It's a Cover Up!

Extreme stress has prompted the outburst of a nasty bout of pimple horror for myself so I decided to skip a makeup tutorial. Wouldn't want to scare any animals or little children happening to glance at your monitor while you viewed this post. Hungry ghost festival has long come and gone this year. So, in consolation, I'm blogging some ramble about concealing blemishes. Now, who likes their facial (or body) flaws to be revealed to the whole wide world? Being unashamed and proud of them are one thing, I'm all for getting comfortable with your own physical flaws and all as long as that makes you happy but what about those who aren't too keen on revealing everything? I'm not talking about everything per se alright! The dirty-minded be gone!


What if you could effectively remove those insecurities by hiding them? Come on! It's kind of retarded to desire to look worse (are you insane???) or not try to look better if the opportunity exists and is within obtainable reach right!?

Pretty enough for you? Can't help you if your forehead has blemishes too though! Grow a fringe!

Welcome to the world of makeup! One of the quickest and cheapest alternatives to hiding blemishes! The next best thing that does not cost an arm or a leg would be walking around wearing a surgical mask. Half your face will be covered and people are probably going to avoid you like the plague anyhow, thinking you're a carrier of some infectious disease. Ever heard of the saying "nice from far, far from nice"? Haha! Can't go wrong being seen at a distance!


Now to the nuts and bolts of it all. How should we go about our masquerade?  Start by using the right products that's what!

CRCmakeup.com

Airbrushing is the ultimate best option for both hygiene and coverage. You don't have to further aggravate those pimples, scars or other blemishes by having to touch them. Like women, they don't like to get felt up the wrong places haha! The layering effect can easily be done this way as well without looking so much as having a block of dried (sometimes cracked!) concrete stuck on your face. Conventional foundations aren't quite the same for me once I made the switch six months ago.


I used to support Dinar initially since it's the first airbrush makeup brand I purchased. My airbrushing system is also from them. After trying out a few brands, now I'm leaning towards a blend of Kett Cosmetics Hydro foundation and CRC Makeup's own house brand. KettCosmetics.com does not sell its airbrush foundation in individual bottles so I got both brands from CRCmakeup.com. You can see the details of my haul HERE. If you're interested, I mixed the proportions in the ratio 4:2 drops, enough for my whole face. I'm using Kett in the shade Y02, and CRC in no.25.



Thick, cream-based concealers for the tools of choice for most areas. For the under eye area, choose light liquid formulas so that it can easily be smoothed over the delicate portion without drying up the area too much. Sometimes I still pat cream ones on fine lines after the liquid so that it wouldn't be so obvious should it seep into the lines if I'm wearing makeup for a long period of time. Apply with a light hand, best with your ring finger.


I am using Kett Cosmetics Fixx Creme presently for my entire face due to the amazing coverage it delivers, along with the fact that it's waterproof! Love! No fears of looking like a nuclear meltdown when it rains in hot and humid Singapore.

There are of course many other good brands in the market for the picking. I like Eve Pearl for their salmon concealers which are perfect for the lower eye area. Unfortunately price may be an issue for some as they go for about USD$50 a pan give or take. Given the choice, going for MAC or Makeup  Forever (both just as good) would be better valued options. I normally turn to these two as my default choices for whatever new type of makeup item the industry comes up with. Can't go wrong with reputable brands. They'd get killed for churning out rubbish!


I'm curious about Dermablend after checking out this video they came up with. Definitely on my "to buy" list. I figure most people would be sold by the end of it. Freaky stuff!

The Application Process

A general rule of thumb I stick to whenever I have no time or airbrushing equipment at hand would be to go with layering, and patting. Whether with finger or brushes, rubbing/swiping around all that makeup is just going to make your layers thicker at the wrong areas. Patting keeps the stuff that's not supposed to see the light, covered. Keep these two in mind with the rest of your usual makeup process the same would be sufficient for hiding well-kept secrets.


For more detailed instructions on applying your foundation,check out the below video by DiamondsandHeels14 which I caught by chance on Youtube. A very brave belle who unlike me, made the decision to reveal her acne-prone face to anyone whose interested i.e. has the guts to see her un-madeup face, pimples and all. The scare-fest is all worth it ultimately as you get a real good before-after view of what makeup can do for your confidence. Very heart wrenching when she gets all depressed about it, and yet I couldn't help but feel happy for her for what she has achieved with her life regardless of challenges she faces with her appearance.




The video shows how to get crazy coverage though I personally am not for such extreme levels of coverage. I am paranoid about looking like a powdered abominable snowman. Sneeze and you get mini haze in Singapore! Layering is important but do keep min mind to brush off excess powder once you're done. Set with fixing spray to reduce the powdery look and keep your makeup intact too!

Other Tips and Tricks:

The art of distraction - pulling attention away from your face with makeup and clothing or accessories you own. Make other parts of your body the center of attention. Like that spanking new bracelet you spent your entire month's salary/ parent's allowance on. Or that pair of jeans so tight it makes your dad blush seeing you wear it. If you really want your face to be in the spotlight, opt for the eyes or the lips to be your stars of the night. Cheeks are not cut out for it otherwise you're going to have many pairs of eyes staring at the wrong highlighted places wondering why your sunspots/eyebags/pimples/whatever else are looking unusually ginormous.


Finally, to elaborate more on the "highlighting of the wrong thing" issue, the best thing would be NOT TELLING ANYONE ABOUT IT. If you intentionally arrow your flaws to people like "oh I have a pimple and it hurts!" or "don't look at my pimple", it's gonna be reverse psychology at its best. Not everyone has eagle eyes waiting to spot the next eruption on your forehead. Keeping mum about it in worst case scenarios when you're sporting the mother of all bad-skin-days, sometimes, would prove to be the best option. Quick thinking would be fantastic when having to change the subject in circumstances where you have to handle those awkward moments of silence when your friends are too polite to say anything nasty.



"Hey is that a spot on your face man?"
"What? Noooo you've got pork in your basement? Lemme at em!~Hey what's for dinner tonight? You treating this time around?"
*wink wink!*



Diffuse da bomb my friend!!! Happy scamming your way to a flawless face!



Please note that I'm not supporting an unhealthy lifestyle laden with bad diet habits, lack of sleep and other unhealthy practices that cause bad skin. Blemishes do show up on our faces ever so often, this post serves to educate those who want an alternative to hiding at home from the rest of the world. If there's a way to get out and stand proud, what's stopping you? Makeup FTW(for the win)!