Wednesday, January 7, 2009

clueless beauty pageant.

when it comes to make-up, i am utterly clueless. when flipping through glossies, i skip the pages where make-up tips are given and, therefore, look basically the same every day. my face is not my canvas, to say the least.

here's my arsenal of make-up. really. all of it.


(oops, my pressed powder is not present, but in my purse...)

there are a few good reasons behind my reluctance to experiment with cosmetics:

first, and foremost, i have (really) oily skin which is prone to breakouts. because of that, i cannot really wear foundation without it starting to "float" on my skin in a few hours. the same reason prevents the use of dark eye-shadows. finding a mascara that does not venture up on my browbone is a nightmare: i used kanebo38 for a while but my eyes got teary, moved onto diorshow, but at the moment am happy with mac zoom lash. every powdery product i must buy at least a shade lighter than i want it because the color will darken in a matter of hours because of oil. i have not found a base that would prevent the oiliness, so i deal with doing without multiple basic beauty products.

second, i have sensitive skin and have been known to develop random allergies to products i've used for years. therefore, cosmetics with added fragrances are a big no-no and brands i am unfamiliar with i approach with skepticism.

third, i have a, whatshouldyacallit, unusual face (hah, euphemism of the day!) which does not easily transform to different looks. it does not take much make-up to turn me into ronn moss...

so why am i writing about this? i realized that i am thirty-two (yeah, i kinda realized it before, but this time the revelation arrived with a mirror...) and i've never owned a skin-highlighter pen or any other product supposedly everyone over 25 should have. although i have felt infantile pride over being such a low maintenance kind of a chick, i could use some upkeep from time to time. and, naturally, i'd love to look as dewy and pretty as possible and i do have to admit that at this age having next to nothing on your face does not translate into just-out-of-the-shower freshness but rather a lack of sleep.

for some reason all the tips women with vivacious sebaceous glands seem to get from magazines are for skin care and acne prevention. i've got my buffing down put and my pimples in check, but it does not translate to my face lacking shine and my makeup staying on where it's supposed to. when i visit cosmetics counters the salespeople never seem to take me seriously: i am offered a base product after another until i tell them i've pretty much tried them all. the most common completely useless suggestion i constantly get is the recommendation to use waterproof products; correct me if i'm wrong, but is it h2o oozing from my pores? what is the substance used for waterproof make-up removal? correct answer to both questions: oil, and you do the math...

i'm sure i am not the only butter-face with these problems although it seems my blogging colleagues only suffer from perfect skin or, in some cases, overly dry complexions. in other words, i would love to receive your tried-and-tested make-up and base tips for oily skin. (ja saa kommentoida ja vinkata suomeksi, jos tuntuu, ettei englanti taivu...)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I'm 30 and have pretty much the same problems, and I have adult acne which comes and goes as it pleases.

I'm currently using Vichy Normateint foundation. It's meant for oily and breakout-prone skin. You can buy it from bigger pharmacies. It's ok in my opinion, stays pretty good and doesn't irritate my skin or make my acne worse. Joe Blasco stays ok and covers ANYTHING, but made my face bloom with pimples...

Mineral makeup is pretty good too; I use LilyLolo foundation as a powder over the Vichy foundation. This combination has proved the best results in staying power so far. I don't use any primer which I guess would help makeup to stay better, because I'm afraid it would block my pores or something.

There is no perfect solution to this problem though. I still get floaty makeup on my nose and chin, but I try to fight it during the day with The Body Shop's Tea Tree Facial Blotting Papers. They're just paper sheets without powder. In my opinion, adding more and more powder to oily skin just makes it look worse and cakey.

Oh yeah, and eyeshadow: Mac Prep&Prime primer for eyes, powder and Mac eyeshadow only. Works for me. Even if the shadow ends up in the creases of your eyes, there's still enough pigment in the original places as well.

Yeah isn't it bloody irritating that all the bloggers seem to suffer from perfect skin? Aaaargh! But hey, I try to convince myself that I get less wrinkles...

-Miss I-would-love-to-be-low-maintenance-but-definitely-am-not

PS. Get YSL Touche Eclat, woman!

stellagee said...

hey, birger jaarli, and thanks!

my shopping list now includes body shop blotting papers and mac's pre&prime (since i have not tried that one (me thinks) before...). i'll follow up with comments on how they work.

i will think about the touche eclat -- my problem des not reside under my eyes, but i guess a little light here and there wouldn't be too bad...