Oily skin girls, stand up! Let’s be real, you don’t want to be talking to a friend or colleague and notice they're distracted by the shine from your face looking like your makeup is dripping off. Or you decide to skip foundation altogether because you’re frustrated with not finding foundations that work well with your oily skin.
As an oily-skin girl myself, I’ve tested so many foundations on the market, so you don’t have to! Before we get into the foundations themselves, let’s talk a little about oily skin and some good practices. Having oily skin can be challenging, as it tends to produce excess sebum, which can lead to shine, enlarged pores, and acne breakouts. However, with the right foundation and makeup application techniques, you can achieve a flawless and long-lasting look.
How to Apply Foundation on Oily Skin: Good Practices
Start with a Clean Canvas: Properly cleanse your skin before applying makeup. This will create a clean canvas for your foundation to adhere to and help prevent clogged pores.
Set with Powder: After applying your foundation, set it with a light dusting of translucent powder. This will help absorb excess oil and keep your foundation in place for longer.
Remove Makeup Thoroughly: At the end of the day, make sure to remove your makeup thoroughly using a gentle cleanser or makeup remover formulated for oily skin. This will help prevent clogged pores and breakouts.
Practice Good Skincare: Consistent skincare routine is crucial for managing oily skin. Use oil-free and non-comedogenic skincare products, including cleansers, toners, and moisturizers, that are specifically formulated for oily skin to help regulate oil production and keep your skin balanced.
AND DRINK YOUR WATER!
5 Starter Foundations For Oily Skin
Jumping into my five top recommended foundations for oily skin. Between having oily skin myself and working on clients with oily skin, here’s what I’ve seen to work from the ones I’ve tried.
Teint Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Matte Foundation
This foundation has a natural matte finish which is perfect for oily skin. I love it because it’s lightweight and not cakey. This is my current favorite that I’ve been wearing faithfully for EVERY occasion. From an everyday makeup look to a night out on the town.
Soft Matte Complete Foundation
NARS
I recently used this foundation on a bride, and the application plus the finish eliminated the stress of being oily and having to touch up throughout the day! Imagine dancing the night away and realizing your foundation didn’t move. Since foundation is the base of a makeup look - it is crucial you’re using a good one.
Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
Fenty Beauty
The name says it all! This soft matte long-wear foundation saves the girlies. I mean, who doesn’t love everything Fenty Beauty anyway? The key to this foundation is making sure you grab the right shade and that it matches your undertone.
ColorStay™ Longwear Makeup For Combination/Oily Skin
Revlon
If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly foundation option, then this is your match! From the application to the amount that comes in the bottle, you can’t go wrong. One thing I love about this line is that it calls out if the product is for "combination/oily skin" or "normal/dry skin." When shopping for this foundation, grabbing a shade from the “combination/oily” skin selection is the direction you want to go.
Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15 Foundation
MAC
Lastly, MAC has been around for a long time, and there are people who stick with MAC once they’ve found something that works. This was the same for me! When I first started building my makeup kit, I ran straight to purchase this foundation. Not only did I work at a MAC store for some time and learned about this foundation, but other artists raved about it as well. They have a large range of shades to choose from, and having a foundation with SPF is a plus! The finish is like satin and perfect for us oily skin girlies!
I could go on and on. The trend with all of these foundations is that they have a matte finish and are typically lightweight. The key is to avoid heavy or creamy foundations, as they can make your skin look greasy. Ultimately, everyone's skin is unique, so it may take some trial and error to find the perfect foundation and makeup routine for your oily skin, but these foundation options are a great place to start. Don't be afraid to experiment with different products and techniques to find what works best for you!
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Now as far as how “common” it is, I’m not exactly sure. However, what I will say is that whenever I happen to share this concept with other individuals (clients included), 8 times outta 10, I basically get the same type of response. First, they look at me like I’m crazy, then they pause and reflect and then their mouth opens wide as if in shock that my sex-ex just may be onto something…BIG.
Now before we get into all of this, I’ll let you know, off the rip, that I can’t find an exact science to back his theory up specifically.
At the same time, though, there is other types of data surrounding the topic of sex and what it does to our minds that could cause you to believe that he’s not totally off base in thinking that a “sex clock” just might be an actual thing; that it’s something that hell, he should at do a Ted Talk — or YouTube video or Instagram Live — about so that more folks won’t think that they are going low-key insane should it happen to them.
Ah, sex clocks. Let me explain further.
This Is How Sex Affects Your Memory
GiphyIn order to lay some foundation here, let’s first talk about how sex affects your memory, in general. For starters, did you know that vagina-penis intercourse has actually been proven to improve both your learning capabilities as well as your memory (it also decreases anxiety and depression)? Probably the easiest way to explain how and why is when you engage in this type of sexual intimacy, it strengthens your hippocampus which is the part of your brain that is not only responsible for learning and memory but how you process emotions too. Okay, so intercourse between a man and a woman boosts memory power and also taps into one’s emotions. Bookmark that.
