If you chose to cover you acne with makeup, there are some easy steps to follow to create a flawless look without cakey makeup.
When concealing acne, there are two things to consider: the color and the texture of the breakout area. Covering the color is much easier but there are a few things you can do to ensure the smoothest skin possible.
Covering the texture of broken out skin
Start by prepping your skin with an exfoliating toner like NARS Hydrating Toner or Chantecaillle Photo Active Solution. These products will grab and pull off any dry patches of dead skin left from acne scars.
Follow up with a calming gel moisturizer like Chantecaille Rose de Mai. This light weight moisturizer helps calm inflammation and redness in the skin.
Prime the skin with a mattifying or oil free primer. I prefer a water or mineral base that will hold foundation and allow skin to breath a little better than a silicone based one. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer is my go to.
Your instinct may be to choose a foundation that is full coverage and matte, however this will just show off every ounce of texture even more as light doesn’t reflect off of matte surfaces as much. For acne prone skin I recommend using a creamy foundation as a base like Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation. It’s weightless and waterproof with a creamy natural finish.
Covering the color of acne
I know some people choose to use a green tinted primer or green concealer to counter act the redness of acne, however even as a professional makeup artist, I find it’s harder to cover up an unnatural color like green than it is to tackle the blemish head on (no pun intended). After prepping your skin with a toner, you can also put Visine on a cotton pad and hold it over very red acne for 30 seconds. The famous eye drops also get redness out of your skin by minimizing capillaries.
Go back in to areas where the foundation didn’t cover enough with a detailed brush and concealer. The Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage is an oil-free cream concealer that comes with 2 shades so you can customize the exact shade to conceal what you need. Swipe your brush two times in each shade and apply to the acne. Adjust as needed using more yellow/orange to cover purple or brown spots.
Finish the look by locking it in with a. Translucent powder like Laura Mercier’s. A non-tinted powder sets makeup and blurs imperfections without adding more weight to the skin. Repeat the secret camouflage and powder steps as needed on acne to get maximum coverage. Sheer layers are better than one big makeup dump which will lead to a cakey makeup look.
If all else fails, you can play up other areas of your face to distract from acne areas, a bold cat eye or red lip will draw the attention to those gorgeous features. Remember to always rock your makeup with confidence!
