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​A: Cold winter weather leaches humidity from the atmosphere, which is why skin tends to feel dry and tight while you’re outdoors. To create a comfortable temperature, most indoor buildings have central heating, which also removes moisture from the air. You may notice that no matter where you spend most of your time during winter, your skin always feels dry – even if it’s prone to being oily. 

​As winter approaches, these skin care tips can help your complexion stay in balance:   ​

#1 Rule: Be sure to moisturize, but use a product designed for your skin type.
​
Nothing sends skin into a frenzy worse than disruption in moisture levels. If skin is deprived of moisture, it recognizes its need for hydration, and begins pumping out even more oil than usual. This translates to clogged pores, breakouts, and generally confused skin. It often feels dry & tight, but looks extra shiny. 

The majority of moisturizers on the market have a tendency to be overly emollient and thick. They rarely absorb fully into skin, leaving behind a sticky film that attracts environmental pollutants and prevents skin from feeling clean. What’s worse, they combine with foundation, forming a sticky mass that gets lodged inside of pores.  Hello breakouts!

It's best to prevent acne in the first place. During your morning and/or evening routine, apply Mattify’s The Exfoliator in slow circular motions, to remove dead skin cells that can trap debris inside of pores.  Once the scrub has been rinsed away, use a face wash to which you've added Mattify’s Essential Oil Treatment for Acne Prone, Oily Skin. The plant-based ingredients in this additive help to balance oil production, rather than stripping skin of moisture, as some harsh soaps can do when used alone.  The formula also deters acne bacteria, so you end up with fewer breakouts. ​

Guest Post by Ashley Bergin of Hub Pages

​In the world of makeup, there’s a list of hyped up vocabulary currently circulating that’ll cause cringe for any oily-skinned girl. Think hashtags such as: Luminous, Glowy, Reflective, Prism, Creamy, Radiant, and the atrocious “Dewy Dumpling”.  For those of us who fight tooth and nail to prevent shine, we can’t imagine purposely applying a full face of makeup that appears to amp up oil levels!

Many popular products sprawled all over social media actually contain ingredients that can spell disaster for oily and/or acne prone skin. Let’s take a look at some…    

When freshly applied, this powder looked nice and had even coverage, but it didn’t control shine for more than an hour. At a price point of $34, it seems like a whole lot to pay for burying your skin in less than stellar ingredients and not controlling shine. ​

I actually sampled some of this at Nordstrom’s, wanting to find if it would truly provide the flawless finish it promises.  Admittedly, it felt silky and gave me a poreless finish, but this was oh-so-temporary. I was wearing my usual water-based Dinair foundation, but skipped powder so I could see the genuine effect of La Mer’s brand. After I used the sample, I wandered around the store, browsing and trying on some shoes. Around 2 hours later, I checked my complexion in a dressing room mirror and was disappointed to see oily breakthrough and ACCENTUATED pores! I’ve used drugstore Cover Girl Powder that has a longer lasting finish than this bizarrely expensive product.

Thanks to Instagram, the “dewy dumpling” look (using La Mer’s Powder) is trending, which is horrifying to those with oily skin. There’s a fine line between spot-highlighting for a slight glow, and covering your entire complexion in a powder that coats you in shine, yet does nothing to control oil. All for $110 no less! Let’s leave this one for the dry skinned ladies. ​

​About 1 hour into the party, my face began to itch horribly. I scampered to a bathroom, and found that my face had turned orange like an Oompa Loompa! I called my salon-owning friend in, practically hyperventilating, and asked if she had any makeup I could use because I needed to wash my face ASAP. It was from her that I learned all about oxidation! She said that she swore off Bare Minerals because it will often merge with skin oils and actually change color – hence the giant orange stain on my face. In addition, she said I was probably allergic to the Bismuth Oxychloride in the product, and that caused the itching. She had 2 other friends who had the same reaction!
 
I don’t know how anybody with even slightly oily skin uses this powder. It’s a relatively popular brand, but with my excessively oily skin it did NOT work! I did end up being brave enough to use the transparent Mineral Veil again, after seeing that it didn’t contain the dreaded Bismuth ingredient. It was just “ok”, but didn’t control oil enough to justify the hefty price tag. As for the powder foundation – I’m not really sure what caused it to oxidize, as I have tried a couple of mineral powders from different brands, and they did not do this. I think it just didn’t have enough ingredients to control oil, so once it mixed with the oils from my skin, disaster ensued. 

