Unlike a lot of viral videos, Elaine Mokk’s ‘Acne Coverage Foundation Routine’ is inspirational, informative and features a human being who aims to make life more bearable.
How the hell does something so dull and devoid of singing animals go global? The answer: provide helpful advice for teens on how to deal with a problem that makes them cry every time they look in the mirror.
As she states at the start of the video, the make-up routine she demonstrates helped her to cover up her severe cystic acne while she was waiting for a course of the healing medication Accutane to kick in. Yes, girls (and boys of the make-up wearing persuasion), with Elaine Mokk’s help, there is hope!
Eighteen year old Elaine starts the video bare-faced, a big deal for anyone with confidence issues. You can see her spots straight away – they are big, bulging and violent red; the poor girl looks like she’s suffering. It’s bad. Really bad. That’s partly what makes the video so amazing; the transformation of her skin at the end is insanely good. It is genuinely hard to believe.
For anyone reading this who knows the perils of spot-prone skin and wants to learn how to cover up, here is a summary of Elaine’s tips:
To make your skin smooth, apply a thin layer of primer or a priming serum all over your face. A good make-up primer will help make-up to adhere to your skin, making it last longer and sit well.
Here’s where you get a huge visible improvement. Get a BB cream, preferably one with good coverage, oil control and a comfortable feel on your skin. Look out for ones that are specially formulated for acne-prone skin as these will be extra-caring.
Put several dots of BB cream on one area of your face at a time and blend it in from the centre outwards using your fingers. If you have really bad acne, be gentle to avoid irritating the skin.
The aim of this product is to even up your skin tone. If you still have some areas that aren’t looking much better or as even as the others, apply another layer to the area.
Concealer will cover up any redness on spots that cannot be concealed by the BB cream. A high coverage concealer is best. Apply it as you normally apply your concealer.
The final stage uses setting powder to mattify and set your make up so that it lasts longer. With a brush, dab the powder over your face. A sweeping motion is okay if you have clear skin, but it will irritate sensitive or spotty skin. Once you’ve powdered your whole base, apply the rest of your make up, and voila!