HuffPost published an article several years back entitled, “Sex And The Memory of Sexual Experience.” Two things that the article said was “Researchers are seeing that certain areas of the brain light up depending on the thoughts, actions and experiences of a person” and “The rush of 'love' chemicals; dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, opiates and other neurotransmitters, fill our body and brain quickly to produce the incredible feelings of love and attachment…” to the point where, if the action (in this case sex) happens several times, it can actually “codify” (makes plans or arrangements) your brain — and stays there.
Once that transpires, “our memories dictate how we will feel about a similar situation because our brain and body is coded from past experience.”
Now, if your brain can “code” the experience, don’t you think that it can also “code” the time when you were first introduced to the experience? Let’s keep going.
The Impact That Nostalgia Has on Your Sex Life
GiphyAh, nostalgia. If there’s one thing that is underestimated, far more than it ever should be when it comes to relationships, it’s that. In fact, I was recently in a counseling session with an engaged couple who happen to be each other’s first love.
What they are working through right now is if the potency of being each other’s first love is enough to get them through just how much they’ve changed since they first dated one another (chile, I totally get it; check out “What Happens When 'The One Who Got Away'...Comes Back?”). A part of the reason why it’s hard for them to process all of this clearly is because of the power of what nostalgia can actually do to a person.
Case in point. Although nostalgia — you know, reflecting on the past — can create warm fuzzies (if what happened in the past is good), it’s also the ultimate “editor” in the sense that, if you’re not careful, it can put you intoa state of denial about the entire experience. Not only that butnostalgia can get you to idealize situations too.
I totally get this because the guy who introduced me to the whole sex clock idea, although sex with him was pretty good (at least most of the time) and he actually was my first as far as certain types of sexual…umm…things…LOL, overall, he kind of was an ass yet because my memories of him would go to how he made me feel sexually first, whenever those texts would come, that would be the initial thing that I would think about — and if I did indulge him, it wasn’t until after a couple of weeks (or months) of copulation, with him, AGAIN, that I’d realize…”Ohhh, this is why I stopped sleeping with your ass…because you are an ass.” (Not mean or anything like that, just…selfish AF.)
Anyway, if you can relate on any level to what I’m saying here, just like the nostalgic memories of Thanksgiving or Christmas can do a real number on you every time the holiday season rolls around, why couldn’t the same thing happen if you recall the time of year when you had some amazing sex with someone and that month or season creeps back around too?
Yep. Bookmark all of this as well as we keep on going.Yes, Other Factors Play a Role in Your Peak Desires for Sex
GiphyIf you add to all of what I’ve already stated, the power of sexual chemistry — whew, chile. Definitely a part of the reason why some people tend to have a bigger sexual impact on us than others typically starts with sexual chemistry because that is all about the immediate physical attraction that you feel towards someone else — and that can’t be faked nor does it happen with just anyone.
Shoot, even when I reflect on my sexual past now, although I had pretty satisfying sex with about 75 percent of my partners, there are some who, to this day, are able to bring a certain smile to my face that others do not — and it’s because of the magnetic connection we shared and yes, having a deep mutual attraction definitely played a huge role in that.
If you then factor in the hormone levels/sex drive that you had at the time of engaging someone who you had a strong sexual connection with (for instance, if it’s someone from your 20s when most folks’ hormones are absolutely raging), the type of relationship that you had with that individual (for example, even if you weren’t officially together, they still made you laugh or feel safe or impacted you in a way that others didn’t or haven’t) and even if you take into account some of the other monumental things that may have been transpiring in your life at the time when you were being intimate with them.
Again, doesn’t it make sense that around the time when they first entered your world, sexually, your mind, body, and spirit may go back there and relive it all on some level, every time that time of year rolls around? Even if it’s just for a brief moment?
At Least Consider the Idea of a “Sex Clock” Before Taking Action
GiphyHmph. With all that has been covered, suddenly a “sex clock” makes sense, doesn’t it? I mean, even I will say that what’s truly wild about all of this is? Y’all, although the guy who brought it into my own psyche and I are pretty cool to this day, it’s been over two decades since we’ve messed around, and yet — a part of what caused me to even pitch this topic is because I thought about fall, how October is my favorite month of the year and yep, for a moment, he came to mind. Why? Because we started having sex in October. That damn sex clock.
So, when it comes to your own sex clock, just what should you do with this kind of information? I mean, you know how the saying goes: an ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. Keeping that in mind, if you consider that memories, nostalgia, sexual chemistry, and your hormones are all science-based reasons to “crave” a blast from your past (pun intended and not intended), then when…whoever he is comes to your mind, now there is no need to overthink it or stress out about it. Maybe it’s just your sex clock alarm going off.
Acknowledge it. Woosah through it. And really ponder if replying to that text or DM is actually worth it.
Because sometimes alarms remind us to do something.
Other times? They warn us to wake up.
Especially when a (so-called) sex clock is involved, chile.
Feel me? Now, more than ever…I bet you do.
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