​This powder contains both Talc and Polyethylene, which are notably thick, heavy ingredients that do not meld well with oily skin. Talc does absorb oil to some degree, but when it becomes overly saturated, will create a thick paste. Polyethylene is a synthetic ingredient that creates a film over skin, which potentially could prevent sebum from surfacing. However, this could cause breakouts, as skin is smothered by the product and oxygen is not able to circulate. In addition, severely oily skin will simply ignore this barrier, and sebum will surface regardless. For these reasons, Colorstay Powder is not good for touch-ups. When you continually layer a Polyethylene product over itself, it will become cakey and sticky as it mixes with skin oils.
 
On the up side, this powder does contain Kaolin and Corn Starch, which are highly absorbent to skin oils. However, these 2 promising ingredients do not make up for the lousy effects of Talc and Polyethylene. If you’re going to use this product, use it 1x only, after freshly applied foundation. Then, switch to a transparent matte powder for touchups. 

​Unlike most colored setting powders I’ve used, I only need to retouch 1x per day when I’m at work. This seriously lasts 4 hours before re-powdering is necessary, and even though I’ve used it for the past 7 years, I’m still in awe every time I look in the mirror and don’t see a hideous gloss all over my face.

For anybody who is 100% against mica, silicone (dimethicone), talc, pearl powder, bismuth oxychloride, and artificial ingredients, this will be their holy grail. I’m incredibly acne prone, but this stuff is so gentle and light weight that I’ve barely suffered from any breakouts all the years I've used it. 

The ingredients in this are minimal, they don't load it up with unnecessary fillers or chemicals. The rice starch is a great oil absorber, which helps foundation last longer and prevents streaking. It does contain talc, so if you have known sensitivities to that ingredient, you’ll want to avoid this one. I've found that I only have a bad reaction to talc if it's included with other pore clogging ingredients, like dimethicone (which Palladio's formula does not contain). If it's one of those days where I need light weight extra coverage over my foundation, this is my go-to choice. ​

TO APPLY: 
BEFORE applying foundation or eye shadow, use a fluffy powder brush to apply Mattify ULTRA over your entire face (including eye lids!) This powder is transparent, so it will not interfere with your other makeup products. It becomes invisible upon blending. 

Proceed to apply foundation, eye shadow, blush, and highlighter as usual. The ULTRA Powder acts as an oil-control primer base, allowing all makeup to be longer lasting. ​

Why Should Mattify ULTRA Powder for Oily Skin be a Staple in Your Wedding Day Makeup Bag? 

#1 
First off, Mattify ULTRA functions as both an oil-control primer AND a setting powder. This means you get double the oil control from 1 singular product. Not only will it help prevent makeup from streaking and smudging, it also protects pores from clogging due to heavy foundations and concealers.

​#2
Second, ULTRA Powder blurs pores without smothering them, for a fresh natural matte finish. It adds no color or texture to your skin, as to not look heavy or thick, since it contains no Talc. Applied with a fluffy powder brush, it will give you the airbrushed finish of your dreams! 
​

#3
Third, ULTRA Powder is long lasting and does not become saturated by skin oils quickly. With specialized ingredients designed to absorb 3x its weight in oil, you will see a noticeable difference using this product VS common face powders that claim oil control. Very oily skin types report having to blot within ½ hour of using other transparent powders, but with ULTRA Powder can go nearly 2 hours before shine even begins to peek through.

#4
Fourth, ULTRA Powder does not cause photo flash back! Long a nightmare of brides and bridesmaids, ULTRA Powder will not cause you to have an obnoxious blotchy-white complexion. The ingredients which cause flash-back are Titanium Oxide and Zinc Oxide.  They are often found in sunscreen, and have a thick white consistency. While ULTRA Powder does contain Titanium Oxide, it is only present at the dispersion of 3%, not nearly enough to cause flash-back. In addition, the formula is finely milled and sifted, resulting in a light weight face powder. 

So after all this, who should NOT use ULTRA Powder on their wedding day? Those with very dry, patchy, or flaky skin. You instead will want to look for hydrating cream foundations, and apply only a very light dusting of tinted powder, rather than transparent, for the most natural look. Makeup setting sprays for dry skin are out there as well! Try MILK Hydro Grip Spray or Urban Decay All Nighter Extra Glow. 


ADDED BONUS:
Even men in the wedding party can use ULTRA Powder if they are worried about shine in photos!  This powder goes on clear and is completely undetectable. It acts as invisible shine control for anybody with oily skin!