Are There Actually Benefits To Mixing Face Oil With Your Foundation? Here's What To Know

Mixing face oil with your foundation is a skincare-meets-makeup hack that elevates your makeup look from dry and dull to radiant and glowy. Face oils are known for their hydration, anti-aging, and healing properties, and between alleviating those imperfections and minimizing those pores, this product can offer a solution to many of your skincare needs. And by adding a few drops to your foundation, you're locking in all those benefits with a face of makeup.

If you have dry skin or if your matte foundation always ends up looking dull and cakey, a few drops of face oil will leave you with a glow that screams youthful and beautiful. The right kind of face oil in the right quantity will also work its magic to hydrate your skin beneath your makeup. It can even help your foundation to provide more coverage! If you've been tempted to combine face oil and foundation, now is a good time to start.

If you're using a matte foundation, or if you can never manage to get that natural glowy-looking makeup finish, mixing face oil with your foundation just might be the answer. The oil will reflect light and give your skin that shine, which will leave you with an illuminated and more radiant complexion, per L'Oréal Paris.

You can apply your face oil elaborately in the places that you wish to give a dewy look. For a superb level of glow, go overboard with your face oil, and use moderate amounts if you want to create more of a subtle effect. However, Claire Talks Beauty recommends using smaller quantities of lighter oil, preferably with a matte foundation, if you have oily skin. And remember to avoid the regions of your face that infamously produce oil, like the T-zone. There's a fine line between dewy and greasy, so be mindful of how much oil you're using and where you're applying it, in addition to your skin type. 

Face oils are often used on their own to give your skin the hydration it requires, and proper hydration of the skin helps to decrease the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines (via Penn Medicine). As our makeup often tends to dry out the skin, adding hydration through face oil is the perfect way to counteract the dehydrating effect. 

Because of its hydrating abilities, Charlotte Tilbury explains that this makeup-skincare hack works wonders on mature skin that's prone to dry out faster. This is because face oils can prevent water loss in the skin by creating a "barrier" on the surface layer that holds all that moisture in. When applied to mature skin, foundation can settle in cracks and fine lines and become patchy, particularly under the eyes and around the nostrils, so adding oil to these areas in particular, if you're not adding it straight to your foundation, can prevent that common issue.

By using a face oil with your foundation, you can even improve the coverage that your makeup provides. "Mixing oil into your foundation can thin out full coverage, make a matte foundation look a little more luminous and can make your application glide and buff more easily," beauty expert and makeup artist Jenny Patinkin told Makeup.com. 

If you like the barely-there makeup look, or want to seem as if you're not even wearing makeup, you can get a sheer finish with a thicker foundation by adding oil. As a rule of thumb, the foundation will become thinner with every drop of oil you apply, so the exact finish is up to your discretion. 

As Patinkin explained, the foundation becoming thinner means that it's also typically easier to apply and blend. You'll be less likely to end up with an unnatural finish that hasn't been buffed out properly.

There are two ways to add your face oil to your makeup routine. The first method would be to add a few drops of your face oil to your liquid foundation and mix it thoroughly. The quantity of oil that you add should depend on how much shine you're seeking, your skin type, and how sheer you would like your coverage to be. Afterward, apply it on your skin as you normally would. Use a brush or a beauty blender to blend the formula properly and avoid any streaks or patches. Also, make sure to do a thorough job when mixing the oil and foundation together for the most even finish possible.

The second method involves applying your face oil directly onto your skin before adding the foundation. A Wellness Body explains that it's best to only use a few drops of oil. Massage your face with the oil of your choice and let it sit on the skin for a few minutes before starting with the foundation. Waiting it out is very important as you don't want your foundation to start pilling or caking up.

There are so many different types of face oils out there, and finding the right one based on your skin type requires a little research and experimentation. Rosehip oil is a great example of an oil to use under foundation, thanks to its thin consistency (via Edited). It contains vitamin C and betacarotene (which becomes vitamin A), and it is packed with antioxidants that can nourish your dull skin. 

Indian Express reveals that argan oil is another effective option as it can close the pores beneath the foundation when applied as a primer. It has all that vitamin E goodness and is particularly helpful for those of us with mature skin who deal with fine lines and wrinkles. Its smoothing and hydrating properties mean it's also a smart choice for those with dry skin. According to A Wellness Body, marula oil is another option for dry skin. High in fatty acids, it's a natural moisturizer.

Jojoba oil is the ideal oil for oily skin, per Claire Talks Beauty. Its gentle formula prevents the over-production of sebum. In addition to this, it also helps soothe irritated skin and prevent breakouts (via Healthline).

Mixing your foundation with the right kind of face oil provides numerous benefits that you simply cannot ignore, so adding it your makeup routine will leave you with zero regrets.