Face Makeup Crisis

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

My dermatologist has recommended that I only use Almay, Neutrogena, Physician's Formula, BareMinerals, Jane Iredale, and GloMinerals for my face makeup because I have acne and redness. I am so annoyed because I have so many foundations, primers, concealers, and powders that I absolutely love that I can't use anymore! I need to find some new face products from the brands I listed. Any suggestions? Please help! Thank you!

Jul 19, 2015

Pamela F.

Yeah I didnt think doctors would know so much about specific ingredients in what looks like a broad range of brands...

Jul 19, 2015

Michelle S.

I find that weird too. As long as you're taking care of your skin, it shouldn't matter what brands your using. Unless, you're ordering knockoffs or cheap quality stuff from eBay. When my skin was worse, I did use a lot of bareMinerals products and still use a few of them today. I love everything but the foundation (this is only because I prefer liquids). If you don't like powder foundations, look into their Complexion Rescue. It's not full coverage, but a thin layer of colored powder can help with that. I see it's not listed above, but Laura Mercier products are great, especially her oil free primer :)

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Thank you! I am not sure why my dermatologist has told me to only use certain brands. It's frustrating. I do have very sensitive skin though... so maybe that plays into it? I am not sure.

Jul 19, 2015

Michelle S.

It could be your skin type. Mine is incredibly sensitive and I've learned what brands work for me through trial and error. I always research the product first and check out reviews. With sensitive skin, try to purchase your products from stores that let you make returns and exchanges. Hoping you find something that works :)

Jul 19, 2015

Shelley W.

I asked my husband about your issue as he is a dermo and worked in formulating skincare/cosmetics before medicine and he said of few of the above mentioned lines have just the same irritating ingredients as those not touted as being for sensitive skin and he doesn't tell patients to use only certain brands because his thing is trying to narrow down what a person is sensitive to ingredients wise. He is a fan of Jane Iredale and it was my line of choice when I was going thru chemo for cancer years ago because it was gentle on my sensitive and very reactive skin. Did your dermo have you go thru any prick testing to narrow down irritants?

Jul 19, 2015

Bella L.

My derm told me that if I don't want to irrriatate my acne or make my face flare in redness to try and use products that are oil free and a bonus if their talc free

Jul 19, 2015

Nikki D.

I agree with Shelley! I went through a phase of looking for makeup products that were better for my skin, only to find that the ingredients they used actually weren't so different after all.

Jul 19, 2015

Hannah K.

That's really strange, almost like advertising only those brands! However I agree with the use of BareMinerals, but disagree with Neutrogena as it has some harsh chemicals in it that were even too harsh for my combo skin.

Jul 19, 2015

Cayla S.

I have Jane iredale bb cream and powder foundation. The bb cream is a bit heavy but omg they look so natural on my skin you can't tell I'm wearing any makeup.

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Thank you so much! I appreciate it a lot! @MichelleS.

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I am very interested to try Jane Iredale. I am sorry to hear about your cancer years ago. Thank you for your help!! :) @ShellyW.

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Okay! Great! @BellaL.

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Perfect! That's what I am going for, Cayla S!

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Okay, thanks! @NikkiD

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Yes, I tried Neutrogena foundation and it hurt really bad and stung! @HannahK.

Jul 19, 2015

Angela J.

My moms oncologist suggests Jane Iredale to her patients for their sensitivity and dryness issues. My dermatologist years ago always pushed Neutrogena and Almay as if they were very non irritating as well. That was before mineral makeup came on the scene though. Now at the salon where I go for facials they are always trying to sell me on the glo minerals but I'm thinking that's because that's what they sell there duh lol:)

Jul 19, 2015

Angela J.

I used Bare Minerals for quite some time when it first popped up and saw no change for the better in my skin. I got suckered into buying a ton of that stuff hoping it'd help my problematic skin at the time. I'm not bashing them, it works wonders for many from what I've heard but my experience with their products has always been disappointing.

Jul 19, 2015

Meagan M.

I have acne prone skin and neutrogena foundations really are no good. Maybe it's just general for me but I have read threads on here as well that of people having issues with foundations of neutrogena. I just recommend finding a good skin cleaning regime! :)

Jul 19, 2015

Chris M.

My dermatologist told me to use only Almay or Physician's Formula, as I was having an allergic reaction to some chemical. I spent hundreds trying to find new products in those brands that satisfied me. When I had a reaction to the Physicians Formula eye cream, I just went back to my old products. I went for extensive allergy testing - where they leave the samples on for 3 days! - and I ended up being allergic to one chemical in particular. As my dermatologist says, "You can put orange juice on your face and if you react, than it doesn't matter how organic it is."

Jul 19, 2015

Diana T.

I would be careful because the truth is that some doctors and dermatologists are sponsored by some big name skin care and/or makeup companies so that's why they suggest specific brands - just like how your doctor prescribes specific brands of pharmaceutical drugs for you to buy - when OTC drugs work just as well (sometimes) it's because those specific brands help to pay that persons paycheck - so I would take brand recommendations with a grain of salt - I personally have acne prone skin and these are the brands that have worked well with my skin: MUFE, Estée Lauder, Clinique, tarte, coverFX and dermablend - there are a few more things here and there but those brands specifically I buy for face products and have never made my acne worse and/or irritated my psoriasis - I'm still careful to avoid certain ingredients that I know irritate my skin and that's probably what you should do as well as take advice from these lovely beauties :) good luck in your search to find the right products for you.

Jul 19, 2015

Chris M.

Bottom line - try samples - don't go out and buy a bunch of products or you could buy where they can be returned.

Jul 19, 2015

Alyx T.

Diana is right. At least in the states a lot of professionals like doctors and dermatologists are sponsored. Your derm could have also just been listing brands he knows of. That seems like just popular brands to me.
I have extremely sensitive red skin, and I love tartes, flower, mufe and nars foundations. But it's all an experiment and guessing game unfortunately! I don't actually suggest bareminerals or any mineral foundation as it can cause huge reactions to open acne. (I have experienced it myself and sephora reviews have a lot of the same thing) I also don't recommend almay. They are extremely harsh I find for my sensitive skin.
Physicians formula is a really great brand when it comes to face makeup. They don't use a ton of heavy acne fighting or causing ingredients in them. But I don't know of any that covered my little acne breakouts.

I agree on getting samples if you can, but drugstore ones don't do that in most places.

Jul 19, 2015

Lauren B.

Thank you for all of the help!