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Never in a million years would I imagine that I would be a member of a direct sales company - let alone one that sold cosmetics. The multi-level marketing (mlm) system always seemed a little sketchy to me, not to mention I am beyond busy with my family and a full-time job as a school counselor. Honestly, I feel foolish at times gushing over a makeup product. I guess in order to understand why and how this product has helped transform not just my skin but my self-confidence I will start at the beginning.
So It Begins . . .
As a teenager I struggled with the same acne affliction as most of my peers. A couple pimples here or there, nothing that some good-old Differn Gel couldn't fix. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that my skin decided to wage war on itself. For years I suffered with severe cystic acne. I am talking my entire chin and cheeks and often my entire t-zone littered with deep, usually painful, cysts. They didn't just break my skin they also shattered my self-esteem. Just to provide a reference point to how bad I'm talking about, I once visited a restaurant during a particularly bad flare-up and our waiter asked if I had been stung by bees because the bumps were so swollen. It took all I could muster to not leave in tears.
As you can imagine covering these cysts was a challenge. Regardless of being able to mask the redness I could not hide the swelling. I was under the care of several different dermatologists throughout this several year period and tried numerous topical and oral medications. A break through with an oral medication finally helped and at last the hope of clear skin was in my sights.
Wait There's More
Not more than 3 months after the cystic acne being clear, the redness began to settle in. My cheeks and nose were a bright crimson and covered with small white, pimple like blemishes. My dermatologist, and multiple second opinions were quick to diagnose me with Rosacea. Yeah!
Rosacea suffers out there you know this struggle. Hot pink, flushed skin for no reason with no answers. You try everything to keep your skin calm. Stay out of the sun, don't eat spicy food, limit your alcohol, calming skin washes and lotions. Every time I put a different product on my face I was holding my breath to see what would be the reaction. Makeup, again, was a struggle. Heavy foundations would make my skin worse, powders provided limited coverage that disappeared by 10:00 am.
I tried not to let my skin effect my life, but there were definitely times I wanted to cancel plans or avoid going out because I didn't have the energy to cover it up or worry about people looking (even if they weren't it always felt like they were).
Luckily, last year a new medication was being introduced and tested and my dermatologist jumped at the chance to get me the opportunity to try something new. And it worked - sort of. Today my rosacea is nothing compared to what you see in the photo above however I do have flare-ups and my skin is still very sensitive to products.
Enter Maskcara
After years on struggling with skincare and more so struggling to face myself in the mirror. I was looking for something new that could help me feel beautiful again. To help me see past my flushed cheeks and scarring. I had been a Bare Minerals customer for years. Although the coverage was somewhat decent, it often left me feeling blah. Because my skin did not have adverse reaction to the makeup I was hesitant to try something new.
As luck would have it, I happened upon the Maskcara Beauty website after my finger slipped off my mouse and I accidentally clicked on an article on a bloggers page. Feeling lucky, I did my best guess work to color match myself and eagerly awaited it's delivery. After the first application I knew I could throw all my Bare Minerals away. Not only was it a simple application I was left feeling good about myself. My husband even commented about the new glow I seemed to have. Interestingly, once you see yourself that way it's hard to unsee it. I was able to look past my "flaws" and see my other facial features that brought life to my face.
As a counselor I know that "beauty is only skin deep" and certainly I have felt positive and confident in my life as a wife, mother, friend and professional however to discount the value that one gains from being able to feel comfortable in their own skin is dishonest. F or me there is almost a sense of relief being able to feel like I look as good as I feel, to put aside that doubt and sense of self-consciousness. It has been a life changing experience for me to believe I am what others (my husband, parents, friends) have said for years, because they were always able to see past my skin even when I wasn't. And that is the true gift that Maskcara has given me. And this gift was my inspiration for joining Maskcara as an Independent Artist and one I hope to be able to give to other girls and women.
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