I find winter truly makes my skin more oily yet dry at the same time. Although I try my best to keep my face oil free and as soft as I can, I still find myself with oily skin and dry spots on certain areas. I thought I was doing all the right things by wearing minimal makeup and by washing my face everyday but apparently it is a process.
Recently, I asked a local makeup artist who works at Sephora in Square One, Angelica Petrakis, if she could help me fix this problem. Luckily I’m going to share all my secrets she told me!

“I too, have oily skin,” Petrakis said. “I use a lot of exfoliating products to ensure my skin is smooth and free of excess oil.”  The smoother your skin is the more flawless your makeup will sit on top of it if you wear it.” 

Typically, I use the basic and generic drugstore products to clean my face. Even just makeup wipes. But Petrakis goes another route:
“Some of my favourite products are  Ole Henriksen Walnut Scrub,” she said. “I use this 3-4 times a week.” This is an exfoliant that helps shed off old skin cells. “I also love Murads Aha cleanser. This really helps to minimize pores and cleans my skin and it also gets rid of any extra makeup that's left over after using makeup remover."

Some of us use generic drugstore products, but sometimes going the extra mile is truly more beneficial. Getting your skin ready for hotter and warmer weather is good as well. This is because as the weather gets warmer, the more oily and dirty your face will become throughout the day.

“Although I have not tried many drugstore skincare products, I do love one "off the shelf" item and its Burt’s Bee’s.” Petrakis said. “What I love about this product is that it’s all organic and natural which is super important for the skin.” She also loves Garnier Micellar Water. “I put it on a cotton pad and remove my makeup with it before doing anything else,” she said. “Once I use my cleanser, everything else comes off really easily."

So if you do have oily and dry skin, do your best to follow Angelica’s skin routine to get rid of any excess oils and dirt from your face.