Staying Matte

Ever found searching for a foundation for your oily/ combination/ blemished skin hard?

Everyone's skin is different, so what might work for one person may not for another. I've always found recommendations a good place to start, so I'm going to share with you some of the foundations I have used.

Sometimes it's nice to look back at existing products too, as so often blogs focus on new releases, and we don't get introduced to current products which may be super for you!

This is not exhaustive of all the foundations I have tried, but a small selection I got along with :)

One of the first foundations I tried was bareMinerals. Which is very popular among all different skin types. 

The coverage is buildable (medium-full), and because it's mineral it does feel light weight on the skin. When I initially tried it I really liked it, but I do prefer liquid foundations now.  It's not ideal to travel with, or even have in your hand bag as it is a loose powder; although I'm sure bareMinerals have a suitable alternative for that now.

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Then I moved on to Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Foundation. This was when I was trying to combat my blemishes from every angle!

It's a medium coverage, needless to say matte finish. I can't say I noticed any improvement of my blemishes from solely this foundation, but it didn't harm.

I started using Clarins Ever Matte as I liked that it had an SPF 15 (which as far as I'm aware none of the other foundations have any SPF)** and before, I was wearing their Everlasting foundation and I wanted to try to wear less coverage and 'show more skin', as at the time I was still trying to improve my blemishes and acne scars.

I do still wear this foundation, more day to day, as it's a medium coverage as well as occasionally the Everlasting+ Foundation (they reformulated it and it's much nicer). Ever Matte is oil free, which is a plus point for many people with an oily skin looking for a foundation.

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The newest addition to my foundation is Smashbox Studio Skin. This is the least matte of all of them, but still enough so that an oily skin could wear and it wouldn't melt off your skin. This foundation is also oil free, and medium-full coverage.

I've never worn a foundation that promises 15/ 18/ 24 hour wear and actually got that many hours out of it. Definately not on my T-zone anyway. And who has foundation on twenty four hours anyway? Gross.

I do however, take the fact that it's long lasting to mean it will stay on my skin a reasonable amount of time. Some people may be luckier.

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**Now I use a separate SPF over my moisturiser, so having a SPF in a foundation isn't a key factor for me any more

I hope that gives you a few suggestions of what foundations to try for an oilier skin

Let me know what foundations you have used for your skin type

Products I wont be buying again...

Bare Minerals Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser £19

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation £10.72

Collection2000 Big Fake Ultimate mascara £4.99

This is an exfoliating cleanser, which comes in a powder form, when added with water creates a 'light froth' which you then use to cleanse your face.

It promises to "reveal brighter, smoother, younger-looking skin, reduced fine lines and wrinkles, and remarkably smaller-looking pores". I wasn't exactly concerned about the anti-aging properties of the product, but I'm always sold on pore reducing products as I feel that an issue with my skin.

I also was intrigued by how it could be used as an exfoliating mask without the use of a scrub, as some times the granules can make my skin very sensitive.

After prolonged use, I have to admit, I felt this product lived up to none of it's promises, and has been sat on the shelf in my bathroom for quite some time now...

I was unsure how much of the product to use, and as it was nearly £20, I didn't want to be using excessive amounts, although small quantities didn't feel as though it was cleaning my face thoroughly.

I also prefer a cleanser which can remove my make up as well, and this didn't seem to be very successful at doing so, adding to my doubts as to what this product was actually doing for my skin.

Next up is a high coverage foundation. I bought this as a cheaper alternative to my usual Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation.

People seem to rave about this online being good for cover up, which appealed to me as I have problem skin. 

The range of colours is very limited (unlike the double wear) and I opted for the lightest shade (Opal 15), and even this was hardly a great match for my skin. I was slightly disappointed with the limited choice as it seems like a specialist product for camouflage makeup.

It blended ok with a real techniques stippling brush, but it promised to not be 'mask-like' and have a natural finish, which I didn't really feel it had.

It also promised a "flawless 16-hour coverage" which is certainly didn't have! I do suffer from a oily t-zone, but as this is a cover-up product, surely it should know its consumers would have this type of skin?

After only a few hours the product on my t-zone had melted away and gone patchy and slimey, and I had to make an emergency trip to a department store to use some Double Wear for the rest of the day.

Not cool Vichy.

Having said that, some of their products I really do like, the Ultra corrective cream stick is good for cover up on my cheeks and their Normaderm Night cream is great at reducing redness from spots.

Last but not least, collection 2000 mascara.

I'm not sure whether to blame myself for this purchase or not. My mascara ran out, and it wasn't quite pay-day, so I thought I could last a week or so on some cheaper mascara. Without doing any research picked up this from Boots.

My lashes are already kinda long and curly, so don't need an awful lot of support, so my expectations are pretty low when it comes to mascara. But this isn't really about the effects of the mascara, its about the product before I'd even used it.

Far too much product came out on the brush, and it was hard to scrape it off on the edge on the tube, which created a gloopy mess (and if I'd continued to use it would probably have prevented it closing properly and dried up the remaining product).

Next, the brush is unnecessarily big, I know big brushes are everywhere, but surely its size can only improve the application so much, then it's just excessive?

For under a fiver, it is what I'd expect, and maybe I should have dipped into my overdraft to buy a decent mascara after all...

What beauty buys have you been disappointed with?

Which ones have unexpectedly surprised you?