Our 10 Best Matte Face Moisturisers to Help You Glow Without the Grease
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Adore Beauty’s roundup of 10 matte face moisturisers, including Aesop, La Roche-Posay, Clinique and Cosmedix, identifies lightweight formulas that cut shine, hydrate oily and combination skin and minimise pore appearance without clogging. It covers active ingredients to target like salicylic acid and niacinamide, travel-friendly options and why SPF in a moisturiser is not full sun protection.
Fast Facts You Need to Know
- Choose Aesop B Triple C Gel 60ml ($177.00) to cool skin and control shine.
- Pick La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat 40ml to reduce pore appearance and daily shine.
- Use Benefit THEPOREfessional Matte Rescue travel size to stay powder-fresh on the go.
- Opt for Cosmedix Shineless Oil-Free Moisturiser to hydrate combination skin without shine.
Finding a formula that doesn’t strip your skin or clog your pores can seem like the quest for the Holy Grail.
Though you might feel tempted to give up the moisturiser altogether, the reality is, oily skin needs moisture as much as dry skin, just a different kind.
When your skin is dry, it tends to produce more oil to overcompensate for what it’s lacking.
This can lead to acne and dull, lifeless looking skin.
What you need is a moisturiser that combats clogged pores, mattifies the skin and keeps you hydrated without the excess shine.
When picking a matte face moisturiser you want to choose a formula that strikes the balance between hydrating, smoothing and mattifying.
Avoid the heavy emollients and opt for lightweight hydrate that help to boost your barrier function.
We've rounded up just a few of our favourite moisturisers for oily skin to make finding that Holy Grail mattifying moisturiser that much easier.
Shanthi and Hannah share some of their favourite oily skin products for minimising the appearance of pores in the YouTube video below....
What Is a Matte Moisturiser?
A matte moisturiser has been specifically designed to stop your skin from looking shiny and feeling oily.
Absorbing excess oil and helping to fight breakouts, the best matte moisturiser often includes ingredients such as Salicylic Acid, Niacinamide, Licorice Root and Green Tea, to keep your complexion clear and shine free.
If you suffer from frustrating shiny patches and imperfections, you also might want to try a tinted moisturiser matte finish formula.
It will help keep shine at bay and offer your skin a touch of colour, which will help even out your complexion.
What Are the Best Matte Face Moisturisers?
From a matte gel moisturiser to the best moisturiser for oily skin and open pores, you can help control the slick and shine with a mattifying moisturiser.
Whether you’re looking for the best matte moisturiser for dry skin or a matte moisturiser with SPF, we’ve found the formulas that will help your skin stay healthy, hydrated and shine free. Before we continue, remember, SPF is only one part of sun protection, and whilst moisturisers that contain SPF are great, they may not provide full protection. prolonged sun exposure should be avoided and frequent re-application is necessary in accordance of the products directions to ensure effective sun protection.
Boost Your Skin With a Blend of Antioxidant Ingredients
Oily, patchy skin can often react negatively in the heat. From shiny patches to sudden breakouts, a change in climate could be bad news for your skin. Perfect for oily, combination and normal skin types, the Aesops B Triple Facial Balancing Gel 60ml works to leave your skin feeling cooled and matte. A lightly hydrating moisturiser that boosts the skin with one part Vitamin B and three parts Vitamin C, this formula helps keep shine at bay.
When it comes to skincare, the French really know what they’re doing. If you’ve ever had the luxury of wandering around a French Pharmacy, you’ll know how serious they are when it comes to skincare. This La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Anti-Acne Moisturiser 40ml has been designed with expertly blended ingredients and a soft, light touch. Crafted to help prevent shine and reduce the size of your pores, this formula can be used daily to keep matte skin hydrated.
How To Keep Your Face Matte Without Makeup
When you travel, you don’t want to lug about heavy bottles of your favourite skincare products. A cult classic that’s now available in a travel size, the Benefit THEPOREfessional Matte Rescue helps keep oily patches under control, so your skin stays powder-fresh all day long. Working to reduce shine and keep your skin feeling hydrated and comfortable, this moisturizing matte primer covers the skin weightlessly and sinks in without making your skin look clogged. Lightweight and easy to apply, if you're struggling for time in the morning, this is the one product that will give your skin that nourishing, shine free look.
Control Shine and Minimise Pores With This Lightweight Lotion
When you have oily, patchy, uneven skin, you don’t want to apply a moisturiser that will leave your skin looking and feeling greasy. The Clinique Pore Refining Solutions Stay-Matte Hydrator is a lightweight lotion that gently works to control shine for a matte look. Designed specifically to reduce any excess oil that’s built up on the skin, this formula immediately tackles shiny patches and brings your skin back into balance. Hydrating tender skin and strengthening the skin’s natural barrier, this formula keeps skin oil-free as you move through your day.
If you need a mattifying moisturiser for combination skin, you need a formula that reduces shine while keeping you healthy and hydrated. The Cosmedix Shineless Oil-Free Moisturiser is the perfect moisturiser for those that suffer from both dry and frustrating oily patches. Brightening skin and helping to smooth out uneven patches, this formula will help you feel good about your skin. The innovative blend promotes firm, smooth, radiant skin and helps keep shine and imperfections away.
So, Why Choose a Matte Moisturiser?
A mattifying moisturiser tends to be more lightweight than a normal moisturiser, which means it won’t clog your pores, cause blackheads or create more shine.
Though you want to cut down on the oily patches, it’s important you keep your face hydrated and nourished.
Crafted to help tone down oily skin and still give your complexion room to breathe, a matte formula will help keep your make-up in place as the day wears on.
Shiny skin doesn't have to ruin your day, help get things under control with a mattifying formula you can rely on.
From imperfections to a T-zone that shines, invest in a matte face moisturiser that truly compliments your complexion.
You can watch Hannah share her skincare routine for Oily & Acne Prone Skin in the YouTube video below...
Brand and product inclusions are at the sole discretion of Adore Beauty. We do not seek or accept payment from brands or individuals listed in our guides.
