If you still remember my post on my dear friend Kristine's bachelorette party, I'd have to tell you that she already tied the knot last week!

Her wedding started at 9:30AM and I was late for the ceremony proper since I still had one patient to attend to.  With only an hour to spare for preps to her wedding, I pushed my luck on just  my amateur prettifying skills, mineral makeups and freshlook dailies contacts to give me some radiance that day.

And it didn't fail me! Yay!  My other childhood friend, Reina, sarcastically quipped that it was dubious that I'm out of time to prepare with the kind of makeup I was wearing.

The No -Makeup Look:

FACE:

Clinique DDMG

Smasbox Photofinish Primer (Original)

Cinema Secrets Ultimate Foundation in 302-65A used as concealer on blemishes, pock marks & undereyes

Aromaleigh URFP in peaches and Cream using Charm stippling brush

Joppa FC Medium 3 using EDM flat top brush (2 layers)

Joppa Grecian Gold using EDM flat top brush (1 layer)

Aromaleigh URFP in peaches and Cream again to seal in all the mineral :-)

LIPS&CHEEKS:

The Bodyshop Lip & Cheek tint patted on cheeks

EYES:

Eye tapes

Freshlook Dailies Contacts in Pure Hazel

Fanny Serrano black gel liner using Fanny Serrano angled liner brush

The Face Shop's false lashes

Fanny Serrano lash curler

BROWS:

Fanny Serrano clear mascara

Lancome dual eyeshadow (Noix shade) using Fanny Serrano angled liner brush to fill in sparse areas of brows

Now these shots were taken after the reception's program.  My lip and cheek stain's awesome job can no longer be appreciated.  My mineral makeup has made me look dewy, not oily.  My eyes, despite the lack of shadows, still popped with the freshlook dailies+flasies tandem.

Reina in her taupe dress, me in my floral number, and Kristine, of course, in her bridal gown.

The three of us have been friends way back Kindergarten days in Maryknoll Child Study Center.  We've been schoolmates/busmates for 12 years, too.  We've fought over stickers, snubbed each other during that time and even caused the entire schoolbus (including our seniors) to be divided as they took sides.  We've sang 'The greatest love of all' with what we then thought was 'voicing', pioneered trick or treating in our village, graduated and made our parents proud altogether.

These people are the closest to my heart although we barely see each other after college (we live in the same village!).  We may have new sets of people we hang out with at present, but we know deep inside us that we are genuinely bestfriends forever!

PS:  These were the pock marks that I had to conceal.  I just thought I had to share.  Natural makeup is very possible even if you have lots of blemishes and ugly, ugly, ugly scars.

Pock marks, pimple blemishes, and monolids.  The solution? (at least temporarily! =D) Mineral makeup, a good concealer, eye tapes and freshlook dailies!

I know that I am not the only girl wishing I had a different skin type and that I knew the best way to control oil. Oily-skinned gals like me are dreading the oil mine trapped in our faces and it's such a difficult task for us to make sure that we're still pretty and fresh at the end of the day.

Here's our biggest problem: we need a face make-up with medium-to-heavy coverage to hide our acne marks and scars, but we can't keep that make-up sit on our faces because of excess oil.

Let me share with you my top 6 must-use beauty products to control oil in helping us keep our faces primped and pretty the entire day:

#6. Blotting papers.

J&J Clean and Clear Oil-Absorbing Sheets, ~118php ($2.50) at beauty stores and supermarkets

Oily girls need blotting papers since these are handy goodies to keep our faces fresh and oil-free. Just make sure you dab it on your face and not rub it in. It's a must to blot first before retouching with a finishing powder to make sure you're not trapping oil and sweat underneath your made-up face.

(my pick: J&J Clean and Clear Blotting Paper; also try: Gatsby's ~140php, Watson's <100php)

#5. Finishing powders.

Aromaleigh's Ultra reslution finishing powder, $13.75 at website, there are resellers over ebay.ph

These oil-control beauty products add to keeping the face clean and fresh-looking. It can also blur imperfections while giving us a radiant glow.

Oily girls need finpows because we don't want our face to look so flat with a matte make-up.

(my picks: Aromaleigh's URFP's, Bare Escentuals Tinted Mineral veil 500-1000+; also try: Monave's 600-800php, Joppa's 490-900php)

#4. Foundation powders.

Joppa foundies in Full/Soft Coverage, Morning Dew and Simple Radiance, $18-$22 for full-sizes

MMU's are by far, the best foundation powders that can perfectly set your liquid foundie! I will swear to this till I die.

Oily girls need foundation powders to make sure that their base foundies get an extra hold.

(my picks: Joppa's 700-1000php, Pure Anada's 1,000+php, Clinique Superbalanced powder 1,780php; also try: Monave's ~1000php, Lauress')

#3. A gel moisturizer.

Clinique's DDMG, 2400php 125mL at Rustan's; $24 at Clinique website

It's a let-down to know that there are millions of oily-skinned girls who skip on moisturizers. Let me tell you a secret: moisturizers that hydrate the skin send signals to our sebaceous glands to cut down on oil production since enough moisture is already achieved. We produce excess oil basically because our skin lacks the needed moisture!

Oily girls need a moisturizer in gel form to eliminate the greasy feel and replace it with a smooth and velvetty one instead.

(my pick: Cinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel)

#2. A good toner.

Most people say that it tightens the pores and remove excess oil. While this is good news for us, these claims are plainly untrue. The real deal with toners is that it removes unwashed dirt and cleansing residues (c/o our soaps) that may irritate and clog our pores. Since most traditional soaps (and even some facial soaps) are alkaline, toners do the job of restoring the pH of our skin to normal.

Oily girls need a good toner because we don't want more zits/acne adding up when we stuff our faces with make-up. (Tip: there are some toners, like L'oreal Pure Zone's, that contain salicylic acid which can help us with our acne problem)

(my picks: Clinique Clarifying Lotion #3 or #4 1,500-1,800php, my derma's glowing solution 400+php; also try: L'oreal Pure Zone Toner 300+php, Celeteque's 200-300php, Nivea's, Body Shop's Tea Tree Toner 600+php, Neutrogena's Alcohol-free toner ~500php)

#1. Primers!

Smashbox Photofinish (Original), 1800+php at Beauty Bar, $36 at Smashbox website

I've never realized the power of a primer until I started reading beauty blogs. Primers do wonders you just can't imagine. They provide a smooth slate for your make-up to glide on while blurring imperfections and pore size. The best thing about primers is that it keeps your make-up stuck on the face by keeping oilies at bay (which is later reinforced by your finpows)!

The best primers I've tried are silicone-based ones (Smashbox Photofinish), but since most of these can clog our pores, there are primers built silicone-free that may be to our liking!

(My picks: Skinhour's Mattifying Day Cream/Leyende's Face Canvass 400+php, Shu Uemura Mousse UV Base 2000php, Smashbox photofinish Light 2100php also try: Smashbox photofinish original (has silicone), Monistat Anti-Chafing Gel Cream 400-500php, Kryolan Invisi Matte, 800php, MUFE Matt-Velvet 2000+php, Skinfood Agave Prime Gel, 2000php)

I hope you learned a thing or two with these. There are hndreds of ways we can hate our oily skin, but the first step to busting the unwanted oil is to accept that we are what we are. I've come to love my oily skin now... partly because of these best beauty products to control oil!