getting your glow back after acne
It has been well over a year since I finished the final treatment on my quest to cure my acne which developed in my mid twenties, you can read more about that here. And so far so good might I add, my acne has never returned albeit for a few hormonal spots around that time of the month which I always find rather amusing.
But the other thing that has never returned which I was almost certain it would, is my oil production. My oil production was like nothing I had ever seen before, it could do away with even the thickest and most drying foundations on the market, sometimes I wonder whether it could have been used for industrial purposes. Alas we shall never no because my skin type is a shadow of it’s former self. I now have the dream skin type of Normal/Dry skin, yep I can’t believe it either. I am now able to slather my skin with all of the most wonderful and luxurious lotions and potions for which my skin drinks up happily. My make lasts hours longer to the point where I rarely even carry foundation in my bag as I need not reapply.
“Before Roaccutane I was oily and after it I was matte, I had never managed the in between. “
I am all about that Base! I rarely experiment with garish eyeshadows or colour pop lipsticks, my thing is the look of perfect skin where the light kisses it in the just the right places and shadows dance down cheekbones. I realised that with my new found skin type came a new hurdle, matte skin. Personally I find there is an extremely fine line between skin that looks dewy and skin that looks oily, Before Roaccutane I was oily and after it I was matte, I had never managed the in between.
Since starting my Youtube channel, it ignited a new found love of experimenting with make up that I’d never experienced before and my make up bag grew from a tiny zip pouch with 4 items in to draws bursting with wonderful and exciting products to try. So over the last few months (and years in some cases) I have been trialling hundreds of products to try and achieve that perfect glow.
Until last week I had never tried even a blob of Tom Ford make up despite having worn Black Orchid for around 6 years. A big bag of bits arrived just after I had finished my full face of make up so I would have to wait until the morning to try the Illuminating Primer in Peach Glow. When the next morning came I played with the packaging for some time, I didn’t want to ruin it but the excitement got the better of me before long and placed a single pump onto my index finger before rubbing between my hands and smoothing over the lower half of my face to begin with. I do this with lots of products to compare my skin with the product applied to the skin where no product has been applied on more forehead. It usually gives me an inclination as to whether I will notice anything from a product. And the comparison was instant, a warm radiant glow which highlighted my cheek bones whilst bringing my skin tone back to life.
This product also works great on those “CBA no make up” days to give your fresh face a little suttin’ suttin’ within the same time it takes to apply a moisturiser.
If you haven’t heard me talk about this foundation before then you must be a new reader, so Welcome! I’ve used this foundation for so long that my mind is starting to struggle with remembering just how many years it has been. I was first introduced to this foundation by an old friend and whilst it took some getting used to, you honestly feel like you aren’t wearing foundation at all, I’ve never looked back. The coverage of this foundation is definitely not full in my opinion but a good concealer is all you need to target any problem areas, then your skin reaps the full benefits of what mineral foundations have to offer.
Mineral make up doesn’t settle into your pores like regular foundation which is why dermatologists including my eye-wateringly-expensive-per-hour one, recommend it and quite honestly after the way his treatment of my acne has gone, if he told me to eat the foundation to make my skin better, I so would.
But what I like most about the foundation is that it never looks cakey, it always looks light, fresh and radiant which is why I’ve stayed loyal all these years.
Another newbie from Tom Ford and this has got to be my holy grail product for creating a fresh, dewy complexion when suffering from matte skin. This is the answer to my non adventurous prayers. When I apply my foundation and base products I want my skin to look as naturally flawless as possible no matter how many products I apply that is the end goal but the one product to let me down has always been highlighters. They are either too glittery, too powdery or too pigmented resulting in an unnatural highlight that looks simply artificial. When I first opened the Shade & illuminate compact I was slightly under whelmed. It didn’t look like it was going to do much at all but once on my face I could see that I would be investing in this product again and again, Just looking at the highlight in the two images at the start of this post (which has not been enhanced in post production at all) almost makes me uncontrollably happy. For so long this is the look I have dreamed of when it comes to my make up.
If you splurge on one product this month, please make it this one!
This little tube from Soap & Glory is a really great budget friendly alternative to the Chanel Le Blanc De Chanel Primer but with a little less pigment meaning it doesn’t give darker skin tones that white looking sheen, yet still maintains a nice radiance that shines through foundations subtly, I also find this a great option for travelling as its nice and compact. As always I’m not one for gimmicky branding and packaging but when a product shoes as much effort went into whats inside as well as the packaging it makes for an all round great product. This was another first time for me from Soap & Glory so I’m excited to try out some other bits.
As you can see from the first images, I have pores and rather large ones at that. I’ve had them for as long as I can remember and while they don’t bother me all that much I’d like to minimise them a little if possible. I had about 3 samples of this product rolling around in my powder drawer that I had never even batted an eyelid at. But following an exceptional customer service experience at the Milton Keynes Benefit counter in boots, and loving the product that I walked away with, I decided to give this a go and initially I thought I looked cakey which just isn’t OK in my eyes. But I left it on for the day and continued doing as I do. On the odd occasion that I caught sight of myself in a mirror or reflection the same thought crossed my mind
“You look airbrushed!”
I think once the powder had settled and I learnt to only apply it in the places that I truly needed it and no where else, i.e. a little really does go a long way, it meant that my make up stayed put where it needed to (the T zone) and shone everywhere else.
Not everyone agree’s with wearing make up to the gym as I found out then I wrote this post. However, I honestly don’t care what some people think. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh but I think it’s completely unacceptable for someone to tell me what I should and should not wear in the gym like it effects how fast I will run or how heavy I will lift, I mean please. Personally wear however much make up or however little make up as you want, you should feel comfortable when working, end of.
Now that we have got that well and truly out of the way, here is another great new product from Rodial which is a super easy to apply with enough coverage and radiance to give my skin that “Has she/hasn’t she?” look which will hydrate your skin and provide you with SPF30 for those out-doorsy types. I also really love the sleek packaging too.
And finally after all those skin perfecting, highlighting products, you want it all to stay where it is and you certainly don’t want to be applying powder all over your face as you will be right back where you started. The sales assistant at Urban Decay tried to sell this product to me when I was buying some bits from the Naked range a while ago and I opted for the smaller bottle but I will be buying the full size as soon as I’m at a counter again because I love it. Just a quick spritz over your face locks your make up in place without counteracting any radiance. I absolutely love this product and I know you guys will too, it’s light and fresh and little size is perfect for popping in your handbag.
This post was shot on the Olympus PEN E-PL7 & the 45mm lens.
Shop The Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”935135″]
