Made-up , and Out of the Closet

[skygoddess]

OK, I saw someone else mention the subject, so I am going to confess.
I have blepharitis, and I wear make-up.
Yes , I know all the bad effects, and my love of the stuff probably is at least part of the reason I am on this web site, but when my Dr. told me he would prefer me not to wear makeup, I asked him "Since when , did you start smoking crack?"

So my question to all the other makeup addicts, is what brands ( if any )have you found that you can tolerate? I don't know which has cost me more money, all the eye drops and Dr. visits, or all the make-up I buy , only to react badly and have to toss it.

Are there any you can recommend I try , or should avoid at all cost? Any ingredients to be watched out for?

I find I can tolerate Physcians formula, magic cube concealer,
shade -light , oddly, no other shade. And for foundation The Body Shop, ultra smooth foundation. Not much I am afraid, out of the many I have tried.

[Judy]

Hey skygoddess,

Busted!! Actually I knew I would be when I mentioned this the other day, however, I'm glad to know I'm not the only addict. I did totally cut out eye shadow except maybe once or twice a year and that seems to help. I use: Este Lauder under eye concealer in the tube (medium), Revlon liquid foundation , Loreal loose powder, Este Lauder blush, Maybelline great lash mascara (pink and green tube), New York denim blue eyeliner, both the regular crayon and the waterproof crayon (due to all the dripping, particularly for my left eye (surgically troubled...twice)... I have a feeling the eyeliner is NOT GOOD, so I'm very careful with it and stay far away from the tear ducts as well... I once dreamed of getting eyeliner tattooed, but then read (in DEZ) this can cause damage to your meibomian glands (just what we don't need...). With the mascara, I try to only apply it from the middle of my lashes (what few I have) to the end and not near my eyelid... I try to keep everything away from my eyes with the exception of the undereye concealer, eyeliner and mascara of course... Anyway, I'd love to hear from others as well, particularly if there is an eyeliner they find OK....

[kitty]

I have been unable to tolerate eye make-up for many years, from the time I started wearing contacts about 17 years ago or so. I don't wear eye makeup at all. I don't react so badly to foundations. I use Revlon Color Stay usually, but when I can afford it I prefer the Lancome foundation. I use only Lancome blush and lipstick.

[skygoddess]

Last night, I found a mascara on line by Ocusoft,
( they make those fun lidscrub pads ) They claim it lacks all the irritants that you normally find, I'll let everybody know, if it was worth another $10 try.

[Rebecca Petris]

Speaking of mascara...

For tips from other users who have test-driven some good products please see this thread. Also worth a browse through our Personal appearance, cosmetics, etc. forum for other ideas.

[cristinalatina]

Skygoddess,

I sympathise soooooooooo much

I used to wear khol pencil both around the eye AND inside (right where the meibomian glands are, as I found out later). I've cut back a lot since DES kicked in, but I just LOVE the way it brings out my dark eyes. I have read though on a blepharitis site on the internet that khol pencil (which usually contains castor oil) can actually be beneficial for blepharitis

Maybe, just maybe I'll try it out again!

[heather g]

Another make up "junkie"

I was miserable to hear I shouldn't wear make up with the blepharitits. I rarely wear eyeliner it is just too much. If there is one out there I could tolerate I would use it for sure. Believe me this has taken a lot of strength!!!! I do wear prescriptives foundation and concealer under the eyes without any problems. I can even use the concealer on the lids(just not down by the lash line) and it really helps. Plus it wears pretty much all day. I am recently finding I can wear mascara if I don't use too much and it is waterproof. Usually when at home I don't use any. But the foundation is a necessity. Really interested in the kohl eyeliner comment. Will have to check that out and Avon too.
Heather

[shoemama]

Interesting....I was actually told by one opthalmologist that eye make-up was good...because u were forced to remove it each nite, therefore enhancing the lid scub routine. I still wear mascara (L'Oreal - non water proof) and clinique under eye cover and stick liner. In my case wearing eye makeup never seemed to make much of a difference regarding my dry eye/MGD/belpharitis/Ocular roscea issue. If I don't remove the eye makeup at nite though it does become a BIG issue. My eyes will become very annoyed.

