Tiny white flakes appearing on face when I'm applying make-up

[PuppyMonkey]

The most bizarre thing is happening the last few times I’ve put makeup on in the morning. Help!

Skin looks fine when I’ve put my No.7 foundation on. Then I’ve got this Trinny London cheekbone contour cream that I put on, usually goes on lovely etc, but now when I do that these tiny little white flakes appear all over my cheeks. Loads of them like tiny little flakes of glitter. They’re a bugger to get off and I’ve ended up having to wash them off with make up remover and hot flannel and remoisturise face.

Any idea what could be happening? When I try the trinny cream on the side of my hand, it looks fine, no specs. Just happens when I put on my cheeks. So I don’t think it can be the cream itself going off or something. Have had it a while though!

It doesn’t seem to be dry skin and tbh, these specs don’t look like skin, they look like dots of white glitter.

Have googled but all I can see is people asking about white pores. This isn’t pores, you can pick the flakes off.

This is the stuff I mean…

It’s piling from your foundation or primer by the sound of it - usually happens with products with silicone I think, but give it a Google

Ah, thanks @theduchessofspork - have never even heard of pilling. Can’t understand why I’ve used the same products for yonks and it’s never happened before.

Products rnt compatible with each other.

Dead skin? Try exofoliating- might help.

Or yea pilling. Some products don’t sit well together.

Okay, but why would the products suddenly decide not to be compatible after months and months of being absolutely fine with each other?

Yes, I’ll be exfoliating more and stuff just in case that helps. Smaller amounts of everything seems to be what YouTube suggests, I’m wondering if I’m using too much moisturiser?

Try waiting a bit longer before adding the second product? It’s pilling for sure.

Thanks all, I knew MN would help me.

Yes to the pilling - this has happened to me with SPFs in the past so it's not just about make up products not working together.

I also suspect that because some products do have a shelf life, it could happen today when it didn't happen before.

It's piling your mixing something water based with something with oils in it , change one of the products or try patting them on my rubbing with a brush

Funny isn’t it? Nearly 58 years old and it’s never happened to me before. Just checked my emails and the Trinny thing is over a year old now - maybe that does have something to do with it?

I had this too then realised it was bits of fluff off a new towel , it had been washed but only once
Took ages to settle down , had bits on me for ages 😀

Ha, this is definitely not a towel, the white flakes literally appear as I put my make up on in the bedroom.

Just updating this thread even though I know nobody will be interested as I solved the mystery. Turns out it was nothing at all to do with pilling - it was tiny white flakes coming off my new Glossier eyebrow pencil. I stripped my entire makeup routine down and finally saw the flakes on my fingers after handling the eyebrow pencil and they were what were subsequently transferring onto my face.

Have just wiped the pencil and loads of white flakes were peeling off. Wonder if I just bought a bad one!