The 'FLAWLESS' Face.

biohaiid

Hi.
I have oily and acne prone/scarred skin and have really been trying to combat and cover this with the past 3-4 years. (I'm 17 now).
Ive found some combinations of foundations and concealers I like, but really nothing has completely covered my blemishes and given me the look I want.
Also, Ive been known to be a bit stingy when it comes to cash, but I am willing to splurge a little now.
Skincare is not really the problem, as with a combination on Proactiv, Aloe Berry Nectar and Lemon Juice I finally seem to be getting there.
Still, especially with college looming in the way too soon future, I would like a new foundation routine that would give me the confidence and finish I want.
So really I am looking for and advice on primers, concealers, foundations, powders - the lot, to help me get the 'flawless' (as much as possible anyway) look.

Thank you!

Toast4532

Can I suggest you use witch hazel on spots? I use it on mine (I dab a tiny amount onto the spots ONLY, do not rub it all over your face as it will dry out your skin), it's amazing for spots. I find it gets rid of mine within 2-3 days. You need to put it on a few times a day though.

I also find wearing as little make up as possible helps to keep my skin clear.

If your skin is oily/combination skin like mine, try not to use products that has oil in them as it will only make your acne worse. You need product that don't have oil, as they will help your skin.

Also the likes of Clinique's anti blemish range is quite harsh on skin, I find, so I would be skipping that too as it will dry out your skin and make it worse. I don't know about Proactive.

I quite like Bobbi brown foundations, so far they are the only foundations that haven't broken me out in spots.

Their luminous moisturizing foundation is very nice, and you can build it up for heavy coverage, but you could end up with that dreaded 'caked' look.

http://www.bobbibrown.co.uk/product/5141/7554/Makeup/Face/Foundation/Luminous-Moisturizing-Foundation/Award-Winner/index.tmpl

Estee Lauder double wear is a full coverage foundation, tried it myself but didn't like it, not to mention it felt very heavy on my skin.

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/643/3894/Product-Catalog/Makeup/Face/Foundations/Double-Wear/Stay-in-Place-Makeup-SPF-10/index.tmpl

They also do a light version of it, but it wasn't much better.

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/643/3542/Product-Catalog/Makeup/Face/Foundations/Double-Wear-Light/Stay-in-Place-Makeup-SPF-10/index.tmpl

This one is nice, but extremely light so I don't know if it'd be for you as it offers very little coverage

http://www.bobbibrown.co.uk/product/5141/15932/Makeup/Face/Foundation/SPF-15-Tinted-Moisturizer-Oil-Free/Award-Winner/index.tmpl

gillapino

You should try the Vichy Dermablend foundations and concealers, there amazing ! Really good coverage and can even cover tattoos.

Check out this video too, i found it really helpful! Also make sure your remove every bit of make up at night, and clean your brushes regularly ! Good luck with college !

biohaiid

Thank you for the advice and replies!

Toast4532 wrote: »

Can I suggest you use witch hazel on spots? I use it on mine (I dab a tiny amount onto the spots ONLY, do not rub it all over your face as it will dry out your skin), it's amazing for spots. I find it gets rid of mine within 2-3 days. You need to put it on a few times a day though.

I also find wearing as little make up as possible helps to keep my skin clear.

If your skin is oily/combination skin like mine, try not to use products that has oil in them as it will only make your acne worse. You need product that don't have oil, as they will help your skin.

Also the likes of Clinique's anti blemish range is quite harsh on skin, I find, so I would be skipping that too as it will dry out your skin and make it worse. I don't know about Proactive.

I quite like Bobbi brown foundations, so far they are the only foundations that haven't broken me out in spots.

Their luminous moisturizing foundation is very nice, and you can build it up for heavy coverage, but you could end up with that dreaded 'caked' look.

http://www.bobbibrown.co.uk/product/5141/7554/Makeup/Face/Foundation/Luminous-Moisturizing-Foundation/Award-Winner/index.tmpl

Estee Lauder double wear is a full coverage foundation, tried it myself but didn't like it, not to mention it felt very heavy on my skin.

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/643/3894/Product-Catalog/Makeup/Face/Foundations/Double-Wear/Stay-in-Place-Makeup-SPF-10/index.tmpl

They also do a light version of it, but it wasn't much better.

