Best foundation for Oily Skin

Again, I am talking about oily skin. Since I am, too, an super oily girl whose skin starts, sort of, shiny after 20 minutes after applying the powder, I feel like I need something for the days I want to look my best without getting too much oil on my face. A long-lasting foundation is the answer.

There are plenty of foundations in the market that promise to keep shine and oils at bay, but only a few really deliver.



Vichy Norma Teint Anti-Imperfection Foundation SPF20


This is the best long-lasting liquid foundation I have ever used!

Vichy Norma Teint gives me a perfect and flawless skin with an absolutely matte finish.

Here is what the product claims to delivers and it really does :

Shine, blackheads and open pores: trying to hide these flaws with a foundation can make them stand out even more. To regain a visibly clear, matt, pure complexion that lasts all day, you need a foundation able to hide imperfections without creating plastery build-ups upon contact with excess sebum.

Sebum-proof texture enriched with a purifying active ingredient.

My rating : 5/5

Comment : good for acne-prone skin, anti-shine, anti-blackheads, anti-caking,
non-cloggy,oil-free, long-wearing, matte finish

Laura Mercier : Oil-Free Foundation - $42 USD


Laura Mercier really grabs my interest. This oil-free liquid foundation is one of talk-of-the-town items girls should have. I bought this a while ago and loved it and used it up. And I am on the second bottle ;-)

This foundation is richly pigmented, so a little goes a long way. I love the texture which is really buidable making it easy to control the amount of usage. I think the reason why this foundation is very popular is that it has a complete range of yellowish shades that matches Asian skin tones.

Moreover, it extremely lasts all day. This cutie keeps my face fresh and oil-free more than 10 hours!

My rating : 4.5/5

Comment : oil-free, sheer, not cakey, long-wearing, natural matte finish

MAC : Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 - $26 USD


Like other MAC's products, this liquid foundation is of high quality and delivers what it promises to. If you have used MAC's all-time classic Studio Fix foundation, you can trust this as it is in the same line in the liquid version. It gives me medium coverage (which can be cakey and unnatural if you apply too much). It does it's job in keeping oils at bays keeping my face matte for more than 7 hours which I am satisfied. (other foundations last only a few hours on me ... my face is super oily!)

My rating : 4.5/5

Comment : medium to maximum coverage, matte finish, oil-free, long-wearing
I say : If you don't have sensitive skin, you can't go wrong with this :-)

Clinique : Almost Makeup SPF 15 - $20.50 USD



This is a sheer liquid foundation which is perfectly oil-free and waterproof. It has a sunscreen effect with SPF15. I bought this just to challenge what Clinique's product can do for me and I was not disappointed!

It provides me a fresh look with natural matte finish with, as they claim on the official Clinique's website, a "no-makeup" look. My skin looks so much smoother and more even. I wear a Light shade which perfectly matches my MAC MC20 skin, for reference.

My rating : 4/5

Comment : very sheer and light, natural matte finish

How to : Apply MMU on the Oily Face

Oily skin = shiny, thick and dull colored face
An oily skin often has embarrassing pimples, blemishes and coarse pores. When an oily girl wants to love mineral makeup, she's finally found that the mineral foundation does not last all day, and the color turns dull only a few hours after applying the MMU.





I have a few useful tricks for you oily girls :)

• Use a pH-stabled moisturizer (pH of 7 is recommended) : to trick your skin not to produce more oil.
• Oil-free moisturizer is your best friend since you don't want to put more oil on your face, right?
• Select mineral foundation which contains Kaolin Clay for oil-controlling effect, and Boron Nitride to make your foundation stay put and last longer on your face.
  
• Try a Sandwich Buff technique : Primer --> Foundation --> Primer
  (primer and finishing powder work great!)

Recommended MMU brands : Lumiere (Veena Velvet formula), Pureluxe Cosmetics, Nuchy Shop Mineral Makeup, 2nd Skin Minerals

Best MMU Brush Recommendation

The most important way to achieve a perfect face using mineral makeup (MMU) is having the right brushes. Different brushes give you different results varied from ghostly cakey face to flawlessly polished one, hence, investing in nice brushes is worth paying for.

There are tons of makeup brushes in the market, yet how you could tell which is the perfect one for you? I am an MMU Mania who owns more than 20 brushes from all over the world. I have experimented all hypes and raves spending a lot $$ on brushes just to find the perfect ones which work for my only one face.

