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6 Products To Help You Manage Summer If You Have Combination Skin

6 Products To Help You Manage Summer If You Have Combination Skin
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Summer is arguably the best time of the year. Beach, sun, alfresco evening cocktails, and the opportunity to revive your warm weather wardrobe -- what's not to love?

But if you're dealing with combination skin, summer can be a tricky time -- particularly if you're juggling a array of sunscreens, moisturizers and make-up.

So what is combination skin, and how do you know if you have it? Dermatologists have identified that it is an imbalance in the amount of sebum which excretes from the sebaceous glands on your face. \

People with combination skin produce more sebum in their T-Zone -- the forehead, nose and chin. However, they produce less sebum in their U-zone -- typically the cheeks. Put simply, your T-zone is oily and your U-zone is dry. Dermatological research has also found that -- in summer -- the skin produces more sebum, making it even more difficult to manage throughout the hot season.

"The T-zone is the oiliest part because most of your pores are found in that area and they assist in excreting the sebum from your skin," Hayley Dutton, head make-up artist for , said.

Beauty expert and Principal of the Australian Academy of Beauty Therapy, Bianca Long advises that people with combination skin should be wary of generic off-the-shelf summer products.

"They're suited to one skin type, so you're essentially treating one type of skin and exacerbating the other," Long said. And sunscreens can be the biggest trap; "You could do all the base work [on your face] and then put on a sunscreen and effectively undo everything you've just done underneath."

However, many skin care brands have taken up the task of designing specialised products for combination skin. Below are products created to keep your complexion in check this summer...

1. Rimmel London Fresher Skin Foundation

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Enriched with aloe, chamomile and other soothing ingredients to reduce swelling or redness found with combination skin, Fresher Skin Foundation by Rimmel London is SPF 15 and offers light breathable coverage, said Dutton. "This is great for people who want a light coverage," she said, foundation offers a shine-free finish without the heavy characteristics of a normal matte foundation. "When you've got combination skin you don't want to go into heavier coverage. The Fresher Skin Foundation is also a clog free formula so it doesn't build up in your pores."

2. Ole Henrikson Sheer Transformation Moisturiser

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It may be tempting to avoid over-moisturizing combination skin in fear of exacerbating oily areas, but over summer it's vital to keep your skin hydrated, even in the oily sections, beauty expert Alison Maissin said; "Whether you are oily or dry you always need to moisturize – if you don't, your skin will try to produce more oil which can cause breakouts." Maissin recommends Ole Henrikson Sheer Transformation moisturizer. "It's very lightweight but it's still going to provide enough hydration without adding a thick layer on your skin. It also has soothing properties including licorice root extract."

3. Urban Spa 50+ Age Defense Sunscreen

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Over summer, it's worth choosing a skincare brand sunscreen if you have combination skin. Long recommends Urban Spa 50+ Age Defense Sunscreen because it is lightweight and provides full face protection. "It's a really lightweight full coverage sunscreen that's not going to interfere with anything you put on underneath," she said.

4. Rimmel London Royal Blush Cream To Powder

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For a natural looking, non-greasy blush that melts on to your skin but blends into powder, Dutton suggests Rimmel London Royal Blush cream to powder. "The instant matting of the blush when it turns from cream to a powder means that someone with combination skin won't find it smudges off their face. Instead it gives you a really nice natural blush of the cheek, looking freshly applied all day," she said.

5. Marc Jacobs Undercover Perfecting Coconut Primer

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Many of us are familiar with using a primer as a base for make-up, but according to Maissin, an oil-free primer is a must for summer if you are dealing with combination skin. Her pick? The Marc Jacobs Undercover Perfecting Coconut Primer. "A hydrating primer will make sure your foundation is going to stay. If you're not hydrating your skin properly the foundation can go patchy because it has nothing to stick to. This primer contains coconut water and other hydrating nutrients and it's very well suited to combination skin because it is oil-free, super light weight and a little goes a long way."

6. Jane Irdale Amazing Loose Mineral Powder

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With combination skin, it's wise to keep things as natural as possible. Long for summer is the Amazing Loose Mineral Powder by Jane Iredale. "Anything that's mineral is really good because it sits on the skin rather than penetrating it," she said. "Mineral makeup is definitely a go-to for combination skin -- it is also good if you have other conditions like eczema or Psoriasis which can flare up with the heat and the humidity."

Designed to work with combination skin, Fresher Skin Foundation by Rimmel London is a brand new light weight foundation that comes in eight shades and contains SPF 15 -- giving you light, breathable coverage and a shine-free complexion for the whole day. And you can give your skin extra glow this summer with Royal Blush cream to powder by Rimmel London, perfect for a natural, buildable, non-greasy blush that applies as a cream but blends into a powder. For more summer make-up inspiration, visit Rimmel London.

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