Guide to using Dermablend Camouflage Make-Up

These are the three products I use to create a pretty much flawless finish.

Vichy Dermablend Ultra-Corrective Foundation Cream Stick 12g-Porcelain 11

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation 30ML Shade 'Nude' with SPF 20


Vichy Dermablend Corrective Cosmetics Fixing Powder in Clear


I looked for advice when buying and trying these products and I really struggled to find anything helpful. I watched the Dermablend video on their website http://www.vichyconsult.ie/franchises/dermablend.aspx which made it look very easy. It's worth a watch but remember, you are going to need to practise, practise, practise!

STEP ONE

It's really going to depend on your skin type but with this make-up I have found that it lasts longer if first you prep your skin. For me, this means doing nothing as I have quite greasy skin naturally. However, you should moisturise before you apply this make up if you have very dry skin. Otherwise the colour seems to get stuck on the skin and look uneven in texture. If you do moisturise, you must make sure it is totally and completely soaked in. I would leave at least 15 minutes or so.

Another thing I have discovered. If you are wearing any silicone gels on your face for scarring (such as Kelo-cote) then you must either leave it off or make sure it is totally dry. You are meant to put the thinnest sheen of the gel on so it dries very quickly but if it is even in the least tacky your make-up will clump on it.

As the areas you are treated are probably the areas you want to cover, leave a decent amount of time for the gel to dry! Otherwise you will just get frustrated and be late on your way out!

STEP TWO

Get your corrective foundation (tube.) Although mine is in a 'nude' shade, it looks really dark and a bit scary! I was really worried I'd look 'The Only Way is Essex' orange so the first few times I applied it sparsely. This only gives a patchy look.

I stand in a slightly darkened room, or in front of a mirror that doesn't have fluorescent light that highlights every little flaw!

Put a pea size amount (to start) on the back of your hand. Dab your 3 middle finger tips in it. Smear it onto your face in a sweeping moment from your nose outwards across your cheeks. On the good side of my face this is enough but on the other side I also have to cover up my chin, under my chin and part of my neck.

You will probably need some more for across your forehead and eyebrows. You should use enough to cover all your face. Don't worry about it looking too dark. The foundation looks dark on your hand but I think this is due to the level of pigments in it. On your face it seems to sink in and adjust to your skin tone. The key is not to be afraid and not to skimp!

STEP THREE

Now you have an overall colour, you are going to use the Corrective Concealer stick to camouflage the scars or brightest patches. It is like a thick pan stick.

Wash the foundation off the back of your hand so you can put concealer there now. The back of your hand is like your paint palette. Rub the concealer stick vigorously back and forth across the back of your hand, about an inch in length. This is to help warm it up and become more malleable. Once you have a thick patch on the back of your hand, use one finger (I use my middle finger) to rub over the concealer and get a decent amount on your fingerpad. Then firmly dab the colour onto the smaller areas you want to cover. If it is a large area you want to cover, dab the concealer stick directly on to the area and then blend in.

With the concealer stick it is better to build the colour up slowly. It is quite greasy and will dislodge if you knock it or scrape it at this point, so once you are happy with it or you are nearly there, use a lighter and lighter touch to add product so you don't knock it off.

This does take some practise but it definitely works once you have the hang of it. The concealer I have chosen is quite light in colour compared to my skin and that seems to work well.

STEP FOUR

You must fix your makeup using setting powder in order for it to work. I find that I have to fix my makeup a couple of times through the day.

I have only used the clear powder, which doesn't affect the colour of the foundation. You literally dab it on using the puff and wait for 2 minutes. Then using a large brush, delicately sweep the powder away. I use a plentiful amount of fixing powder to make sure it works!

Once the powder is set you can apply your own blusher and so on. I have found that you have to be quite gentle if you are brushing blusher on.

STEP FIVE

Hopefully your face is looking flawless now!

What you need to do will vary depending on your scarring and facial redness but mine goes over my eyelids and brow bones. I have found that using thick creme eyeshadows like this from Benefit http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/gp/product/B000OHEZO6/sr=1-25/qid=1318885453/ref=sr_1_25/278-2017691-2815115?ie=UTF8&n=48844031&bcBrand=core really work well covering up redness. (On top of Dermablend!)

I also have lost some of my lip outline which I hope to have tattooed back on in the future. However until then, I outline my lips in a bright colour (pink, red...) and then fill them in. Although I've lost some of the outline, it isn't noticeable when I draw it back on with a very fine lip brush.

If you have any questions or tips, please let me know! I haven't had my make-up lesson yet (on the NHS, prescription make-up) so I might have some information in a week or so.

I also plan to try out a primer or base before I apply make-up to see if this might help fix it in place further.

Cover (up!) Girl

One of the hardest things for me to cope with has been the cosmetic side of a burns injury.

I am VERY lucky that I have only got a tiny scar under my nose, one under my eye and one on my forehead near my hairline. My main issue is that my face is red/scorched. AND I keep getting spots on the damaged skin. (I say spots, they are more like little blisters.)

The only positive thing is that my eyelashes have grown back longer!!!!

