Desperate for advice/help with my skin & makeup !!

[#1]

Hey everyone! I am having a lot of issues with my skin and the makeup I am using is not helping it. I need to find the PERFECT moisturizer, primer, and foundation.  I have tried so many moisturizers and foundations and nothing seems to help. I believe I have combination skin (my skin is dry and flaky but then it gets oily) I also have fair skin with some acne on my chin (they can get red too).

Everyday I experience the same thing. After a couple of hours of wearing makeup, my foundation starts to “cake” or stick to certain areas of my face.  It also gets very oily.  It’s so bad that I have to wash my face and reapply makeup before I go out again. My face looks ridiculous and I am very embarrassed to go out.

As of right now, I am using Clarisonic's Gentle Hydro Cleanser, which makes my skin dry and flaky. Every other day I use Laura Mercier’s Flawless Face Skin Polish. The moisturizer I am currently using is Ole Henriksen’s Sheer Transformation.

For a long time I was wearing Laura Mercier’s mineral powder. I recently went to Sephora and the beauty specialist recommended I buy Make Up For Ever’s HD liquid foundation. It’s been two weeks and it’s not helping.

What do I do? What should I do? What products will help solve my problem? I am in dire need of help!

Thank you! (I am sorry for the long post!)

[#2]

If your skin is getting dry to the point of flakiness, that may mean you are drying it out too much if you are applying acne products all-over. I'd try spot-treating your acne on your chin. Is your oiliness all over? I'd also suggest perhaps using blotting papers if your skin is very sensitive. I've found the line "skyn iceland" great for calming skin.

I'd use a cleanser that does not strip your face too much. Try the soy face cleanser by Fresh. Another good cleanser is the Triple Oxygen Instant Energising Mask by Bliss (one of my favorite products!). A soothing toner is the aloe toner by The Body Shop. A good moisturizer for the oily parts of your face would be a gel or water based moisturizer, but I love Skyn Iceland's "The Antidote" too. Don't put too much moisturizer on! That could make your foundation particularly slippery.

For makeup, try to use water-based foundations or you could try a BB cream that would keep you hydrated too. If your face is flakey, using powder is a bad idea if you don't exfoliate first (if you have a MIA that alone is great).

If you experience oily and dry patches at different parts of your face, don't just treat your whole face the same (I personally get dry around my nose and cheeks so I don't put stripping products near them).

If you are experiencing hormonal acne, I'd also try to perhaps take a birth control pill that helps with acne.

Good Luck!