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Hello everyone. I'm new here, and I have no idea what I'm doing.

I need some advice because I am seriously at a loss. I'm not really all that "girly", so the most I usually do is eye makeup, and I'm lazy, so it's usually just eyeliner. The problem is I've begun wearing contacts again, but I have very noticeable dark circles that age me beyond reason. I'm 25. The skin under and above my eyes is very thin, translucent in some spots. I can actually see individual blood vessels and they are quite obvious.

I've recently begun live-streaming, so I'm on camera quite a bit. The lighting/angle isn't very kind, so I have to plaster on the makeup in order to look alive, but foundation of any sort looks horrible on me. That might not show on camera most of the time, but in person it certainly does, and I'd like to change that if possible.

I believe I have combination skin. It often feels oily, especially in the summer, but it's always flaky too. I try to exfoliate, but it doesn't seem to help. All the exfoliators say to be "gentle" but if I'm gentle I still end up with flaky skin. Even when I'm not gentle there's usually rough spots that show after my skin dries, regardless of moisturizer. My T-zone is where I see the most oil and flakes. I do have breakouts sometimes, but more than anything I mostly just have those pesky blackheads around my nose. My skin isn't exactly smooth either. It always feels slightly rough, as if there are breakouts there that I can't see. I also have KP across my arms and legs, so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I've begun using the oil cleansing method, and I do like it, but I've seen no better results in the flake department.

I have a few different types of foundation, mostly powder, and they're not the big name stuff because honestly I'm so fed up with wasting money I don't have on foundations that all end up looking the same on me anyway. Even if I've just moisturized with jojoba or some other moisturizer, I apply the foundation and it looks scaly, flaky, and gives me wrinkles I didn't have before.

Do you guys have any advice for me? I can add a makeupless (yikes!) and with make up picture later if that'll help show you what I mean.

 
Hi! Welcome to MUT! Finding the right beauty regimen and makeup is hard. After over 20 years of being obsessed with beauty products I'm still searching and trying new things. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20"> Concealers are great for dark circles. I like to apply them with my fingertip because I'm lazy but concealer brushes work great. You can get Elf and Sonia Kashuk brushes pretty inexpensively. For skin care, the best thing to do is to have the same regimen daily. A cleanser, toner and a moisturizer. Masks and exfoliators are good to use 2-3 times a week depending on how your skin reacts. Have you tried primers under your makeup? Primers help with smoothing out the skin before applying makeup. I prefer tinted moisturizers and BB creams for quick on the go natural makeup because they are so much lighter than foundations yet they still even out the skin tone. You can apply the powder foundations you have with a big brush instead of the applicator and see if you like the results better. I prefer to apply powder foundations with a brush vs the sponge because the result is more natural and I can control the coverage better. You can also use a hydrating, makeup setting spray (if you haven't tried one yet) on top of your foundation to help it set and stay moisturized. Hope this helps and hope others have suggestions for your too.  :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20"> 

 
Hi! Welcome to MUT! Finding the right beauty regimen and makeup is hard. After over 20 years of being obsessed with beauty products I'm still searching and trying new things. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Concealers are great for dark circles. I like to apply them with my fingertip because I'm lazy but concealer brushes work great. You can get Elf and Sonia Kashuk brushes pretty inexpensively. For skin care, the best thing to do is to have the same regimen daily. A cleanser, toner and a moisturizer. Masks and exfoliators are good to use 2-3 times a week depending on how your skin reacts. Have you tried primers under your makeup? Primers help with smoothing out the skin before applying makeup. I prefer tinted moisturizers and BB creams for quick on the go natural makeup because they are so much lighter than foundations yet they still even out the skin tone. You can apply the powder foundations you have with a big brush instead of the applicator and see if you like the results better. I prefer to apply powder foundations with a brush vs the sponge because the result is more natural and I can control the coverage better. You can also use a hydrating, makeup setting spray (if you haven't tried one yet) on top of your foundation to help it set and stay moisturized. Hope this helps and hope others have suggestions for your too.  :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />
Thank you for the suggestions. I should get a concealer. I honestly can't remember if I've tried that before. I think so, but it's been too long.

As for primer, I have used some before. I have...three types I think? One is a BB cream and the others are specifically primers, but they seem drying and only aid in pointing out the patchy skin, especially under my eyes. I mostly use them on my eyelids for eyeshadow and to prevent my liner from making marks, but even then I'll usually find dry patches I didn't know where there until I applied the primer. It's so frustrating!

 
There was a viral video recently about using red lipstick as a base to get rid of under eye circles. I don't know how it works or if it works, but it might be worth checking out.

I would recommend Boo Boo cover up. It is extremely thick and covers everything but doesn't make my skin look dry or ashy. f you are super pale you might want to try korean brand BB creams and concealers since they have lighter shade choices than American brands. 

