It’s not often you think about what makeup can really do.
With so much talk in the media lately about women and makeup and being ‘brave’ for showing the world what you look like without it, it’s easy to forget that for people, makeup isn’t just about looking a bit prettier or appearing ten years younger.
For some women, makeup really is used for what it was intended: as a cover that allows them to live their lives with confidence and without judgement. For some women, makeup helps them to be themselves.
In these new ads for Dermablend Heavy Duty coverage, two women with severe skin conditions talk about how important it is to them to have a good quality foundation.
Cassandra Bankson has been dealing with severe acne since she was in the third grade. Cheri Lindsay has vitiligo, a skin pigmentation condition that turns large patches of her black skin white.
In the amazing videos that are fast going viral, Cassandra and Cheri both face the camera with a full face of makeup, before wiping it off with a washcloth.
Here’s Cassandra’s:
And here’s Cheri’s:
Cheri says makeup helps her because it’s “something that I could put on my face, that could help people to look through the initial shock… People could look completely through it and see like, who I was as a person… It made me a little bit more approachable.”
And after a childhood being called ‘freak of nature’ and exorcist’, Cassandra says “I used to use make up to cover up, and to hide who I was. Now I use it to express myself.”
Here’s a gallery of one of Cassandra’s massively popular YouTube videos, where she demonstrates how she uses makeup each day:
Top Comments
I'm 40 years of age and STILL get acne.... I hate it. "Pro-active" is too strong and 'burns' my skin and Roaccutane is even worse. I'm going through foundation and concealer at a quicker rate than a non-acne sufferer. Not sure what else to do other than live with it.
Nessy Noo, I want to say "ditto" to everything you wrote except that I am 42. I got acne when I was 10 and I was bullied all through school, even by strangers. I long ago came to a point where I can live with it (especially since I have discovered a lot more horrible things in life) and feel reasonably normal in makeup. The problem comes when I see articles like this. Here is a woman who looks a lot better than me doing a dramatic reveal. It reminds me that I'm not normal. I feel hideous - at least for the next 10 minutes until life, with all it's blessings and hardships, goes on.
I could have written this Janet. It's crap isn't it! I'm 42 too and had acne since I was 10. Life is easier now than when I was a teenager but I still hate looking at myself in the mirror.
Have you gone to see a good beauty therapist or skin care therapist and commited to a skincare program? I've never met one acne sufferer - not one - whose skin problems weren't solved if they were compliant with a good routine prescribed by a professional!
Honestly, self-diagnosis and self-treatment with things like proactiv is half the problem a lot of the time.
Ozlicious, I have seen beauty therapists, dermatologists, natropaths, GPs, radiologists and dieticians. I have used Proactiv and just about every product on the market. I have been on a wide variety of medication, including Roactuane. I have polycystic ovaries and acne is just one of the side effects. As I said below, I long ago came to a point where I can live with it. It is always my hope that people will come to understand that acne is not always the sufferers fault. I always hope that people will accept my skin as I have. I am a beautiful person no matter what you may see. :-)
I think they are quite brave. I've seen Cassandra's makeup videos and she is quite emotional (yet can also be realistic) when she talks about her acne and coverups.