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/643/3542/Product-Catalog/Makeup/Face/Foundations/Double-Wear-Light/Stay-in-Place-Makeup-SPF-10/index.tmpl

This one is nice, but extremely light so I don't know if it'd be for you as it offers very little coverage

http://www.bobbibrown.co.uk/product/5141/15932/Makeup/Face/Foundation/SPF-15-Tinted-Moisturizer-Oil-Free/Award-Winner/index.tmpl

The thing is, my acne isn't really active, if that's the correct word.
It's mostly red little bumpy pimples and scars, no blackheads and whiteheads or anything like that.
Which I actually find worse, cos' at least there are plenty of products to get rid of 'active' acne.
I may try the witch hazel anyways, why not.
For me, I dont really find that makeup irritates my skinor makes it worse, but I think I may try an oil-free foundation to see if it makes any difference.
Thanks for all the links, I'm going to look into them all now.

gillapino wrote: »

You should try the Vichy Dermablend foundations and concealers, there amazing ! Really good coverage and can even cover tattoos.

Check out this video too, i found it really helpful! Also make sure your remove every bit of make up at night, and clean your brushes regularly ! Good luck with college !

Great, I'll check it out now, thanks.

vibrantblue

gillapino wrote: »

You should try the Vichy Dermablend foundations and concealers, there amazing ! Really good coverage and can even cover tattoos.

Check out this video too, i found it really helpful! Also make sure your remove every bit of make up at night, and clean your brushes regularly ! Good luck with college !

I was going to give a link to this video and I'm happy to see that it's already been recommended. It has great tips for acne prone skin. I have acne vulgaris myself but through skincare and careful use of right make-up, it is under control. You said you got the skin care part down, so that's great. But may I suggest to use sunscreen daily, if you're using lemon juice? Lemon increases photo-sensitivity greatly, so it might increase the discolouration that is left behind from old scars.

In terms of make-up, as in the video above, I find the best way to not to aggregate my acne is to use a lighter foundation and then spot cover for a flawless finish. The Vichy Dermablend is an awesome product. That thing can cover tattoos!! I use the Dermablend foundation as a concealer like in the video on really bad days. Otherwise one of my favourite concealers is Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage. A more budget friendly alternative would be Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer. It is the real deal; covers very nicely and does not look cakey.

biohaiid

vibrantblue wrote: »

I was going to give a link to this video and I'm happy to see that it's already been recommended. It has great tips for acne prone skin. I have acne vulgaris myself but through skincare and careful use of right make-up, it is under control. You said you got the skin care part down, so that's great. But may I suggest to use sunscreen daily, if you're using lemon juice? Lemon increases photo-sensitivity greatly, so it might increase the discolouration that is left behind from old scars.

In terms of make-up, as in the video above, I find the best way to not to aggregate my acne is to use a lighter foundation and then spot cover for a flawless finish. The Vichy Dermablend is an awesome product. That thing can cover tattoos!! I use the Dermablend foundation as a concealer like in the video on really bad days. Otherwise one of my favourite concealers is Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage. A more budget friendly alternative would be Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer. It is the real deal; covers very nicely and does not look cakey.

I never knew that about the lemon juice, I'll be sure to use sunscreen now.
And that video is amazing.
Her acne looks quite similar to mine, although I have much more.
I am very interested in the Vichy Dermablend range now.
Do you have any idea how much the foundation and concealer cost, and where to buy them?
I might try the collection 2000 one too. Thanks!

vibrantblue

I bought mine from a Hickey's Pharmacy. But I think it's available from other pharmacies too. It's been some time so I don't remember how much it was.

gillapino

Most pharmacys stock Vichy, i can highly recommend their skincare range too. There foundations and concealers are around the 15-20€ mark, but you only need a tiny bit so will last you ages ! I'd also recommend applying it with a brush like the MAC 217 or 224, or a cheaper one would be a brush from No.7 which is very similar to the 217, just a fluffy blending brush ! Good luck

panda100

I was just about to recommend Vichy Dermablend, and I see gillapino has pipped me to the post.