I have sebborheic dermatitis and was only able to fix that by finding out what foods trigger it. In my case it was cereal and bread products. You might want to track whether your skin gets worse or improves depending on what you've eaten. I also had issues with old pillows and cute but itchy blankets that made my acne worse. 

 
There was a viral video recently about using red lipstick as a base to get rid of under eye circles. I don't know how it works or if it works, but it might be worth checking out.

I would recommend Boo Boo cover up. It is extremely thick and covers everything but doesn't make my skin look dry or ashy. f you are super pale you might want to try korean brand BB creams and concealers since they have lighter shade choices than American brands. 

I have sebborheic dermatitis and was only able to fix that by finding out what foods trigger it. In my case it was cereal and bread products. You might want to track whether your skin gets worse or improves depending on what you've eaten. I also had issues with old pillows and cute but itchy blankets that made my acne worse. 
 
That sounds like a good idea. One of the primers I have is an asian one, but I'll keep looking. I am quite pale, but due to the transparency of my skin, I tend to look more pink than anything. It's frustrating.

Anyway, I think diet probably has a lot to do with it, so I'm going to try to keep track of that and see how it goes.

Thank you!
 
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I've had a lot of the same problems. Changing my diet definitely helped, I can't have any dairy or I break out like crazy, but you might have a different trigger. If you suspect a certain food, you should try eliminating it completely from your diet for a bit, and then reintroduce it to see if your skin reacts.

I'd say stick to the oil cleansing method for a while, it takes a few weeks to fully kick in. It really helped me with my blackheads. If you're using it with castor oil and the flakyness doesn't go away, then try using a bit less castor oil as it can be a bit drying.

You might also want to stop using foundation as that can be heavily pore-clogging. But if you still want to use it, try mineral makeup instead. My favorite is Silk Naturals, but Everyday Minerals is good too (at least it was last time I used it a few years ago). This is much less likely to break you out, just make sure you get one without bismuth oxychloride or talc in, since it will irritate/clog your skin. Also wash your brushes very often as they can retain bacteria.

Jojoba oil is actually a wax and may not be moisturizing enough for you, so maybe try a different oil and see how that goes. My favorites are avocado and argan oil.

 
Good to see you have tried Jojoba oil. However there are better oils that will help such as argan oil/rose hip oil and sweet almond oil. 

Are you US based? Depending on the weather where you are at it could also have an effect on your skin. 

 
I've had a lot of the same problems. Changing my diet definitely helped, I can't have any dairy or I break out like crazy, but you might have a different trigger. If you suspect a certain food, you should try eliminating it completely from your diet for a bit, and then reintroduce it to see if your skin reacts.

I'd say stick to the oil cleansing method for a while, it takes a few weeks to fully kick in. It really helped me with my blackheads. If you're using it with castor oil and the flakyness doesn't go away, then try using a bit less castor oil as it can be a bit drying.

You might also want to stop using foundation as that can be heavily pore-clogging. But if you still want to use it, try mineral makeup instead. My favorite is Silk Naturals, but Everyday Minerals is good too (at least it was last time I used it a few years ago). This is much less likely to break you out, just make sure you get one without bismuth oxychloride or talc in, since it will irritate/clog your skin. Also wash your brushes very often as they can retain bacteria.

Jojoba oil is actually a wax and may not be moisturizing enough for you, so maybe try a different oil and see how that goes. My favorites are avocado and argan oil.

Good to see you have tried Jojoba oil. However there are better oils that will help such as argan oil/rose hip oil and sweet almond oil. 

Are you US based? Depending on the weather where you are at it could also have an effect on your skin. 

I'm using a mix of castor and jojoba for the clense and then jojoba for moisturizing. So far the castor oil doesn't seem to be drying my skin out too much, but maybe it is and I just don't know any better?

I did a lot of research looking into what oils to use for oil cleansing and after a while it made my head spin, so I just tried jojoba since it's supposed to be the closest to our natural oils. I'm not against trying others though. I'll look into the ones you guys mentioned.

As for foundation use, I really don't use it very often at all. Pretty much never, if I'm honest, but that's because it always looks so terrible, so I avoid it. I'd just like to have the option of using it every now and again to even things out a bit, but I'd love to try mineral makeup, so I think that'll be my next step.

I'm in Pennsylvania, US, and it is winter right now so I understand that the dry air and colder temperatures will make a difference with my skin being flaky. In the summer my face always feels oily, gross, and often tinted red from the heat, and yet it still gets flaky. In the winter it feels normal as compared to too dry, and the flakes don't get better or worse.

