5 Tips For Finding The Best Makeup For Your Skin Type

Makeup addicts, we all love makeup, but not every product loves us back. It can be so frustrating to read one reviewer calling a product the Holy Grail, while another calls it a hot mess. The root of this frustration usually stems back to skin types: normal (the lucky chosen few), dry, sensitive, combination and oily. Here are five tips to finding the best (Holy Grail status) makeup products for your skin type:

Dry Skin

If this is your skin type be sure to avoid powders as much as possible. Makeup artist to the stars, Daniel Martin, tells Vogue that powder-based products “tend to sit on dehydrated skin, and just look like makeup.” And no one wants makeup that settles into fine lines and adds a couple of years. Martin adds that the dry skin type is lacking in hydration, so creamy and moisturizing formulas that soothe the skin are ideal.

Sensitive Skin

When it comes to this type of skin make sure that you check ingredients religiously. Look for products with more natural ingredients. These will usually contain fewer and organic ingredients that you can actually pronounce. Avoid makeup products with unnecessary, synthetic fragrances, too.

 Combination Skin

In this case look for perfectly balanced products. You need a makeup product that’ll absorb the extra oil on your face and fight off dryness. Transformative products (e.g. a product that can go from a creamy application to a powdery finish) work great for combination skin types.

Oily Skin

Joshua Zeichner, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist in NYC, tells Cosmopolitan that he recommends that his clients with oily skin, “Look for formulas that are oil-free and tout water as their first ingredient.” The cosmetic dermatologist also highly recommends products containing dimethicone to help “absorb excess oil” and salicylic acid to prevent acne. Unfortunately, the oily skin type is the most acne prone type.

Oils

Many luxury, high-end makeup products on the market today are infused with oils. Oils aren’t inherently bad, but different oils work best on different skin types. Cosmopolitan recommends these oils for each skin type. Coconut oil helps dry skin retain its moisture and prevents the skin from flaring up. Marula oil works great on combination skin because of its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Tea tree oil helps oily skin types kill bacteria and battle acne.

These tips will help you achieve a glowing, goddess look by working with — not against — your skin type. Of course, makeup essentials like City Color Cosmetics primers will help you achieve the ultimate flawless look. When it comes to make-up just make sure to do your research and be aware of your skin type so that you can find the best and most natural look for you.

 

Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.