I have such oily skin, it is so hard to deal with! Think I've tried every drugstore brand of foundation and they all feel so sticky and nasty. I read a review for the Kat Von D Tatoo Makeup that just came out. It's supposed to be super lasting and good for us oily girls. Am going to Sephora this weekend to get some samples. Last month I got a powder called Mattify Ultra which is really helping. It isn�t a foundation (just a powder) but I use it under and over my Colortration Foundation. It stops me from having to do so many touch ups. There is one called Mattify Tinted which is like a powder foundation I guess. Haven�t tried it yet but am curious. More makeup places need to come up with makeup that will stick to oily skin and stop the oiliness!!!

I am 55 and have oil "gusher" skin, with a few lines under the eyes. I've fought oil and blemishes since age 13 and it wasn't until I started to treat my skin like sensitive skin that I had any success. First; HANDS off - no picking, popping, or squeezing. I use a blackhead extractor when needed. I use Mary Kay time wise 3-1 bar soap and an Old Vic washcloth (can be found at Vermont Country Store, Amazon, Caswell Massey on line) - squeaky clean and gently exfoliated. A blackhead clearing astringent (Avon Clear Skin) and then a primer: Smashbox Matte: just soaks up the oil. Makeup is Loreal's Mineral powder foundation over Dermablend concealer (I have old acne scars on my cheeks), loose powder, powder blush and I'm good to go for a few hours. I like Mary Kay blotting tissues ($5/75 tissues) and always blot first, apply a touch of Smashbox to my t-zone and powder lightly. I've found that after my morning make-up application at 6:30am I usually need touch ups at 10 - 12 and 2pm. Evenings I again wash after removing eye makeup with Mary Kay eye make up remover, astringent, and then a moisturizer/oil control lotion (Mary Kay or other brands). I also like to dab a bit of eye cream on in the evenings (I like Mary Kay or Anew by Avon). Hands get FREQUENT applications of Mary Kay Timewise hand/body lotion during the day and before bed I do cuticles with almond oil or olive oil, what ever I can pick up - I rub it in real well and apply a nice hand cream.

Dancey sorry to hear about your skin troubles. I cannot speak to the menopause and hormone issues (though I remember my older sister telling me her skin became super-soft following hysterctomy hormone therapy) - but I have lived with dermatitis, exzema, and fussy skin allergies all my life and over the years have found these helps: 1. To the extent you can, try to reduce the total chemical load in your environment - do not use dryer sheets, fabric softener, room fresheners, hair creme rinse (or minimize it at least); put your clothing through a double rinse cycle; use gloves/other barrier to protect your skin from harsh detergents, etc. 2. Add evening primrose, flaxseed, tocotrienols, and more fish to your diet (the inside-out approach). 3. I have fussy impossible skin, and my red-head spouse has his own set of skin troubles (sun damage, pre-actinic keratoses, etc.). We're both in our 50s now, and though we're fit, free of health problems, and comfortable with our ages, we wondered if we might improve the appearance of our sun-damaged faces. Together we read Perricone's Cosmeceuticals book, and decided to try some of his recommendations. We found the author's products to be way beyond what we considered reasonable to spent, but we have had stunning results with similar products we found online through Amazon.com from Reviva Labs: Alpha Lipoic Acid Vitamin C Ester and DMAE Cream (for the face and neck day and night); Firming Eye Serum (night-time eye cream); and their hand lotion from the same line (sorry my bottle is out in the car so I can't give you specific name). My skin responded immediately (thank god I was getting a little worried about lip creases and papery eye and throat). We're both looking a lot clearer and more well-rested, with much-improved skin texture - that's as much as we can expect because we'd never go for elective surgery - only a natural approach... and no, we have no financial interest in the above-noted products. 4. Two other creams that settle my skin, as well as seeming to change the texture, are Nivea Skin Firming Lotion with Q10 plus Biotin, and Aveeno Stress Relief Moisturizing Lotion with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal, Lavender, Chamomile and YlangYlang. You can find these at any of the larger drugstores (I am on West Coast) - they're a bit more expensive than, say, Jergens, but I have been thrilled to find them. Sorry for the rambler, but I hope you'll try any or all of the above. So nice to have happy skin. Good luck!

I tried Retinal... I think, and Vanicream moisturizer. Mostly I forget the retinal. Am I spelling that right? Too lazy to get up and look. I like the moisture cream a lot and it was really cheap. I bought it for my arms with the crepe paper skin. That's better. I don't know about the retinal. In the meantime I bought a bunch of Neutrogena stuff and I like that. The eye cream might be working for those black bags under my eyes. Those are once a day which is good because I'm doing really well if I remember to do it every day. And the wrinkle stuff has the sun screen in it which was also another thing I didn't think about until I was outside. But every 80 minutes is a PITA. I wonder how the neutrogena wrinkle stuff with SPF 30 works all day? Doesn't seem like it would. So that's where I'm at. The driver's license picture is 20 days away. It has to look better than the last one.