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Writer's pictureRVL YRSLF

How To: Be Red Faced & Confident


60 million Americans battle Acne.

16 million Americans battle Rosacea.

7.5 million Americans battle Psoriasis.

1.5 million Americans battle Lupus.


These are just a few conditions that can affect your skin and cause discomforts when facing the world each day. Throughout my career, I have met more men and women who have insecurities with their skin and most of their insecurities are due to inflammation and redness. Fortunately, I identify with their struggles because I have Lupus which affects my body in many ways but the most embarrassing symptom I face is when I wake up in the morning and see a red face staring back at me in the mirror. I feel your pain and I am going to give you all the steps you need to walk out the door confidently. -- I am not a dermatologist so I can not recommend any treatments, this is strictly a tutorial showing you how to camouflage unwanted redness using makeup.


Step 1:

Starting with a clean, moisturized face apply a green face primer or correcting cream to red areas only. Allow it sit for a minute or two to see the full affect. This will neutralize any redness you may have. Understand that some days, redness may be more extreme than others so don't stress out when the green doesn't counteract all redness. Just breathe and trust me a bit because this can surely be covered by a buildable to full coverage foundation. Here are two products I highly recommend and have used on myself:

  • Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer Adjust This primer does rank as a 5 on the EWG Skin Deep App BUT that is because of Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate). Outside of this ingredient, all others rank as a 3 or lower.

  • Temptu S/B Neutralizer Wheel This cream based corrector is great because you can cancel any unwanted underlying pigment and happens to be my "go-to". It does contain silicone but it is paraben-free. Unfortunately, I am unsure of the EWG Skin Deep rating.

Cover FX, Tarte, Make Up For Ever, Nyx, Maybelline, and even It Cosmetics have their versions of redness neutralizing products. Most products will be green but others may differ in color while containing green and yellow pigments that deliver similar results.


Step 2:

After neutralizing your redness, you may feel as if your skin looks lifeless so I always recommend a yellow-based foundation to bring back some warmth to the skin. I prefer a buildable foundation so I can be more specific with my coverage, however, if you prefer a fuller coverage foundation or feel like a tinted moisturizer, BB cream or CC cream would be just enough, go for it.


Cover FX is a brand I absolutely love because not only do they provide shades for EVERY possible skin tone/type... I mean, from the very lightest to the very darkest, in every variety such as warm, neutral and cool and for dry to oily skin types... they make sure every product is free of parabens, fragrance, gluten, mineral oils, and talc. I prefer their foundation to any other every day.


Two brands that I have used on myself as well as others and recommend checking out are Dermablend and It Cosmetics. Both of which were created by dermatologists but their products do contain some ingredients that might not agree with EWG Skin Deep. However, Dermablend products are for everyone, especially those with skin conditions such as rosacea, burns, acne, scarring, etc. so they are non-comedogenic, fragrance-free, and sensitive skin / allergy tested. It Cosmetics' cruelty-free products deliver! They are filled with vitamins and antioxidants that promote youthful skin.


If you're looking for a lighter coverage foundation or tinted moisturizer, Beautycounter! Let's just say I was in shock the other morning... I woke up to the famous Lupus Butterfly rash and had to race out the door to help my husband. I literally only used the Beautycounter Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation, no correcting primer or cream prior to application, and woah! My redness was covered and I was able to go about my day feeling confident. They have a tinted moisturizer which is an Allure Best of Beauty Award Winner called Dew Skin Moisturizing Coverage for those who want a hint of color. I truly believe in the formulation of the foundation. It does have a hint of yellows and greens coming out of the tube but on the skin, those pigments obviously are powerful enough to neutralize while bringing back the warmth desired. They have a "Never List" for their ingredient standards so they're always EWG Skin Deep approved and are continuously trying to push the "Never List" on Congress to make positive changes in the beauty industry as a whole.

To watch a video of me wearing the Beautycounter Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation and talking about my experience the other day wearing this product click here. Here is a picture of me wearing it... you can still notice a tad bit of redness but it is far from overpowering.



Step 3:

Conceal where necessary, powder oily areas to set in place, and go about your makeup routine as normal.


Here are before and after photos of me last year before work... (I need to be better about capturing current before moments)


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