Saturday, August 10, 2013

About Concealers - From Someone Who Really Needed It

It has been recently going through the blogosphere the magic behind concealing makeup.

~In case you don't know what the difference between regular makeup and a concealer makeup is, well a concealer is a heavier version meant to completely cover, as opposed to makeup which is just mean to coat and enhance.~

Well, I had to put that magic to the test for a Bachelorette party I was attending today. I couldn't go with a gaping wound in the middle of my head. What gaping wound you ask?

Well, unfortunately, last night, the skin between eyes and on my lower forehead began to peel heavily. When I washed my face, the skin just all came off right before my eyes, and I was left with this:
Apparently, the acne medicine I had been using for the breakout I as getting in that area was WAY too strong for my sensitive skin, so it ended up literally burning it off.

I panicked. I couldn't go anywhere with this huge gaping wound in the middle of my forehead...

I immediately remember reading a few post from bloggers about concealers. I had heard of them, but never really need them. My makeup routine consists of powder makeup, mascara and lipgloss. Something as heavy as a concealer I always considered was for people with vitiligo.

Well, now I was in the same boat. So I ran to my nearest CVS, who didn't have a color I was confident would match with my skin tone. So I went to another CVS in a more ethnic part of town and found what I was looking for.

I had only heard about Black Opal concealer, but they did not have my color which I would say is medium/deep. So I looked as Posner. Posner is known for it concealers, as I think that is basically all they make. Concealers and heavy powder makeup.

So, after 15 minutes of deliberation, I picked up two Posner products, but I am only going to speak about the one I used as the other is going back to the store.

I chose the Posner Cover Duo 2-in-1 Concealer in Medium Deep/Deep.
I wish I could tell you why I chose this particular one and why I used it first, but I can't. It just worked out that way.

It was shaped like lipstick.



I usually don't try makeup on by testing it on my hand because, as you can see, my hand is significantly darker than my face.

When I held it up to my face it seemed to be a perfect match. So I began.

FIRST, I washed my face to make sure there was no debri in the wound. Also, wanted to make sure my face was clean in preparation for the heavy makeup I was about to subject it to.

When drying my face, I merely laid the towel on my face and patted my face through it. I didn't want to make the wound any worse.

SECOND, I put some antibiotic ointment on the wound and let it sit for about 10 min. That is why my forehead is so shiny. I'm not sure if ointment or cream is better. I just used the ointment because that is what I had. But ointment might actually be better because it acts as a layer between the wound and the makeup.


AFTER 10-15 minutes, I softly patted the wound to take off any excess ointment, so that the makeup wouldn't run.  I then began application.




This is what it looked like after I put the concealer on.


As you can see, you can still see the wound a bit, and the concealer isn't quite blended in. But, I'm not done yet.

I took out the face powder I normally use for the makeup routine. I use Loreal True Match in Cool Cocoa.



Obviously, this powder is well loved!!

I applied the powder softly over the concealer using a CLEAN sponge (important as you don't want to put any more bacteria in the wound than you already are by using makeup over it).

I pat it gently and blended in the edges to my natural skin. This is what it ends up looking like when I'm done. With no other makeup on my face, just where the wound was.

Obviously, it doesn't make the wound disappear, but it does make it a lot less noticeable, if it is even noticeable at all.


No makeup except in between my eyes and around my lower forehead where the wound was.

If going out, you should probably apply the powder to the rest of your face just to keep your skin looking consistent and to keep the rest of your face from getting shiny.

This is me today with full on makeup. (Basically the concealer between the eyes, Powder throughout my face, lipstick and mascara - nothing else).

I took it at this angle so that you could get a good look at where the wound is.
You can see it if you look close, but upon first, second and third glance you don't notice it, especially when you don't know what you're looking for.


Remember to wash the concealer off as soon as you get home.

DON'T SLEEP IN IT!!!

It just isn't healthy for the wound to not be able to breathe.
And make sure right after washing the wound with a gentle cleanser, and softly patting it dry, make sure to immediately apply antibiotic / antibacterial ointment so that it has a chance to heal.
If you can, also apply some sort of covering before you go to bed so that you don't irritate it even more by rubbing it against the pillow.
~~~~~~~~
So, I hope this was helpful.

I thought I should post this because I actually needed the concealer versus just using it for vanity sake. (I mean, this is vanity in a way, but hopefully you know what I mean).

As always, thanks for reading and if you have any questions let me know.

xoxo

Jen L.

1 comment:

  1. Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry you're going through that.

    You did a great job of concealing it.

    All my best,
    tovah

    ReplyDelete

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