April's Blog Topic

[Paul_Howard]

This month’s topic will follow on from March’s topic and ask you if and how you camouflage your rash. Are there any cosmetics you’ve found to be particularly effective for hiding the colour or texture of a rash? Are there any techniques you can share for applying them? Perhaps you’ve just read a good article or watched a useful video about it? Please share anything you can with us. Thank you.

[karenl]

i use the skin camouflage makeup given to me by the hospital and it really gives me alot of confidence. The only drawback is how long it takes the chemists to get my prescription, I can order it and it can take between 3 to 6 weeks.

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to karenl]

Thanks Karen. Does that make-up have a name/brand?

[karenl in reply to Paul_Howard]

Yes, Keromask and also Dermacolor.

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to karenl]

Thank you.

[Hidden]

Hi there all,,,My skin on my legs are very scarred through Lupus!The spots and nasty boils that healed with the help of Hydroxy are now replaced with scaring ,,lots of nasty marks!

In the winter time i don't worry too much about this as i am mainly in long pant/jeans etc..but come spring summer we all like to feel air to our skin so about once a fortnight i swear by a good spray on tan!!Some say rather expensive though ?Well i cut back on other things and think for the few months we may get nice weather it's worth it,

For my face all year round i have found amagic mineral makeup powder ,,made by Jerome Alexander,,just a few swirls of the brush in this magic makeup and my face is camouflaged,,it has little couloured bits in it,,eg the green is for redness,the purple,brightness etc,I

I used to spend up to 2omins a morning Concealing,the foundation,,powder,this does job all in one go.You can buy from Asda,Wilko's a few places have it now.£19.99,,not dirt cheap but it goes a long way,,i see if i can find a link for this. Hope this may be of interest to some,,P.s,,it's shower proof but not water proof,only drawback,,but does look very natural.

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for those great tips Dawn.

[45Jacks in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Dawn..going to give this a go. I like the fact it's a natural powder. Have tried lots of different powders but nothing seems to cover up the scarring. x

[amandalilley]

hi guys. am currently testing Vichy Labs derma blend, together with Rosaliac uv moisture cream for our web site i mag: beat the butterfly. They very kindly sent us a variety of different blends to try. I have never used make up before due to my rosea being non prominant but over the past year it has got increaing worse and made me more consious...... which can of course have a knock on effect to your confidence. So far results are good, no reaction but find the blend a little heavy. Other people had also noticed and agreed that the make up does help.

[joyous8]

Hi All- Because of all the rashes and bites I have had over the years around my whole body because of the Lupus, and also the sjogrens which doesn't help my skins condition, and the hypermobility syndrome which means I scar easily and my skin takes longer to heal, I have tended to cover up especially my legs during summer. I do find skin tan lotion helps even it out a bit but for the darker stubborn scars you can get body foundation as well which is useful for special occasions.

As I've only recently had lupus rashes on my face and also a bout of acne for a few months so now have horrible dark scars on my face which I spend a lot of time caking on concealaer and foundation every morning before work. Because I work in a big corporate company, it helps my confidence especially when in face-to-face meetings to look 'my best', so makeup for me is essential for my confidence in that respect. The makeup is very heavy on my face and that cant be good for my skin as well so I would love to find something more natural looking. I've always used cream or liquid foundation topped with powder foundation and have tried numerous brands(low to high end), but still cant find the right balance so am interested in trying mineral powder foundation as in the commercials they do stress how natural it, im just worried they wont cover darker scars. I may pop into debenhams as they have that bare essentuals counter with this makeup, although it is quite pricey. The brand available in asda may be a cheaper option although I dont like not being able to fully test it out as you can with an assistant at beauty departments. But since I spend a lot on testing other foundations anyway i might as well give it a go!

[joyous8]

Just an update on the mineral foundation- I popped into Debenhams to spend my beauty points (£25 worth!=) ) and went to the BareMinerals counter and asked to try the mineral foundation. The friendly lady found the correct complexion (always had been an issue to get this right), and she matched it perfectly. It took no more than 3 mins to apply my full face and you can top up the areas which need more coverage easily with a smaller brush really quickly. The results were great, it felt like i wasnt wearing anything and most importantly it covered my red butterfly rash and dark scars. It's £24 for a pot of the foundation mineral but she said that should last a year at least so cheap in my opinion. I could easily finish a liquid foundation in 3months for the same price, and thats not including the concelaer and powder too. So far its lasted all day, tomorrow will try to apply it myself before work, but so far would highly recommend!

joyous x

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK in reply to joyous8]

That's really good feedback. Thank you for that. Let us know how you get on when you apply it yourself.

[crusher]

I've personally had a lot of help from the Clinque ladies at Debenhams Milton Keynes and Oxford. I know that is a bit specific, but i've found them to be knowledgeable and helpful with advice to reduce the redness of my butterfly rash with makeup and some different products without feeling like I've had to apply layers upon of greasy makeup. I had advice from them a few times before I knew it was a Lupus rash, and when I went in on Friday to pick up some more products, the lady I spoke to seemed really knowledgeable about the condition and how it affects skin - and she stressed the importance of sunblock. I know that some people need much more coverage than others, but I have found the Clinique Redness Solutions range to be very good when the rash isn't too "angry". When I am at work, I use the green base cream and then yellow mineral powder which doesn't hide the rash but evens out the skin colour so you can have a very natural look. If I have meetings, I apply my normal makeup over the top. I was also told that the mineral powder should last up to a year with daily wear, so I agree with Joyous about looking at the value for money long term when products are expensive up front.

Clinique also do a thick moisturisers for sensitive dry skins (I think developed for colder climates and skiing etc) which I use morning and night when the rash is very bad as it helps moisturise my really dry skin without making me look like a ghost with thick white grease on your face. I've also tried Sunsense Daily Face SPF50 this week - but too soon to say how I feel about it. It's funny, I've always thought I've been horribly allergic to suntan lotion due to always coming out in such a bad all-over rash whenever I've been in the sun - now I know otherwise!!!!!!!!

[Liette]

Hi all,

I'm quite pale and although I don't suffer too badly with rashes, I seem to get a lot of spots and blotches which stand out a mile.

If I'm having a bad day I use Benefit "Boi-ing" Concealer or Laura Mercier "Secret Camouflage" with BareMinerals powder foundation on top. If I'm having a better day then I use either one or the other on its' own. These products aren't cheap but I can testify that they do last a long time.

I've been told that for best results it's important to moisturise and use a foundation primer first. Whether this is the cosmetics industry trying to squeeze more money out of us or whether it actually makes a difference I'm not sure!

I also like to use a touch of fake tan in the summer and having tried quite a number, the best one I've found for my pale skin is Clarins Instant gel. It works quickly but is subtle and forgiving of any mistakes!

I hope this is useful.

[sollyn]

This is a fab blog! I love all of the advice given here. I am going to go to asda and get some mineral stuff and take it to the next Lupus C and C and let everyone try it!

Thanks everyone.