My acne-friendly makeup routine

makeup for acne prone skin

As you well know, I’m all about that skincare makeup. For me it means using makeup products that are organic or otherwise 100% natural with ingredients, that help my skin. Here are some of my favorite acne-friendly makeup products that I use to create a natural yet beautiful canvas. These makeup products suit my acne-prone skin, while actually helping it to heal. The routine is super simple: only foundation, concealear, contour/bronzer and a blush.

Now obviously mineral makeup is great for acne-prone skin and I will tell you why. I have wrote more about this particular mineral makeup powder earlier, but the important thing I want to note is that you use a mineral makeup that is really just that: minerals. Lots of different brands use silicones and other ingredients in their formula, which kinda ruins the skincare effect for me. So go for the purest products. Same goes for organic makeup: look for the certificates – it’s the easiest way to check the brand is legit.

natural makeup for acne

First, let’s go through the facts here. Mineral makeup is awesome for acne-prone skin, because minerals:

a.) let your skin ‘breathe’ = they don’t clog your pores. This also means the finish is a bit sheer and doesn’t last as matte as a ‘regular’ foundation, but that is because your skin functions normally = develops sebum.
b.) don’t support bacteria = it doesn’t worsen the bacteria already on your face (=acne).
c.)  are anti-inflammatory = they soothe your skin, so they’re awesome for irritated or red skin.

Zuii Organic makeup for acne

I also love to use flower makeup (Zuii Organic) on my face. The same list kinda goes to their products but there are some other benefits too:

a.) the powder base in their products is made from flower petals: rose, jasmine and chamomile. These flowers have moisturizing, soothing and anti-inflammatory properties, so again they’re perfect for acne-prone skin. They’re make a super soft powder so it’s very easily blendable on the skin.
b.) they use natural oils and plant extracts in their products, which have different skincare properties. So they don’t only ‘not clog pores’ but they also actively treat the skin!

So there is the difference between mineral makeup and flower makeup. The other has more skincare properties. I feel like Pandhy’s tends to stay a bit more matte than Zuii. Then again Zuii is easier to blend and use. It’s also better when my skin is dry. Pandhy’s lasts longer and you need less product, since it’s almost just pigment.  I love to use both and sometimes I mix them together, like I did here.

acne friendly makeup to heal acne

Here is how I do my foundation step by step:

  1. I apply a light layer of the mineral makeup.
  2. I conceal any blemishes with a concealer. I blend it by tapping with my fingers. Make sure your hands are clean. You can also use a brush if that’s what you prefer, but with this particular formula it blends easier with the fingers.
  3. I apply another layer of the foundation. Just to set the concealer and to get more coverage.
  4.  I contour my cheekbones and forehead with a darker shade of Zuii’s powder foundation. This color can also work as a bronzer, since it’s a bit warm. When I’m tanned I kinda go through my whole face with this to get a bit of a color.
  5. Last but not least I apply some blush to my cheeks. I do this even though I have acne and redness on my face – blush is the key to making you look healthy and fresh! Don’t skip this. Zuii’s Melon is one of my favorites.

zuii concealer for eyes
Under-eye concealing

I forgot to use the other shade (that is more orange=color correcting blue) here, but other than that here is how I use Zuii’s concealer around eyes. The concealer also acts as an eyeshadow primer which is why I put it on the lids too. I set the concelaer using a lighter powder than on the rest of my face. Two products that I use are Everyday Mineral’s Multitasking or Zuii’s makeup powder in Ivory.

Face makeup done.

As you can see this routine doesn’t give you the perfect, flawless skin. You can still see some impurities and texture on the skin – and that’s perfectly fine. This still makes the color of your skin more even and prettier while looking natural. And the most important thing is that you’re not doing any harm to your skin. Doing my base like this I instantly feel more confident and therefore a bit happier.

makeup that helps heal acne

mineral makeup acne why

Eye shadow tutorial on this look can be found here.

PRODUCTS 

Pandhy’s Loose Mineral Powder Foundation in Sandra
Zuii Organic Concealers in Fair & Beige
Everyday Minerals Multitasking Concealer
Zuii Oganic Makeup Powder in Hazelnut
Zuii Organic Blush in Melon

Zuii Organic Eyeshadows Pink Ice, Blossom, Blackberry
Zuii Organic Eyebrow Definer in Taupe
Zuii Organic Sheerlips lipstick in Daisy
Essence Get Big Lashes + I love Extreme mascaras

BRUSHES

Everyday Minerals Flat Top Brush
Ecotools Blush brush
Real Techniques Bold Metals Blush brush

When acne just doesn’t leave you

Acne medication

Apocyclin acne

Here’s the truth: I have bad skin. I have acne. Again, or still, however you want to phrase it.
My skin and my acne has gone up and down for the past year. I’s been really bad and then it’s been not-so-bad. Never has it been good though. Only my reaction to it has varied during this year.

