An Introduction
A quick background so you know where I am coming from when
you read this post. I graduated from high school in 2006 from a co-educational
Catholic school. At my school, like many other private Catholic and
non-Catholic schools, there was a no make-up policy. Hair longer than
shoulder-length also needed to be tied up and be a natural colour. I was
frequently being sent to the office to remove my make-up. This was not because
I was the popular vain type, but because I used to have really bad acne
resulting in serious self-esteem issues. I was actually quite the nerd and
goody-two-shoes and always wanted to do the right thing and please my teachers
but I quickly developed a reputation among the teaching staff for breaking the
make-up rule. The boys would even tease me for wearing make-up to school! (amongst other things...I never really quite fit in and still don't). I
wanted to write this post to give some advice to anyone still in high school
facing the similar issues, or simply looking for some ways to wear make-up to
school on a day-to-day basis.
Me as a teen at school, somewhere between 2003-05. (Yeah I went through my little punk-rocker/scene phase like most did at some stage haha!)
First up, I want to remind all you lovely ladies to wear
makeup as infrequently as possible. When you DO, wear as little as possible
too. I would like to say never wear make-up to school because the best thing
for your skin is to let it be free and have your natural beauty shine but that
would be really hypocritical of me and not very helpful for you. I am yet to
secure a permanent teaching position but from doing relief, I see all to often
girls in school with eyeliner and foundation caked on, not looking too
comfortable or happy at all. If you MUST wear make-up to school, PLEASE make it
minimal and stay to natural looks, save experimenting with colour and smoky eye
looks for the weekends and special events. You will give yourself more time to
sleep in the morning before coming to school and you will be less worried about
touch-ups and rubbing your eyes when you are bored or tired in class.
Getting Rid of the Acne
If you are like me and have really bad acne (I did before I got it sorted out and grew out of puberty) I will tell you now go and see a doctor for a solution!
Stop trying to cover it up with make-up and stop hassling yourself with
over-the-counter products, proactive, creams, lotions, whatever. If you have
nice skin, it means less make-up and less breaking the rules! (unless of course
make-up is allowed at your school). I tried everything, nothing worked in the
long run. I actually went to my GP a few times over the year and he prescribed
me with a range of medications that I would try one after the other. I say go
to the doctor because they are the experts and they will help you find what
works for you. I first got put on
benzac, a medicated cream. It actually works quite well and I still use it from
time-to-time when I get a horrible zit right in the middle (yes you know
where). After a few months of that, I went back because it really wasn’t
getting to the root of the problem, as it is a surface treatment. I went on
antibiotics to settle my hormones and this did help for a while, but I still
wasn’t satisfied (my acne was really severe). Eventually, after many other
treatments, the doctor referred me to a specialist dermatologist, who
(hesitantly) put me on a course of roaccutane.
As much as I would have LOVED to post some 'horrendo' photos of my skin at it's worst so you could see what I am talking about, unfortunately I would never let such photos of myself exist and I would have murdered anyone trying to take a photo of my acne when I was a teen. The memories and hurt are enough for me...
A Little Bit About Roaccutane...
Roaccutane is serious stuff and will change you forever. You
can only get a prescription from a qualified dermatologist however I have heard
it is now banned in some parts of Australia (I don’t know for sure!). It can
have a range of serious side effects depending on the individual both physical
and mental and that is why it was a last-resort medication for me. Luckily, I
only suffered from dry lips, dry skin all over and increased sensitivity to
sun. The thing is though, my skin type back then was oily. I now have
consistent dry skin and have to moisturize everyday and still burn in the sun
like never before. I also had to start taking a contraceptive pill like all
women on roaccutane because it can cause birth defects in unborn children.
Having said all that, after the 18 month course, my face was totally cleared up
and I now only get occasional break outs like most normal people when I don’t
eat right, at that time of month, or when I simply don’t wash my face or take
care of my skin properly. After going on this course I was so much more happy
and confident in year 12 than I was in previous years, and was starting to wear
less and less make-up too.
Bending the Rules
If you go to a school with a no make-up policy here are some
tips and possible products you can use that hopefully will make it look like
you aren’t wearing anything and will stop you from getting in trouble. I do not
condone breaking the rules and if you go to a school with a no make-up policy
then you really shouldn’t be wearing at any at all. The rules are there for
many reasons, one of those being that it is better for your skin to wear none
and you shouldn’t have to worry about wearing make-up at high-school age but
like I said (hypocrite) I did it, and I know how it feels. Even if you don’t
have any acne at all I know how important it is to be able to express yourself
and using make-up and beauty products is a great way to do this so here goes,
try this to start with. I have linked each header in this list to a product you can check out!
- BB Cream- Use this instead of foundation. I really love The Face Shop Power Perfection BB cream but it costs around $50 which is usually slightly out of budget for anyone still at school but the Garnier BB cream is very affordable at around $10-$15 and is not a bad product to start with. These creams will usually offer a lot more coverage than a tinted moisturizer and depending on the one you choose, can often offer a range of benefits to your skin too! They also blend really well, adapt to your skin tone (making it harder for teachers to spot!) and are super quick and easy to slap on in the morning before school.
- Concealer- This is an optional step. If you’re still feeling a little self-conscious about those blemishes and unsatisfied with the coverage of your BB cream then smudge a bit of concealer on those problem areas. Be careful not to put too much or it may end up having the opposite to the desired effect and draw attention to spots and blemishes!
- Eye Primer- I use Too Faced shadow insurance as a base all the time for my eye shadows but I also wear it alone whenever I am too lazy to put shadow on. It corrects any discolouration around the eye area and can brighten up your face. You can also try the Lemon Drop colour-correcting primer, both can be found here (or at kit cosmetics in Aus).
- Compact Powder- Only use this if you are totally confident that you have found one that matches your skin colour perfectly and doesn’t look chalky on your face. Powder sets your skin and keeps it shine free during the day. You can also carry it around and use it for touch-ups.
- Blush/bronzer- Another optional. Use with extreme caution and only if you feel your face looks blank and unnatural with just the BB cream. You want small touches to contour your face. Don’t use anything with shimmer or glitter in it (sorry, NARS orgasm sits this one out!) and try to stick to pale browns or peachy colours as pinks/reds will stand out more and be a big give-away.
- Mascara- Mascara looks pretty on everyone. Use something subtle and don’t worry about smacking on layer upon layer.
- Lips- Use a balm as many glosses have glitter/shimmer and even if they don’t, you are likely to get told of for having a gluggy plumping serum on your lips going to school. I like the range you can find in supermarket check-out shelves from Nivea and Carmex.
A Bit Extra
If you ARE allowed to wear make-up to school then here are a couple of looks that I am a fan of. You won’t make me cringe by any means if you walk into my
classroom looking like this.
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| Pinup makeup from Anna Saccone |
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| Peachy Nude from makeup by Alli |
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| Vegas Volt and Peaches from Beauty Down Under |
I hope this was helpful, comments are always appreciated... let me know what you think!