I use the vichy dermablend foundation in the tube, not the stick, and it really is amazing, My only big criticism is, that it's lightest shade is too dark for my skin. Therefore I can only wear it when I'm wearing fake tan If you have very pale skin, then it will be quite difficult to get a Vichy foundation to match.

I also use MUFE Full Cover Concealer: http://www.makeupforever.com/products/full-cover.html
I think it's about €27. If you have spots or scars like me, then you should really invest in this product. It stays put all day, and provides excellent coverage without looking chalky or too much makeup.

biohaiid

gillapino wrote: »

Most pharmacys stock Vichy, i can highly recommend their skincare range too. There foundations and concealers are around the 15-20€ mark, but you only need a tiny bit so will last you ages ! I'd also recommend applying it with a brush like the MAC 217 or 224, or a cheaper one would be a brush from No.7 which is very similar to the 217, just a fluffy blending brush ! Good luck

Thats not too expensive at all, was expecting it to be more!
Yeah I need to invest in some good brushes anyways so might have a look at those, thanks!

panda100 wrote: »

I was just about to recommend Vichy Dermablend, and I see gillapino has pipped me to the post.

I use the vichy dermablend foundation in the tube, not the stick, and it really is amazing, My only big criticism is, that it's lightest shade is too dark for my skin. Therefore I can only wear it when I'm wearing fake tan If you have very pale skin, then it will be quite difficult to get a Vichy foundation to match.

I also use MUFE Full Cover Concealer: http://www.makeupforever.com/products/full-cover.html
I think it's about €27. If you have spots or scars like me, then you should really invest in this product. It stays put all day, and provides excellent coverage without looking chalky or too much makeup.

Ah, I'm quite pale too but not VERY pale, I'll have to have a look. I don't like wearing tan so if it is too pale I'm going to have to go with another brand. Maybe revlon colourstay or soemthing, but I'll take a look at vichy first.

I've heard good things about MUFE, I'll have a look.
Thanks!

Bambii_

Witch Hazel for spots is amazing. Just make sure to moisturize with a good moisturizer after the WH has dried in, it can be drying. Also, only apply it on the spots, don't smudge all over your face.

For the flawless make-up look, alot of it is about how you apply the make-up not just the brand of make-up itself. I'll post what works for me (I have oily/dry combination uneven skin that can be prone to spots and this works for me).

Before applying make-up put some Cleansing lotion on a cotten pad and wipe face with it to remove oil and dirt. I use Boots Simply Sensitive Cleansing Lotion. About 2Euro in Boots.

Concealer; I never splash out on concealer, it's really not worth it. I use one I got with a Front Cover set. Put a little on a brush and apply it over spots, areas of redness and under your eyes.

Foundation; I use Maybelline Super Stay 24 hour foundation in Light Beige (I'm really pale too and I find this a perfect skin match). It's 10.99 in Boots, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, anywhere that does make-up really. I section off my face (chin, cheeks, forehead etc) and do each part at a time. I put a little on the back of my hand and then with a cotton pad scoop up a suitable amount for the part of your face you are covering first. I prefer cotton pads because it doesn't waste any make-up. With proper make-up sponges the foundation can sink into the sponge and then gets washed away when cleaning. Do thin layers at a time. I generally do two for full coverage.

Powder; I always set foundation with a powder. The one I'm using atm is quite expensive, but I think its worth it. It's MF-7 from MiceBella Cosmetics. It cost 53Euro (or there around), which is quite dear, but they guarantee that it lasts a year when using every day because you only need to use a little to get the full coverage look. I've used it pretty much every day since February and I still have more than half left.
With a small powder brush apply a little powder to each section of your face (section it off again) and blend.

Hope this helps It works for me, I get a perfectly flawless look. Sorry I don't have a video to post along with it, but I think I described everything in enough detail.

Xx-Steph08-xX

lancome teint idole ultra 24h is really good coverage its medium to full you can build it up, its oil free as well and comes in alot of shades 18 i think? its 35 euro but its prob my all time fave as it does last on your skin i find it best to wait 10-15 mins after putting on moisturiser lancome are pretty good for giving foundation samples to try out first if u ask them and they match you up.. i got a sample that was ment to last 7 days but it actually lasted me longer debenhams often do 10% off too i often wait for that to come around hope that helps x

Lia_lia

OP if your skin is so bad have you ever thought of going on the pill? Many people I know had awful, awful skin for years and tried everything and going on the pill is the only thing that worked. Probably seems a bit extreme, but just a thought!

