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Acne Safe Makeup Whether you’re prone to break­outs on a reg­u­lar basis or if they are only a once-in-a-while annoy­ance, acne is a skin com­plaint that almost every­one endures dur­ing their ado­les­cence and into adulthood. Cop­ing with it can be demor­al­iz­ing, par­tic­u­lar­ly when it hap­pens to your face. A break­out on your back or chest can be eas­i­ly cov­ered with clothes. On your face? Well, your face is the “call­ing card” that intro­duces you to the world and speaks vol­umes about your health. An acne break­out can impact your con­fi­dence and increase anxiety. All in all, acne is unwel­come, so rush­ing to a bot­tle of foun­da­tion to cov­er up the offend­ing pim­ples and blem­ish­es is often the imme­di­ate – and under­stand­able — response. But should you do that? And if you do decide to cov­er an acne break­out with make­up is the route you want to go, what brands are safe for your sen­si­tive complexion? We deeply inves­ti­gat­ed this issue because we know your appear­ance is vital­ly impor­tant. We also know that keep­ing your skin healthy is just as big a priority. In this arti­cle, we sug­gest ways to do both and list the prod­ucts that der­ma­tol­o­gists and beau­ty experts rec­om­mend­ed. Con­tin­ue read­ing and learn how to han­dle acne break­outs and which acne safe make­up prod­ucts are suit­able for your del­i­cate skin. Accord­ing to our research, it isn’t only a foun­da­tion you should select care­ful­ly. Der­ma­tol­o­gists rec­om­mend that all your cos­met­ics be cho­sen with skin sen­si­tiv­i­ty in mind to help avoid future break­outs. Even eye shad­ows and mas­caras should be cho­sen wise­ly. Although acne affects the chin, cheeks, nose and fore­head, break­outs can be aggra­vat­ed by harsh prod­ucts on any area of the face. So it may be time to rethink all your make­up choic­es, not sim­ply the con­ceal­er and foun­da­tion you use to cov­er acne breakouts. Our research also revealed two key fac­tors you should keep in mind when select­ing a foun­da­tion. One is that it is oil-free, which is a self-explana­to­ry descrip­tion. The oth­er is some­thing called non-come­do­genic, which means the foun­da­tion con­tains no pore-clog­ging ingre­di­ents – not just oil but oth­er ingre­di­ents like lanolin. If you’re unsure about these even after read­ing labels, talk to a beau­ty expert at your local phar­ma­cy or your dermatologist. Ide­al­ly, dur­ing a break­out, you should­n’t use any make­up, as it’s best to let your fresh­ly cleaned face and neck “breathe.” But we all know that sim­ply isn’t real­is­tic. Leav­ing the house, whether it’s to head to the office, do house­hold errands or attend social events, is part of every wom­an’s day. And look­ing your best is a pri­or­i­ty; we get it! So how do you care for your skin while putting your best look for­ward? By using these cos­met­ics rec­om­mend­ed by beau­ty specialists.

Top 7 Foundations Brands

1- Neutrogena Healthy Skin Sensitive Skin Serum

This foun­da­tion is giv­en five stars by con­sumers and beau­ty pro­fes­sion­als alike. It con­tains vit­a­min B5, and it evens out and cor­rects colour. Accord­ing to the com­pa­ny’s prod­uct descrip­tion, it offers medi­um cov­er­age, so it’s per­fect for con­ceal­ing mild break­outs. On Ama­zon, this prod­uct lists for approx­i­mate­ly $20.39.

2- Ilia Beauty True Skin Serum

acne safe makeup This foun­da­tion offers excel­lent cov­er­age and is safe for all skin types, from dry to oily. Although it isn’t your most bud­get-friend­ly choice, users say it works won­ders in cov­er­ing blem­ish­es and minor acne break­outs. Cov­er­age is mild to medi­um, and it’s a veg­an prod­uct. It’s list­ed on Ama­zon at $54.00.

3- Smashbox Studio Skin 24-Hour Oil-Free Hydra Foundation

Con­sumers rate this prod­uct with five stars for its long-last­ing dura­bil­i­ty – it does­n’t need touch­ing up dur­ing a long, 10-hour day at the office. It offers excel­lent cov­er­age in a vari­ety of colours, so check out the palette on Ama­zon—approx­i­mate­ly $39.00.

4- Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions Liquid Makeup

acne safe makeup The name says it all! Prod­ucts from Clin­ique help calm acne and red­ness, and all are avail­able at drug­stores or on Ama­zon for approx­i­mate­ly $27.00, depend­ing on where you buy your beau­ty sup­plies. An array of hues is designed for almost every skin tone, and the prod­uct goes on smooth­ly and leaves your skin feel­ing fresh. Users rate Clin­ique cos­met­ics con­sis­tent­ly high, say­ing this prod­uct, par­tic­u­lar­ly, eas­es the red­ness and inflam­ma­tion caused by acne.

