Does anyone else have skin like this-what do you use?

[ItsintheBag]

I have very dry but also sensitive skin.I use diprobase which i get from boots.It's like a heavy E 45 -which I am also allergic too. So putting it on my skin is soft.
Within 15 minutes and usually right after putting on my foundation,I start to get dry patches.I never have foundation on which doesn't have small dry patches.
I have used every foundation going, from L'oreal to Lancome.I am currently using studio MAC foundation that's gel based.
I thought a primer would help.I used the Nivea one but had a awful reaction to it.
So any advice please,I am in my mid 30's and my skin looks terrible,would love to hear what others use.

Is your skin dry or dehydrated?
If it's dry you need oil, dehydrated - moisture.
What is your cleansing routine?
You might exfoliate ever so gently, or use a rosehip oil, which is a gentle retinoid, or even something like Eluagrbin the evening.
Have you tried a moisture serum - Hydralyron or the Clinique Miusture Surge series?

The Nivea primer is absolutely horrible. It sucked the moisture out of my face!

What's your nighttime face routine?

It sounds to me like whatever you're using isn't sinking into your skin properly and the foundation is just highlighting that. Have you tried a high end tinted moisturiser? If you're not desperate for the cover of a foundation, it might be a better option?

that sounds almost exactly like my (also mid-30s) skin, it's really hard to find stuff that doesn't irritate it. i really rate origins a perfect world white tea skin guardian - it's quite pricey (30-40 quid) but i use it instead of moisturiser and it helps keep the dry patches under control and makes your skin look and smell really nice. you can usually pick up samples cheaply on ebay (or sometimes at origins counters if they're feeling generous).

i've also used coconut oil (on clean skin at night), origins high potency night-a-mins (stupid name but nice night cream), clinique moisture surge and rosehip oil, all of which are good although none tops the white tea skin guardian for me.

also, not sure if this is the case for you but i've found avoiding products with spf in them helps. i use bourjois 10 hour sleep effect foundation, but usually when you've got patchy dry skin there isn't an ideal foundation, tinted moisturiser is probably less likely to go cakey.

Thanks for the replies.
I wouldn't have a huge routine,maybe that maybe why?I wonder do I need to do more.I guess I don't know where to start.
My routine would be face wash-Boots foaming face wash for sensitive skin.
St Ives face scrub (at least twice a week usually more) depending on the dry patches.Then the diprobase.
I don't use a toner -I get that feeling once I pat my face!
I use the wash as I seem to react to alot of cream cleansers.I have had Clinique moisture surge- I reacted to it.
Like you nightcap I am sick of spending money and handing the pots over to my sister who could put acid on her skin and it would be fine.

Sorry blinks I have tried city block from Clinique.I did't love it tbh.I am also very fair pasty and pale so I feel I need it to even out my skin.

coffee what is the difference between dry and dehydrated

Actually I think Clinique is pretty hardcore and definitely not for sensitive skin. Even I reacted to their stuff.

I really recommend Avene and LaRoche-Posay products (usually sold in posh pharmacies and larger Boots). DH can use barely anything on his skin but tolerates those well. They have very nice gentle rinse-off cleansers and cream cleansers (I suspect the Boots face wash may be making your skin drier), but if you really prefer to wash your face, the Avene soap-free cleansing bar is great. Oil/hot cloth cleansing is worth a try too.

I would then try a tinted moisturiser for day and a gentle oil at night, like Clarins.

Also, our new all-singing all-dancing health visitor recommended a cream for DD that has completely sorted out her dry patches. I'll check what it is and post later.

I think that the simplest routine is best with sensitive skin. less products mean less irritation.
I have used Moisture surge and I have really sensitive skin, suppose was just lucky with it.
Itsinthebag, look up Caroline Hirons blog, she has infosheets on dry and dehydrated skin.

You need La Roche Posay Cicaplast cream.

Ok will look up the blog thanks coffee
I agree aswell my face wash may well be making my skin more dry.
I see La Roche Posay posted about alot.My local chemist stocks them-there seems alot of them.I will go in today and have a look.

If you want nice skin, you need to cleanse it really thoroughly and use a good moisturiser but don't wear foundation (even less, primer etc) every day.

You sound very sensitive. I agree with Valium, just go and get yourself a wash and moisturiser from La Roche Posay (or Avene). They are least likely to cause any irritation. I wouldn't waste money on anything else. If you get a copped on saleswoman who knows her stuff, she will direct you to the correct product. They do a range for super-sensitive skin, called Toleriane, or they do a range for v dry skin, sorry, can't think what it's called. LRP also does make-up, so you could consider that, maybe ask for a sample. I use theit waterproof mascara, never irritates.

I have similar skin OP. My current routine seems to be working:

Avene Gel Cleanser
La Roche Posay Cicaplast moisturiser
La Roche Posay SPF50 tinted moisturiser

Oils applied to skin at night can be lovely but I think you need to get your basic cleansing and moisturising sorted first - definitely ditch the foaming cleanser for a gel one applied to dry skin then splashed off with water. Try the Avene one, or Dermalogica Ultracalming. Scrubs are nice but do by their nature attack the skin, so I'd leave them for a while, maybe shift to a gentler one as the St Ives ones are very abrasive. Clarins oils are recommended a lot on here, I love Neal's Yard rose facial oil, but both coconut oil and Superdrug vit E oil I found very drying. If you use an oil at night you must combine with a serum if you have dry skin, or a hyaluronic acid product ideally which delivers water hydration in addition to the oil.

I can't thank you enough for all the good advice, my skin has been like this since
I was 17.
So I went into the chemist today, no one was free,there was a unhelpful woman on the nearby Lancome counter and that was all.So from reading the packaging it sounds like it's just made for me fingers crossed.
So La Roche Posay Cicaplast there were two types a very thin long tube and big fat tube that was called a moisture balm.

this www.boots.com/en/La-Roche-Posay-Cicaplast-Baume-B5-Soothing-Repairing-Balm-100ml_1287417/
and this

www.boots.com/en/La-Roche-Posay-Cicaplast-Pro-Recovery-Skincare-40ml_1225264/

Any advice on which one would be best

I think it's the second link, Pro-recovery one.
I use their Toleriane gel cleanser and the Soothing serum with an Avene Anti- redness cream in the morning
and a Clarins oil and Boots Botanics Sensitive cream in the evening alternating with Eluage as anti-aging treatment.

It's trial and error, tbh.
My regime is working now but it will change as soon as the weather changes.

Agree with gentle cleansing.
And keep it simple, never introduce more than one new product at the time, because then you won't know what caused irritation.

I used to get eczema on my face and suffered with such dry patches. E45 is horrible on my skin, it stings and irritates. Would try some Aveeno Cream and also the Oilatum Cream

I swear by those two. My skin was so bad that I barely wore any make up for nearly 6 months a few years ago, I tried so so much stuff, cheap and expensive and these two creams were the only ones that worked for me.

OK, DD's miracle dry skin patch buster cream recommended by the health visitor is Cetraben emollient cream, so that might be worth a try.

I don't know the 2 creams you've asked about, sorry.