No lotions or potions have ever made any difference to my skin anyway. Waste of money! Unless you're spending it on good foundations/concealers for cover-ups...but best to sort out what's causing the spots first I guess

Anyway! I use Clinique Anti-Blemish solutions foundation. Don't really get spots anymore (grown outta them!) but my face gets very shiny and this helps stop the shiny-ness! I also have very pale skin and lightest colour in this is grand. It's medium-high coverage. I also use Loreal Primer to help with the shine!

biohaiid

Lia_lia wrote: »

OP if your skin is so bad have you ever thought of going on the pill? Many people I know had awful, awful skin for years and tried everything and going on the pill is the only thing that worked. Probably seems a bit extreme, but just a thought!

No lotions or potions have ever made any difference to my skin anyway. Waste of money! Unless you're spending it on good foundations/concealers for cover-ups...but best to sort out what's causing the spots first I guess

Anyway! I use Clinique Anti-Blemish solutions foundation. Don't really get spots anymore (grown outta them!) but my face gets very shiny and this helps stop the shiny-ness! I also have very pale skin and lightest colour in this is grand. It's medium-high coverage. I also use Loreal Primer to help with the shine!

I have, but I dunno. Iv'e been to the doctor numerous times over the years and I've tried all sorts of meds and none of them worked at all.
I think the Proactiv is starting to kick in now (I've been taking weekly pics) and that's medicated, but I usually find the more natural solutions work for me - the lemon juice and Aloe Berry Nectar.
I really haven't got new spots in a long time, it's a lot of scarring and irritation.

Thanks for the advice though, I might check out some clinique.

bscm

I've heard the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum is meant to be amazing at reducing scarring from acne and smoothing the skin. It's quite expensive, but the reviews say it's good for every type of skin. I've read that some reviewers got testers, so it might be worth popping into a counter and seeing if you can try it

biohaiid

bscm wrote: »

I've heard the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum is meant to be amazing at reducing scarring from acne and smoothing the skin. It's quite expensive, but the reviews say it's good for every type of skin. I've read that some reviewers got testers, so it might be worth popping into a counter and seeing if you can try it

I'm going shopping tomorrow so I'll try and get a tester, along with all the other testers of things I wanna try out haha
Thanks.

Salty

I use the La Roche Posay equivalent of the Vichy Dermablend foundation, but only as a concealer. I've tried both (they both have the same coverage imo) and while they work excellently as concealers, I would advise not to use either of these as full face foundation. It's not that they look cakey or anything, but they do not provide very good oil control, despite the brilliant coverage.

Personally, I always use Revlon Colorstay because I find the coverage perfect and it doesn't get shiny and oily after a couple of hours, or wear off my face.

For general concealing I use Benefit Boi-ing.

For industrial strength concealing, I use the La Roche Posay foundation. I find the best way to apply this is in tiny amounts (I mean tiny, this stuff goes a long, long way!) I use a cotton bud to dab a dot of the foundation onto the spots, and then stipple/pat it into the skin using my foundation brush. This would also work with the VDB.

Powder wise, I use Rimmel Stay Matte. Dirt cheap, does a brilliant job.

I saw some mention of brushes. I can't recommend highly enough, the Sigma brushes which can be bought off Cloud10Beauty. They are amazing, don't bother with MAC brushes, honestly. They are so expensive compared to Sigma, and I personally find I get better results with my Sigma brushes. I do still love my MAC 187 for blush though. I have two Sigma brushes, the F80 (flat top, excellent for applying foundation) and the F84 (angled top, also excellent for applying foundation, or blush.)

I agree with an earlier poster who said to use an SPF every day under your make-up. I use a LRP factor 50 one and I love it. It doesn't break me out or feel greasy, just moisturising. Wearing sun screen prevents any hyperpigmentation you already have as a result of acne, from darkening and worsening any further. My main problem now, like yourself, is the scars and marks left behind, not the acne itself. I still get breakouts, but they are minimal compared to what I used to have. I can empathise completely when you say it's harder to tend to the aftermath of acne, rather than the acne itself!:p

Hope you can make some sense of that post anyway OP!:)

Victoria.

