Skin vs. Me: Combatting my Rough, Bumpy Skin

I am plagued with rough, bumpy skin. For the face, this type of skin typically falls under the category of skin texture. Mine isn’t visible (thankfully), but nobody wants their face to feel grainy. I accepted it as a part of my life for years now. I tried not to think about it. I’d consciously avoid touching that part of my face so I wouldn’t remember how much I hate it.

That’s not the best way to go through life . . .

I was content to continue this unhealthy way of coping with my skin until a friend of mine stumbled upon this magical company called, The Ordinary. I say magical because they’re selling quality products at an affordable price. Let’s go through that again but slower: QUALITY products that are AFFORDABLE.

The Ordinary is a DECEIM brand. I don’t know anything about the parent company, but I do trust The Ordinary. I’m not sure where they’re based, but I’m leaning towards Canada since that’s where my box shipped from. My limited experience with them has been in the Acid area, which is where my holy grail has come from. You can read more about The Ordinary here.

Shameless promo done of the company itself, let’s move on to the unicorn of a product that saves me every time I use it.

Let me introduce you to — drumroll — Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% by The Ordinary. There’s no alcohol or oil involved. And, huge plus, they’re (allegedly) vegan and cruelty free! It’s also gluten free (it’s an acid so duh). It does have silicones in it that’s led others to break out. The first time you use any acid, you can expect a flair up of some kind. I haven’t experienced any break outs or flairs from this product. Nor has my sister who I convinced to test it as well. For reference, I have dry/sensitive skin, and she has oily/combination skin.

But let’s get to the meat of the thing: It’s an acid. Why would I trust that on my face? Because it’s an ingredient in some dermatologist prescribed treatments for acne and dark spots/hyperpigmentation. As a teenager with acne, I was prescribed Azelex. It had 20% azelaic acid. It saved me then, and the acid itself is saving me now.

I bought the 30ml/1oz bottle from The Ordinary because of a promo at the time. It sat on my dresser for months (don’t be like me) before I braved up myself and slathered some on the grains of my face. And I mean some.

General Tip
Never put anything bigger than a dime size, if that, of acid, cream or otherwise, onto your face. Actually, be smarter than me and test it on your arm or hand first. The Ordinary accepts returns if you need to send it back for any reason.

In a matter of two days, the grits and grains were gone! My face was smooth to the touch. What the acid does is dry out any pimples or bumps. I don’t know the exact science behind it, but I do know that this product can help with texture, dark spots/hyperpigmentation, redness, inflammation, and pimples (popped or not). Some people swear it helps with their rosacea/eczema. I can’t test it myself, but you always can.

This isn’t a one and done product. It’s a treatment, not a cure. You use as needed. I use it at night after I cleanse, tone, and use a serum. And here’s why: Since it’s an acid, your skin is going to be more sensitive to the sun, which is why I stick to using it at night and making sure I never go out without some spf on my face. I alternate between spf foundation and tinted bb cream. I like to use azelaic acid after my serum because the serum adds a layer of protection.

Quick Breakdown
Cleansing strips your skin. Toning helps to rebalance it and prep it for moisture. Serum, and essence if you have it, starts building the layers of moisture.

I love this product. It costs less than $10 to get your hands on it. If you don’t want to bother with buying from the company, good news. Sephora carries it! Online only though, sorry folks. Since a little goes a long way, the 30ml/1oz can last you for a month or more, depending on use. As of the moment, there’s nothing bigger than the 30ml/1oz. Fingers crossed that will change soon.

What do you think? Have you tried Azelaic Acid before? Have you tried this product specifically, or the company? What was your experience?

To Bounce of Not to Bounce: My Acceptance of BeautyBlenders

If you came here expecting an in-depth review, you’re better off backing out now. This is about how I finally took the plunge and welcomed the BeautyBlender into my life. I’m nobody’s beauty guru (not on this anyway) and I’m the furthest thing from an influencer as you can be.

Now that we got the disclaimer out of the way, let’s get going!

I’m part of the millennial group that tweezed their eyebrows till they were thin lines — like this — and anxiously waited to get my hands on a Sidekick. Aim was cool. Nobody cared much about makeup, just the bare essentials. The first thing I reached for beauty wise was eyeliner. Naturally, eyeshadow came next. Nothing was pigmented. Foundation was for working women.

Beauty Wedges

I grew up watching my mom apply her compact foundation with the accompanying round sponge applicator. It wasn’t for me. I learned early on that I hated compacts, powders, and those wedge sponges. Then came brushes.

I basically collected them for years. It wasn’t until I bought a foundation and its accompanying brush — hinthint BareMinerals — that I actually got hooked on both. That’s been my routine for years now. I squeeze a small amount on the brush, or scribble lines on my face, and swirl it all around till I’m fabulous.

Silisponge

There was a brief period with a silicone applicator (silisponge). I personally hated it. The foundation didn’t blend the way I liked, or was used to, at all. But to each their own.

Moving right along . . .

I tried using a BeautyBlender years ago, once. I never touched it again. That all changed, randomly I might add, a month ago. I don’t know what it was that made me push my brushes aside for this black, tear drop shaped sponge, but I did. I walked into Sephora, grabbed that black beauty — it’s the BeautyBlender Pro Applicator — and walked out feeling accomplished.

BeautyBlender Pro Applicator

My first time using it was during a birthday trip. Thankfully, it worked out.

For all Novices
The suggested and proper way to use a BeautyBlender — or a dupe i.e. complexion sponge, beauty sponge, or blending sponge — is to wet it BEFORE use. This is supposed to prevent the sponge from soaking up most of the liquid/cream you’re using. Next, you bounce that blender all over your face till your foundation (or whatever you’re using) is spread the way you like.