I've come up with a few criteria choosing a mineral foundation brush:

• A good brush doesn't have to be expensive. However, price always reflects all available information.
  
• Most high-quality brushes are made in China and Japan
  
• A good brush doesn't have to be branded = a branded brush doesn't guarantee that it is good
• A good brush picks up, distributes and blends MMU very nicely
• Good brushes usually has dense and soft hairs
• Real animal hairs distribute the powders very well and better than the synthetic ones

Here are my mineral foundation brush(es) recommendation :


1. Essential Beauty Supplies : Squirrel Flat Top Duster - $49.99 USD


I've tested different flat-top brushes for applying my mineral foundation and this one came out on top! This flat-top brush provides medium to full coverage. It picks up and distributes the powder very well. The squirrel hair is luxuriously soft. (EBS claims that it is made from 100% pure blue squirrel hairs with top-graded quality.)

My rating : 5/5

Comment : a good buy, worth every buck, recommended to achieve a flawless finish

2. Everyday Minerals : New Flat Top Brush - $10 USD



This flat-top brush from Everyday Minerals is made from synthetic fibers providing the perfectly pore-less and smooth coverage. However, since it's synthetic, it is not as good at evenly distributing MMU as the real animal hair ones. (so if you use too much mineral foundation, you may look a bit cakey.) Cons : It doesn't feel so velvet when buffing.

My rating : 4.5/5

Comment : good for vegan, very cheap, durable, very dense, so soft, doesn't shed

3. Essential Beauty Supplies : Karessable Powder Buffer - $22.49 USD



This cute brush is a soft blend of the finest gray squirrel and goat hairs. It is nicely shaped and super soft. I can say that it is as soft as the Squirrel Flat Top Duster, but yay, with more affordable price.

My rating : 4/5

Comment : affordable, super soft, good for mineral foundation application

4. Coastal Scents: Deluxe Buffer Brush - $4.25 USD



This brush is my perfect item for daily touch ups due to its lovely size and shorter handle. I was quite surprised at how soft this brush was! It's beyond my expectation as I paid only a few hundred Thai Baht for it... very affordable! It's made from Sable hair blend and, sort of, dense. I totally agree with what they claim on Coastal Scents' website that this sable-hair brush is superior to goat and pony hair when it comes to application performance. Many reviewers on the website mentioned they'd found this brush smelled disgusting. I have no idea about that. (I didn't smell that.)

My rating : 4/5

Comment : very cheap, soft, perfect carry-along brush for midday touch ups

Alright, that's all for my mineral foundation brush recommendation.

Go back and check your brush whether it is good enough for your only one face ... if not, get a new one immediately!

Good luck!

Celebrity Wonder : Ann Hathaway

My boyfriend always makes his sister more of priority than me...

I know, to him, his sister is more important than me ...

There are five members in his family : his father, his mother, himself, and his two sisters.
He is an elder brother of two pretty sisters, and they both have boyfriends already.
When he is with me having a conversation, he ALWAYS mentions his sisters.
For example, we were talking about food and which restaurant had the best cook, he said that his youngest sister could cook that dish too, and he made fun of me that I could not. (I know he didn't mean to hurt my feeling or to compare me to his sister, but I know he deeply felt something from doing so.)
Another example is about his middle sister, who is very pretty and smart. He talks about her all the time!, like, "my sister went there too" , "my sister has told me before", "my sister is very pretty today in her blue satin dress", etc. I know how much he adores his sisters because they're pretty, but it really makes me feel unimportant and inferior.
I have sibling so I understand how important his are, yet I'm sick of being on the back burner. I know he's been with his sisters longer than he's been with you, but I just feel (T_T).

On his birthday, I was invited to join his birthday dinner with his family. I gave him a gift box of genuine branded leather belt with a matching keyring. Her sisters gave him a long-sleeved shirt. He said to me, "Thank you, honey; they're beautiful.", while he said to his sisters, "Thank you, dear, I really like this shirt". And he stood up and tried that shirt on... (*.*) ... yay, without noticing another box from me. (I told my close friends about this and they said that he should have tried on the belt.)

This evening, while my bf and i were having dinner at the restaurant and about to see the movie, his sister called and told him that she had a bit headache and she was going to see a doctor WITH her boyfriend. My bf said he had to go home immediately to see her sister. Then he went home and left me there with the movie plan.
I know that his sister had a headache and she was going to see a doctor, so he - as her elder brother - had to go home. BUT she was with his boyfriend already and I swear it was just a mild headache.