Another vote for Vichy Dermablend! If you're really pale though you need to go with the stick foundation as opposed to the liquid. The sticks come in a wider shade range and go down one more than the liquid. The palest liquid is more yellow toned and the palest stick is pinky toned.

With regard to your spots being inactive at the moment that's great and it should work really well because they're probably flat marks and discolouration. It's way easier to cover that an actual bump because I've tried and the only possible way to remove a bump is put foundation right out to the level of it and that's not a good look. If there's a bump you can put a little spot of highlighter at the base of it and it makes it look less obvious

Another thing you could try if there's a lot of redness is a green concealer which cancels out the red. When you put it over a red mark overall it looks kinda gray and then when you apply your foundation over it you'd never know there was red. If you want to try this there's a concealer palette by Catrice that you can buy in a chemist for hardly anything. You can also get primers with a green tint by Smashbox but I haven't tried those because my spots are in only in certain areas I don't need a primer everywhere.

At the moment what I do is I stand about 3 feet back from the mirror and pick out any serious spots and conceal those first with the dermablend stick. In reality those are the only ones that can be seen by people that aren't right up in your face. I then go for any areas of red with just a little bit and if it's bad I'll use a dab of green concealer with the dermablend stick over it. Overall then I use La Roche Posay Mineral Foundation powder. This way the bad areas have coverage and everywhere else has a light dusting. If it's a particularly bad day you can use a distracting thing such as eye makeup or a nice lipstain.

Another tip for concealer is to pat it on or dab don't try to rub it in.

Hope this helps it's really frustrating sometimes to find the right products but I've been using the vichy dermablend as my concealer now for 6 months or so and it's really great.

biohaiid

I purchased the Vichy Dermablend liquid in 15 Opal today.
I got a sample yesterday and was pleased so I went for the full thing.
I find Opal a little darker than my usual, I think it's because it is more pink toned than my usual yellow or creamy tone, but I'll get used to it.
I wore it today and even though I didn't apply it properly (was in a rush!) the coverage was brilliant.
BUT my skin still got very oily. I'm going to try usng a matte powder and maybe purchase the Urban Decay Setting spray for oily skin.

I was going to get the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer but they didn't have my shade. I'll try again.

Thanks for all the help, I'll keep u updated.

biohaiid

Victoria. wrote: »

Another vote for Vichy Dermablend! If you're really pale though you need to go with the stick foundation as opposed to the liquid. The sticks come in a wider shade range and go down one more than the liquid. The palest liquid is more yellow toned and the palest stick is pinky toned.

With regard to your spots being inactive at the moment that's great and it should work really well because they're probably flat marks and discolouration. It's way easier to cover that an actual bump because I've tried and the only possible way to remove a bump is put foundation right out to the level of it and that's not a good look. If there's a bump you can put a little spot of highlighter at the base of it and it makes it look less obvious

Another thing you could try if there's a lot of redness is a green concealer which cancels out the red. When you put it over a red mark overall it looks kinda gray and then when you apply your foundation over it you'd never know there was red. If you want to try this there's a concealer palette by Catrice that you can buy in a chemist for hardly anything. You can also get primers with a green tint by Smashbox but I haven't tried those because my spots are in only in certain areas I don't need a primer everywhere.

At the moment what I do is I stand about 3 feet back from the mirror and pick out any serious spots and conceal those first with the dermablend stick. In reality those are the only ones that can be seen by people that aren't right up in your face. I then go for any areas of red with just a little bit and if it's bad I'll use a dab of green concealer with the dermablend stick over it. Overall then I use La Roche Posay Mineral Foundation powder. This way the bad areas have coverage and everywhere else has a light dusting. If it's a particularly bad day you can use a distracting thing such as eye makeup or a nice lipstain.

Another tip for concealer is to pat it on or dab don't try to rub it in.

Hope this helps it's really frustrating sometimes to find the right products but I've been using the vichy dermablend as my concealer now for 6 months or so and it's really great.

If you look at my other post you'll see that I purchased the liquid.
I'm going to try this out for a bit and then maybe get the stick for a concealer.

