Zombie never thought she'd be posting in S&B but...

[IamtheZombie]

As some of you may know, Zombie has Stage 4 breast cancer and has been receiving treatment for nearly 5 years.

Because of the chemotherapy treatments she has had and continues to have her skin is extremely sensitive. She hasn't worn any makeup since late 2013.

One of her closest friends is getting married in a week's time. Zombie wants to look nice for the wedding.

What can you recommend as the minimum makeup (for very sensitive skin) she can use?

Lipstick shouldn't be a problem. She thinks her eyelashes could cope with mascara. It's the foundation / blusher about which she is clueless.

Please help if you can.

She's going to bed soon but will check back in the morning.

Hi zombie bare minerals is great for sensitive skin could you get yourself to a make up counter for a make over

Hi Zombie, my friend had stage 4 bladder cancer, she too had very sensitive skin after a long time having treatment. I remember she used Vichy as her base, I seem to remember it was more of a tinted moisturiser than a foundation, She was only early 20's and didn't need too much coverage, they have a good website anyway, you could see what suits. She also used cream blusher by modelco, it was all she could tolerate on her cheeks and lips.

Enjoy the wedding!

Hello Zombie
When I was pg with my DD , my face was so sensitive even water hurt.
I found the only thing that eased it was Almay.

Enjoy the wedding , have you planned whatcha going to wear, shoes,handbag, one of those little fiddly hair thingies (fascinator or something) ,jewellery and have you Cancelled The Cheque?

Not sure I can recommend a foundation but I would recommend using a beauty blender to apply whatever you choose. I have extremely sensitive skin and brushes, pads, fingers just drag at my skin.

I hope you and your friend have a lovely day!

I recommend booking in for a facial beforehand, which will make your skin glow better than any foundation. Also, an eyebrow thread, if this is an option. And if you are not allergic, you can have your eyelashes dyed too. Add a little blusher and lip gloss on the day to finish.

Also, pick a colour to wear that suits your complexion. Try on some scarves to see what suits you.

Hi Zombie, my mum has very sensitive skin (bad excema) and has largely given up on makeup as well as shower gel, soap etc but bare minerals has been okay. I only really wear lipstick so I'll not speculate on what to wear but I'm sure you'll get some good advice here.

Sensitive skin is so individual that what works for me might not work for someone else and vice versa. Some people have worked out which ingredients to avoid. I've never managed to do that so I just stick to a small number of tried and tested products and don't deviate:

Either almond oil or wheatgerm oil as a moisturiser.

Sunscreen - I don't know whether you're sun sensitive but you could be outside a lot for photos etc. Anyway I use Ultrasun Face, SPF 30 or 50. It contains alcohol but it works for me.

For foundation, I use Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation. It's not marketed for sensitive skins but it works on mine. It also includes an SPF, although not strong enough for me.

For both lipstick and blusher I use Burt's Bees lip balm.

I can't tolerate either mascara or eyelash tinting but any eye shadow is fine plus a bit of eyebrow make up - I've never risked dyeing them.

I hope you have a great time!

Clinique have a new foundation and they will give you a tester for 10 days for free.Can you do that rather than buying one that you might never wear again.They also do chunky lip/blusher pencils.If you get the right colour you can may use it for lips and blusher.Alternatively the Burt's Bees idea sounds good.

Like Floisme I'm of the mind that sensitivity is v. individual so hard to recommend a universal solution. Dermablend is oft recommended to the hypersensitive but it is v. full coverage and the shade range is rather limited.

Laura Mercier (the Tinted Moisturiser or Candle Glow Foundation may just be the thing for you) or Bobbi Brown counters will serve you well. They both avoid the major irritants in their formulations and have a wide range of shades. Staff are not pushy and if you explain your reservations wrt sensitivity they'll happily supply you with a decant or two to test out the product over multiple days. If someone has helped you well you can book in a session with them for the day itself (time allowing) and absolve yourself from the hassle altogether. It's free but the polite thing to do is to buy something small like a lipstick that you'll actually see use out of.

If you're concerned about synthetics/chemicals I'd recommend Dr. Hauschka. My local health food store has a makeup stand but I'm not sure how widespread they are but they do a decent foundation.

For blush I'd recommend Aerin's Multi Color for Lips & Cheeks, it's what I tend to wear all winter as it universally lifts most (sallow) skin tones to a healthy glow without screaming blush. It looks a bit odd color wise in the pan but it really is a rather unique shade and works well on bare skin too it looks horrid on the lips though. It's pricey though so Bourjois or Sleek might be worth a look, I'd go for cream blush rather than powder, just use the middle finger to dab a dot on the apple of the cheek and then use the index and ring finger to blend it out. Non chemical ones to consider are by Kjaer Weiss (Embrace is a lovely one) or RMS beauty, but again pricey.

I recommend bare minerals too. its very fine powder that becomes like a foundation - and you can start light and add as required. ITs very good coverage.
If you prefer fluid Ive also found la roche- posay to be very gentle - on holiday I use this www.amazon.co.uk/Roche-Posay-Anthelios-Blur-Optic-Smoother/dp/B00VB2L93S/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1475325510&sr=1-7&keywords=la+roche-+posay

I think a dust of a mineral foundation like bare minerals or lily lolo would work well at enhancing your skin without being too heavy or needing much application. Bare minerals would be a better bet if you're near shops because they could try a bit on you.

Dermablend has brill coverage but my friend who has sensitive skin can't even use that, so she uses La Roche Posay. (Made by same co but very very hypoallergenic - no scents at all)

Thank you all very much for the suggestions.

Zombie will try to get to a shopping centre tomorrow. Telford has Debenhams and House of Fraser plus a large Boots and several health food type outlets.

70isalimit, Zombie has had a good rummage through her wardrobe and extracted several possible outfits. The down side is that they all require boobs to fit properly so she will need to wear a bra with inserts. She hasn't worn a bra since her 2nd mastectomy in April 2014 and isn't particularly looking forward to carrying around all the extra weight!

www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Personal+shopper+service+in+store/M114_Personal_Shopper,default,pg.html

If you're going to House of Fraser, they have personal shoppers. If it's affordable for you to buy a new dress, I'd consider sending them hunting for one while you go and look at make up. (I've never done personal shopping, but I would have thought that was viable). If it was me, I might rather wear a dress that didn't need boobs than feel uncomfortable in one that did. I'm not saying you ought to buy something new, just that there might be a lazy option for finding one if you wanted it.

Good luck Zombie

Clinique products are sensitive, they will match skin tone and give you a sample which might be all you need anyway - and the chubby sticks mentioned by a PP are a good way of achieving a more made-up look that doesn't need much practice.

Personally I wouldn't advise a facial or anything new that might set your skin off - keep to normal regime but be generous with moisturiser as you build towards a more made-up look.

Enjoy the wedding