Keratoconus x Makeup
Keratoconus & Makeup
I may have Keratoconus, but at the end of the day I am still a woman and like a lot of us, I too love makeup. Ever since I was a wee little girl, I would climb on the top of my mother’s dresser and wrap my stubby fingers around her lipstick and draw all over my face. Mommy called it “a big mess” I called it “art.”
With that being said, this brings me to my next topic “Keratoconus & Makeup.” This is for all my makeup lovers out there who are conflicted about whether or not they can wear makeup with KC, and for makeup brands to know that sensitive eyes people need love too. More brands need to help a sister out - pleaseee!
What I’ll be talking about?
Why I love make-up
My struggles with makeup in the beginning,
How I wear makeup when having advanced keratoconus,
What products I use.
Why I love make-up
As I mentioned above before even diagnosed I had a love for makeup especially when it came to making the eyes pop and creating different eye looks. Then a few years after my diagnosis I decided to stop wearing because I wanted nothing to come close to my eyes. I fear that I’ll use a product and it’ll affect my eyes. Plus, my dad always screamed at me whenever he saw me putting on makeup.
“They’ll damage your eyes,” He shouted.
Then I’ll reply, “it’s just lipstick daddy!”
Makeup in my opinion is not a mask that people hide behind. It’s more of an artistic way to enhance one’s look. It allows people to be creative and skillful. It’s a moment to get glammed up and feel extremely fabulous. Who wouldn’t love it?
My struggles with makeup in the beginning
This decision to stop wearing makeup was a bit hard to let go of, but I became too paranoid about my eyes getting damaged even further. All of these negative “What Ifs” arose:
What if the foundation, powder, mascara, eyeliner went into my eyes and burned?!
What if the eyeliner or mascara gets onto the contact lenses and damages them?
What if the particles from the powder get trapped between the contact and my eyes, causing it to burn and then infection?
POINT IS I WAS SCAREDDDD!
So I quit! Cold turkey.
Yet, there still that void every time I passed an Ulta or Sephora store wondering what it’ll be like to try on Bobbi Brown’s powder highlighter or Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray. To try and counteract that feeling during university I decided to do my flatmates’ makeup for fun. Best believe all of that change when it came time for my graduation, I slowly crept back into the makeup world; dipping my big toe into the pond of foundation and lipstick. And it felt gooood!.
How I wear makeup when having advanced keratoconus
I knew I had to be extremely cautious when using makeup products, I couldn’t afford to jeopardize my eyes; both literally and figuratively. This took a lot of money, and trial and error to find the right makeup products that were good for my face and safe for my eyes. Now I’m here to share some of those products with y’all.
Reminder: This is my personal experience and what has both worked for and also failed.
What products I use
First I’ll begin with what products didn’t work for me, i.e, not KC approved.
Note: I have oily-combination skin; How do I know this? well I don’t really know but after watched a million and one makeup tutorials and Jackie Aina's videos I just figured her skin sounds like mine so I'm oily-combination too.
Foundation
L’oreal Infallible; This just wasn’t on my side at all. It irritated not only my eyes but my skin. I couldn’t put this anywhere close to my eyes. I gave it three tries yet the same results every time, so I had to scrap that.
Maybelline Fit me (matte) Foundation; this is everyone's holy grail and I wanted it to be mine because it’s so cheaapppp and had my shade. Yet although the coverage was amazing, after an hour in the tropics, the humidity was the only thing winning here, as the sweat ran down so did the makeup which burnt my eyes like a mofo!!.
Sadly to say drugstore foundations weren’t my best friend.
Powders
Any loose powder; These are just big fat no’s for me. I tried a few brands; Black Opal, Laura Mercier, Mac Cosmetic, and Fenty. I’ve tried them with a beauty blender, powder puffs, brushes - nothing worked. The particles went everywhere and got trapped under my contacts which were so painful. When it gets in contact with the saline beneath the contacts it causes a weird “dirt bubble” to form.
I am certain you all know how annoying and painful having even the tiniest debris trapped under the contact lens is.