And as for the green concealer, I SWEAR by my Inglot green cream concealer.
I hope it will work with this foundation.

Thanks.

Ilyana

gillapino wrote: »

You should try the Vichy Dermablend foundations and concealers, there amazing ! Really good coverage and can even cover tattoos.

Check out this video too, i found it really helpful! Also make sure your remove every bit of make up at night, and clean your brushes regularly ! Good luck with college !

I watched this video earlier and tried something like the technique she recommended with my own products - GOSH primer, 17 Stay Matte for the base and Revlon Colorstay as concealer and Rimmel pressed powder. Although my products weren't as good as the Vichy and Dermablend ones, I was pretty impressed with the difference in my skin. I looked more glowy as the heavier Revlon foundation wasn't caked on where I didn't need it, but it did the job on my spotty areas (cheeks, jaw and chin).

OP I have scarred acne-prone skin, although it is improving since I stopped using make-up wipes and started cleansing my skin to remove make-up. Also, I use a Witch blemish stick thingy and it seems to be helping too

Dublin21

Just FYI if you are wanting to try the MUFE products I just bought a voucher on grabone. 49E for 100e voucher, 29e for 60e voucher and 19e for 40e voucher..Not sure how much longer its on for though.
I've actually never tried them but going to give their foundation + concealers a go.

Im in my 20's and suffered with bad skin for years, not full blown acne but little bumps all over and the odd bad breakout. Im over the most of it now but have quite oily skin which really annoys me! I use so many mattifying products and my skin is 'shiny' within Minutes of putting anything on it!

I went to Anne McDevitt a few years ago for a skin assesment and she suggested coming off dairy and wheat for starters and gave me zinc picolinate, sea greams and a 'blood cleaner' which i can't remember the name of but was like a form of tonic.. tasted vile and i couldn't actually take it for long!

The pill definately helped me but i found the zinc pretty good also.

Just recently ive pretty much gave up diary and cut down on the wheat big time and have noticed a great improvement in the tone of my skin (I.e no red blotches)
One of the girls i work with said she is allergic to dairy and the sympton she had was 'angry red bumps' all over her skin..
Might be worth cutting certain things out of your diet to elimiate them?

Ive found over the years that a lot of doctors are very quick to just prescribe you something to get rid of the problem NOW but a lot of the time the problem can be due to an imbalance of vitamins or an allergy etc which they don't address.

FueledByAisling

If your skin is knocking your confidence then I would highly recommend going to a dermatologist. I too am 17 and have suffered from mild acne from the age of 13 when MAC's studiofix killed my skin My skin eventually began to clear up but the spots left red marks on my face so it looked like I still had spots, going out of the house without foundation would nearly make me cry that's how bad it got for me! I went to a Dermatologist and got laser treatment and within 3 months my skin is 200000 times better! I haven't worn foundation for months now because my skin is naturally blemish free from it and my confidence has sky rocketed from it.

So seriously, I know it is very expensive to visit a dermatologist but in the long run it will do wonders to your skin and confidence.

biohaiid

Just an update - not really loving vichy dermablend right now.
It is a bit too dark for me in the lightest shade and seems quiet cakey and still doesn't cover everything.
I'm going to try a few more techniques with it over the next few weeks.
If it doesn;t work still I may switch to the stick foundation or Revlon Colourstay.

FueledByAisling : My acne sounds exactly like how yours was. My confidence isn't too bad, I'll leave the house without foundation.
I went a good few months without foundation an school to kind of test myself too. However if my skin doesn't clear up in some time then I might consider laser.

vibrantblue

I use the Dermablend foundation just as a concealer. I never use it on whole face as a foundation. It is far too heavy for that. It would clog the hell out of my face! I'm very acne and clog prone with sensitive skin.

Some of my fav foundations/bases are YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat (it seems expensive but comparing to other high end products, it is actually alright; but definitely not cheap), MAC Face&Body, 17 BB Cream, Bourjois Healthy Mix, No 7 Tinted Moisturiser (not the BB Cream).

Dior Nude breaks me out if I wear it on consequtive days. It is fine to wear it but I have to take breaks, can't use it constantly. I used to like Nars Sheer Glow, it's alright. Revlon Colourstay clogs my pores and give me bad breakouts.