Acne Magazine : Skin Care, Tips, Treatment Reviews

I remember taking so many makeup tips on how to draw attention away from my acne when I was a young teen. I actually started getting acne pretty badly around the same time that I started to really get in to wearing makeup – by wearing makeup, I mean colors that weren’t just blues and greens and purples, which was what I tended to favor when I was younger.

Yeah, I definitely needed a makeup tip or two when I first started. I know I’ve looked at a few pictures and my blending was way off and subtlety was definitely not my forte when it came to makeup.

When I tried to blend away the acne lesions and increasing zits with cover up, the kind that was out back then (they’ve since come up with much more acne friendly, affordable cover up formulas), it just didn’t work. It usually ended up making them look worse by accentuating the bump and becoming crusty looking and caked on.

Also, I never chose the right color simply because I wasn’t aware that you had to choose a color that usually was lighter than your skin tone, not darker – so of course that did not work in my favor either when using concealer to minimize the appearance of my acne.

One of the tips I felt helped with at least reducing the “attention” that my acne got on my face, was to accentuate my eyes, which are a lighter brown color.  I’ve always been blessed with long eyelashes, and my brows are naturally darker and fuller, so it was easy for me to play my eyes up in order to draw attention up and away from my acne breakout spots.

I usually broke out on my chin, that was the worst place for the acne to appear on my face, and the most common.  I almost always had some acne going on there. It was a relief when it cleared up because I felt like I could actually enjoy showing my face again.  It was frustrating too, because I had nice, smooth skin just about everywhere else except for on my chin.

To play up the eyes, try a softer, more natural brown color and try doing a “smoky look” with the browns. Blacks tend to look a bit too harsh and may actually help draw attention to your acne.  Browns are softer and more natural and they blend better.

Really blend the liner well on the top and bottom of the lid.  Put the darker brown tone in the middle of the lid, and accentuate the corners of each lid as well with the darker shade. A nice peachy tan would look great on the front of the lid. These earthier colors tend to work better than flashier colors because they help to soften the skin’s appearance.

Thinking back to my high school days, which was a while ago, I remember the foundations that were available to us teenaged girls back then. It was the days of Cover Girl popularity, when foundations were heavy, had a lot of mineral oil in them, and often smelled of menthol, like the Cover Girl products that were supposedly noncomedogenic did. They were cheap, heavy and mask-ish foundations.

And not only did they help to clog pores, but they didn’t let the natural beauty of the skin show through, and God forbid you had a blemish, they usually made them look worse, highlighting their raised nature and not doing much for their darker pigmentation either, accentuating the very things that were wrong with acne blemishes.

Today, we are lucky enough to have relatively inexpensive access to excellent, non-heavy, noncomedogenic (non pore clogging or acne causing) types of foundations that not only help us to maintain healthy, acne free skin, but also help protect our face against UV rays and sun damage, and also happen to make our skin look great, playing up the natural beauty and luminosity of our skin.

After all, those of us that have acne are blessed with very moisture-heavy skin, we almost never suffer from dehydrated skin, and once we get those blemishes cleared up, one of the great things about naturally oily skin is that it also tends to look warm and glowing because of it’s moisture rich nature.

Heavy and cheaply made foundations often magnify the appearance of acne. Another important note when picking a foundation if you have acne is to choose colors that play up your natural skin tone and tone down acne blemishes, which are red. This means that you don’t want to go with too many yellow undertones, but you also don’t want to go with red or purple undertones either.

I’ve found one of the most perfect foundations and colors that is universally flattering is Revlon Color Stay foundation for either combination skin or normal skin in “Buff”. Buff is a very flattering color to a lot of skin tones, and it isn’t overly pink or purple, nor is it overly yellow or orange in tone.  Revlon Color Stay foundations provide excellent coverage, but I never find they look to heavy on me, or mask my skin’s natural glow.

I make sure I water it down enough by using a water soaked pad to apply it though, so that it doesn’t come off as heavy, and I often will mix either lotion with it to add a nice warm glow, or a luminizing cream to dilute the heaviness.

I think that one of the best tricks to helping to minimize or diminish the appearance of acne, or even acne scarring, or for that matter, any skin imperfection or blemish (this includes wrinkles too ladies), is to make sure you are using a luminizing, light bending foundation or other foundation-type base makeup on your skin.

Some people with acne, including myself years ago, are afraid to use any foundation at all because they are afraid it will further clog their pores, causing more acne or causing their skin to be harder to keep clear.

When you choose the right products for your skin as far as foundation and all other makeup goes though, this should be the last worry on your mind, as there are some great, totally noncomedogenic products our there that not only don’t cause breakouts, but also help protect your skin against the sun and other environmental damage and toxins, and they actually make your skin healthier.

