If you find the look of an oily t-zone (forehead, nose, chin) to be unattractive there are many ways to remedy the situation. In terms of skincare, using a clay-based facial masque will cut down the amount of oil your t-zone produces. For a daily fix, however, we can turn to cosmetics. In my earlier post about antioxidant serums I mentioned the Paula’s Choice Antioxidant Concentrate which comes in a mattifying formula specifically for this problem. The silicone formla absorbs oil so that your forhead stays oil-free. You can also buy ‘primers’ for the skin which similarly contain silicone to absorb excess oil production but be warned that silicone can cause clogged pores for some people. It hasn’t been a problem with me. I recommend trying the Smashbox Photofinish Primer or any other silicone-based primer for that matter.

Just apply a bit of this before your sunscreen and a tiny bit afterwards to keep your forehead shine-free.

But for some people this isn’t enough to keep the oil away so let’s look at some other stuff to help.

Now shiny skin can be the product of oily skin or an overly hydrating facial product or simply a shiny sunscreen. The best way to mattify this is to sweep a powder over the shiny areas, this will keep them at day for hours. The picture above is of MAC Blot Powder which is my personal favourite for this purpose. It has little to no colour so you won’t look like you’re wearing makeup and the silky formula literally blots excess oil while managing never to look ‘powdery’ or ‘cakey’ on the skin so you don’t get that overly matte look which can look unnatural.

The powder comes with a sponge applicator with which you can press into the areas with shine just before you leave your house to mattify them. This can, however, apply the powder too heavily which does not look good. A way to get around this is to buy a powder brush (online or at MAC), swirl the brush in the compact to pick up product and then gently buff the powder onto the face. This leaves you with nice non-oily looking skin.

Now i’m sure a lot of might be hesitant to use Blot Powder so here’s an alternative, blotting paper.

These are simply tissues that you take out of the dispenser and press into oily/shiny looking areas to absorb all the excess oil. They blot just as well as the powder and are easier to carry around. The ones pictured above are the ones I use from the Body Shop. You can even use toilet paper or paper napkins to blot your face.

So that’s how to cope with an oily face, buy some Blot Powder or some Blotting Tissues and soak that oil up!