If you have oily skin, face powder is the most important weapon in your handbag. It keeps you looking fresh, clean and poised.

Unfortunately, reapplying sunblock every two or three hours is a necessary discomfort for women to stall the aging process, which only makes our face sweaty and greasier as the day goes by.

Layering powder sometimes ends up in making our face appear it has clumps or a thick mask-like finish. This discomfort does not include the intense heat brought about by all those layers.

Well, a Korean cosmetic brand now available in SM malls all over the Philippines called Etude House has sent me one of my dream products—a whitening sunblock powder called O2 White C Sun Powder SPF 50+ PA++ (P598).

Most powders with SPF are SPF 8-25, with a very thick powdery foundation-type finish that tends to make the face look cakey.

O2 sun powder is a loose translucent shade with a light feel that blends with most skin tones (unless one has very dark skin). So touching up every two to three hours not only mattifies but also delivers the necessary sun protection. I don’t leave the house without it during the daytime and touching up every two hours is a joy.

Note: Do not share the sponge with others as the sponge absorbs bacteria and sharing it may be unhealthy. You may want to check out also the O2 whitening line, which really gets your skin lighter especially when you wake up in the morning. Its cleansing oils are perfect for removing heavy make-up as well as for waterproof sunblock.

Powder foundation

Compact powder foundations are a godsend for oil-control freaks. I prefer mine with whitening/skincare properties to prevent darkening and to heal skin damage as well.

My constant problem with any foundation though is that it always turns orange or a muddy dark brown after an hour or so, thanks to my being both very oily and acidic.

Lancome is one that always meet my expectations, Its Maqui Blanc Miracle Natural Brightening Creator SPF 35 PA++ is this year’s latest upgrade to its whitening powder foundation.

Aside from the increased SPF 35 from the former Blanc Expert Minerals SPF 29, Maqui Blanc Miracle has better texture while controlling oil and keeping things in place for 12 hours straight.

It was really more of eight hours for me, here but it did last 11 hours when I was in Amsterdam.

The two-sided sponge offers two different coverage types: The foam type gives a heavier coverage which is perfect for the first application while the silky side is ideal for touch-ups during the day.

Very little goes a long way as one swipe on my face camouflaged my purple veins, tiny brown spots and toned-down redness. My skin looked fragile, poreless and porcelain perfect.

The shade given to me, BO-01, matched my skin tone so well only the very trained eye would know I have foundation on.

The refillable compact (P995) and the powder refill (P1,895) are sold separately.

Colorstay

Those with perfectly balanced skin or normal to dry may find compact powder foundations too heavy and mask like. In that case, Revlon’s Colorstay Aqua (CSA) SPF 13 Mineral Make-up (P825) may be perfect for them.

Colorstay goes moist and cool and provides a powder finish that actually adheres to one’s skin. It is actually a loose powder mineral foundation which has healing properties; it targets redness and irritation.

The coverage is buildable so it can go from light to full, depending on one’s needs. The trick is finding one’s perfect shade so it looks invisible but hides also one’s blemishes while treating them at the same time. It likewise helps hide fine lines and wrinkles.

I advise you to use a higher SPF of at least 40 if you intend to use this during the daytime as SPF13 isn’t nearly enough protection even when staying indoors in the tropics.

A great powder finish sunblock is Sunplay SPF47, which dries to a semi-matte powder finish which looks great with Revlon’s CSA on top.

Sunplay is available at any Watson’s.