Must Have Products for Oily / Combination Skin

Having oily / combination skin can be a nightmare situation which can ruin your make up and can get much worse in the summer as the weather starts to get warmer (well, it doesn't tend to do that in Scotland..). I have combination skin, which is normal on my cheeks and most of my forehead but gets oily on my t-zone and chin throughout the day. However, some products are great at keeping these oils at bay and they are vital parts to anyone's skincare routine if they have oily / combination skin.

Seaweed Range from The Body Shop: 
I've discussed this range here before on my blog, but it truly is amazing stuff for those with oily / combination skin. My favourite three products are the:

Seaweed Oil Balancing Face Mask - £11.00 (100ml)

Seaweed Oil Balancing Toner - £7.50 (250ml) 

Seaweed Oil Control Overnight Treatment Gel - £14.00 (30ml)

These products all leave your skin feeling fresh and clean without drying it out. If you have combination skin like me, you might want to multi-mask with the face mask and just apply it to your t-zone or anywhere you get oily throughout the day. I tend to use my Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask everywhere else on my face and the Seaweed Face Mask on my t-zone. The scent of these products is not overly strong (so don't worry about your face smelling like a seaweed covered beach!). I feel like every one of these products has massively helped my skin staying matte all day and I love using them!

Mattifying Primers: 
If you do struggle with your foundation breaking down throughout the day or looking like a grease ball by the end of the day, you might want to try a mattifying primer if you haven't already. My favourite two mattifying primers are:

L'Oreal Infallible Primer Matte Base - £8.99 (45g)

Seventeen Miracle Matte Primer - £4.99 

Both of these primers keep my skin matte for longer - again, if you have combination skin, you may want to just use these primers on your t-zone. Another tip for applying primers, is to wait until they have full sunk into your skin before applying your foundation over the top, so that the primer does not mix in with your foundation.

Mattifying Setting Sprays:
There are hundreds of setting sprays on the market now, in both drugstore and high end products. Some are just standard setting sprays but some of them are specifically mattifying or oil-controlling. These are two of my favourite setting sprays:

NYX Setting Spray Matte Finish - £7.00 - (60ml)

Make Up Revolution Pro Fix Oil Control Fixing Spray - £5.00 (100ml) 

Both of these setting sprays will help to keep your make up matte all day and hopefully control your oils! In my opinion, these setting sprays work best when you've also used a mattifying primer, but they can also make your foundation more weather-proof.

Oil-Free Moisturisers: 
This may seem like a simple one, but even though you have oily / combination skin, you still need to moisturise it, to retain elasticity and avoid premature wrinkling and to actually help the oiliness. Your skin produces natural oils and if you dry out your skin with harsh products and don't add the moisture back in, your skin will actually produce more oil to counteract it. However, you want to make sure you are using an oil-free moisturiser. These are some of my favourites for oily / combination skin.

Dermalogica Clear Start Matte Moisturiser - £16.00 (60ml) 

Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser - £3.25 (100ml) 

The Clear Start range from Dermalogica is also great for acne prone skin, but these moisturisers keep my skin matte all day if I am not wearing make up. I apply an oil free moisturiser every morning after I cleanse and tone my skin and then put my make up on over moisturiser (once I've allowed it to sink in!).

Other Great Products: 

I am always on the look out for new products that are specifically aimed at oily / combination skin - two more of my favourite products are: 

Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Oily / Combination Skin - £12.99 (30ml)

This is my absolute favourite drugstore foundation which I wear most days for work. The lightest shade is pretty much light enough (I use a bit of white mixer) and it is the longest lasting foundation I've ever tried. It keeps my skin matte like no other foundation, it doesn't transfer and it doesn't break down. It lasts around 10 hours on my skin before it starts to look oily around my t-zone. It is a medium (buildable) coverage and the glass bottles now come with a pump. 

Garnier Pure Active Micellar Water - £4.99 (400ml) 

I'm sure by this point, everyone has heard of the wonders of micellar water for removing make up and cleansing your face. It is wonderful stuff! I see everyone talking about the original micellar water from Garnier but I don't see people talking about the Pure Active version. You have two choices here, there is actually a micellar water for combination skin from Garnier, or there is the Pure Active micellar water, which is more aimed at acne prone skin. This removes all my make up and leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean, but it also helps my oiliness. This is an absolute must have for me!  

I hope this helps anyone with oily / combination skin! Let me know what your favourite products are for this skin type down in the comments! 

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x