I'd like to mention that on a whim I picked up some elf concealer the other day. I didn't expect much because it was so inexpensive, but I decided to try it. It's a liquid concealer instead of a stick. I realized when I got home that I bought "medium" instead of "fair" which is what I usually get. To my surprise, it matched perfectly! I never really noticed before, but my face is actually a shade darker than the rest of my skin, including my hands. It never sees the sun, so I'm not sure why. Anyway, the concealer hides my dark circles completely and you can't tell it's there, even up close! No flakes, no scales, no wrinkles popping up out of nowhere! I dust it lightly with foundation afterwards to set it and reduce the shine, and it's flawless!

Also, I took the advice of using a brush, or rather a better brush, for my powdered foundation. I had a kabuki finishing brush I never really used for some reason. Well I tried it and the results were so much better. It's not perfect due to the skin issues, but the improvement was impressive. I don't need a lot of coverage, so a light layer of foundation with a finishing brush seems to work well for me.

 
Great news! I agree with the others try a different oil that jojoba.  Have you tried moisturizing creams/lotions?  I used to have flaky skin too and that seemed to do the trick or a couple drops of face oil serum (I use oras amazing herbal, theres others as well)

 
Looks like you've found some great solutions to your make up problems

I have found that using a concealer applied using the fingertips works for me I lash on loads of BB cream and it covers all my spot patches and dark circles.

But I wanted to share with you a new find I made this year in skincare by discovering the brand Deciem and specifically NIOD which stands for NOn-Invasive Options in Dermatology.  Their products are truly AMAZING 

because the creator was frustrated with all the false promises and ineffectiveness of 

so many big name brands he decided to make products that ACTUALLY work.

Anyway there are two hydration products one is Multi-Molecular Hyaluronic Complex and the Other is Hydration Vaccine.  I would recommend you look up These two products and read the science behind it you will be amazed. Hydration vaccine although clinical and cold sounding is a great product it is addressing hydration from the foundation upwards. It stops your skin losing hydration by locking in your skin's Natural Moisturisation Factors. I would recommend if you are looking to hydrate your skin to try Multi Molecular Hyaluronic Complex as well which is what I have started using and it leave your skin feeling soft and hydrated throughout the day whilsts also plumping your skin. the Products are a tad pricey but  you wont mind this once you discover the benefits of using NIOD products.

There is another NIOD product I am using called Fractionated Eye Contour Concentrate which is heads and shoulders above every other product I have tried for dark circles and ageing eyelids. It will normalise the colour of your skin and also firm your skin so you look great even without Make up :) Hope this helps

:) I will add the benefits of this concentrate take three days to take some effect and it will take longer for the dark circles to disappear. I am only 5 days into my new skincare regime bit i have complete faith in that these products will turn my skin around updates will ensue!

Since you mentioned you are on the camera lot I will mention another NIOD product I have used it is called Photography Fluid 12% and it specifically aims to brighten and illuminate the skin giving a better complexion on camera it has concealer properties too because it has hue correctors and it also has light refracting prisms that diffuse light and give you a clearer complexion on screen.

I have sensitive skin and these three (Multi Molecular Hyaluronic Complex, Fractionated eye contour concentrate and Photography Fluid)  NIOD products have gone on like a dream not irritating my skin one bit which I love and hope you will benefit from. 

Shaneez

 
I'd like to mention that on a whim I picked up some elf concealer the other day. I didn't expect much because it was so inexpensive, but I decided to try it. It's a liquid concealer instead of a stick. I realized when I got home that I bought "medium" instead of "fair" which is what I usually get. To my surprise, it matched perfectly! I never really noticed before, but my face is actually a shade darker than the rest of my skin, including my hands. It never sees the sun, so I'm not sure why. Anyway, the concealer hides my dark circles completely and you can't tell it's there, even up close! No flakes, no scales, no wrinkles popping up out of nowhere! I dust it lightly with foundation afterwards to set it and reduce the shine, and it's flawless!
More of a side note, but yeah, you should always test the color of foundations/concealers on your jawbone instead of your hand. Otherwise you'll most likely get the wrong color.

Using a pyrithione zinc soap may also help clear up your acne. I wrote a very short post about it here, since some people break out due to excessive yeast/bacteria on their skin and this eliminates it. Personally I use that in the morning and the oil cleansing method in the evening. In that way the zinc keeps away the pimples and the oil cleansing got rid of my blackheads and made my skin smoother.

 
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Well done Dyrace good to see you have cracked the problem - I have learnt a lot just by reading this thread.

 
Well done Dyrace good to see you have cracked the problem - I have learnt a lot just by reading this thread.
I meant to add the following, sorry I forgot.

It might be an idea after applying your night moisturizer to add some vit E oil to seal in the moisture - works a treat for me during the winter here in the UK when the heating is on.

 

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