**But I am still trying to think of different techniques to see if I can work around it.
Now, into the products that I live for
Primer
Becca Matte Poreless Perfecting Primer
Nars Smooth and Protect Primer
Nars Radiant Primer; although I have oily skin this adds a really lovely glow to my face, and it’s my go-to whenever I travel during the winter to hydrate the skin.
Foundation
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation
Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Long Wear
These two foundations are currently my all-time favorite because no matter the humidity or if I’m trapped in the rain, my makeup stays put. They cost a pretty penny, but definitely worth the investment.
If you’re looking for makeup that doesn't smudge and has a lesser chance of running, save your coins, and make the investment. Plus the shade range for these two is amazing, especially for POC.
When I save up more money, I am going to try out more foundations; Fenty, Huda, and Hourglass just to see how they hold and if they’re safe for these sensitive eyes of mine. If you think of any foundation I should try, just let me know.
Concealers
Before I got obsessed with my current concealer which will be revealed shortly. My go-to was LA Girl concealer and NYX HD concealer because they were cheapppppppp and did the job well. Then I upgraded to Nars Radiant Creamy; another fave. Those products worked really well for me, I used them mainly for highlighting under the eyes. These also stayed put.
Then one day while strolling through Brickell City Center mall, my one and only mission was to buy one product from Mac then head back to the hotel. On my way out of Mac, I heard a familiar sound calling my name
“Shakeila, Shakeila,” it said out in the distance.
God? Grandpa? Is that you?! I questioned. Searching around the mall for who was calling out to me. Suddenly there was a bright twinkling light that caught my attention. I looked to my left and there it was; “Sephora.” My fingers began twitching, I told myself no, walk away. As I was about to walk away,
“Treat yourself,” a pesky voice in my head said.
“No, I can’t I need to save,” I replied to the voice.
“But you need to make up too,” the voice said.
I went silent and all of a sudden I ended up right in front of Sephora’s double door.
Firstly I wondered, “When the fak did I walk over here?!”
Since I was already in front of the door, I decided a little peek couldn’t hurt. Well, an hour and a half later it hurt my bank account. There’s no such thing as going into Sephora and not leaving with something(s).
Please tell me I am not the only crazy person that tries to talk themselves out of buying something?
On the bright side, I was pleased to have found my favorite concealer “Born This Way” OMG! It is like butter! It melted into my skin seamlessly, didn’t dry up nor faded away after a few hours of wear. It kicked all the other concealers I had to the curve.
Powder
MAC Studio Fix Pressed Powder: this is to set my concealer alone.
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish; Remember the saying “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” This is another favorite, doesn’t flake everywhere, and adds a beautiful light finish to my skin.
Eyes
Eye Liner; I use both liquid and pencil. It took me a while to find the perfect liners because those can run and really irritate the eyes. I thought I just needed a waterproof eyeliner, but it’s more than that.
Pencil liners; Maybelline, L’oreal black pencil eyeliners have been great to me, it last all day, and even when I have to refill my Scleral lenses, there’s no irritation. I have tried high-end pencil liners but they don’t last long with these watery eyes.
Liquid Eyeliner; Benefit is the one and only liquid liner that hasn’t failed me. The tip is great, it’s easy to control, the formula isn’t runny and it lasts a long time.
Mascara; Estee Lauder Mascara. I use a very light coat just to add a bit of extension to the itsy bitsy lashes I have remaining. I’m still in search of a waterproof mascara that will make me fall in love.
Added Bonus
Setting Sprays: Urban Decay All nighter - Absolutely love!
Makeup remover: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I put a few drops on my cotton pads, close my eyes, placing the cotton pad gently on the lid for 20 seconds, then wipe once or twice gently; this normally gets everything off without adding any unnecessary pressure to the eyes.
TIp: don’t forget to wash your makeup brushes often. I can be quite lazy, so I normally cleanse my brushes with a daily brush cleaner from Sephora and then once a month wash all the brushes using the soap.
Until next time.
Stay safe Luvs! x