One of the main ingredients that you want to try to avoid, since it is heavy and greasy, and can clog the pores in some formulations, is mineral oil. Mineral oil is one of the worst offenders. You can easily spot this ingredient because it usually simply says “mineral oil” on the ingredient list. One of my favorite things to look for in a foundation is the word “luminizing” or “pearlescent” or “glow”.

These types of formulations usually contain light bending poylmers which help to reflect the light in such a way that makes your skin appear smoother, more luminous, and less flawed since it tends to camouflage any imperfections.

Some of the formulations that I have liked so far that you can either wear alone or you can add a little to your regular foundation are Tarina Tarantino’s pearlescent primer and Revlon’s Skinlights luminizer (which I believe has since been dicsontinued in stores, but can be found online). If anyone else has other suggestions, please share them.

Another tip for making your skin appear more dewy and natural, and less “made up” or chalky (which is one of the worst things you can do if you have acne, this just leads to crusting and a generally lackluster appearance, as well as draws attention to your zits) is this. Use a makeup sponge, and wet that sponge with cold water before you apply the foundation or luminizer to it.

This helps the makeup to blend better, giving it a more sheer, natural appearance. Another tip is to add a good lotion to your foundation, this makes the skin appear more dewy and also helps the blending process.

When you think of the applicators that you use to put your makeup on, you probably don’t give much thought to keeping them clean, unless they are a makeup pad that you use every day to apply foundation to your face, or a brush that you use to do the same. These are extremely important to keep clean and bacteria-free for the simple fact that bacteria causes acne, and if you are adding more bacteria to your face when you apply your foundation, well then you are just begging for a breakout my friend.

I remember when I was ignorant of doing things like this, and did not know that not washing my makeup pad that I applied my foundation with every day was wrecking my skin – even more so than it was already wrecked when I was in my full fledged acne breakouts stage.

When I figured out that I was literally adding bacteria to my face, especially since I wet my sponge before I apply the foundation to make a more dewy and sheer appearance, I immediately started washing them out routinely.

It’s really simple to wash most makeup pads, brushes and other types of applicators. It usually just required warm water and a mild soap, and that’s it. Any more, and you may be doing damage to the brush or pad, so make sure it is just a mild soap. And also make sure you lay it to dry in an open area so that it doesn’t get moldy or build more bacteria if it’s laying in a dark, dank place where the fresh air can’t reach it to properly dry out.

You don’t realize how much stuff can collect on these applicators. Imagine, they are being used every day. They are being dipped in makeup, liquid or solid, every day, and there are particles of stuff getting added all the time. This makes for a great environment for bacteria and other nasty stuff to flourish, so it’s important to make it part of your routine to clean these items regularly and keep your skin free and clear.

I came across this cover up makeup that is supposedly cinema quality (in other words, it covers up blemishes well enough for them to become virtually imperceptible when actors and actresses are on the camera, which is a hard feat to accomplish without having them show through at all), called Smart Cover.

I was on the website searching around to get some more information on pricing, testimonials, what it is and how it works and all that good stuff, and the site kept crashing on me, which was a bit annoying, but I have to admit, I was very intrigued, so I kept looking into what the product was and what it could do for those of us with less than perfect skin who need quite a bit of help with covering our blemishes here and htere.

It’s a concealer that helps mask everything from scars and tatoos to skin imperfections, blemishes, redness, rosacea and acne redness. It seems to do a very good job by the pictures that I got to see online, but of course, I have not tried it so I don’t really know if it works in the real light with not retouching until I actually try it. The kit was going for about thirty bucks a pop, and that seemed a bit expensive for me to splurge on if I wasn’t sure I was going to like or use it.

There were several pictures of women before and after that had a lot of redness to their skin, or blotchiness, or they had dark circles under their eyes, but it was too hard for me to tell whether these pictures were really retouched or not, so I sort of gave up looking at them because I wasn’t sure they were real or not to be honest.

Now, the way I found this Smart Concealer is that I was searching online with the search terms “concealer used in movies”, so I’m assumign that Smart Cover is used in movies, but they didn’t come right out and say that, but just showed pictures of beautiful actresses with great skin, and cited movies they were in, but it didn’t come right out and say that this cover up was used for that movie or not.

For my recent wedding in Las Vegas, I went to one of my all time favorite makeup counters, the new MAC counter in our local Macy’s at our mall, which I was thrilled to find, since the closest one to me was by where I work which is about 45 minutes away from my home.

At the MAC counter, I had one of the makeup artists give me a whole new look on my eyes, with new, vibrant color palettes, that I knew would show up really well in photographs, which was my main goal since I wanted to make sure you could see my eyes in the pictures, since eyes and eyebrows often get obscured in photos too easily.

