My Foundation Journey
Hello!
Today, I wanted to share with you my personal journey with foundation.
I started wearing foundation because I liked the way it smoothed my skin tone and created a perfect base for other products. I had no blemishes or skin discoloration at that time. I had nothing to hide.
Two years into my makeup journey, I started getting painful acne all over my face. It started on the center of my cheeks and progressively moved up the hollow of my cheek bones and to my forehead. I hated the way my face looked. I tried everything to get rid of my acne, every single home remedy the internet had to offer. I drank gallons of water everyday. I ate an almost entirely raw diet with no gluten. Nothing worked.
Foundation soon became a way for me to hide my face. Makeup had gone from being my form of creative expression to being a mask. I knew that, but I convinced myself that's using makeup to hide myself was okay. I remember my first visit to the dermatologist. My derm told me that using makeup everyday was aggravating the acne and it would be best for me to stop wearing foundation until my acne cleared.
I flat out refused.
I had hated how my face looked. I wanted to tear it off. Looking in the mirror made me so incredibly unhappy. I started using the medication that the dermatologist had prescribed. I was religious about application. If sheer will power would have cleared my skin, it would be as clear and perfect as glass. Now, a few weeks had passed and my face had, in fact, gotten WORSE! I rushed back to the dermatologist, who told me that this was completely normal. My face would get worse before it got better. She also told me (again) that the medication would work faster, if I stopped wearing foundation.
Now, I had to make a serious choice. I could continue wearing foundation and have my skin possibly take over a year to heal or I could fix my personal issues with my face and have it heal in a matter of months. A week after that conversation with my dermatologist, I went to school with no makeup on, just my moisturizer and the acne cream. It was honestly a little freeing. I showed up to school, life went on, no one said anything about my face. All of the excuses I had made up to try and justify my own self esteem issues fell through. I had let go of my mask and let my face breathe.
On special occasions and times I wanted to feel totally fabulous, I would put makeup on but I went almost four months without wearing makeup everyday. In that time, I decided on a personal goal to eliminate foundation from my daily routine, even after my acne cleared. I decided I would use quality skin care to help fade my acne scars, even my complexion and smooth my skins surface. I committed myself to making sure my skin was healthy instead of covering up the problems with layers and layers of makeup.
It has been three months since I made that choice. I have invested my money into a quality skin care regimen so that I can follow through on the promise I made to myself. Any person who uses makeup could deal with this. It is not bad to use foundation. I use it for special occasions and makeup art. The decision as to what you do with your makeup is yours and yours only. Always remember that makeup is a tool, not an mask.
Using makeup to hide things that bother you is not wrong. Everyone is on a personal journey where only they can make these decisions. Do not feel shamed by this post. This post is meant to help give you courage in a time when you are struggling. After giving up my mask, my skin improved. I was talking with a woman and she told me, "You have such beautiful skin!" That one comment made me feel so happy. I had committed to a goal, stuck to my plan, and the work paid off. If you are struggling with acne, know that the road may be long, but the reward of taking care of your face is worth it.
With Love,
Coco Cat
Questions for deeper self learning:
- What is my personal journey with makeup?
- What is does makeup mean to me?
- How do I use makeup as a tool for myself?
- Did I struggle with using makeup to hide myself? How did I overcome that?
TAKE ACTION:
-Make one skin care or makeup goal that you want to achieve. Make a plan to help you achieve that goal.
Find me at
Email: lovesliquidliner@gmail.com
Instagram: @makeupbycococat
Tumblr: @makeupbycococat
Today, I wanted to share with you my personal journey with foundation.
I started wearing foundation because I liked the way it smoothed my skin tone and created a perfect base for other products. I had no blemishes or skin discoloration at that time. I had nothing to hide.
Two years into my makeup journey, I started getting painful acne all over my face. It started on the center of my cheeks and progressively moved up the hollow of my cheek bones and to my forehead. I hated the way my face looked. I tried everything to get rid of my acne, every single home remedy the internet had to offer. I drank gallons of water everyday. I ate an almost entirely raw diet with no gluten. Nothing worked.
Foundation soon became a way for me to hide my face. Makeup had gone from being my form of creative expression to being a mask. I knew that, but I convinced myself that's using makeup to hide myself was okay. I remember my first visit to the dermatologist. My derm told me that using makeup everyday was aggravating the acne and it would be best for me to stop wearing foundation until my acne cleared.
I flat out refused.
I had hated how my face looked. I wanted to tear it off. Looking in the mirror made me so incredibly unhappy. I started using the medication that the dermatologist had prescribed. I was religious about application. If sheer will power would have cleared my skin, it would be as clear and perfect as glass. Now, a few weeks had passed and my face had, in fact, gotten WORSE! I rushed back to the dermatologist, who told me that this was completely normal. My face would get worse before it got better. She also told me (again) that the medication would work faster, if I stopped wearing foundation.
Now, I had to make a serious choice. I could continue wearing foundation and have my skin possibly take over a year to heal or I could fix my personal issues with my face and have it heal in a matter of months. A week after that conversation with my dermatologist, I went to school with no makeup on, just my moisturizer and the acne cream. It was honestly a little freeing. I showed up to school, life went on, no one said anything about my face. All of the excuses I had made up to try and justify my own self esteem issues fell through. I had let go of my mask and let my face breathe.
On special occasions and times I wanted to feel totally fabulous, I would put makeup on but I went almost four months without wearing makeup everyday. In that time, I decided on a personal goal to eliminate foundation from my daily routine, even after my acne cleared. I decided I would use quality skin care to help fade my acne scars, even my complexion and smooth my skins surface. I committed myself to making sure my skin was healthy instead of covering up the problems with layers and layers of makeup.
It has been three months since I made that choice. I have invested my money into a quality skin care regimen so that I can follow through on the promise I made to myself. Any person who uses makeup could deal with this. It is not bad to use foundation. I use it for special occasions and makeup art. The decision as to what you do with your makeup is yours and yours only. Always remember that makeup is a tool, not an mask.
Using makeup to hide things that bother you is not wrong. Everyone is on a personal journey where only they can make these decisions. Do not feel shamed by this post. This post is meant to help give you courage in a time when you are struggling. After giving up my mask, my skin improved. I was talking with a woman and she told me, "You have such beautiful skin!" That one comment made me feel so happy. I had committed to a goal, stuck to my plan, and the work paid off. If you are struggling with acne, know that the road may be long, but the reward of taking care of your face is worth it.
With Love,
Coco Cat
Questions for deeper self learning:
- What is my personal journey with makeup?
- What is does makeup mean to me?
- How do I use makeup as a tool for myself?
- Did I struggle with using makeup to hide myself? How did I overcome that?
TAKE ACTION:
-Make one skin care or makeup goal that you want to achieve. Make a plan to help you achieve that goal.
Find me at
Email: lovesliquidliner@gmail.com
Instagram: @makeupbycococat
Tumblr: @makeupbycococat
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