Face

I have a pimple.

BAM! — right there on my chin.

I’ve named him Julian (hi, Julian!).

Julian really hurts and feels like he has roots that dig miles and miles into my skin. He probably came about due to a combination of factors — eating more dairy than usual, not sleeping enough, randomness and PMS.

Julian is kind of a pain in the @ss, but in light of everything happening in the world today, he’s manageable.

We’re all human. Bare skin is beautiful, but so is bare skin with pimples (although they can be very annoying and painful).

Now, I love Instagram. It feeds my creative well, and I just wanna gobble it all up! But sometimes all of that faux perfection makes me feel like I’m doing everything wrong in my life. I’ll be scrolling and thinking, “Geez, I must be mucking it all up royally.” All the perfect makeup, perfect bodies, perfect houses, perfect flat lays on perfect marble tables with perfect flowers. Hell, even the pets pose perfectly on perfect white furniture in perfectly lit rooms! It’s exhausting.

But you know what? I like my real life, with all of its messy mistakes and moments.

And that’s why you’re looking at Julian the pimple. 🙂

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Breakout Full-Coverage Treatment Concealer ingredients

Cyclopentasiloxane, Aqua/Water/Eau, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Isododecane, Silica, Propanediol, Dimethicone, Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Methicone, Polysilicone-11, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Sodium Chloride, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Butylene Glycol, Decyl Glucoside, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Methicone, Hexyl Laurate, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water, Zinc Oxide, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Gentiana Lutea Root Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Colloidal Oatmeal, Sodium Hyaluronate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycolic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Allyl Methacrylates Crosspolymer, Kaolin, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hydrolyzed Silk, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Sulfur, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Glycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Beta-Glucan, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Tribehenin, Ceramide Ng, PEG-10 Rapeseed Sterol, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Steareth-20, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Chrysin, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Magnolia Acuminata Bark Extract, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Agaricus Bisporus Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499)

Weirdly enough, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, Julian has impeccable timing, because now I have a legit reason to test some new things from It Cosmetics. They launched a couple of new pimple cover-up products for fall — Bye Bye Breakout Full Coverage Treatment Concealer ($28) and Bye Bye Breakout Powder (also $28).

It Cosmetics Bye Bye Breakout Powder ingredients

Silica, Soluble Collagen, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aqua/Water/Eau, Benzoic Acid, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolyzed Silk, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Steareth-20, Glycerin, N-Hydroxysuccinimide, Chrysin, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Propylene Glycol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Zinc Oxide, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Butylene Glycol, Sulfur, Acacia Senegal Gum, Sodium Hyaluronate, Beta-Glucan, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Ceramide Np, Ceramide Ap, Pseudoalteromonas Ferment Extract, Salicylic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Kaolin, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Sorbic Acid, Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Sodium Metabisulfite, Colloidal Oatmeal, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Extract, Magnolia Biondii Bud/Flower Extract, Lentinus Edodes Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Water, Alcohol, Mandelic Acid, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Lithospermum Officinale Root Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Fruit Extract, Citric Acid, Mentha Aquatica Leaf Extract, Azelaic Acid, Passiflora Edulis Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Berberis Vulgaris Root Extract, Gluconolactone, Lactobacillus Ferment, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Alumina, Triethoxycaprylylsilane. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140)

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Whenever the word “illuminating” gets up in the mix when you’re talking about face powders, things can get a little dicey, because, on the one hand, like, when you’re — *ahem* — a lady of a certain age, I think a little dewiness on the face looks great, especially if you’re wearing face powder, which is why MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural has been my partner in crime for the past few years.

I like a little light-reflecting oomph on my 40-plus skin (as opposed to a flat matte), but I reeeeeeally don’t want to cross the line between dewy and straight-up sweaty, because then it’s “Whoa, Karen! Why are you so freakin’ sweaty? Did you just get kicked out of the Stars Hollow 24-hour dance marathon? Or did you just finish a hot yoga class with Viggo Mortensen?”

Side note: I wish these were plausible scenarios!

Anyway, the unintentionally sweaty face thing is kinda happening to me when I use this new $35 illuminating pressed powder in the It Cosmetics permanent line. It’s called Your Skin But Better CC+ Airbrush Perfecting Powder Illumination with SPF 50+ (wow, that’s a mouthful). There are seven shades, and I wear the one called Tan.

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I love my pores. They’re a part of who I am and, ya know, they do all the hard work that pores do (like housing hair follicles).

That said, I really don’t need to be reminded of their existence all day long, so I’d much rather wear a line of blushes called “Bye Bye Pores” than “Hi Hi Pores!”

Sweet Cheeks is the newest shade in the It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Blush fam, and it comes out this fall.

It Cosmetics has some fantastic permanent collection blush lines, including my faves, the Confidence In Your Glow Blushing Bronzers (a.k.a the Neapolitan ice cream ones) and the CC+ Radiance Ombre Blushes, which are SO GREAT. They’re easy to blend, long lasting and look incredibly natural.

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