Seeing my photos you might think: her skin is good. It’s not so bad. But it’s not really. Putting on a certain foundation my skin looks almost flawless – especially in photos since the foundation might reflect light or otherwise smooth my skin to look pretty. Taking photos in a good light might again smooth my skin – or taking photos with a flash which – ironically – takes away the pimples in a flash. Another thing is that when I take a selfie face straight to the camera – the worst part of my skin is hidden. My jaw and my cheeks kinda disappear and the focus is on the center of my face.

blogging about acne

Then there’s the editing. I don’t edit my photos much, but when I do it’s because I don’t like the acne taking away the focus from the makeup. Also – those pimples is not me, not really – so why would I want to show them to the world? Or is it a part of me I should just accept?

That’s the funny thing about acne – it doesn’t really feel like your skin, like your face. And it isn’t, not really. The real skin, the real you is underneath all that, getting blocked by those painful, awful spots that some days feel like the worst thing in the world and sometimes they’re invisible to the eye.

Do you know what’s the only medicine to treating acne and is also the most challenging thing there is? It’s time. Every treatment takes time – be it 10 facials, a new skincare regime or a drug. I’ve given my skin that, time. I’ve given it a year and I’m back at the square one. I promised myself I could get my skin better by just taking care of it and that I wouldn’t need any drugs. I got frustrated, so I tried the Acnatac -gel, which I wouldn’t have wanted to use (because the side effects). It did help – at the time it felt like a lot – but now when I look back I think it only helped a little. It didn’t take my acne completely away and slowly my skin started to get worse again.

Blogtexts about Acnatac -gel.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

4.10.16. After Acnatac. The biggest inflamed spots were gone but my skin was still full of small pimples and it slowly began to get worse from this.

acne
17.2.17. The day I started to take Apocyclin. My skin reacted to travelling and I had a lot of red sore pimples.

acne

23.2.17. My skin yesterday. I’m wearing a light layer of makeup.

acne blogger

24.2.17. My skin today without makeup.

When my doctor prescribed me Acnatac she also gave me antibiotics in case the gel didn’t work. I didn’t purchase them until now – almost a year later. I’m not sure why I waited so long to start considering them as a treatment – I’m not against drugs, but I guess I just wanted my skin to heal ‘naturally’ -whatever that means. In a way I felt like buying those drugs was a loss. Admitting to the problem isn’t always easy, is it?

My drugs are ‘Apocyclin’, antibiotics which I should take for about 3-4 months (See again: time). It’s only been week since I started taking them so there’s no progress yet. I’m prepared to not seeing progress for at least a month. Also – I’m prepared to see my skin getting worse before getting better because that usually happens with these kind of medicine. (See how I say I’m prepared? I can’t say I really am. I’m pretty sure the reality will be me crying my eyes out seeing my skin getting worse than it already is.)

My attitude towards acne medication is a bit negative and that is because I’ve already tried it. Twice, if I recall right. When my acne first broke out at the age of 13 I ate two rounds of some kind of pills. They helped a little at the time but not really. I only got my acne away with birth control pills. But – I don’t really remember what the drugs were and I think these are a different kind. I hope.

Negativity doesn’t really help with this kind of problem so I’m trying hard to stay positive and hopeful. Maybe this time the medicine will work – I’m not 13 anymore and my hormone levels and everything must be different than then. Maybe I’ll finally get my skin back to the condition it deserves.

I think I will blog about my experience and share as much as I can about this journey. I know many struggle with the same problem so I want to help in any way I can.
no makeup selfie

If you read this because you have acne, here is a checklist for you and for me. Just so that we don’t forget:

  • You are beautiful. Never let yourself believe anything else.
  • You are strong. This stupid problem is only outside and it will never get to the inside of your beautiful heart and soul. Don’t let it in.
  • You are not alone. There are so many people fighting acne it’s ridiculous. And there are tons of people who have succeeded to get rid of acne. And so will you.
  • You will get the beautiful skin you deserve. It will happen. I can’t promise it will happen tomorrow, but it will, some day. It’s gonna be okay.

All of the photos of this post are non-edited.

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