In real life, it might have been laid on a little thick for my taste, but they did end up showing up nicely in pictures. One of the products she used on me which I did end up purchasing was a little paint pot of eyeshadow foundation that was a hard, thick skin toned cream that you brushed onto your eyelids and upper eyes near your brow bone with a professional flat, stiff bristled brush (which I also bought and love, it’s my new favorite eyeshadow brush as well).

Even though, as far as I know, this little pot of foundation only came in one color, it seemed to be pretty universally flattering. When you put it on your eyes, even though it was just a nude tone, it seemed to brighten the whole area. The makeup artist told me that some people use it as a concealer for blemishes too, and it does work really well as a concealer for old red spots from acne scars as well as newer acne lesions since it’s so thick. I tried it out for that purpose, and it’s great, and you only need a little bit since it provides such thick coverage.

You would however, need to buy a concealer brush so you can get the foundation out of the pot and onto your blemish correctly. A concealer brush is a very small one with short, stiffer bristles and it’s very skinny as well, to give you more control over where you are applying your chosen concealer over your blemishes. She also told me that this fun multipurpose stuff can be used as a lipstick foundation.

She said she uses it and her lipstick doesn’t budge for hours at a time. The purpose of it for your eye makeup is to make the colors more vibrant and rich, and also of course to make them stay put a lot longer, and boy does it do that job.

If you have had acne for a good part of your life, or you have suffered with the skin condition on and off since your teens, like myself, then you know how much of a Godsend a good concealer can be, and a great foundation for that matter too. A good concealer can really camouflage the redness, bumps, scabs and scars that are leftover from when an acne lesion goes away, or even when it’s still there, so that you don’t have a giant shiner standing out for all to see.

There’s definitely an art to applying it correctly, but once you learn that, you know how important the product itself that you choose is extremely important in the results you get in covering up your blemishes as well. I’m going to tell you why I think these duo cream concealers are really a good idea to have around. First off, they are great because our skin tone is usually not exactly the same all the time.

You usually will see a bit of a change in your facial skin tone from the winter time until the spring and summer time, especially if you get sun exposure on your face, which most of us do to some point, even if we religiously apply the sun screen every day. This can cause subtle or extreme changes in the tone of our complexion from season to season, and having a lighter and a darker shade of cream concealer really helps to bridge that gap.

Not only that, you can even blend the two together for a “custom” shade if your skin happens to be between skin tones at times. Shoot, I can tell you honestly, that even during those winter months where my skin literally doesn’t see a lick of sunshine, my skin can still vary subtly in shade from day to day, so having two different tones to work with is really great.

Especially since it looks so much more natural when it is more closely matched to your real skin tone. That makes all the difference in how well it camouflages your blemishes and other imperfections. A little tip though, if you must do anything, go a shade lighter with concealers, as darker is almost never a good idea and will actually make blemishes and imperfections stand out MORE than they usually do if you’re not careful.

I love the cream, thicker concealers, because I believe they are superior to the liquid ones, which I’ve always found offer inferior coverage and longevity to the cream types. I think everyone, not just acne sufferers, but especially acne prone skin should have these duo concealer kits.

Lord knows I’ve been in search of the perfect cover up and the perfect cover up technique for acne lesions and acne scars, and newly formed acne scars for a long time.  There are actually a few that are worth noting, however you really also have to know the right technique for blending them and applying them to get the optimal, most covering results you can for skin that appears to be clear and flawless, but of course isn’t.  I like to make sure first that I use a full coverage foundation, and I’ve recently found that Revlon Colorstay foundation for oily/combination skin is one of the best covering for my skin.

When you have a great base foundation, it’s all that much easier to cover up your blemishes seemlessly.  Of course, if the blemish is really large and inflamed, that always presents a challenge for covering it up because it’s obviously hard to cover something up that is a large bump, no matter how well you blend it in.  However, if you really know how to blend your concealer, then you can make a blemish appear much smaller and less noticeable, no matter what it’s size, so it’s important to remember that before throwing in the towel and swearing off going out in public for a while til the dang thing heals.

There are some excellent choices out there for concealers.  One of the better ones is Laura Mercier’s cream concealer, but you need to make sure you have a good concealer brush to apply it with to get optimal results, which she does sell.  If you don’t want to spend such big bucks on a brush though, you can opt to buy something less expensive on the lower end at Target. Sonia Kashuk makes some great brushes, and there is another line they sell there that is eco friendly that has gotten rave reviews, although I have never tried those ones yet.

It’s important when you are dipping into the concealer, or if you’re dabbing it on the zit directly, to not apply to much, and to dab it instead of rubbing it.  You want the product to look like a dot on the blemish, and then you want to come in and delicately pad it with your finger or a brush until it blends in well.  Rubbing will just make you need to start over since you’re essentially rubbing the product right out of the blemish making it necessary to apply more.

