The oily skin summer skincare edit

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen me complain about the heat wave that recently hit the East Coast. I notoriously do not do well in hot weather, and I really don’t do well when it’s also humid, but I’ve finally perfected the art of a skincare routine for my combination-oily skin that keeps my skin hydrated and balanced without feeling heavy or greasy.

As I noted in my previous post, skin prep is the most important part of making sure my makeup continues to look fresh throughout the day and doesn’t turn into an oily mess. I’m not loyal to many products and while there are a few products in this post that could be interchangeable, many of these are absolute necessities for my routine. 

Cleanser (kind of) and essence: I skipped talking about cleanser because I’m generally not super picky with cleansers. I’m still enjoying this Rhode cleanser that I talked about in this post. Immediately after cleansing I like to add a hydrating toner to immediately start adding hydration to my skin, since even with oily skin, dehydrated skin causes my skin to over-produce oils to compensate for the dryness. This Curel Water Essence has been perfect for the summer months. I feel my skin retaining more hydration and this really feels like splashing water onto my skin

After the essence step, I will always add a BHA toner with salicylic acid (this one is my holy grail favorite, and use code BEAUTYUNHYPED for 15% off!), and then follow with, you go it – more hydrating steps. 

Hydrating layers! 

Every skincare routine is a bit of a choose your own adventure moment, and depending on how my skin feels and whether I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors and/or at the pool, I’ll opt for different products. If my skin is feeling pretty good, I’ll use a lighter hydrating serum that’s heavy on hyaluronic acid. Most of these work more or less the same on me, but I recently started incorporating the Peach and Lily Glass Skin Serum, and I don’t think I’ll be straying from it. In addition to hyaluronic acid, it also has beta glucan (read: lock in hydration!), niacinamide, and peptides for skin support. The super lightweight water serum consistency layers so well with all the other products in my routine and it absorbs without feeling sticky or heavy. In short, this serum packs a strong punch and helps streamline my routine, and bonus that this goes on sale fairly frequently at Ulta.

If I’ve been outdoors under the sun all day, I’ll either add or substitute Glass Skin with the new-to-me Rhode Glazing Milk, which in addition to beta glucan, is also loaded with ceramides, while magnesium, zinc, and copper provide additional barrier support. It’s a little heavy some days during the summer on my oily skin, but I’ve found it to be a really beneficial layer to add to dehydrated skin, and I just know this will be an essential during the winter. 

Leave a comment

In the constant pursuit of even skin, I cannot emphasize enough how fantastic the Mother Science Molecular Hero serum has worked for my skin. Yes, it seems like everyone and their mother (haha….)  has been raving about this, and the malassezin, a super antioxidant, started working wonders on my skin within a couple of weeks. It has helped make my skintone look much more even, and some of my stubborn dark spots have finally started to lighten. Although this could be used in place of Vitamin C, I like to use this one at night while still using a vitamin c (p.s. This one is my current favorite). 

All the caffeine, please: Because I’m always trying to get rid of my dark circles and undereye puffiness for good, I’m always trying new eye creams. As far as depuffing eye creams go, the Innbeauty Project Bright and Tight Eye Cream is excellent. It has caffeine, vitamin c, and tranexamic acid to help combat dark circles. My eyes (and my body) loves anything with caffeine in it, so I’m not surprised that I like this so much, but what I’m enjoying about this particular product is how it feels lightweight but still kind of cushy and bouncy under my eyes, which sets a really nice base for any makeup I apply over it. Since I’ve started using this, I’ve noticed fewer issues with concealer settling into my fine lines, which I don’t think is a coincidence.

Even though I have oily skin, I still like to seal in my skincare with a light moisturizer unless my SPF is a dewier, more moisturizing formula (like this Paula’s Choice SPF). For the summer, I basically exclusively wear gel cream or water gel formulas. If it’s extra hot and humid, the Peach and Lily Glass Skin Water Gel Moisturizer has about the lightest and most refreshing gel serum texture that still provides lasting hydration. It wouldn’t be enough moisture for me in the winter, but for the heat wave, this was all I could bear putting on my skin. 

For regular hot summer days, the Superegg Sound Renewal Serum Cream (code BEAUTYUNHYPED for 15% off!) has been a favorite for a few years now. It has the perfect gel cream formula that has a touch more heft than the Peach and Lily, but still feels ultra lightweight. Both of these absorb quickly and sit beautifully under SPF and makeup without pilling, so it really just depends what kind of texture I’m craving that day.

Extra credit: I’m very new to bronzing drops, but since I’ve been outside a little more than usual, my body has much more color, and my face tends to be a few shades lighter. It’s nothing that some self-tanner can’t fix, but I’ve also enjoyed bronzing drops to mix into my moisturizer for an extra bit of glow, and the Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Hue Drops is the perfect product for this. The light golden bronze tint is sheer enough that I can actually wear these on their own without making my face look deeper than my body, and the light gel serum texture mixes flawlessly with the 2 moisturizers I’ve been using. I’ve even used this on its own as a moisturizer and loved how it worked with my skin. 

Last but not least!! Since sunscreen is probably the most important product to protect your skin and the last step before I apply my makeup, the wrong choice of sunscreen can throw off my makeup for the entire day. It has to feel comfortable to apply, sit well under makeup, and not get greasy throughout the day and I have 2 options I’ve been reaching for all summer:

• Paula’s Choice Youth Extending Daily Hydrating SPF 50 (15% off with code BEAUTYUNHYPED) – a long-time favorite for good reason. It’s lightweight, applies like a thin lotion that absorbs quickly, layers well with itself and under makeup, and it has a natural glow that doesn’t get any more shiny throughout the day. On very hot and humid days I can skip moisturizer with this. 

• Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF 50 – my most used SPF of the summer and perfect for people with oily skin. It has a thick feel at first, but it blends onto my skin really beautifully and doesn’t feel heavy once it’s applied. It leaves a soft matte finish, not a totally bone dry matte, so makeup still applies and blends easily over it, and it actually makes a huge difference in keeping my skin more matte throughout the day. I bought this in the UK at Space NK, but if you’re in the US it’s totally worth the extra shipping cost of ordering this from Harrods.

If you’re eager to sift through all my favorite skincare, I already have a handy list here. I’m a makeup girl through and through, and I sometimes forget about the fun in skincare but for all you skincare girlies, tell me – what are you loving? What are your summer must haves?

Share

Leave a comment