THE BEST FOUNDATIONS FOR OILY SKIN
Prone to a midday powder break? Does your makeup feel like it’s slipping and sliding throughout the day? The likelihood is you’re a proud member of the oily-skinned clan. Although ‘Glass skin’, ‘dewy finishes’, and having a ‘natural sheen’ are forever trending, there is a difference to your complexion having a healthy radiance and looking like an oil slick...
When it comes to picking out the best foundation for oily skin, there are a few pointers you need to consider. Is it liquid or powder you need? Does it have a matte finish? Does the ingredients list include mica or silica powders to help curb excess oil production? You get the gist...
With that in mind, here at Cult Beauty, we’ve collated a list of some of the very best base players – from lightweight finishes to full-coverage powerhouses, so you can find the best foundation for oily skin.
Brushes, blenders and powder puffs at the ready...
OUR PICKS OF THE BEST FOUNDATIONS FOR OILY SKIN
- Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Skin Finish Buildable Coverage Foundation Stick
- Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick
- Hourglass Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick
- NARS Soft Matte Complete Foundation
- MAKE UP FOR EVER HD SKIN Powder Foundation
- Make Up For Ever HD Skin Foundation
- Too Faced Born This Way Foundation
- bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation
- IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC+ Natural Matte
THE BEST FOUNDATIONS FOR OILY SKIN
Stick Foundations
With a waterproof formula and a filter-like finish, Huda Beauty’s #FauxFilter Skin Finish Buildable Coverage Foundation Stick is a must-have for an oilier complexion. Melting into skin, this powerhouse formula delivers both an illuminating finish when sheered and blended out, or a more pigmented, blemish-disguising finish.
£62.00
Mixing both a concealer and a foundation in one, Westman Atelier’s Vital Skin Foundation is the super- creamy formula that effortlessly sinks into skin. Powered by good-for-skin ingredients, like antioxidant-rich coconut and camellia seed oils and hydrating hero squalane, it delivers a second-skin finish that doesn’t look greasy *or* too oily.
With a powerfully pigmented formula housed in a luxuriously designed tube, Hourglass’s Vanish Seamless Foundation Stick combines both the coverage of a concealer, the fluidity of a foundation and the weightlessness of a powder. Providing your complexion with super high-coverage that doesn’t feel heavy, this high-performing formula sits on your skin, delivering a natural, satin finish that feels as light as air...
Matte Foundations
£35.00
With a comfortable, 16-hour wear formula, NARS’s Soft Matte Complete Foundation mattifies the complexion with its superior oil-absorbing powders and patented Hydramatte Balancing Complex. Transfer-proof and resistant to oxidation, this base-player simultaneously protects the skin against environmental aggressors while delivering a finish that’s natural *and* matte.
£36.00
Delivering a matte finish that’s medium-to-full coverage, MAKE UP FOR EVER’s HD Skin Powder Foundation offers customisable coverage you can build up or sheer out. Boasting a velvety texture that feels featherlight, it covers uneven skin texture, reduces the look of redness and smooths out skin tone. Plus, lasting for up to 24 hours (!) and housed in a convenient compact (and handy sponge) means you can stay on top of your coverage, whenever and wherever you are...
Ideal for those who prefer a liquid version of the iconic HD Powder Foundation, MAKE UP FOR EVER’s HD Skin Foundation is the long-wearing, smoothing and blurring formula that won't settle into fine lines or look thick and cakey. Powered by the brand’s patented Micro-Skin System Technology that encourages a true-to-skin finish, it’s virtually undetectable once applied...
Oil-Control Foundations
A staple in many an MUA’s kit, Too Faced’s Born This Way Foundation not only glides on skin smoothly but covers the appearance of redness and blemishes without looking heavy on the skin. Powered by coconut water, which helps to replenish the complexion and alpine rose to brighten and promote skin suppleness, this matte finish foundation means your skin looks like skin... but better. Alexa, play Beyoncé’s Flawless...
£36.50
An award-winning formula (and oily-skin approved), bareMinerals ’ Original SPF 15 Foundation is the versatile loose powder that effortlessly tackles the unwanted midday shine. Pigmented with a blend of pearls and iron oxides, plus minuscule mica to promote skin softness, it’s an ideal makeup bag must-have for when you want a no-makeup makeup look *or* a full-coverage glam finish.
£32.00
Looking for a matte finish foundation that *also* gives you sun protection? Say hello to IT Cosmetic's Your Skin But Better CC+ Natural Matte Foundation with SPF 40+. Delivering a soft matte finish that also colour corrects, this base-acer makes quick work of sorting out your skin. Enriched with hyaluronic acid and lentil seed extract, it not only covers what you want it to, but ensures your complexion is comforted, supported *and* shielded.
BEST FOUNDATION FOR OILY SKIN FAQ’s
Is matte or dewy foundation better for oily skin?
Adding something is always easier than taking something away, RIGHT? For oilier skin types, this means that it is easier (and better) to use a matte finish foundation and add highlighter where you *actually* want shine, rather than starting with a dewy base and trying to mattify.
£35.00
£36.50
How do you blend foundation for oily skin?
Firstly, do not use your fingers! We recommend using a foundation brush or beauty blender and dabbing on small amounts of your best foundation for oily skin. The result? A seamless, second-skin-like finish. This way, you can also build up coverage in layers and prevent your complexion from looking cakey.
£28.00
£28.00
£52.00
£36.00
£17.50
£14.00
£21.00
How to stop makeup from looking greasy?
Ace your skin care and try using a makeup primer. The trick to ensuring your makeup looks seamless and natural is having a good base. When you understand your skin type and ensure that the products you’re using enhance your complexion, your makeup is more likely to sit better on top. What is also important for oily skin is using a gripping primer that allows your makeup to stay where you put it. We recommend mattifying primers such as Laura Mercier’s Pure Canvas Blurring Primer or NARS’s Soft Matte Primer.
£18.00
£33.00
£47.00
£38.00
Now you’ve learnt about the best foundations for oily skin; all that’s left to do is pick your favourite formula... Are you adding a stick, liquid or powder to your basket?
Rina is Cult Beauty’s SEO Content Strategist and Beauty Expert and has always had a passion for beauty and skin care (rich moisturisers are her obsession). What started as a love for The Body Shop and their famed Born Lippy lip balms (in ‘Watermelon’ of course!), she is now more interested in finding products with proven effectiveness instead of broken promises. A loud and proud VIEVE fan, Rina owns nearly every item of the range and recommends the brand to anyone who will listen... When she’s not intently reading ingredient lists, you can find her either immersed in multiple true crime podcasts or a fantasy romance novel, with an *extra* hot cappuccino in hand.
