From oily mess to 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 listen up.
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 make-up. ‘Before thinking about make-up, 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.’
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’ offering, while a liquid will glide on seamlessly whilst strategically locking in oil.
Without further ado, join as we run through the best foundation for oily skin below.
Best foundation for oily skin with full coverage
Giorgio Armani Power Fabric, £37.80 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, £24.25 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 longwear foundation for oily skin
NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation, £31.50 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 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, £36 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 Feelunique
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Super, duper mattifying this one. And all for the bargain price of £8. Apply all over and buff from the centre of the face outwards for smooth coverage that’ll last all day, with no oily patches appearing around 3pm.
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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, and still only contains five ingredients.
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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, £51 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.
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IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Oil-Free Matte SPF40, £31 Cult Beauty
OK not technically a foundation, but this isn't far off. It gives just the right amount of coverage and has the added benefit of covering up any redness caused by raging blemishes.
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NYX Professional Makeup Stay Matte But Not Flat Liquid Foundation, £7 Cult Beauty
Who said you had to break the bank for a perfectly matte complexion? Not NYX. This oil-free formulation banishes shine, but nourishes the skin at the same time. Build up for full coverage.
