Matte Powder is perhaps the most important cosmetic for those with oily skin. Combining matte foundation with matte face powder will ensure that your makeup lasts as long as possible, despite your oily skin problem. It’s best to purchase two different types of Matte Powder: A clear one for use under makeup as a primer and a touch-up powder, and a tinted one for use over foundation as a tone-perfecting setting powder. If you have oily skin, but do not need to wear foundation, you can wear either form of matte powder alone to simply soak up the oil.
Best Matte Powder (Clear):
Mattify! Cosmetics - Mattify! Ultra Powder for Oily Skin: This has been reported as the Holy Grail of Oil Absorbent Face Powder. Even on people with intensely oily skin, this light weight, airy powder soaks up oil for hours. For instance, if you face gets shiny within half an hour of washing, apply this powder, and you can go about two hours without shine. Get shiny 3 hours after washing your face? Lucky you! With this powder, shine will stay away for almost 6 hours after this matte powder is applied! The formula is clear, so it is virtually undetectable and never looks heavy. This powder can also double as a primer. It protects pores from getting clogged when applied under foundation and even works as an eye shadow primer. If you have oily eye lids, dust some Mattify Powder on before your liner & shadow for long lasting, crease-free results. Due to its colorless nature, it’s perfect for touch-ups throughout the day over foundation or tinted face powder. Mattify Ultra Face Powder is a higher end brand, with an affordable price tag. Find it at www.mattifycosmetics.com for $14.99 including shipping. They also sell matte powder for sensitive skin, and combination skin.
Best Colored Matte Powder (Tinted):
Drugstore Brand: Maybelline – Dream Matte Powder: An ultra-blendable pressed powder, which helps hide flaws and evens out skin tone. This face powder is very light weight, yet highly pigmented – so a little goes a long way. Feels feather light on the skin, and blurs any blemishes or fine lines. Provides moderate oil control, and works for either combination or oily skin. Find this in an array of shades at most drugstores for around $10.00.
Department Store Brand: Estee Lauder – Double Matte Oil Control Pressed Powder: Another easily blended pressed powder, packed with so much pigment you can even use it as a light-weight foundation. Stays color-true (no orange or murky hues) and minimizes pores and fine lines. Also provides moderate oil control, and will work on oily or combination skin. To be honest, it functions almost identically to the Maybelline Dream Matte Powder, but costs almost 3 times more at $29.99.
Tips for using Tinted Matte Powder:
You don’t want to use any tinted powder repeatedly for touch-ups, as the colors tend to get a bit muddy when applied frequently. On oily skin, either of these two tinted powders will work best when applied in this order: 1) Mattify! Ultra Powder as a primer 2) Your regular foundation 3) Mattify! Ultra as a highly oil absorbent setting powder 4) Maybelline or Estee Lauder Tinted Pressed Powder. This will help you achieve a flawless, oil-free, pore-free & matte complexion, without a cakey or muddy residue. If you do touch up with tinted powder, only do so once or twice daily. The rest of the time, use the Mattify! Ultra powder since it is colorless.
Tips for touch-ups on oily skin:
Those with very oily skin will find that their skin gets oily within a few hours, even after powdering. In this case, touchups are needed to keep skin looking fresh, dry and matte. It is VERY important to use an oil blotting sheet to remove excess oil before re-powdering. This will prevent any cakey heavy feeling after the powder is applied. If you do not have an oil blotting sheet available, use a paper napkin or toilet seat cover to absorb excess sebum. Gently press (do not rub) the blotting sheet or tissue onto oily sections of the face. The pressing motions will allow the oil to be absorbed, without disturbing your foundation. If you rub instead of press, your makeup will become smudged and patchy. After much of the surface oil is removed, dust on some clear Mattify! Ultra Powder using a powder brush or powder puff. If using a powder puff, pat the powder onto your face until it becomes transparent. Again, never rub, or your foundation will appear blotchy. Then, apply a light layer of a tinted matte powder to even out skin tone and allow foundation to look freshly applied. This technique should absorb oil for the next several hours before you need to re-touch again.
If you follow these tips for applying matte powder, you can achieve long lasting makeup without the shine!
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