[Lucy]

Interesting....I was actually told by one opthalmologist that eye make-up was good...because u were forced to remove it each nite, therefore enhancing the lid scub routine.

Shoemama, that might be ok for someone who did not have to instill drops every hour or so throughout the day. Most of us on here have to use drops frequently and this would seem to make a smudgy mess of the eye-makeup. Which leads to running mascars or eyeliner, germs etc. Maybe I'm missing something.

Lucy

[Adar]

accentuate the positive

Skygoddess, I hear you!

I can't tolerate any kind of eye makeup, and decided that I'd leave foundation alone on the off chance it was aggravating things.

BUT -- I regularly treat myself to nice lipstick. REALLY nice lipstick.

A nice tube of MAC, or Chanel, used to be way more than I wanted to spend, but now that mascara, etc is no longer in the budget, I focus on my lips. I feel like really nicely done lips draw attention away from my eyes, and that is a GOOD thing!

Recently I was running around here in L.A. in my best Chanel lips and big super-dark sunglasses and a friend teased me about my "movie star" disguise. It's hard to change your make up habits dramatically, but it helped me to think of it as a shift in emphasis, rather than a forbidden goodie.

[shoemama]

Lucy

I was responding to this thread simply stating what type of make-up I used. Of course when I am using drops makeup will turn into a smudgy mess so therefore at those times I don't use it. I have tried to avoid OTC drops for myself during the day as they don't help me that much. My issue is more MGD which then leads to low TBUT and dry eye.

Also, an opthalmologist actually did tell me that eye make-up was "good" in the sense that if you have it on, you will probably be forced to take it off. By taking it off you will be more inclined to do your lid scrub routine. I'm not telling anyone that this is correct, just what he said.

I certainly didn't mean to offend thru my post, just stating the facts.

[Lucy]

No offense taken here. I just want to be able to partake (wearing eye makeup) and couldn't imagine when I had to use drops all the time. I thought after lasik I'd perhaps be able to wear eyeliner and mascara for the first time in my life. Didn't happen. The least of my problems, though. I'm glad others can manage it.
Lucy

[green eyes2]

I also do the lipstick thing. I was wondering if anyone else did that! I use teeth whitener every day, too. I really try to bring a lot of attention to my lips and teeth since I don't wear eye makeup anymore, except a little waterproof eyeliner sometimes. Eyeliner does not bother my eyes, but mascara is awful. I have tried many different brands. I think tiny, microscopic-type flakes from the mascara and eyeshadow must fall into my eyes and cause irritation. That's the only thing I can figure.

A tip for those who can't wear mascara..if you use a heated eyelash curler, that will make the eyelashes look a bit longer.

[Judy]

I have to say I never said it was easy, but my eyes seem to be hanging in there as long as I am very careful with the eyeliner and mascara... I keep an extra eyeliner in my office and apply a little under my left eye (the overflowing champion) occasionally, then a bit of under eye cream where the skin is getting destroyed by tears. Last week at a skin cancer check appointment, my derm told me to apply a bit of vaseline where the skin is irritated by the constant waterfall, which I try to remember to do before leaving home for work. We'll see how that works...

I'm very stringent about removing the makeup at night, whereas BEFORE ALL OF MY EYE ISSUES, I would often not wash it off until showering the next morning. I definitely DO NOT DO THIS anymore....

For my next flare-up, I will be cutting back on the makeup...

[Niteyorkie]

Water proof eyeliner

Many of you mentioned trouble with eye make up and drops. I wanted to add that I have found a water proof eyeliner by Merle Norman that doesn't seem to smudge with artifical tear (at least for me). You apply it with a brush and I place it under the bottom eye lashes, not on the top eyelid part. I can't tell if it irritates my eyes because my eyes always look red and irritated, makeup or not. I reserve mascara for only special occasions as that does seem to irriate the eyes. Just thought I would add my experience.