Hmm… If you’d asked me a few months ago, I would have definitely replied “powder”. You know, as someone with oily skin, for years I thought that using powder products for my base was the right thing to do. God knows how many pans of Shiseido Pureness foundation I went through in my late teens and early twenties…
Then I moved on to liquid foundations and never really looked back. I still kept using mainly powder bronzers and blushes, though, more out of habit than anything else. But over the last few weeks, I’ve been obsessed with achieving the most natural-looking base as possible, one that would be undetectable on the skin even when using a magnifying mirror.
Well, I’m happy to report that I’ve found the perfect product combination for that, and they’re all cream or liquid formulas.
Primer: Since these days I only powder the areas I conceal, I find that using a mattifying primer helps my foundation stay put longer, so the Make Up For Ever Step1 Skin Equalizer Mattifying Primer has earned itself a premium spot in my everyday makeup bag.
Foundation: My most recent base product crush is the La Roche-Posay Effaclar BB Blur. You may read all about it here, but basically it’s a silicone-based BB mousse that is AMAZING at minimizing pores and fine lines while blurring the look of imperfections. AND it doesn’t require powdering.
Bronzer: My favorite bronzer at the moment is yet another blurring product, and it comes in the form of the YSL Les Sahariennes Sun-Kissed Blur Perfector. It’s a balm-to-powder formula that melts into the skin and makes you look like you’re glowing from within. I apply it all over my face and neck, focusing on the areas that tan first, and it gives me the most subtle, natural-looking radiance. I just can’t get enough of it!
Blush: The Chanel Le Blush Crème de Chanel is my all-time favorite cream blush formula, but sadly it seems to have been discontinued. The shade I’ve used today is Affinité, a beautiful cool-toned pink with a satin finish that lasts way longer on my oily skin than any powder blush I’ve ever tried.
Highlighter: As a finishing touch, I like to dab a couple of drops of the Revlon Photoready Skinlights in 100 Bare Light on my cheekbones. Again, the result is pretty subtle, but in real life you can definitely see a juicy sheen whenever the light hits the area.
And that’s for my complexion. As for eyeshadow (the only other category I can think of that offers both cream and powder alternatives), even though in general I prefer powders because they allow you to do everything from a simple wash of color to a complex smoky eye, on a day-to-day basis I tend to opt for the ease and speed of use of cream formulas. Lately, I’ve been getting a ton of use out of the Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in My Two Cents, a pretty coppery bronze.
And you, my friend, when you do your makeup, do you reach more often for cream/liquid or powder formulas?
It goes in phases with me, especially when it comes to blush! But for eyeshadow I almost always use powder.
This “all cream everything” is probably just a phase for me as well, but at the moment I’m really enjoying it!
I definitely prefer powder products with the exception of foundation- liquid all the way! I like liquid highlighters too but bronzers or blushes never seem to work for me.
Do you have issues with application or you just don’t like them on yourself as much as powder formulas?
All liquids and creams all the way! I have dry skin that gets dehydrated very easily and powders make my skin feel so dry and tight, it’s physically uncomfortable. I don’t wear foundation every day, but I do liquid or cream concealers (either Sephora Collection Gel Serum concealer or Glossier Stretch concealer), liquid highlighters (Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone or MAC Strobe Cream), and if I use blush (not always) I have a variety of gels, creams, and sticks.
I can see creams and liquids being the better option for someone with dry skin. The Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors have been on my wishlist for ages!
I love cream formulas, you can’t beat the ease of use of a good cream eyeshadow and the natural look of a cream blush. But for foundation I actually really like powder ones!
I have the Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation and quite like it, but most of the time I use it as a setting powder. What’s your favorite one?
I’m oily skinned too, and was also a powder devotee-until I started using the LRP Effaclar BB you mentioned. It’s fantastic! I’m in the market for a cream bronzer, I’ll try the YSL one on for size! Great post! 🙂
The BB Blur is amazing, it may very well be my favorite base product ever!
Let me know how you like the YSL cream bronzer if you do try it! 🙂
I use mostly powder blush and highlighters. Creams seem to fade faster or move around on me. I do own a couple pretty MAC cream blushes but I rarely reach for them. I own a Loreal liquid highlighter and MAC Strobe cream but I like powder highlighters better! Love you’re lipstick!
Thank you, Denise! MAC Fusion Pink was my first MAC lipstick ever and I’ve recently rediscovered my love for it.
I have oily skin and super-oily eyelids, so mostly powders. I often use cream or liquid foundation, though, but I always set with powder. I sometimes use cream blush and highlighter. The only cream eyeshadows that stay on for me are ColourPop’s.
I have oily skin, but luckily my lids aren’t! I’d LOVE to try ColourPop eyeshadows, but unfortunately I don’t have access to them. What do you think of them? Do you have any shade recommendations, should I ever be able to get my hands on some?
I hope ColourPop will continue to expand where it ships. They have so many great colors: Partridge, So Quiche, Coconut, I Heart This, Hammered, Lace, Bae, LaLa, Sequin, Get Lucky, On the Rocks.
It is a close call these days, but I think powder still wins. I do like cream products though, something I never thought possible about two years ago.
The right cream blush formulas are honestly those that last the longest on me. I usually opt for cream-to-powders rather than the sheeny ones, which tend to move around more.
Amateur organic chemist here, specializing in cosmetics. The reason you like the La Roche-Posay product so much is partly due in part to the dimethicone, but mostly because of the silica silylate. This “bulking agent” gives it the powdery finish, and ability to fill in pores and blur fine lines. Loose finishing powders are typically made of silica for the same reasons.
Additional fun facts: the La Roche-Posay BB product is anhydrous (doesn’t contain water), so it’s preservative free (bacteria needs moisture to survive/thrive). The formula also includes vitamins E and an ester of vitamin A, which may be too large to penetrate the epidermis, but is a nice inclusion, anyway.
Thank you so much for your informative comment, Anne, it’s really interesting! I like the fact that the BB Blur is preservative-free, I had not noticed that.
I don’t have a ton of cream products right now. It’s mostly liquid, mousse, or powders. I’d be happy to move on to creams but I always worry about the amount of silicones in my stuff. Too much and I break out.
I think that my breakouts are caused by hormones rather than what I put on top of my skin. Which means I can use pretty much anything, but can’t really prevent spots!
Ironically, I think my dry skin has made cream cheek products somewhat difficult for me. They tend to lift up patches of my foundation and are hard to blend over dry skin (since my skin just soaks up any moisture, it tends to “stick” and skip over my skin). I have been enjoying the Benefit Cha Cha tint, I think because it’s more of a liquid it doesn’t do that.
This shows that there really are no universal products or rules when it comes to makeup.
It’s great you’ve found a blush formula that works for your skin type!