Monday, June 25, 2007

Safe to Make-up?

As a general preference, I don't like make-up. In my younger days, I almost never wore the stuff. I felt it made my skin itchy, and my face never really feels clean when I wear make-up. I just like to be me as me.

However, the me of late tends to be splotchy some days. Other days, I could have a slight malar rash. I get dark circles under my eyes. Right at this moment, I look like someone punched me in my right eye. Also, as my bilirubin level goes up, my skin looks a little yellow. On days like this, I will opt for make-up. Usually, the sicker I feel, the more likely I'll wear make-up. Especially if I'm going to work because I really don't want to look sick at work.

Even wearing make-up is a project for someone with lupus. My skin reacts to certain types of make-up, so I try to use as little as possible to get the result I want. Usually that just means foundation and mascara. I'll then coat my lips with SPF Blistex and follow that up with lip color. I wear a foundation with sunblock because that helps give me a little extra protection from the sun. My malar rash isn't that bad, so I use regular make-up. I hear that there are great make-ups out there, like Fallene Total Block. It's made particularly for those with lupus.

So on days when I feel really bad, I like to wear make-up because when I look in the mirror, I don't look as bad as I feel, and I can convince myself for a few minutes that I'm in perfect health, and it boosts my attitude for the rest of the day.

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