5- Pur 4‑in‑1 Love Your Selfie Long wear Foundation & Concealer

Indus­try experts give this acne safe make­up a big thumbs up when it comes to cov­er­age. Many users say it offers just the right for­mu­la for calm­ing inflam­ma­tion and red­ness with­out look­ing thick or caked on. Its ingre­di­ents include gin­seng, vit­a­min B, green tea and oth­er things that help soothe your skin while giv­ing you excel­lent cov­er­age. It has two appli­ca­tors – a pump and a wand – designed for con­tour­ing and sim­ple appli­ca­tion. Avail­able on Ama­zon for approx­i­mate­ly $36.

6- Bobbi Brown Skin Long-Wear Weightless Foundation

acne safe makeup This liq­uid make­up earns online raves because it works so well on com­bi­na­tion skin types – oily and dry. Users say it hydrates dry patch­es while also con­trol­ling oil in oth­er spots. Anoth­er plus, users say, is that this is a foun­da­tion that stays true to its colour all day long – the tone does­n’t change even after a long day. That’s a big plus for busy pro­fes­sion­al women who can’t take time to fresh­en their make­up dur­ing the day. This pop­u­lar foun­da­tion is avail­able at some phar­ma­cies and on Ama­zon for approx­i­mate­ly $53.99.

7- Clinique Stay Matte Oil-Free Makeup Foundation

This prod­uct deserves men­tion­ing because it’s ide­al for oily skin types. It con­tains wil­low bark extract – great for con­trol­ling shine – and caf­feine, which lessens inflam­ma­tion. Users say this prod­uct is per­fect for those with sen­si­tive skin, and it cov­ers well even when acne break­outs are active. Clin­ique make­up is sold at many drug­stores, but this prod­uct is also avail­able at Ama­zon for approx­i­mate­ly $31.84.

Top 3 Concealers

In addi­tion to hav­ing just the prop­er foun­da­tion on hand when expe­ri­enc­ing an acne flare­up, a good con­ceal­er also makes your com­plex­ion appear clear and blemish-free. Here are a few of the top con­ceal­ers on the mar­ket today, all rec­om­mend­ed by beau­ty experts – der­ma­tol­o­gists, make­up artists and indus­try spe­cial­ists. Use one of these alone if you’ve got just a blem­ish or two or in con­junc­tion with the foun­da­tion. (They also work mag­ic on those under-eye cir­cles we all occa­sion­al­ly get after a late night at the office!)

1- Dior Forever Skin Correct Full Coverage Concealer

acne safe makeup The name says it all – full cov­er­age that makes your com­plex­ion look blem­ish free. Avail­able in many shades, this prod­uct lasts all day while hydrat­ing your skin in those dry, flaky spots with­out ever feel­ing slick or oily. Avail­able on Sepho­ra or Ama­zon for approx­i­mate­ly $36.

2- Lancombe Peint Idole Ultra Wear All Over Full Coverage Concealer

This prod­uct zeroes in on blem­ish­es and lets you tar­get each one with excel­lent cov­er­age, mak­ing them almost invis­i­ble. You can use it with or with­out foun­da­tion, depend­ing on how bad your break­out is. Users also rec­om­mend this prod­uct for spot appli­ca­tion dur­ing the day, although it lasts very well over­all. Lan­combe offers this con­ceal­er in a large array of hues, and fans say it works well on a vari­ety of skin types. Avail­able on Sepho­ra or Ama­zon for approx­i­mate­ly $29.

3- Revlon Photo Ready Concealer

acne safe makeup This light to medi­um cov­er­age stick is applied with your fin­ger­tips, which allows you to con­trol how it goes on and how much you dab. It’s an excel­lent choice for any­one who wants high-qual­i­ty cos­met­ics but has to be con­scious of cost when pur­chas­ing make­up. This con­ceal­er is avail­able in a vari­ety of shades on Ama­zon for just $12.89.

Caring For Your Face Before Applying Makeup

Of course, a good cleans­ing rou­tine is vital all the time, but it’s par­tic­u­lar­ly impor­tant when acne is flar­ing. Here’s a reminder of the steps you should take every day, accord­ing to the Amer­i­can Acad­e­my of Dermatologists:
  • Wash With a Gentle Cleanser Morning & night

Be sure you toss used face­cloths and tow­els into the laun­dry every day or so in order to pre­vent germs and bac­te­ria from get­ting onto your fresh­ly washed face. And if you work out dur­ing the day, be sure to wash your face thor­ough­ly after­wards to get rid of sweat and oth­er particles.
  • Shampoo Regularly

This keeps oils from your head from trans­fer­ring from your hair to your face.
  • Don’t Pick!

It’s hard to leave your skin alone dur­ing a break­out, but pick­ing at blem­ish­es only makes them worse.
  • Avoid Too Much Sun

Sun dam­age wors­ens acne, so stay out of the sun as much as pos­si­ble. If you do have to be out­side – if you’re par­tic­i­pat­ing in a marathon, for exam­ple – use a high-SPF sun­screen and reap­ply it often.

Final Thoughts

Skil­ful­ly applied make­up can be your best friend when it comes to min­i­miz­ing the appear­ance of acne. Choose the acne safe make­up prod­ucts that best match your skin tone and work well on your com­plex­ion type; acne break­outs can be your best-kept lit­tle secret!

Makeup Tips for Acne-Prone Skin | Sephora

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