A friend of mine loves wet n wild tinted moisturizers. I tried it once and it was surprisingly pretty decent. I worry about the cheap ingredients, but shes been using it for years and i see no damage to her skin.

BB creams- i recently tried these and i was surprised at how much more they covered up than foundations. Went on smoothly and stayed matte for a little longer. It didnt cover my dark marks but it covered better than foundations and powders.

Neutrogenas was good at coverage and was easily applied. Not sure how high end youre looking to go. The higher end makeup doesnt seem to be that great at creating products for really oily skin. Almay, physicians formula, and neutrogena have good reputations for working well with acne and oily skin so i would start there and maybe save some money.

I should note that i cannot use foundations, powders, or tinted moisturizers because i eventually break out, get lots of blackheads, and i have some darker acne spots that require a concealer. But my skin type is oily/sensitive/allergy prone/acne prone/combo. If you dont have all those aspects of skin type, i would suggest trying the bb cream first. Maybelline has a very good one. Comes out white and then matches your skin tone. If i didnt have problematic skin, i would definitely have kept using it. I cant say it did a whole lot for managing oil, but the coverage and finish was pretty good. Since i have stupid skin, i am only able to use concealer as it does not clog pores ever and the coverage is only where i need it and it works better than anything ive tried. I sort of trained myself to accept my complexion as is. But i always give new products a shot to see if they will surprise me!!

Thanks for the advice! I'd heard about the BB creams before but I didn't know exactly what they were. Would you recommend using that instead of a moisturizer or with a moisturizer? My skin tends to eventually become very oily by the end of the day, however this could be because of the moisturizer I'm currently using. I recently had a bout of really dry, flaky, red, sensitive skin that was so sensitive the only thing I could use on my face was cetaphil (no acne products). Even then the cetaphil made my skin burn, which should tell you something about how bad it was because cetaphil is specifically designed to be gentle. I finally figured out it was linked to the face wash I was using prior to that, which is what finally prompted me to switch to natural products that don't have harsh ingredients. I'm still using the cetaphil moisturizer, mostly because it was really expensive and I don't want to waste it. But it's a little heavy on my skin.

I don't really have "problem skin" (beyond acne/oil issues), but I have had sensitive/allergic issues in the past so like you I am becoming more wary of the ingredients in the products I use. I also am not a huge fan of foundation. It's more of a texture thing for me. I can usually wear it for the morning and be fine, but by mid-day once my skin has started to produce oil it just feels really gross on my skin. I have the urge to go wash it off my face. Your probably thinking by now, "then just don't wear make up!" But the reason I'm trying to find a good product is I've just recently graduated from college and I'm starting my first professional job in the fall. My skin has always been an issue that makes me very self concious. I have a lot of acne scarring and redness on my cheeks from previous breakouts. It makes my skin seem so much worse since I'm always so red in those areas. I'm just worried that people won't take me seriously in the professional world since these are traits that a teenager usually has. So finding a good make up is starting to become more important to me.

Sorry that I've basically dumped all of my skin woes on you all! I'm just glad I've found a group of people who actually understand and sympathize with these problems. My friends are the kind of people who were blessed with good skin. They're the kind of people who maybe get 2 or 3 zits every couple of months and for them that's a "bad breakout," so they usually can't offer me very good advice.

For anyone else who is interested, I found today while I was out that Garnier has an oil control formula of BB cream! I decided to buy it so I'll give it a try. I'll let everyone know how it goes!

Well, i tested out the bb cream with my moisturizer (because im nuts about my particular sunscreen) and it was ok. Im not sure how it would have worked without it but i think my face would have been initially too dry. The bb cream had a pretty matte finish right off the bat. But i would test that out on both sides of your face on a day where you dont need to be anywhere. I think for this, its just a preference. That really sucks about your recent allergy disaster. i just had one too, i tried going 100% natural/organic and it was such a mess. Turns out, i think im allergic to most of the plant/fruit based products. Witch hazel/ tea tree oil...there is a long list of things i tried that failed and i am still managing the mess it caused. Cetaphil is unfortunately on that list. I have no idea why it doesnt work for me.

I totally hear you on the midday "i need to wash my face" feeling. Ugh! And i wish going makeup free was the answer but its not and as ive learned on here from the people that understand the science behind oily skin and through trial and error, there is very little that helps with slowing down oil production. Im oily no matter what make up i try.

And dont apologize!! Youve come to a great place and i encourage you to ask tons of questions and always try anything that someone recommends! You just never know when something will click. Im learning tons from the "science boys" (as i call them) about how and why we have oily skin. Its amazing how many myths i bought into simply because i didnt know any better and how we are bombarded on tv and the internet with things that claim to "cure" oily skin!!

Youll find something that helps you be the best at your new job and maybe something to even heal the redness and scarring so that you dont have a reason to cover anything up. For me, i had to learn how to treat my skin to prevent any nonsense since all over makeup is not an option for me. i use blush, mascara and concealer and nothing else. Ive gotten pretty crafty with concealer coverage so dont hesitate to ask if youre interested in how i do it.

I have friends like yours-tiny pores, no allergies, and no oil. Luckily, you just made tons of friends that do!

Joonbug! Please let us know what you think about the garnier and include your skin type! Maybe thats something both of us can try.

I love the one from Paula's Choice. Very nice and matte!