Covering Severe Acne & Creating a Beautiful Face

As makeup artists, there will always be times throughout our careers when we are challenged, times when we may question ourselves as artists. And there will be times when we have the ability to change someone’s life for the better. For some people suffering from cystic acne, everyday is a battle to get up and go out to face the public, feeling you can not escape or hide it…I know, I have had severe cases of acne through out my life (caused by stress, of course, the #1 killer!)  If you ever encounter a client or talent suffering from this horrible condition, and you are able to conceal it, trust me, you will bring a huge smile to their face and give them confidence that they have been lacking as long as they have had the condition. 

It is an amazing feeling, and I believe also why a lot of us got involved in makeup in the first place, to make women feel beautiful and give them a confidence they have never had before, by bringing out their natural beauty!…Don’t ever underestimate the ability of MAKEUP…It is mighty Powerful!

#1- Prepping the skin; Start off with clean skin, the skin tends to have an abnormal amount of oil so you want to use a mild toner (Olay Refreshing Toner) to remove any excess oil that’s lingering on the skins surface.

You will notice although their skin is oily there will probably be lots of dry spots, from harsh treatments, so you need to put the moister back in these areas. I like Mario Badescu Control Cream, which I apply with my fingers or a synthetic brush only to the dry areas (not the entire face). Next I will apply a light oil controlling moisturizer (Mario Badescu Oil Control Lotion) over the entire face. You then go in with a heavy-duty primer (Benefits Dr. Feelgood), and generously smooth over the face with a synthetic foundation brush, focusing on the areas with the most eruptions. This helps to cover the texture. Now you cannot completely get rid of it unfortunately there isn’t a product in the world that is capable of this, but you can help to minimize it. I like Dr. Feelgood as a primer because it gives you the ability to build, with out flaking. Other silicone based fillers or primers bead up or flake off if you use too much. And in this type of makeup application that won’t cut it, you really need more help with smoothing out the skin.

 #2- Concealing Redness; Now I’m not a huge fan of concealers, I find them too heavy and artificial looking.  But in some cases, like this one I do use it. But I cocktail a green/yellow-based shade from my Dermacolor palette by Kryolan and mix with Mineral Fusion cream concealer (a mineral based smooth creamy concealer).  Apply with a synthetic foundation brush to all problem areas. (Be light handed, because you want to lay it on top of your primer, not blend it with it). Then go in with a moistened natural sponge, as you know I LOVE the Beauty Blender and lightly stipple over the edges of your concealer. 

#3- Base; This is the tricky part. You need good coverage but you don’t want to create a mask. The key is to notice the good parts of the skin and try to enhance them and just focus on concealing the blemished areas. If they have a full heavy mask of makeup on it wont make them feel any better about themselves. You must create the illusion of flawless skin. Now if you are familiar with an airbrush, it is a great choice as a foundation base, because you can get smooth even coverage that lies on top of the skin. But if you do not have an airbrush, you need a good liquid/ cream foundation. Giorgio Armani Designer Shaping Cream is a good choice; it gives you a little more coverage then the Luminous Silk, but the same blend ability and finish.

Using a synthetic foundation brush, generously brush the foundation all over the face, once again use a very light touch. Take your dampened sponge (Beauty Blender is the best for this) and lightly stipple over the face, blending the foundation into a flawless finish. If you need to go in to some areas that still need coverage, take the tip of the beauty blender and dip it directly in the foundation, then lightly stipple over the areas that need more coverage. You will see that this will transfer the foundation on the spots while perfectly blending into the rest of the base.

#4- Setting & Finishing; Now it is time to set your foundation. Using a very fluffy powder brush, set your foundation with a translucent loose powder, I like Youngbloods HD Powder (its much better then the Makeup Forever HD Powder). I then go in with a pressed mineral powder or duo powder (Youngblood Pressed Mineral Foundation is my choice) and using a dense powder brush I spot on the powder all over the face, almost a stippling motion with the brush, focusing on the problem areas. This will give you a little more coverage with a matte finish.

After this step you will have a beautiful, even complexion ready for the rest of your makeup application. Now you should stay away from any blushes with shimmer or shine, this will just draw attention to the texture. And also note, that as a makeup artist you cannot get rid of the texture, you can only minimize it (Dr.Feelgood does an amazing job in this department) now if you are working on a photo shoot or for T.V. don’t be afraid to let the photographer or D.P. know that the talent has extra texture and they should light them accordingly. It is their job to help us out, by making our work look even better!

I hope some of you found this post helpful! And hopefully you will feel a little more confident in helping people suffering from severe acne be their most beautiful.  And just remember, anytime you get someone in your chair that may look as a challenge, don’t stress, or over think it…its only makeup. If it doesn’t work out, wash it off and start again. Good Luck!