me! Foundation, for example, comes in 40 different shades and costs under $10 which makes it budget-friendly as well as inclusive.
Jones Road For Scuplting Face Pencils
When covering acne, dark spots, or redness, matching your skin tone is a must since you don’t want to draw extra attention to those spots. Luckily, Jones Roads’ Face Pencil comes in 27 different tones. They’re also buildable and blend easily: a win-win-win.
Huda Beauty For A Foundation Stick
Beauty sticks make putting on foundation so easy and when it comes to the beauty stick world, Huda Beauty blows everything else out of the water with its massive shade range. The 39 different options blend well for a seamless finish.
Mented For A Highlighter Palette
With both a shade finder tool for your foundation and lipstick, Mented helps you build your makeup collection from one perfectly-matched product to another. Just check out its Sunkissed Highlighter Palette ($30, Mented) which has shimmering, bronzey shades that work from skin tones ranging from light to deep. It’s also vegan, paraben-free, and contains vitamins A and E for a long-lasting glow.
Fenty Beauty For Soft Matte Foundation
You know her, you love her, and you trust her beauty brand to match your skin. All hail Rihanna and long live Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty changed the entire beauty world when it launched in 2017 with 40 shades of its Pro Filt’r Foundation. In 2022, you can get this iconic product in 50 tones. You know Rihanna will only give her fans the best, so this is definitely the first stop when on the nude makeup train.
CoverFX For An Undertone-Matching Concealer
Cover FX makes shopping for your skin tone as simple as possible. Each of its product descriptions includes not only a main hue, but also an undertone. For example, its Power Play Concealer in P Deep 5 is made for blue-toned skin with pink undertones whereas its G Plus Medium 2 shade is for olive skin with golden undertones. If this is all going over your head, you can also do a match test.
Black Opal Beauty For A Brightening Concealer
After more than 25 years in the game, Black Opal Beauty is a certified titan in the beauty industry. Everything is under $20 so you can snag all of its tried-and-true products without breaking the bank. It even features some skin care meets makeup items like its True Tone Brightening Concealer which helps combat hyperpigmentation and enlarged pores while brightening skin.
UOMA Beauty For A Lightweight Foundation
Founded by Sharon Chuter, a Nigerian-born beauty executive, UOMA Beauty pulls out all the stops with every launch, but people especially love its Say What?! Foundation. “Probably one of my go-to foundations,” one reviewer wrote. “I have always struggled with finding my complexion color, and I finally found it with UOMA beauty. I have already purchased a second because I love how full coverage it can be, yet...it feels like I’m not even wearing foundation,” they added.
Pat McGrath Labs for Luminous Foundation
Pat McGrath’s Skin Fetish is one of the most popular foundations out there. Cardi B, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross are just a few of the big names that have rocked this product. Since it has a shade range of 36, you should have no issue getting your perfect skin tone match.
Bookmark these nude makeup brands ASAP.
