Hi friends!
I’ve been talking about feel good beauty all month long on here to help soothe the negative emotions a lot of us have felt during lockdown. In the first installment, I gave you recommendations for my top makeup products that feel beautiful to apply to the skin. In the second installment, we dove into salon blowouts at home with the seriously awesome Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer. And last week, it was all about lockdown skin treats that help nourish and hydrate the body.
In my final post in this series, I’m touching on something a little more personal; something that has made me crave that feel-good feeling, that little bit of extra boost from my beauty products. I’m talking about confidence boosting makeup, the kind that makes you feel good no matter the circumstances. About two weeks ago I noticed some redness, dryness and a rough texture under both my eyes. I had recently started a brand new pot of eye cream that I had never tried before. So assuming that was the culprit, I immediately discontinued usage. Now I never got an official diagnosis from my derm (because, you know, COVID and all), but I’m pretty darn sure the cream caused an eczema flare-up. I do have a history with it. The last flare-up I had was about three years ago on my stomach, but I had horrible eczema as a child all over my hands. Oh the joys.
(If you don’t know what eczema is, click here for some info.)
Since I didn’t want to exaggerate or disturb the area much, I decided to forego any eye makeup of any kind until the flare-up ended (concealer, mascara, shadow, liner, you name it). As a person who really loves defining their eyes with makeup, this has been a bit tough for me! So I’ve had to reassess how I do my makeup and emphasize other areas of my face to compensate.
Let me show you now just one of the looks I’ve been doing, and then I’ll take you through the steps and the products I used.
THE (SIMPLE) LOOK
Taken about 10 days into my eczema flare-up.
Taken about 10 days into my eczema flare-up. The redness and slight swelling under my right eye is much more emphasized than under my left eye.
It’s been so weird to wear makeup but have my eyes “nude”! I’m kinda getting used to it at this point, but today (as I’m writing this) is the first day I’m wearing a bit of mascara. Progress! Two big differences between my makeup pre-eczema and post-eczema: a) I’ve put more emphasis on my skin and how I apply my base, and b) definition on my lips, or i.e. just wearing lipstick everyday. I usually didn’t bother much with lipstick on a daily basis before, but lacking the definition from eye makeup has inspired me to rethink things.
It’s a really simple and easy look as you can see, and I can do my makeup much faster now that I’m not messing around with eyeshadow blending. But it makes me look a bit more polished, evened-out, and more confident while I have this flare-up on my face.
A really quick note about my eczema before moving onto the products and steps. The only thing I’ve done to “treat” it, besides keeping the area clean from makeup and unnecessary skincare, is to keep it really well hydrated all day. One of the worst things you can do with eczema is to further dry out and dehydrate the skin, so I’ve been religiously applying my trusty CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion to the area a few times everyday. It’s working, albeit gradually, and I *think* it’s finally on its way out – fingers crossed!
THE PRODUCTS AND STEPS FOR CONFIDENCE BOOSTING MAKEUP
STEP 1 – PRIMING/MOISTURIZING/ILLUMINATING
I love mixing together both the L’Oreal Lumi Glotion and the MAC Strobe Cream in Pinklite because you get both micro-shimmer from the L’Oreal and pearl from the MAC. I use about equal parts of both and just apply them like I would with a moisturizer – with my fingers, all over my face. The finish is both moisturizing and illuminating.
Read this: Drugstore alternatives to Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter
STEP 2 – BASE
I used about 2 drops of the Ilia Beauty Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 as my all-over base for this look and applied it with my new obsession the aDesign Professional Blush Brush, which you can get in a blush duo from Amazon. I totally forgot to include it in the photo above (typical), but it’s a fluffy, soft-bristled brush that just lays down creams so flawlessly without brush marks or blotches. Sometimes the Ilia can catch a bit on dryness particularly around my nose but not when I use this brush! The finish is beautiful and so, so natural! I can’t believe I’m actually using a brush to apply foundation; I was always hard-core about using the warmth of my fingers. But I’ve been using this baby every day for the past few weeks.
Read this: Makeup + Skincare + SPF 40 – Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint Review
STEP 3 – CHEEKS
I applied one of my favorite cream blushes, the Flower Beauty Blush Bomb in the shade Cinnamon (a warm tawny-brown), all over the cheeks for a punch of definition. I then added a small pop of warm pink right on the apples of my cheeks using the Clinique Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm in the shade Amp’d Up Apple. (It didn’t seem to pick up in these photos, but believe me I added it!)
Read this: A Glossier Cloud Paint dupe? Flower Beauty Blush Bomb
Read this: Clinique Chubby Stick Cheek Balm in Amp’d Up Apple
STEP 4 – BROWS
I went pretty simple on the brows and just used one product, my beloved NYX Control Freak Brow Gel. It holds like no other! I applied one thin coat (this is a clear formula), let it dry, and then one more coat. It really, really locks the brows into place.
Read this: Unruly brows? NYX Control Freak has it covered!
STEP 5 – LIPS
I used one of my old favorite lip combos that I actually wrote about when my blog first started. The base is the Tom Ford Matte Lipstick in the shade Universal Appeal, which is a full-pigment neutral beigey-nude. Very lovely and very chic. While the formula isn’t overly drying in any way, I do like to top it with a more moisturizing lipstick for ultimate comfort. I then applied a thin layer of the Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lip Color in the shade HD Sand, a gorgeous peachy-beige color.
Read this: My high/low lip combo of the moment
Read this: Rediscovering Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lip Color
What do you wear when you want confidence boosting makeup? I’d love to know!
xo, and be well, Erica
PIN IT!
LOL at the title and also, I need the Revlon lipstick something fierce! It looks amazing on you
Thank you ❤️
The title is cute! 😀 I hope your eczema has cleared up. I hate having anything like that on my face because I feel like that’s all that people see and they’re wondering if I got beat up or something. haha! The natural look is perfect for me because I’m lazy when it comes to makeup. During the quarantine I’ve only worn mascara and sometimes not even that! Luckily no surprise visitors have dropped in or they’d be scared right off!
I *think* my eczema is on its way out finally, hooray! Oh I hear you, I feel I’m getting lazier and lazier with my makeup as quarantine rolls on!
i’m sorry you have to deal with eczema, it’s the worst! i used to have it as kid around my arms, legs and behind my neck, and sadly i gave it to my son as well. the warmer weather tends to cause flares up more than winter weather. i hope that yours has cleared up by now. and i also hope that it was* the eye cream you started using.
loving all the products you used, and i’m really digging the no eye makeup look too! i may have to try that sometime 😀
At this point, I think the eczema is nearly gone! Definitely think it was that cream, but of course I can’t be 100% sure. I’ve never gotten it on my face before so it was a bit of shock! I’m still not wearing any makeup around my eyes just to be careful, and since I can do my routine so much quicker without it I’m starting not to miss it!
Well that’s great! Even if you cant confirm it was the cream, best to stop using it. Better safe than sorry.
Oh definitely!