confidence with my skin

From the age of about 10 I have always had bad skin. It started in year 5 and I got eczema on my arms and over my nose and some of my face. A girl at school told me the way to get rid of eczema was to itch your face so I used to scratch and pick at my face – nice I know! My skin was always red and irritated and I hadn’t even started puberty. I was probably the only child in primary school with spots and I hated it. I would wear plasters over spots so I didn’t scratch them and every night I would put layers of sudocream on my face which helped with irritation however made my skin more oily.

As I hit puberty the spots went from being eczema to actual spots. I think it is safe to say I tried almost every product marketed for acne and sensitive skin. I used a Clinique face wash and toner; which hazel wash and stick; anything tea tree from the body shop; neutrogena wave; Clean & Clear none of them worked for me or at least none of them worked in the way I wanted them to.

In my head when something said it for acne prone skin that meant it would get rid of my spots but it didn’t, it kept my face clean but spots were not magically disappearing. I also came to the realisation that I could just put anything on my skin as it is sensitive and if I apply a £1.50  fake tan wipe on my face it will not only go a horrid shade of orange but it will also cause my skin to breakout horribly (no sadly I don’t have a picture of that unfortunate decision). Although the process was expensive and tedious and I was waiting for dramatic results I did learn a lot from it, I know what irritates my skin, how to cover bad spots and what that everyone has spots! Gradually I became more able to just except spots, my skin has got a lot better with age but they are still there. It is weird that they are such a common thing yet people want believe they are this disgusting thing that with the right cream can magically disappear just because the model in the skin care ad is older, covered in make up and photo shopped.

I came to a point where I gave up caring, I still look after my skin and use concealer. My skin gets bad when I am stressed or eat badly but for the most part once I began to ignore them and not think of them as the focus point of my face who I am they started to seem very unimportant! I hope this is helpful to any teenager who has problems with their skin, there is no one miracle treatment but they aren’t permanent. Don’t pick, wash our face and drink lots of water. Also I promise you, no one notices them as much as you think they do!

Budget Brand MakeupRevolution HAUL

I’ve been interested in buying from new affordable makeup range MakeupRevolution ever since I found out that they offer a white foundation for mixing, since I’m very pale and have loads of foundations that are just too dark. (see more on this here)

I took the plunge and ordered a few bits, including some of their pastel bright lipsticks- at only £1 each it doesn’t matter if I’m to chicken to wear them out!

The Blushes

Vivid Blush Lacquer in Desire and Heat

My first thought when I saw these was ‘oh, they’re quite small’.

That was before I opened them and started mucking about. They are SOOO pigmented. Imagine the smallest possible amount of blush you could squeeze out of a tube. Now divide it by 10. This is how much you need to get a bold blush look. I don’t think I could use up one of these bad boys if I lived to be 100. Pretty solid investment for £3.

Cream Blush in Peach Cream

I’m already a huge fan of cream blushes, but this colour is super flattering and has a nice matte finish. It’s actually somewhat similar to my Etude House Cream Blush but I freaking love the colour so that’s okay.

TOP TIP: I apply liquid or cream blushes by tapping them in with my finger or using a beauty blender!

The Lipsticks

I’m impressed with the quality of the lipsticks themselves, they’re not very patchy and have decent longevity. However the packaging leaves a little to be desired; although it looks chic it feels flimsy and the lids keep falling off.

The crazy colours are actually surprisingly wearable: Felony in particular is actually quite flattering and would look particularly good as part of an ombre look.

(The reason that Immoral looks so scubby already is because I used it to turn my boyfriend into Bluebeard, which I strongly regret not photographing.)

Finally, I also ordered one of the Amazing Care lipsticks in Love a Hug.

This is a bit weirdie, it’s a shot of colour encased in a clear jelly stuff. I love the idea of it but in practice the middle bit’s worn down and applying it is a bit of a pain. It’s moisturizing and gives a nice sheer look, however. I’ve used this a lot!

The Foundation

I got The One Foundation in Shade 1, which is literally white.

Okay now this IS small. I was a little disappointed with the teensy size of this; you’re getting maybe a quarter of the volume of a normal foundation. But then again, it is £4! This is a very watery liquidy foundation; it will drip off of your hand. So I was surprised when I put it on my face and it had quite respectable coverage.

This would actually almost work as a normal foundation for me; that is how pale I am.

It is a true white-white, but because it is thin and sheer it doesn’t make your face white-white since your skin colour shows through underneath, if you see what I mean.

I haven’t used this as a mixer yet (boo) because I’m scared! I don’t know if it will blend in with my foundations because it is so runny.

What I have tried is using a layer underneath foundation, this is really good for eliminating redness and and hyperpigmentation. If you suffer from rosacea or are even just sunburnt this could be a solution for you.

It has a matte finish and lasts quite a long time (I haven’t tried it with a primer yet)

Overall I would say that MakeupRevolution by far exceeded my expectations; for a budget range you’re really getting decent quality products. I would recommend them if you’re in need of branching out your collection!