It took me years before I learned how to care for my oily skin. As a teen, I thought that frequently washing my face and using astringents would do the trick of banishing the grease. 15-year-old me had a lot of misconceptions about skin care, and I’m so glad that the internet and sites like Project Vanity made learning about proper skin care much easier! Of course, there’s a lot of misinformation online, too, so it’s important to be careful about which sources to trust and avoid the pitfalls of shady skincare hacks.

Is moisturizer good for oily skin? This is one of the most frequently asked questions here in PV, and our answer has always been yes. The right formula can do wonders for our skin and take it to the next level! Project Vanity has a nifty general guide for anyone looking to bag the best moisturizer for any skin type but I wanted to focus just on oily skin this time. What are the different moisturizer formulas out there, and which one is the best moisturizer for oily skin?

Cream moisturizers

Most moisturizers in the market come in a traditional cream formula. They are made from a combination of an oil and water base, and generally provide richer hydration than other moisturizer types. That said, they do have the tendency to feel thicker and heavier on the face. If you have scaliness, dry patches, and a generally drier skin type, you might enjoy a cream moisturizer better. For us oily folks, we can still go for this rich formula but it may be best to save it for night time use.

Gel moisturizers

Gel moisturizers, on the other hand, are usually lighter than cream moisturizers so they’re commonly touted as the better moisturizer for oily skin. They’re made from a water base that’s thickened with a gelling agent, and are usually more quickly absorbed by the skin. What I like best about most gels is that they don’t leave behind a shiny, greasy after feel the way some cream moisturizers do. Aloe vera gels have been popular in the skin care market for a while now - with people using them as all around treatments for skin dryness, mosquito bites, sunburn, and frizzy hair.

Whipped moisturizers

Whipped moisturizers are newer concoctions in the beauty scene, but they truthfully deserve more time in the spotlight. Think of a whipped moisturizer as the love child of a cream and gel formula. The whip texture provides the light as air finish we love in gels, but can still pack the serious hydrating power you get from creams. It’s a fantastic formula that offers a lot of potential as a good oily skin moisturizer but I’ve mostly only seen it among high end brands.

The Olay Regenerist Whip (P399 for 10g and P1,999 for 50g) is the first whipped moisturizer formula I’ve spotted in a more budget-friendly price range. It’s a curious texture that feels like firm whipped cream peaks, but it turns into liquid once applied to the face. I find that my skin easily absorbs the product, which gives it a dry, cool finish. My skin feels smooth and matte, yet also looking refreshed!

The Olay Regenerist Whip feels just as light as aloe vera gels but is definitely superior ingredients-wise. Truth be told, AVGs are hardly the best moisturizer for oily skin as they mostly provide nothing more than basic hydration. Most aloe vera gels available in the market often advertise a high percentage of aloe vera of around 90-99%. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice works well as a humectant, meaning that they help your skin retain moisture and reduce moisture loss, but that’s about it. Aloe vera is a good base for moisturizers but it definitely needs the addition of actives and superstar ingredients to deliver better and longer lasting effects for your skin.

The Olay Regenerist Whip is made from a water and dimethicone base, enhanced with great skin caring ingredients like niacinamide, glycerin, and carob fruit extract. Niacinamide is a powerhouse skincare ingredient that we love so much we wrote a whole article about it. It reduces the appearance of wrinkles, dullness, and dark spots and also controls oil production. Glycerin is another humectant which restores and replenishes hydration to the skin. Meanwhile, carob fruit extract helps repair skin surface. The dimethicone, which is often used in blurring primers, gives the skin a silky, matte finish so it’s a great ingredient to have in a moisturizer for oily skin. Together, this mix of ingredients helps the Olay Regenerist Whip deliver lasting effects to correct skin conditions like sagging, dullness, and dark spots while prepping your skin for smooth makeup application.

From one oily skin sufferer to another, I recommend looking for a whipped moisturizer to really hydrate your skin without the discomfort of greasiness or a heavy feel. The Olay Regenerist Whip is well worth trying if you’re looking for a light oily skin moisturizer that’s not lacking in potent skin caring ingredients.

Olay is available in leading supermarkets and drugstores nationwide, and online via Shopee, Lazada, and Watsons Philippines. Follow #OlayPhilippines on Facebook and Instagram, and visit their website at Olay Philippines.

This story is brought to you by Olay Philippines.

Photography by Nicole Quindara

Olay Regenerist Whip ingredients:

Water, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Isohexadecane, Polyacrylate Starch, Cetyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Behenyl Alcohol, Ceratonia Siliqua (Carob) Fruit Extract, Peg-100 Stearate, Dimethiconol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmitoy Pentapeptide-4