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How to Deal with Spotty Outbreaks
| Red carpet, celebrity make-up artist Aimee Adams can count personalities such as Tess Daly and Madonna in her list of clients. Who better to ask for her own tips on dealing with problem skin than Aimee herself?
“As a teenager, my skin had always been flawless, but back in the late 90s I started to experience spotty outbreaks as my skin became oily, congested and reactive to hormonal fluctuations. “I would stay up very late at night scouring problem skin forums online looking for product recommendations by people who were talking about what had worked for them. A repetitive cycle of research and sleepless nights followed by rising before the crack of dawn to convincingly cover up my messy skin before work, wasn’t conducive to good skin. |
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“Luckily through my work, and extensive travels, I have been able to find and try many different products and I’m going to share my make-up regime with you today!
“It is as important to treat and prepare your skin for make-up as it is when it comes to choosing what you use to make your face up with, and camouflage blemishes.
“To create a flawless finish, the aim is to prepare a smooth canvas for make-up; so developing a regime to treat blemishes whilst you aren’t wearing make-up or before bed, will do you a lot of favours by the time you put on your make-up on in the morning, or before going out. Here’s how I do it.”
Seven Steps to Skin-Heaven!
Bedtime Rituals
- I always double cleanse at night to make sure that my skin is completely free of make-up and the daily grime from being out in town or on public transport. I like a hot cloth oil-to-milk style balm cleanser like Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm to remove every scrap of make-up.
- Next, to get skin squeaky clean, I use Donna May London Clay beauty bar that deep cleanses but doesn’t over dry.
- The most important step in the skin prep is using silicolskin 10-minute gel. I can see a difference almost straight away in how raised a spot is once I apply it. I take a clean cotton bud and just place a very small amount on top of any blemishes that have or look like they’re about to pop up. By morning they are often gone or significantly flattened.
- Lastly, I apply Kate Somerville DeliKate Recovery Serum, a light and hydrating skin-saving serum to soothe stressed skin.
Morning Rituals
If any stubborn spots remain when I wake up, I will do a quick 10 minute mask with silicolskin, just as a treatment top-up which tends to wake my face up and absorb any oily patches before I start applying my make-up.
- Slapping a load of foundation on top of blemishes tends to make them look worse and draws more attention to them. Instead, I use a non-comedogenic SPF like Murad Oil and Pore Control Mattifier SPF45 combined with a tiny pump of a liquid bronzer or tinted moisturiser just to give the skin a warm healthy glow.
- Next I take a very fine brush, sometimes a small point eyeliner type brush and just where there is any redness or blemish I will strategically blend in a little tinted treatment concealer like IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Breakout Full Coverage Treatment Concealer. Follow this with a very light dusting of Mario Badescu Special Healing Powder; it has a slight green tint which helps neutralise redness and make the concealer last.
And that’s it!
Skin looks best when it looks like skin rather than masked under a heavy layer of foundation which in the harsh light of day just looks too unnatural.
The best way to help your skin look clearer is to set up and stick to a daily treatment regime and then artfully conceal just the areas that need help with a shade of concealer that matches your skin exactly.
The rest of your makeup, your eyeshadow and lips can be as strong or as natural as you like. Once your canvas is looking perfect, the world of makeup is your oyster!