The Mattifyers: Staying Shine Free In Summer

Oily to combination skin girls unite in summer for the one challenge of staying shine free and matt without having to cake on the powder and looking overdone. In my typical experimental way I dilly dallied in different ways of going around this problem and came to one solution, Mattifying Primers. 

Primer is a step I rarely miss, as it has phenomenal effects in making my skin feel smoother, pores appear smaller and I find that my foundation and concealer blend beautifully over the top. Not to mention the increasing longevity of my makeup! Here are a couple of my favourites that provide the perfect base for foundation, leaving skin smooth and flawless.

My recent one of choice has been the Estee Lauder latest release, Matte Perfecting Primer (£21.50). Which I wrote about in more detail here, for feeling very moisturising on the skin yet having phenomenal effects. The difference when using this on half my face was really noticeable as well as making foundation application so much easier giving my skin a really smooth surface for makeup.

An oldie but a goodie is Givenchy Mister Matt (£25) which was a firm favourite of mine for a while but after trying the Estee Lauder this just feels very siliconey in comparison. The overall effects are the same as Estee Lauder yet after a long day Estee Lauder kept my skin, especially pores, looking nicer the longest.

One thats extremely hard to get hold of but well worth it if you do is the Institut Esthederm Pure System Shine Control Fluid (£23.95), which I don't see myself finishing for a while as a little goes an extremely long way. It feels really moisturising for a mattifying primer but oh boy does this work miracles! Probably thanks to a little ingredient called Ginko Bilboa which absorbs sebum. It's an excellent makeup base as feels totally invisible and weightless on the skin as opposed to Estee Lauder which appears to have some light reflective particles in it.

Last and least of my favourites is the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer (£52), which feels absolutely incredible on the skin, definitely the nicest out of the bunch but doesn't provide the same mattifying effects as Estee Lauder and Institut Estederm. It's the one I grab on days where my skin is leaning more towards to combination side than oily but as it's mineral is something I use if I've had a couple of breakouts. It does leave a slight white sheen on the skin which isn't noticeable on someone of my colouring but definitely something to shy away from if you're a little darker.

If you hadn't guessed already my top 2 would have to be Estee Lauder Matte Perfecting Primer and Institut Estederm Pure System Shine Control Fluid. There are obviously other little handy things like Oil Control sprays and blotting sheets but I find mattifying Primers to be the most effective as they provide a layer between my skin and foundation that I like to imagine controlling all the shine. Oil Sprays such as Urban Decay De Slick, seem to add to the oil control but there's no way of telling if they actually work but you know me, every little helps! 

What do you use to control shine? Are you as into primers as I am?