Calling Out Some Over-Hyped Face Powder Products: NOT for Oily Skin!

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!

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Om...
NO!

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…    

BAD #1
Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrushed Finish Powder
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The main ingredients are Talc, Mica and Dimethicone! ​These are 3 very unfriendly ingredients for oily, acne prone skin. 

​Talc and Dimethicone create a thick paste that clogs pores, the effects of which are intensified if the user has oily skin. Mica only adds shine to the skin, and should be reserved for eyeshadow and appropriately placed highlighters. In addition, this powder contains Rosa Multiflora Flower Wax. While we give them props for using a plant-derived ingredient, it’s still a rubbery wax that’s likely to clog pores. 

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrushed Finish Powder

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. ​

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​BAD #2
La Mer’s “The Powder”
Nestled among some unpronounceable synthetics, along with a few high-quality natural ingredients, we find the same offenders: Dimethicone and Mica. Plus, I can’t really figure out why such a pricey brand would add synthetic colors like Red 7, Red 30 and Yellow 5. 

La Mer "The Powder"

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. ​

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​We’re not just here to target overpriced powders...there are also drugstore brands and lower cost items that underperform.

​BAD #3
E.L.F. Halo Glow Setting Powder and Mineral Pearls

While I'm a fan of quite a few E.L.F. products, these two powders were some of the worst for I ever tried on my oily skin. Not only do they have zero oil-control, they add an unwanted sheen to the complexion. These are especially bad to use when you might be photographed, as they contain mica, which reflects light and adds shine. 

E.L.F. Halo Glow Setting Powder

​These E.L.F. Mineral Pearls are popular among people who want to achieve a glowy all-over complexion without using a separate highlighter. Sadly though, this powder just makes skin look greasy and oddly colored. I'm not even convinced this would look good on dry skin - it's just too glossy. Perhaps if a small tapered brush were used to apply it only to upper cheek bones and maybe under brow bones, you might have success with this product. 

E.L.F. Mineral Pearls Powder

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BAD #4
Bare Minerals Original 

I practically have PTSD when I think of this brand.
 
About 10 years ago before I really started researching makeup ingredients, I got suckered in by one of those mall kiosks sales people.  They sold me the Mineral Veil Loose Setting Powder, and Orignal Foundation, after a lengthy tutorial on the back of my hand. The makeup seemed soft and silky, plus it gave a nice finish that didn’t feel heavy. I was heading to a party that night, and couldn’t wait to try my new makeup! 

Bare Minerals Original Powder Foundation

​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. 

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​BAD #5
Revlon Colorstay 16hr Powder for Oily Skin 

Ok so I absolutely LOVED this face powder after trying for the first time. It goes on silky smooth and provides an amazingly flawless finish, plus provides added coverage. It appears to erase pores, gives an overall uniform look, and the illusion of perfect skin.  The bad part? It does not last for more than 2 hours on oily skin and refuses to control oil. 

I kept it in my bag so I could test how it would function with touch-ups after my skin inevitably got oily. The result was not good. After I applied the second layer it felt heavy, and after about an hour, my skin was thick with makeup. I could see tiny cracks in the powder around my eyes and mouth. It looked like a beige film on my face – not natural or flattering at all. Then, I researched ingredients, and found out why…

Revlon Colorstay 16hr Powder

​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. 

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Now, a few suggestions for powders that actually DO work on oily skin... 

Best Pick #1
Ok, so it’s no big surprise that I’m including the Mattify brand of powder for a post on their website – but the reason I became involved in guest posting for this brand is because I absolutely adore their products for my oily skin! This ULTRA Powder was the very first one I found that would control oil, and did not make me break out. 

Every morning, I use this powder under and over my foundation, plus for touchups throughout the day. It doesn’t feel heavy or cakey. I love that it can be used as a primer and a setting powder, because my skin needs all the oil control it can get, without having a thick layer of color sitting on top of my makeup.

Mattify ULTRA Best Powder for Oily Skin

​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. 

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Best Pick #2
This is probably the lightest weight tinted pressed powder I’ve ever used, and I’ve tried 30+ from high-end to drugstore brands. For some reason, when tint is added, many pressed powders look heavy. Add that to any fluctuations in heat or humidity within your environment, and it can quickly start to feel like you’re wearing an actual mask.

Kosas’s Cloud Powder is aptly named, because it goes on soft and fluffy. It also comes in a variety of shades, from warm to cool undertones. Blending is a breeze, but I’ve found that it’s best to use this immediately after applying foundation, for a poreless look. If you are using it to retouch, be sure to use a blotting technique rather than long sweeping motions, to avoid streaking your makeup. 

Kosas Cloud Set Pressed Powder for Oily Skin

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Best Pick #3​
​This is one of the few tinted powder variations I've found that has super oil-control abilities. If you prefer tinted over transparent, this brand is an excellent choice. It feels light, and since it’s loose powder it has superb blendability, plus creates an airbrushed finish. The puff it comes with is firm - great for pressing the powder onto your T-Zone, without smudging foundation. 

Palladio Loose Powder for Oily Skin

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. ​

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