Feeling like an oily mess come lunchtime is never ideal, but these will ensure you stay matte all the day long
Is that midday shine your beauty nemesis? Do you battle with breakouts? If you haven’t got the best foundation for oily skin in your arsenal already, then look no further.
Dr Ross Perry, cosmetic doctor and managing director of Cosmedics Skin Clinics, has words of caution when it comes to pairing oily, acne-prone skin with makeup. ‘Before thinking about makeup, review your skin regime. Getting one of the best face cleansers and a moisturiser for oily skin is key, so experiment to see what suits your skin.
‘Don’t be tempted to ditch the moisturiser as your skin still needs hydration, but choose a formulation which suits oily skin,’ he continues. ‘Exfoliate regularly to remove excess sebum as well as dead skin cells. Sleep, drink water, and eat your fruit and veg – do everything you can to improve your skin from within, making you less reliant on foundation.’
First up: prep responsibly. ‘Try one of the best primers that’s a mattifying water-based gel underneath your foundation to tackle oiliness and absorb shine, hiding pores and leaving skin looking and feeling smoother,’ says Dr Ross.
Next, evaluate what exactly you want from your foundation. A full-coverage formula will mask hyper pigmentation from previous breakouts, while something designed to mattify will keep your skin shine-free all day. Oilier skin types often get along well with powder-based foundations like BareMinerals, while a liquid will glide on seamlessly whilst strategically locking in oil.
No foundation will keep you matte until the end of time, so choose a powder foundation that’ll help fight shine throughout the day. “It’s tempting to load on lots of powder to absorb the oil, but this approach can tend to leave the skin looking chalky,” warns Dr Ross. “Choose a matte, translucent, loose powder and apply with a brush to avoid it looking too heavy. For day-time touch-ups, oil blotting sheets are a handbag hero.”
Once you’ve found the right foundation for you, make you read our guide on how to apply foundation like a pro.
Now that we’ve got all the facts covered, allow us to help you find the best foundation for oily skin for you, and finally keep that shine under control.
Best foundation for oily skin with full coverage
Giorgio Armani Power Fabric, £42, John Lewis
This lasts for hours and hours, offers great SPF protection, conceals pretty much every blemish and dark circle and locks down any excess sebum production. It’s a total all-rounder and an absolute must for oily skin.
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Best foundation for oily skin with large pores
Surratt Beauty Surreal Skin Foundation Wand, £62, Net-A-Porter
This handy all-in-one foundation brushes on seamlessly, minimising pores and fine lines – and it’s perfect for just chucking in your bag.
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Best foundation for oily skin with acne
Clinique Acne Solutions Liquid Makeup, £28, Fabled
This lightweight, oil-free formula conceals blemishes whilst actively tackling them and preventing them from returning. Plus, its cooling sensation and skin-soothing ingredients help calm flare-ups and inflammation.
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Best long lasting foundation for oily skin
NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, £35 from Fabled
If you like your coverage to feel weightless, then opt for NARS’ water-like formula. It’s oil free and doesn’t bring on shine throughout the day, a little goes a long way, and gives such a gorgeous, skin-like finish that lasts for hours upon hours.
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Best foundation for oily mature skin
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Foundation, £34, John Lewis
The oil-free formula is super hydrating without leaving you looking overly shiny, as well as the benefit of SPF 15 – which you still need during the winter months. Think youthful, radiant skin in a bottle.
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Best liquid foundation for oily skin
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Makeup, £33.50, Fabled
Double Wear is pretty full coverage, making it perfect for anyone who wants a completely flawless base – but it can be easily lightened up when mixed with a dot of moisturiser. What’s more, it mattifies skin and lasts all day and into the night, without smudging or needing any touch-ups at all.
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Best matte foundation for oily skin
Laura Mercier Silk Creme Oil Free Photo Edition Foundation, £35, John Lewis
Perfectly matte thanks to its oil-free formula, this one packs some major pigment whilst still remaining lightweight.
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Best drugstore foundation for oily skin
L’Oreal Paris Infallible Matte Foundation, £8 Fabled
Super, duper mattifying this one. And all for £8. Apply all over and buff from the centre of the face outwards.
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Best powder foundation for oily skin
bareMinerals Original SPF15 Foundation, £27, Fabled
Nothing really beats a powder foundation when it comes to oil control, and BareMinerals’ is a timeless favourite for a reason – the mineral formula is completely non-comedogenic, so there’s no risk of pores becoming blocked.
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Best glow-enhancing foundation for oily skin
SUQQU Extra Rich Glow Foundation, £62
Oily skin that craves glow? This may sound counter-productive, but just because you have oily skin, it doesn’t mean you always prefer a super matte finish. This formula by SUQQU is full coverage and never greasy, but provides a beautiful satin-glow finish, ideal even for oily skin.
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Your oily-skin foundation woes are officially fixed.
Shininess, be gone…
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Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, £26 from Harvey Nichols
A little goes a long way with Rihanna’s award-winning formula, giving a flawless, soft-matte coverage which you can tailor to your own coverage preferences. It glides onto the skin, and gives an airbrushed finish that’s perfectly in between matte and glowy - it just looks like skin. Believe us, the hype is real.
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Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation, £30 from Cult Beauty
This foundation is indeed magic, and works for pretty much every skin type. We especially love it for oiliness - its semi-matte finish is down to oil-regulating technology - plus hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and SPF15 mean it gets to work on your skin throughout the day.
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Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation, £50 John Lewis
Now, this one was completely designed for oily skin. Oil-free, non-comodogenic, and it transforms from a liquid to a powder upon contact with the skin. It absorbs oil during the day, and actually reduces the appearance of blemishes, pores and scaring.