Ok, to continue with our last conversation about application techniques for applying foundation and concealer for maximum blemish cover up and also for a flawless and natural look, let’s talk more about the application technique as well as what products (a recap) to use to get the best finish, for the most affordable price.  I had mentioned before that I’ve repeatedly heard that Revlon Color Stay is a superior drugstore brand foundation that is recommended by a lot of makeup artists.  I bought that and added it to my makeup collection, and couldn’t be happier with the coverage.

So, here are the ingredients in my flawless foundation recipe, followed by the directions and tecnique for applying these “ingredients”

1.)  Revlon Colorstay foundation for oily/combination skin in it’s second lightest color.  Match this to your complexion as closely as possible, don’t go too light or too dark, or the natural look you get will be compromised.  This foundation will run you roughly twelve bucks in Target or Wal-mart, possibly more if it’s not a department store.

2.)  Revlon Skinlights or some other skin brightening lotion that helps with the dewy effect or glow, in your skin tone of course.

3.)  A cream cover up or concealer.  I prefer cream, I don’t think the liquid covers at all.

4.)  A foundation brush and a concealer brush.

5.)  Loose mineral powder in a sheer shade, this is minimal and should be used just to “set” the foundation.  You’ll need a large powder brush if you don’t already have one.  I just use my Kabuki brush that came with my Bare Minerals kit, and I use my Bare Minerals powder to set it.

6.)  A sheer, natural shade of blush (powder).

Ok, now let’s get started on how to apply this foundation.  Start off applying a LOT of your day moisturizer to your face.  It is important that you pile on the moisturizer, to have a good base for your foundation and to ensure it doesn’t look dry or like it’s sitting on your skin.  Let your moisturizer sink in completely and dry before starting the application.

Now, take your foundation and put about a dime size of it on the back of your hand.  Add your glow lotion to it, just a smidge.  Get your foundation brush and dip it in, and dab it on one side of your face, then the other, then go back for more and put a smear of it on your chin and forehead as well until it’s all used up.  Go back and do sort of a dabbing motion with your foundation brush, don’t do strokes.  Continue to blend, all the way to the hairline, until the foundation is all blended in.  You should already see that many of your imperfections have been blended away.

Next, take your concealer brush and dip it in your concealer, or brush the top of the concealer stick and get some on your brush, putting it right on your blemishes.  Dab, do not rub the concealer in.  Now, you’re ready to set the foundation.  Take your large powder brush and dip it in your setting powder, and dust it on the forehead, cheeks area and the chin.  Then go back and use a large brush and put some natural blush or bronzer just really lightly on your forehead, cheeks and chin.  Voila, perfecto!

Ok, so, being a very disciplined makeup user who always covers up blemishes, and was used to covering at least 4 to 5 blemishes at a time when I was a teen since my breakouts were so bad back then, I’ve tried a lot of different ways to cover my blemishes and old blemishes or scars that have worked to varying degrees.  I think I’ve found the best way to cover blemishes and provide the best overall coverage that I’ve found so far.  I actually went on Youtube to get pointers from makeup artists on how to do it before I tried it for the first time, but being a foundation brush virgin, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and splurge on a foundation brush and try to apply my foundation that way instead of with my beloved sponges.

I still think a good sponge will provide good coverage, but I think the combination of the type of foundation I’ve bought and the fact that I’m applying it with a foundation brush have resulted in some of the best overall complexion coverage I’ve ever seen for my face, as well as the most glowing skin I’ve ever had after I’m finished applying makeup. The best part is, it still looks natural. It doesn’t look caked on or too heavy, so you have to get your technique down right and the right mix of facial skin care products to get the look just right.

Here’s my new favorit recipe for a glowing and flawless (looking) complexion :

Revlon Color Stay foundation.  I have read in a few places that this is one of the best cheaper alternatives that provides great coverage, so I tried it.  And I love it.  I use the second lightest shade since I’m pretty fair, and I use the formula for the oily/combination skin since it’s summer, but I may switch to the formula for normal skin in the winter.  I still also use my Revlon skinlights skin brightener as well, which has unfortunately been discontinued, so when I’m done with that I have to find another comparable product.

I purchased a foundation brush from Target.  It was about seven bucks, compared to the one I really wanted but I’m trying to save money, by Mac, which is almost thirty bucks I believe.  I like the foundation brush I got from Target, honestly it works just fine.  I also got a concealer brush, but I’m still looking for a good cream based concealer that comes in a bowl instead of a stick, and I think I may purchase the Benefit one, but I’m still looking.  If anyone has any recommendations let me know.

TO BE CONTINUED!