How to Apply the Best Foundation Look for Oily Skin

Understanding your skin type is crucial for curating your makeup bag with the right products that are going to work with your skin – not against it. This will help give you a flawless makeup look that promises long wear. If you’re not sure if you have oily skin, there are a few key oily skin type signs you can look for:

• Your skin feels greasy, even just a few hours after cleansing
• Your skin looks shiny on the cheeks and t-zone
• You have visible or enlarged pores
• Makeup slides off throughout the day
• Your skin is prone to breakouts

While the causes of oily skin are often genetic, certain products – including the wrong foundation – can clog pores and overstimulate the production of sebum. In addition to managing your skin type and concerns with a targeted skincare routine for oily skin, you should also be selecting oily skin-specific makeup formulations that mattify the complexion and reduce shine.

Choosing the best foundation for oily skin involves matching a product to the texture of your skin and making a personal decision based on how your skin feels. Beyond your choice of foundation, you can round out your makeup kit with mattifying primers and powders to control shine. Of course, makeup essentials are only part of the equation – application technique is just as important. Below, our experts share their top tips on how to apply foundation to oily skin and achieve a stunning look that holds in place.

This guideline applies to the entirety of your makeup bag – whether it is foundation, lipstick, or blush, oily skin will be amplified by any shiny or illuminating products.

Lancôme Australia's Beauty Director, Lara Srokowski, explains:

“Light-reflecting properties of satin finishes are lovely for dry skin, but luminisers tend to accentuate pores and make the skin look oilier. We recommend avoiding foundations that include descriptors such as “dewy” or “highlighting,” and opting for matte or powdered products instead.”

To determine which foundation is best for oily skin, you should always look for mattifying products or long-lasting formulas. Mattifying foundations contain pigments and various ingredients that help absorb oil, balance greasy areas, and leave your skin looking shine-free – without sliding off or disappearing throughout the day.

If you prefer a stick foundation over a liquid formula, we recommend the Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation Stick. It blends seamlessly, providing a beautiful matte finish and delivering 24-hour wear.

For those who prefer liquid formulas, the Teint Idole Ultra Wear range works on all skin types and boasts long-lasting, flawless coverage, placing it among the best makeup for oily skin. This product is our best liquid foundation for oily skin and is available in 45 shades – making it simple to find your perfect shade match. This foundation also provides medium- to full-coverage and contains Perlite and Salica (two oil-absorbing ingredients), which make it suitable for oily, shine-prone skin.

Makeup for oily skin should always start with a primer to help prepare your skin for foundation and prevent excess shine. Try an oil-free makeup primer such as La Base Pro Face Make-Up Primer to blur pores: giving you a smooth, flawless base and providing a long-lasting finish.

How to apply:

1. After cleansing and moisturising, wait five minutes and gently massage a thin, pea-sized amount of primer into your skin.
2. You might want to focus special attention on high-shine areas like the t-zone.
3. Wait for 60 seconds, allowing the primer to set, before applying foundation and concealer.

For precise and smooth application, you’ll want to blend your liquid foundation with a brush. By using a brush to apply foundation to oily skin, it will give a more blended and lighter finish. The type of brush you want to use will depend purely on the look you would like to achieve: a flat foundation brush will give you full coverage, while a buffing or stippling brush will provide a medium, modest coverage.

How to apply:

1. Pump a small amount of foundation on the back of your hand.
2. Apply your foundation for oily skin with one side of the brush – this ensures the foundation will disappear with the side of the brush that contains no foundation.
3. Lightly buff or blend it into the skin, starting from the middle of the face where you need more coverage.
4. Work the product outwards and build product as needed.

Particularly if you have oily skin, cleaning your makeup brushes is essential to prevent the spread of bacteria and get the best performance out of your products. For any brushes used to apply liquid foundation to oily skin, we suggest cleaning them once per week.

According to Lara Srokowski, concealer should be applied over your foundation for oily skin to avoid too much coverage – which can draw attention to imperfections, and make the skin look cakey.

“Once your foundation has been applied, you can touch up any imperfections with the concealer. This will require lightly tapping your concealer onto your skin, so layering is key.”

How to apply:

1. Squeeze a pea-sized amount of concealer on the back of your hand.
2. Use your fingers to warm up the product before application.
3. Use a concealer brush, beauty sponge, or clean fingers to dab the concealer onto the skin.

Over time, oily skin tends to become shiny and greasy, with makeup sliding and shifting throughout the day. In some areas of your face, your makeup may disappear altogether. That’s why we recommend setting your foundation for oily skin with a face powder to control high-shine areas and further mattify the skin.

Reach for a comfortable, lightweight setting powder like the Translucent Loose Setting Powder to finish your shine-free look and increase the wear of your foundation without disrupting colour. Back this up with a setting spray like our Fix It Forget It Spray to maximise the staying power of your makeup for oily skin.

How to apply:

1. Take a fluffy powder brush and swirl it into the loose setting powder, making sure to tap off any excess product.
2. Apply a dusting of powder across the areas that tend to get shiny first – your nose, chin, and forehead – to create an even canvas.
3. From there, begin blending your way out across your cheeks and jaw for a seamless finish.
4. Mist your setting spray all over the face to secure your stunning matte finish.

As our final tip to applying the best foundation for oily skin, we recommend controlling the amount of product you use to best suit the occasion and time of day. During the day, you will likely want to wear less foundation, as your look should feel transparent and natural. At night, your skin will require heavier coverage due to the artificial lighting.

If you plan to take your foundation from morning to midnight, visit our guide to the Best Liquid Foundation for Day to Night to learn more.

Mastering makeup for oily skin starts with a targeted skincare regime to keep your complexion refreshed. Next, learn about salicylic acid and how it benefits skin types prone to oil.