5 Things Your Makeup Is Trying To Tell You
Ever walked into a make-up store and been so completely overwhelmed by the number of options available? Of course, you have! Oily skin, dry skin, dehydrated skin, satin finish, matte, dewy, oil-controlling, anti-bacterial, hydrating, ARGHH why are there so many? Well, I’m here to tell you why. Spoiler: it’s not just to confuse you.
It’s because everybody has a unique set of complaints and concerns about their make-up (I know I do) and if you think about it, I’m sure you’ve said a few too. “It sinks into lines”, “it never lasts”, “it goes all shiny by the end of the day” or my personal foe “you can see my pores”. These are all very common ones we hear in between the aisles of moisturisers and lipsticks.
But what’s really happening has nothing to do with our makeup at all and everything to do with what’s underneath: Our skin. Our make-up is giving us huge tell-tale signs about what is happening regarding skin concerns and problems and all we have to do is listen. Here are the common make-up foes and what they’re trying to tell you about your skin.
1. Sinking into lines
When your makeup sinks into lines it’s not always the natural process of aging (especially if it’s sudden). You either have a lack of oil or a lack of water – and for some, you may have both.
How you can tell is: If you get dry everywhere then your main concern is a lack of oil. Using an oil in the evening and the morning will help greatly. Make sure your cleanser isn’t too stripping as dry skin always starts with the first step (try our MooGoo Milk Wash Cleanser). For an added glow to your make-up add a drop of our Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil to your foundation or even put a drop of oil in your brush. Another trick we love to do is add a sprinkle of our Glowing Goddess Mineral Highlighter into either your foundation or powder. Unfortunately, being dry doesn’t necessarily mean that is your only concern. It is possible to also be dehydrated at the same time. More on that further down.
2. Makeup goes shiny / slides off throughout the day
Is your makeup slipping around by the end of the day like you’ve just found out your mic hasn’t been on mute the entire zoom meeting? (sweaty).
If you’re oily everywhere and not just in your t-zone then you are in fact oily. If you’re oily in patches and not everywhere then you’re not ‘oily’ (more on that later). Although annoying, when it comes to makeup if there’s anything I could say to make it better, know this: You will age extremely well! Oilier skin wards of wrinkles and fine lines because it keeps your skin moisturised and smooth
To help with oil-control and more stable make-up our recommendation is to use a thin gel-based moisturiser packed with hyaluronic acid, exfoliate regularly (3 times a week) with a chemical exfoliant (AHA and BHA’s). And powder on top of your foundation. You can also use an oil-controlling primer but note: only use this if you are oily everywhere otherwise it can make the oil come back in full force.
3. Coming off in patches
When your makeup starts to come off in patches it’s a sign of water loss i.e., dehydration. Whether that be due to sliding off from an oily t-zone or clinging to dry patches on the cheeks, both are signs of dehydration.
The reason why it’s dehydration (often referred to as combination skin) is that your skin craves water but it can only make oil. The poor thing isn’t a very good cook so it just whips up whatever it can find and you're left with an oily t-zone and dry patches.
Regular gentle exfoliation and a combination of water based products and oil based products will be the best solution. Try using our Gentle Face Exfoliating Micro Powder daily followed by our Hyaluronic (2%) Niacinamide (10%) Active Serum and our Night Restoration Night Cream. You'll be left with the softest most hydrated skin of your life. Also, remember that liquid makeup has just that in it – liquid. When the skin craves water, it will suck it into your pores and eat it (no thank-you).
4. Texture
Makeup can hide so many things but it can also highlight many others. The main culprit is texture. We all have texture, even the models and celebrities who endorse the products have texture because that’s what normal skin does. Sometimes there can be an excess of dead skin that can cause texture, but that’s easy enough to cure.
The answer is chemical exfoliation (AHA’s and BHA’s). Think of them as tiny Pac-Men that eat dead skin. Some are bigger, for the top layers of the skin and some are smaller for the nitty-gritty bit inside the pore. Meaning smoother, less congested, cleaner, and even more hydrated skin. The second step is to make sure that fresh skin that’s revealed stays fresh and hydrated. Try our Night Restoration Night Cream made with lactic acid to gently exfoliate and hyaluronic acid to plump.
5. Pore size
If your make-up is emphasising pore size it just means your pores are making an excess of sebum. Which can be a symptom of dehydration (when your skin produces oil to feed itself) or oily skin. Non-comedogenic, gentle and natural makeup is the first step. But regular exfoliation using AHA’s and BHA’s and a gel-based hyaluronic moisturiser and serum. Try our Hyaluronic (2%) Niacinamide (10%) Active Serum, it deeply hydrates and helps minimise the appearance of pores and congestion, which is where you'll see the most results. Avoid all pore products especially anything that pulls out blackheads. Unfortunately, this process only stretches pores and once you’ve stretched a pore you can never shrink them (scuse us while we cry)
So next time you see your make-up start to go astray. Listen (well watch) carefully to what it's really saying because the answer will almost always come back to our skin.
