Can a Drugstore Foundation Work for my Oily Skin?

Yes and No. It all depends on the ingredients of the foundation. If you have an oily skin you might be prone to breakouts so, each ingredient on that bottle matters! Some ingredients can cause irritation and acne. Yes acne! Down below I will be listing some foundations that work best for oily skin and how to layer it with your powders. Eventually, I will line up each ingredient of the foundation and what those ingredient do to your face.
What I usually recommend are mattifying foundation. Duh?! If you have an oily skin you’re probably thinking: “yes, mattifying primer, powder, setting spray etc…”
But, nope hold your thought because, it’s not that easy. If you’re using everything that’s matte you’re face will get cakey and it will also give the appearance of an older looking skin. That is why I alternate with picking a matte or normal/satin foundation for an oily skin.
Layering your Foundation
- If you’re setting your makeup with a mattifying powder and also baking and on top of that using a mattifying setting spray; I recommend a foundation with a normal/satin finish.
- If you’re on the go and don’t have the time to build up your makeup just a mattifying foundation will be amazing.
- If your skin works best on mattifying foundations alternate your primer or setting spray to a hydrating one. Say no, to the cake!
Some Great Foundations that Work Wonders
- Wet N Wild Photofocus Foundation (my favorite)
- Revlon ColorStay for Combo/Oily Skin
- Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless
- Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation
- COVERGIRL TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation
- Milani Conceal and Perfect 2-in-1 06 Sand Beige Foundation and …
Foundation Ingredients and WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES TO YOUR SKIN?
Explaining the table:
About Comedogenic (Acne), Irritation and Safety
The value of Comedogenic (tending to cause blackheads by blocking the pores of the skin) and Irritation from zero to five, the lower the better (the less chance it will happen).
Safety index from 1~9, the lower number means this ingredient is low hazard. Unlike comedogenic and irritation, Safety is a comprehensive index focus on safety on long term usage, according to harmful report from CIR, RTECS, FDA and other related information. The purpose of the index is more inclined to assess whether long-term injury of skin, cells or the human body.
Our data source include international experts, institutions and publications. If any the three column is blank, this meas there is no data (not indicate the ingredient is safe or unsafe).
Wet and Wild Photofocus

Ingredient | Function | Acne | Irritant | Safety |
Isododecane | ‧Solvent ‧Fragrance | 1 | ||
Cyclopentasiloxane | ‧Solvent ‧Emollient | 3 | ||
Water | ‧Solvent | 1 | ||
Glycerin | ‧Solvent ‧Moisturizer | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Cyclohexasiloxane | ‧Solvent ‧Emollient | 2 | ||
Dimethicone | ‧Emollient | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Butylene Glycol | ‧Solvent ‧Moisturizer | 1 | 0 | 1 |
PEG-10 Dimethicone | ‧Surfactant ‧Emollient | 3 | ||
Disteardimonium Hectorite | ‧Viscosity Control | 1 | ||
Adipic Acid/ neopentyl Glycol Crosspolymer | ‧Viscosity Control | 1 | ||
Caprylyl Glycol | ‧Moisturizer ‧Emollient | 1 | ||
Silica | ‧Viscosity Control | |||
Sodium chloride | ‧Viscosity Control | 1 | ||
Sorbitan sesquioleate | ‧Emulsifier | 1 | ||
Lecithin | ‧Moisturizer ‧Antioxidant ‧Emollient ‧Emulsifier | 1 | ||
Polyglyceryl-4 isostearate | ‧Emulsifier | 1 | ||
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/ 1 dimethicone | ‧Surfactant ‧Emulsifier | 3 | ||
Hexyl Laurate | ‧Emollient | 1 | ||
Polysilicone-11 | 1 | |||
Isopropyl titanium triisostearate | ‧Emollient ‧Emulsifier | 1 | ||
Laureth-12 | ‧Surfactant | 3 | ||
Phenoxyethanol | ‧Preservative | 4 | ||
Ethylhexylglycerin | ‧Moisturizer | 1 | ||
Mica | ‧Pigment | 2 | ||
Iron Oxides | ‧Pigment | 0 | 0 | 2 |
CI 77492 | ‧Pigment | 1 | ||
CI 77499 | ‧Pigment | 2 |
Do you want to check the ingredients of the foundations you currently own?
Check http://www.cosdna.com/ and it will do all the research you need.
Good luck, on picking the perfect foundation for your skin! Let me know if ya’ll like it and if the change in the foundation is making a difference on your oily skin. Also, let me know what drugstore foundations you like (for oily skin of course)
Can you do a post about the foundations you’ve used? Which ones you are currently using. Powders, setting spray etc? You’re makeup always looks amazing
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I definitely will do an update on what products I use
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