I’ve been a Personal Style Coach for thirteen years now and in those years I’ve lived and taught the philosophy that if you feel confident about how you’re presenting your outward self to the world you’ll be able to let go of your insecurities and shine who you are and what you have to offer to the world, bolder, brighter and better. And until recently, I was confident with my outward appearance, then I turned forty.
My skin all of-a-sudden started to freak out, and so did I. I had battled acne in my late teens but once again, there I was with a face filled with bumps. My dermatologist and I tried many different strategies but after a year of one failed attempt to another I found myself falling into a depression. I wasn’t feeling confident about how I looked anymore. I avoided leaving the house unless I had to. I wasn’t engaging with my kids or my husband. Together my doctor and I concluded that I should go on Accutane. It’s a ‘no joke’ medication but since I’ve been on it, The bumps are disappearing and my self esteem is improving. I’m going on bike rides with my kids and making dates with my girlfriends and hubby again. 
The complication is, the medicine is making my skin very dry. My old foundation worked great but now it’s falling into all the cracks and crevices making me look cakey, dry and older. So for the past two months I’ve been on a mad search to find a foundation that’s a good match for me, camouflages the scars that are still healing but makes me look as natural as possible. It’s been an expensive and frustrating journey trusting ‘experts’. Once again I feel vulnerable and self conscious. I had a counter filled with makeup I was mixing this with that, it was like a chemistry experiment every morning. Frankly it was getting exhausting and discouraging. I consider myself a low-er maintenance person and spending more than 5 minutes on my makeup was out of my comfort zone. Then I found the simple answer I could hold in the palm of my hand.
Recently I went on a trip to the Sonoma area to visit friends. While I was there I was making this same complaint to my new friend Shannon Taatjes of HappyWifestyle.com
Shannon raved of this line she uses exclusively because she’s such a fan. It’s called BeautyCounter. They pride themselves on healthy products free of harmful chemicals without skimping on effectiveness and quality.
We determined that she and I might be a match for foundation color so I gave it a try and I instantly saw and felt a difference. My skin didn’t feel dry, I didn’t need to mix three different foundations to get the right color, just this one seemed to melt into my skin. The look was natural looking, illuminating and dew-like. You can see the difference in the photos which (without a filter) never lie. I was hooked. I finally feel like I can put my makeup on in under five minutes and confidently attack my day knowing that I look healthy and natural and like myself again.
With BeautyCounter Tint Skin foundation and Touch Up skin concealer (NO FILTER)
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Using alternative foundations. Made me look flat and dry and aged me. (NO FILTER)
I’ve loved the BeautyCounter foundation and concealer so much that I’ve purchased the bronzer and have eye shadow and blush on order. I’ve learned that different products work for different individuals but I’m so pleased and relieved to discover BeautyCounter for myself. It kind of answered my prayers. Now I look more like fourteen than forty one–ok maybe not that young but I certainly feel younger looking and I’ll take that any day!!