Advice on Makeup Routine?

Oct 24, 2012

Chantalle C.

I've been toying with makeup for a while now, but in all honestly, I'm still a beginner when it comes to it all. I'm currently fighting acne and the scars associated, but I don't want that to hold me back! Oh, and for the life of me, I can't keep my face matte! So for anyone who can actually keep their faces looking flawless, what do you do?

I'd like to have products that provide good coverage, but don't hinder my skin's healing process. If you're familiar with the dark side of acne, what are some products that have ultimately changed your skin?

Any form of advice would be lovely!
Also, please suggest brands that are (in your opinion) inexpensive, unless they're totally worth it! Thank you, xo!

Oct 24, 2012

Melissa F.

I have really oily skin and suffer from acne. One product I would recommend is Skin Miracle Transformer. It's definitely not inexpensive or full coverage but it does smooth out my skin and stays matte. I would recommend checking out a sample from Sephora before buying it because it is an investment. For a low cost but great pay off, try Color Stay by Revlon for oily skin because it will matte out your face. For touch ups through out the day, like powder, try the color stay powder. I hope this helped a bit. :-)

Oct 24, 2012

Shelbi V.

I use Revlon color stay and it works really well I also have scars it covers them and keeps skin looking clear. I also use a tone correcting powder and stay spray and my makeup stays on all day :) it works and all of them are drug store products :)

Oct 24, 2012

Charlotte H.

Hey :)
I would say instead of using a foundation use a tinted moisturizer (that is water based), that way you can wear make up but your skin will still be able to breathe.
Make sure that before you put on make- up you moisturize really well, let the moisturizer soak in, then apply your make-up. That way it prevents your acne from cracking and drying out which can lead to it bleeding, making matters worse. A really good natural moisturizer that helps acne is virgin coconut oil, so you could try that :)

Now I don't know your facial routine but have you ever tried tea tree oil on your acne. I would recommend wetting a cotton ball then putting a drop of tea tree oil on the cotton ball, then apply it to affected area. It's a natural antiseptic so it will get rid of the bacteria that lays within the acne. Depending on how sensitive your skin is depends on how much to dilute the tea tree oil, but never put tea tree oil straight onto skin without diluting it first.
I hope this somewhat helps :)
xox

Oct 25, 2012

Chantalle C.

Thank you ladies! I'll definitely check out Revlon's Colorstay since you both suggested it :D!
And Charlotte, the virgin coconut oil and tea tree oil won't clog my pores or leave my skin greasy, right? Whenever I see/hear the word "oil", it's like an immediate red flag, aha.

Oct 25, 2012

Kyle G.

I have been in makeup for a while and have pretty severe acne and scarring, I know it sucks. One product that has seriously worked for me is the doctor Brandt "blemishes no more" for your makeup- try a mineral makeup to absorb excess oil and allow your skin to breathe. Exfoliating regularly to remove dead skin is essential along with a face regimen that will treat that ache concern, hope this helps sweetie. Best of luck!! :) <3

Oct 25, 2012

Nowheregirl B.

you need to use correctors for "that" flawless look...it will neutralize the uneven tone of your skin. for example if you have reddish acne marks, you need to use green, I've seen people with purple tones (specially around lips) which can be neutralize by yellow...i personally have blue under eye circles so i always put on red orange/salmon corrector before using concealers. After general moisturizer and primer(make sure all your make-ups are oil-controlling types since you suffer from acne) , if you can use the correctors right, then put on concealers and proceed with foundation/compact/blush etc, you wouldn't need to find the perfect product. any quality product you have would give you that flawless result.
Hope it helps :)

Oct 26, 2012

Caitlin M.

I'm going to apologize in advance for the novel of a post that's going to follow...

I've had acne since I was 12, now I'm 20 and it's finally starting to slow down a bit. I still have breakouts a decent amount but I'm feeling a lot more in control now.
The products I find that really work for me is Philosophy's Clear Days Ahead line. I use the cleanser, the treatment lotion and the spot treatment. I also use their Purity Made Simple cleanser and their Hope in a Jar moisturizer, both when I can afford them or get them as add-ons (once I have a steady paycheck I'll be able to get them more frequently ha)

My routine is to wash my face with whichever of those two cleansers is better that day (Purity if I'm a bit dryer and Clear Days if I'm oily) and use the treatment lotion to absorb any oil and start preventing any acne as soon as I can. I also have a much cheaper Clean & Clear oil absorbing lotion for whenever I run out of the one from Philosophy. I will admit that I like the Philosophy one better because it actually moisturizes where as the Clean & Clear one can leave me a little too dry. So I usually only use it under makeup when I have to.

Anyway, I put some kind of oil absorbing/acne preventing lotion on and then just go straight in with my foundation. I usually use Diorskin Forever, its not oily and covers well. I've heard that any foundation with Amazonian clay is ideal for oily skin but I haven't been able to try any yet. I've heard Tarte is really good though. For concealer I use either a Makeup Forever one out of a concealer palette I have, but my favorite which I currently don't have on hand is Kat Von D's tattoo concealer. It covers beautifully but doesn't look cakey or too much, yet it's thick enough to cover almost everything. Sometimes I also will use a green color corrector to tone down any redness. This makes the concealer cover them a bit better. Then I set everything with a powder. Right now I'm using a covergirl one which I believe is oil-absorbing...its the one in the round, blue compact.

That usually works for me. I would recommend buying some blotting papers too and using them instead of adding more powder unless you have to. Adding more might absorb the oil but it will also build up and look cakey and thick.

And lastly just a friendly reminder that when you take your makeup off make sure you get it ALL off! :) Getting all the makeup off your skin and as much out of your pores is definitely something that will contribute to clearer skin. Exfoliation does wonders as well to make sure your face is clear of dead skin cells and makeup residue that can block pores and cause breakouts. But only do this every few days, too often can irritate skin and make things worse. I hope some of this helps you out at least a little :) Sorry for the super long post, I have a tendency to ramble on hehe

Oct 26, 2012

Kristina R.

one thing that is an absolute MUST have for me is any kind of Benzoyl Peroxide acne gel, i used to have frequent breakouts that would emerge no matter what I did, I always put this on my problems areas that I know I breakout in after removing makeup and washing my face (morning and night) and then just use your regular moisturizer after (with spf). As for makeup I try to stick with oil-free products as much as I can. For oily skin, primer is a must have, and since I have acne prone skin I use "Fusion Beauty colorceuticals primer for acne prone skin" and right now I'm using MUFE fullcover concealer and MUFE foundation, these are both buildable coverage products, but as of recently I have my sights set on the Kat Von D Lock-it Tattoo foundation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxq4X5TWmaM) Hope this helps! 

Oct 26, 2012

Jennifer C.

I recommend acne.org line for skin care! Changed my life! I also switched to a powder foundation from glo minerals. 

Oct 27, 2012

Chantalle C.

Thanks everyone! I'm so excited to try out your suggestions! :')

Oct 30, 2012

Aim S.

There is a YouTube guru who suffers with acne and covers it really well her youtube name is DiamondsandHeels14 I hope she helps! Good luck!