I was nervous that first time. Would it make my makeup look cakey? Would I get those dreaded setting lines? Would it last? Maybe it was a combination of great products and luck, but none of that happened. My makeup didn’t fail me. That was a weekend of 18+ hours a day wearing a full face of makeup. I had to go through rain, sweat, wind, and a ball pit. Despite all the world could throw my way, my photos looked great!

I kept wondering, who’s that beauty was with the perfect makeup. Then I’d go, oh yeah, me.

My foundation has always been flawless — to me anyway — but the blender seemed to spread in a way that really seemed like it was where I wanted it to be. The blender also left me with more product on my face than I normally have with my brushes. Meaning, the blender really spreads your makeup like a spatula evenly spreads icing on a cake. No streaks to go over or crevices left unattended. It’s this finely iced cake. And that’s now what my face looks like; a fine piece of work.

Needless to say, I’m a beautyblender addict. It’s so bad that I now own two. I still don’t know a thing about colors, sizes, or shapes — okay, I know a little — but that’s half the fun. I can say that I purposely bought a dupe to see if there’s a legit difference between the original BeautyBlender and all the other beauty sponges we see in stores.

P.S. An actual review of the sponge vs brush vs silisponge is in the works. So stay tuned!

How I Learned To Navigate Foundation For Dry Skin

Author’s Skin
Skin Type: Dry/Sensitive
Skin Concern: Dryness/Texture
Skin Color: Medium/Deep
Sephora Skin IQ: 1Y11

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Nothing about skincare or makeup is easy. If it were, there wouldn’t be so many conflicting reviews under a product. Like you, there’s a voice in the back of my head that says, Of course there are bad reviews. That means it’s not that great of a product. Kinda . . .

Reviews can be insightful. However, they’re also misleading because the wrong people tend to use the wrong product for them. I typically take five to ten minutes out of my day to sift through for keywords that pertain to my skin and the formula. SPF is mandatory for me, as is affordability.

P.S. Buckle up cause this is wordy.
Main Products Mentioned: Fenty & BareMinerals
Pro Tip: search for what you’re looking for (i.e. matte, coverage, finish, etc)

What’s Your Skin Type?

Think of your skin as a new dress you just stained. You have no idea how to wash it, so you check the tag (I hope you do. Please check your tags!). Every fabric has a set way it should be washed and dried. Your skin is the same way. Most people fall into five categories: dry, oily, combination, sensitive, or normal.

I have dry, sensitive skin aka certain formulas will break me out for any number of reasons ranging from the type of plants they’re using to an actual chemical. Since my skin craves moisture, my primary skin concern is dryness.

The other concern that I had to account for was my skin complexion. I have trouble matching so I gave in and succumbed to Sephora’s Skin IQ Finder. This cut the actual leg work down to minimal. You get a list of what brands they carry have a shade that matches you. I took that list and knocked out anything with a price tag over $40, a matte finish, and exclusively labeled as full coverage.

Foundation Time!

Now that you know your skin basics (and mine), you can approach the looming tower of foundations with some idea of what to look for. If you’re anything like me, you thought about getting that matte finish, transfer-resistant, 24 hour formula. For me, it was Fenty. It’s an amazing line made by an amazing woman who seems to understand my makeup struggle. And it is all wrong for me. I should mention I tried a few drugstore brands before I got my IQ and settled on two: Fenty vs. BareMinerals.

Matte Finish

Matte is the enemy to dry skin. I tried Fenty’s Pro Filt’r Foundation. Everything was great – shade, texture, transfer resistant, long lasting – with the exception of how it showed off my dry skin in a bad way. No amount of primer could spare me. I suppose you could use setting spray and hydration mist throughout the day, but it’s not worth it.

I accepted that matte finish wasn’t for me and went back to the drawing board to see what was left: natural and radiant finishes.

Natural vs. Radiant

A natural finish is exactly that – a controlled, natural look. No excess shine or flaws. Just a pretty second skin people are envious of. Where as a radiant finish is what others may call dewy or bright and glowing. I prefer natural so I went with that. But what’s this about coverage?

Coverage

There is light, medium, and full. Full covers everything. Medium covers most but maybe not the dark pigmentations all that well. Light is barely there and perfect if you don’t have much to hide.

Some are buildable. For dry skin, you want to stay away from full. Apparently, it takes a toll on your already stressed out skin. For myself, I decided to go with a medium to full coverage that is buildable (aka I can control how light it is).

Target Acquired

I didn’t mention it earlier, so let me address it now. Creams and liquids tend to have some moisturizing component. Which brings me to my choice in foundations.

I turned to BareMinerals’ BarePro Performance Wear Liquid foundation. I’ve used their serum foundation (which is being discontinued fyi) and liquid complexion rescue in the past, so I knew they’d have a shade I could rely on. It also has an SPF of 20. Ignoring reviews, I tried it.

It didn’t dry me out or oxidize into a weird color. No lines or setting problems. Not even a small breakout. Did I finally do it? Did I find my next foundation? I had one last test: transferability. I rubbed (normally) against my skin, fabrics, paper, and my phone. Some did transfer, mainly to the phone, but not the normal amount of past foundations.

It’s still early, but I can safely say that BareMinerals Pro in Chai 26 will be my next foundation. When I want the matte finish back, I’ll dust on some translucent setting powder (Cover FX or Laura Mercier) and revel in it.

The Take Away

Stay away from matte finishes, full coverage when possible, SPF is your friend, and anything outside of creams and liquids. Stick with those and you should be good to go.

Have you had a similar experience? Share it below in a comment.