One of the things I have experimented with is camouflage make-up. I am having a makeup lesson this week but I've had to wait 3 months for it, too long when you feel very self conscious. So I did some googling and set out with very little information....

I couldn't find much guidance for camouflage makeup, so I have created a post to help others.

I have also had to update - ok, replace - my wardrobe as my clothes are completely inappropriate now. I have created a couple of posts with some of the ingenious ideas I've had....

In my 'disguise,' no one would know I've had an accident and while I continue to recover, this is such a comfort!!!

Time for the hard graft....

I won't bore you or sicken you too much with the details of a burn injury. Let me just tell you this; it really hurts. You feel sick, dehydrated and very, very tired. You look terrible, covered in weeping scabs that have to be cleaned off. You're taught to leave scabs in order for your skin to recover but with burns, they only harbour infection. Rigorous care is required; cleaning and massaging several times a day. Between the scabs there is the redness, a vivid, angry red where your skin has been scorched.

My face was covered in scabs which I had to clean 3 times a day. It took up to 45 mins to do. There was a massive scab on my lip and above my lip where I had a third degree burn and a really horrible one on my forehead. I took a rolling combination of drugs, Oxycodone, Paracentamol and Ibruprofen.

My ear was horrendously painful and wasn’t showing much improvement. The scab on my lip was massive and what was worrying was I had no feeling in that area, where the nerves had been burnt. My face was very puffy. I couldn’t wash my hair and some of it had burnt off and some had been shaved so I just tied in back out the way.

By this time I really should have been making more progress but my arm was still an open wound on the shoulder and under the arm. The surgeon said I would need skin grafts this week. It would be painful as the donor site has lots of exposed nerves in it and there was a chance that it wouldn’t take. I asked them not to tell me lots of things but instead just what I needed to know, I couldn’t bear to hear what they were going to do to me and how it was going to work.

They called me the next morning!!!

Now, having a skin graft is scary. The donor site does really hurt.

BUT!

I had the grafts about 2 months ago and they already look like normal skin. Yes they are red and yes they are not as aesthetically pleasing as I would like......but they have taken beautifully. Eventually (the 2 year point!) I should have very little scarring.

If you are having skin grafts you must prepare yourself for some pain after the operation but focus on how wonderful it is that you have been repaired with your own skin. After a week I had my bandages off, huge progress compared to my own bodies slow, three week attempt to heal.

The accident

The accident was the scariest thing in my life. It was the most painful thing in my life. I felt like I couldn’t breathe with the fear of what had just happened. I was freezing cold because they were pouring water on me and I was shuddering violently. My teeth were so clenched for some reason, I couldn’t speak. The ambulance seemed to take forever to come. I kept asking for it. I was panicking about my face. The panic rose and rose in my throat and I wanted to scream continuously but I knew it wouldn’t help so I laid there and concentrated on pressing the water soaked materials to my face and breathing deeply. The ambulance came but they didn’t speak to me enough. I didn’t know what was happening. I was terrified. The gas and air didn’t work because they didn’t tell me I couldn’t overdose and I was worried. I was in fear of them telling my mum because she would be really scared and upset.

During the ambulance journey I asked for more pain relief and was given morphine. I hurt unbearably and the fear was choking me and rising in me like a physical rolling wave of panic.

I was taken to the local hospital and put in a recovery room. I was waiting to go to a specialist burns unit. I heard that someone had put something on the BBQ and there had been an explosion. I could see fear in my Mum and Dad’s face when they arrived. The nurse removed my contact lenses; they had melted.

After reaching the burns unit I had to wait in a recovery room whilst my 'official' room was prepared. My arm and chest were covered in clingfilm and my face in a mask whilst they drew my injuries on a board and labelled the depth of each area. They were discussing the percentage of my burns to see if I needed to be debrided awake or asleep. I cried in terror as I knew what the procedure entailed. As an avid reader, I'd read 'The Gargoyle' http://www.the-gargoyle.co.uk/ and was all too educated.

They decided to wait until the next day and they wrapped me in clingfilm.

Luckily I had the debridement under anesthesia. I couldn’t eat anything and felt very sick and was told if I couldn’t start eating the required calories I would need a tube. I was also really dehydrated due to losing water from my damaged skin.

I had a bandage up to the ends of the fingers of my right arm and all across my chest. My face hurt when there was a breeze on it.

I had 14% burns or varying degrees on my arm, shoulder, chest and face and a long road ahead.

Friday 22nd July

On the morning of Friday 22nd July, I was excited about the 6 weeks holidays.

By the afternoon of Friday 22nd July, I was in hospital with 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 14% of my body.

The recovery process for burns is a long, long time. It's not like leaning over an iron and catching your skin. It takes up to 2 years for the skin to repair itself as much as it can. After 2 years, what's left is what you're stuck with.

I've set up this blog for a couple of reasons.

1) To share all the useful info I've found out already. It might save another person some time and effort!

2) To document what has been a terrible, painful time; raising awareness of burns and safety when using BBQs, bonfires and other sources of heat.