There's oil in them hills!

Peace

This is a girlie post. You have been warned…

I just learned something very interesting about my facial skin. But I gotta give you some back-story first…

I have always had normal skin. It’s never been oily and it’s not usually dry. If it leans in any direction it’s to the dry. Yes, I never had a pimply phase, pimple scars or big pores. But dry skin wrinkles faster. This Black WILL crack. I kinda wish I had a bit of oil, because every blue moon (cycle) when I get some, it gives me a lovely glow. But in the last few years (since I turned 40) the pendulum has swung to the dry side. At first it was just a tight feeling. Now it’s an outright flaking in my t-zone. I have upped my water intake, do moisturizing masks, added oil to my skin care regimen; I even started drinking a tablespoon of EVOO to make my coat shiny. All to no avail. I now keep moisturizer in my makeup bag.

Well…. I have been doing my eyebrows lately… and btw, I LOVE what doing my brows has done to my face. Mystery god bless youtube…. And in addition to just drawing and filling them in, concealer goes around the periphery. WELL!!! I have noticed oil on my forehead, around my brows! YAY!!!!! So that got me to thinking…..Maybe I could encourage oil on my face with foundational makeup???

I don’t wear much makeup. I have clear skin so no discolorations. Some circles under my eyes, but they are there because of anatomy and not sleep deprivation. So I’ve never needed to wear foundation. Plus when a Black woman wears foundation, she tends to look embalmed. I don’t like that look. So just some eyes and lips is enough. But since brows don’t quite look as done without concealer, I started using it. Well… I added concealer under my eyes and guess what? Oil!!!! So I took the concealer down the center of my nose for contour. Guess what happened then? Oil! But that’s about as far as I can go with concealer.

Wait a minute. I mis-spoke. I don’t have dark discolorations, but I do have light ones. Eczema is slowly creeping up to my face and I have some loss of pigment in areas: the tops of my eyebrows, and in the naso-labial fold. Basically, my mouth looks like there are parentheses around them.

I purchased some BB cream a month or 2 ago. I read a blog that spoke to me about how 40+ faces need some extra assistance. And since I agreed with the sentiment (she had powerful before and after pics… yikes!), I bought the BB cream that the blogger used in that post. I didn’t care for it because it gave me the foundation embalmed look but runnier. So I stopped using it.

I got inspired by the oil production and came up with this idea. Concealer around brows, eyes and down nose. Then…. BB cream on the sides of my nose and on my chin, around my mouth and on my top lip. That seemed to do the trick. I have oil in the tight places and the white eczemitic patches are covered. I’m back to loving my skin again.

So here I am....


This is me with fresh clean skin with no makeup. Look at those short sparse eyebrows. And if you look at my cheeks on the side of my mouth you can see the eczemza. Sorry about being so close, but.... I'm in my skivvies


This is concealer outlined brows. It just gives my face a focus and definition. One of my coworkers noticed my brows and tried to call me on them. I gave her enough to shut her down. I mean, really, If your gonna be a mean girl you need to be a smart and beautiful one, otherwise you will get chumped at every opportunity



Here we have concealer on he top and BB cream on the bottom. Both are Black Radiance products.

This is what I use as a concealer. Yes it's foundation but it works for me.


This is the BB Cream I use.

I have expensive products on my counter, but BR does the job and blends well at a fraction of the cost. I bought some clinique last year, and by the time I got out away from the counter, I'd spent $50! And I can't use it year round because it's my summer shade. I bought both BR products for $10. I'm just saying...


And this is me all finished. It makes a difference.

I never wanted to be one of those women who wear makeup all the time and look sick without it. I have always said, "I want good skin. Not good makeup." But for realsies... Women need to put forth some effort. I'm not in my 20's anymore. I just can't roll out of bed and look like Beyonce. Them days are so gone. And I'm good with it.

Final Selfie y'all.....



Peace!

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