The dreaded afternoon shine.

If your skin is oily, or live in a humid climate, you know what I’m talking about. You peek at yourself in the mirror around 3 o’clock (or earlier…). Hello GLOW. This is the stuff dry skin girls dream of. They don’t understand that it’s much easier to add moisture to your face than to save makeup that is m e l t i n g off.

There’s a reason makeup removers formulated to take off waterproof mascara or heavy makeup are oil based. Our skin takes it upon itself to remove our makeup before the day is over. Unfortunately, no amount of mattifying primers, foundations, and powders can keep away the oil when you live in Florida with oily skin.

Help is on the way…You can bet if these touch up tools work for me, they’ll work for you!

Beat the Makeup Meltdown

The first step is to remove the oil. If you try to powder over oil, I’m sorry to say you will look like a cakey blotchy mess. I have a few tried and true tools you should always keep with you. But if you find yourself in a pinch, I have a secret item that will save your life.

Blotting papers are the simplest way to remove the oil buildup from your skin without altering your foundation base. You just take one out (or two…) and you press onto your face. I focus on my T-zone and use whatever fresh area is left on the rest of my face.

During the summer I end up having to use two. One for each half of my face. There are tons of brands out there, but some of my favorites are NYX blotting paper, Shisheido oil control, and Nars mattifying.

BeautyBlender Blotterazzi is a genius idea for reusable blotting. Sometimes I feel wasteful with blotting papers because you use them once and throw them out. When I found this I was so excited because you get so many more uses for your money.

I use these sponges the same way as the blotting papers. Another great thing about this product is that it’s a multitasker! These flat little sponges come in two’s in each slim container, so I use one for blotting, and another for refreshing my foundation.

What I mean by this is if you have access to a sink or water source, dampen the sponge and press on your face to refresh your base. This eliminates any cracks that may have appeared throughout the day as a result of all the mattifying products.

Now for the secret: brown napkins. If you don’t know what I mean, think Starbucks napkins. The brown paper towels that are often found in public bathroom dispensers also work. (We have these at work so I blot throughout the day!) 

These little guys are great blotters. I always keep these in the car as extra napkins, but they’re perfect in a pinch.

What Shine??

All you have to do is add powder and go about your day. Currently my favorite powder is the Charlotte Tilbury face powder because it gives you that airbrushed look, and it’s also a pressed powder. I can throw it in my purse (actually I have two, one for my makeup back and one for my purse so I’m never without.) Either way it travels so much better than loose powder.

If you’re looking for other products to combat oily skin, check out my post! It’s a long one…but I break down each step in the makeup application process. It includes my favorite items for achieving a matte base.

Give these steps a try and let me know if they work for you! Everyone will wonder how your face stays so flawless. But it can be our little secret…or share with your friends!