HOW TO KICK OILY SKIN IN THE NETHER BITS

I have oily skin and I'm sure anyone else with the same skin type will feel me when I say it is flinging flanging annoying. There are up sides to having oily skin. It tends to age well – less fine lines and whatnot. But for the meantime I intend to do something to keep the shine at bay. So I've got myself a little three step program that I thought I'd share with you guys.

The moisturizer:
I find the single most effective way to avoid shininess is to get your skincare right. I recently discovered that using a gel moisturizer, specifically the Clique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, is somewhat of a Godsend for my oily skin. Whereas most moisturizers leave a slight dewy tackiness to the skin, the gel formula dries completely matte. The one downside is that it doesn't moisturize my skin quite as well. To compensate I make sure I'm using a cleanser that isn't remotely stripping on my skin. Something like Ren's Evercalm Cleansing Cleansing Milk will do the trick.

The powder:
I was having a mosey around Sephora a little while ago and, well, I found her. Oh she's a beaut... the Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Pressed Finishing Powder. It was love at first grope. I'm going to say something that makes me roll my eyes when other people say it, but this powder makes me understand the meaning of finely milled. It is so smooth and weightless. It feels like a dream to apply. What I initially liked about this powder was the very subtle illumination factor (subtle being the operative word, unlike something like the Nars Light Reflecting Setting Powder which is a bit too disco-esk for me). It has the tiniest light reflecting particles that are barely visible. Just the way I like it. I also love that it's translucent, which allows you to re-powder throughout the day without the risk of getting cakey. But what really impressed me over time was it's ability to absorb oil. It does a much better job of keeping my skin matte than any other powder I've tried. For that, I think it's worth the price tag.

The blot:
Finally, I want to note that no matter how good your skincare or setting powder are, they aren't magic. All they can do is delay the inevitable. They can't stop you from producing oil altogether. The only things that can do that are some kind of androgen suppressant or Accutane, which can be very scary. So be prepared to blot at some point during the day. I use the NYX Blotting Papers because they're affordable and they do the job.