Am I selfish? ...

I just really feel less important than his sisters. And I do feel it.

Review: Pure Luxe Cosmetics - Mineral Foundation

Finally, I have found my HG mineral foundation!

PL - Pure Luxe - stands out because of their good prices, reasonable international shipping cost, and superb customer service :)
For the price, $18 USD (on Ebay) for a HUGE 30 gram jar of foundation which will last me months is such a good deal. However, I noticed that buying directly from their official website costs $20 USD for a 30g jar of foundation. I don't know why...may be the handling cost on Ebay is lower? ... So buying from Ebay is bonus :-P



My Shade(s) :





Warm Cream, which falls into a warm category, is exactly my shade. It is the However, I've found that Creamy Natural is also good alone when I want to look a bit fairer.


I say :

The foundation is really silky and buildable, and it lasts a lot longer than Everyday Minerals. It gives me a beautifully airbrushed look, yet doesn't oxidize during the day! The coverage is just perfect for me, though may not be enough to cover the big blemishes.


My Rating :

• Overall Rating : 4.4/5
• Quality : 4.5/5
• Look : 4.5/5
• Coverage : 5/5
• Oil Control : 4.5/5
• Packaging : 4/5
• Price : 4/5
• Will Repurchase? : Yes

Something About Me :

Skin Type : super-oily, prone to acne, sensitive to pollutants and sun light
Coloring : MAC NC20 = B.E. Fairly Light#1.2 = EDM Golden Fair = EDM Fawn/Olive Fair mixed = Lumiere VV Light Golden

Review : Everyday Minerals - Foundation

Something About Me :

Age : 23
Skin Type : super-oily, prone to acne, sensitive to pollutants and sun light
Skin Tone : Fairly Light (with yellow undertone)
Hair color : Dark Brown
Eye Color : Dark Brown


A few years ago, as a WWW addict, I always stayed up late surfing and googling staff. Then I came across something about Mineral Makeup someone mentioned on the message board I regularly joined. She claimed that her face had been cleared up since she started using mineral makeup. And since it's made from naturally occurring minerals like iron oxides, mica powder and titanium dioxide, she said that mineral makeup could cover her discolorations, imperfections, and blemishes very well, without irritating her skin. It was the first time time I became interested in mineral makeup. So I did some research on mineral makeup on the internet. And, yes, I decided to give it a try.


The first mineral makeup brand I tried was Everyday Minerals.




... and I have been wearing EDM's foundation for 3 years until now :)



The Shades :

What I like about EDM (an abbreviated name of Everyday Minerals) is that they offer a great selection of colors, which are categorized into warm, golden, cool, beige, buff, and olive undertones.

I wear MAC NC20. The 'Golden Fair' and 'Fawn/Olive Fair' mixed are my perfect match. I also wear Fawn alone. (but not the olive fair as it's a bit too ghostly light for me!)






The Formulas :

Everyday Minerals currently offers four(4) formulas according to what kind of coverage you prefer and whether your skin is dry, normal or oily :

/ Original Glo - healthy dewy glow

/ Semi-Matte - a soft luminous touch

/ Matte - radiant without shine

/ Intensive - extra coverage

I prefer the Matte one for my super-oily skin. It provides the matte finish which I like, with great staying power, especially, when used with Everyday Minerals' Finishing Dust. It controls oil pretty well.

I used to have a full jar of an Intensive formula; on me, it looked great once freshly applied, but after an hour or so, my face looked extremely cakey. Moreover, my face turned somewhat reddish due to oxidation.


I say :

The foundation went on easily and blended well into my skin. The coverage is really buildable. It is also pretty much easier to apply than I thought it would be, although it does take a bit more effort than liquid foundation. It gives me the flawless skin without looking masked.

I love EDM. It's the perfect "everyday makeup." :)



My Rating :

• Overall Rating : 4.6/5
  
• Quality : 5/5
  
• Look : 4/5
  
• Coverage : 4.5/5
  
• Oil Control : 4/5
  
• Packaging : 5/5
  
• Price : 5/5
  
• Will Repurchase? : Yes
  

If you've been thinking about trying mineral makeup (or, known as mineral cosmetics), but are still skeptical about which brand to try, give Everyday Minerals a shot!