What am I doing wrong? (Redness on face - pic included)

[ItalianChineseIndianMexican]

These are my cheeks - with foundation on.
I use Liz Earle face wash, No7 serum, No7 moisturiser. Sometimes use a primer (Rimmel) and always Revlon Colourstay foundation.
But I then have to put concealer (Rimmel Hide the Blemish stick) across nearly the whole of my face - cheeks, nose, chin, forehead - to get rid of the redness. Even then, I still don't look flawless. It drives me crazy - plus is time consuming and expensive. To top it all, I think Rimmel are stopping making the concealer so I definitely need alternatives!

FYI Im 46, perimenopausal and have always had rubbish (spotty/ blemishy / red) skin on my face. It's affecting my confidence and self esteem now. Please can anyone help?
Thank you.

Like @DeclineandFall I use azelaic acid - mine’s from the Inkey List (Amazon) and it’s got me from red cheeks that I can’t hide under makeup to my normal skin colour again. Costs about £15 a tube. I use it twice a day and it’s brilliant.

I also had to stop washing my face with such hot water, which was a shame because I basically love to boil myself in the shower every morning ☹️

I get a lot redness too across my cheeks and nose then it disappears..following this thread for advice.

I think it may be rosacea too🤔

I developed this in my mid-40s as well. I can’t use anything with perfume in anymore.

I believe that Rosex cream (metronidazole) is used for roseacea. I use it for perioral dermatitis and it’s the only thing that’s helped.

Definitely looks like rosacea, chemist might be able to confirm a diagnosis, and possibly suggest suitable products?

I had similar and after trial and error over the last few years I’ve found a routine that has massively improved things…

Cerave hydrating face wash
La Roche posay toleraine serum (alternate nights)
Azelaic acid on cheeks/tret everywhere else (alternate nights)
Cerave pm moisturiser
La Roche Posay spf 50 (this is a must for redness prone skin as sun exposure aggravates things)

I’m also trying a red light mask but it’s too early to say yet whether it’s working.

If you are consistent then you should see results in around 2-3 months. It’s a bit of a long game but worth it

another one saying it looks like rosacea. I use La Roche posay and cerave products.

One thing to rule out (and it took me a long time figure this out!) is that cotton wool cleansing pads really really irritated my skin. Now I use washable cotton ones and that’s made a huge difference.

best of luck op.

It is almost certainly rosacea.

soolantra is the best thing I’ve found for it, but you’re unlikely to get prescribed it until they’ve tried other treatments like Rozex.

id suggest going to GP. You can also ask for a referral to a dermatologist if Rozex doesn’t work. I had to get a dermatologist to prescribe soolantra

I also have rosacea , have been on lymecycline for years, it’s the only thing that keeps the painful spots at bay. The redness is definitely worse if I drink alcohol. I keep doing routine really simple. Water washes , basic moisturiser at night (e45 ) and I use altruist anti redness & pigmentation cream trued so many different products this is by far the best for me for coverage and no irritation.

It looks like rosacea as others have said . I use an oil based cleanser and water to clean my face and an spf with moisturiser ( not the other way round ) . Anything too expensive and my skin stings . Also try and clean up your diet if you can - so less ultra processed food , less sugar , less alcohol .There is quite a good book I had from the library Skintelligent: What You Really Need to Know to Get Great Skin
by Natalia Spierings- really good chapter on Rosacea

edited to add I found my GP very unhelpful on rosacea - basically said it wasn’t severe enough for any help on the nhs - so I helped myself and made sure me changes .

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful :)

This sounds odd but ask chat gpt. Upload photos like this, explain your symptoms and what you are using and it will devise a plan of what to use when and will recommend suitable products. I did this a few weeks ago and I have a wrecked moisture barrier, redness, pigmentation, dark circles etc and already my skin has improved to the point I can leave the house with a tinted moisturiser on. I upload photos every few days to check the progress. Still have to work on my eyes but shift work, lack of sleep and lack of iron are all big factors for me that can’t be sorted anytime soon. Try it and see, you might be surprised!

I have roseacea and no 7 flares me up really badly, one tried a sample at the counter and she had to run for a wipe as she saw me falling apart!!! also I adore rimmel for foundation and concealer but their primer does nothing for me, maybelline, glossier or Aimee Connelly are all that work for me (but I’m in my 40s). For skincare I use Cetaphil gentle face wash and avene skin soothing cream (found both on a roseacea thread here). As others have said, fizzy drinks, tea and not enough water flare it up. Oh and I was advised to always use an spf all year round, I use le Roche posay. Hope you find the combination that works for you x

It’s a text prediction machine. Seriously. <head in hands>

I also use this Erborian red correct CC cream and it's brilliant. I recommended it to my mum who suffers with redness on her skin and she now also swears by it! It goes on green, and then just blends into your skin tone but all the redness just disappears! I can get away with wearing just this over my moisturiser - and I get really red cheeks very easily (which I hate) so I'd previously always had to wear full foundation.

Ha just realised our comments are almost identical 🤣 I promise I didn't just copy the other poster, it's genuine! My mum's having cancer treatment and she has found it invaluable to cover red blotches which are a side effect of her treatment. She never wore makeup before then, and since it's just like a moisturiser it looks very natural and bare.

I quickly scrolled through and didn't see anyone mention laser. I've always had facial redness. I've been getting laser genesis done. It's really not that expensive on its own but I am also getting excel v laser for red veins so together it adds up. It has made a massive difference to the facial redness. Maybe if you try a few of the things suggested on this thread and are still not happy with the results it would be worth considering laser treatment.

Also thought of rosacea, mine appeared when I was pregnant and then perimenopause exacerbated it.

Strip your skincare right back and allow your skin to calm down. I find the best cleanser by a country mile is plain grapeseed or jojoba oil massaged into the skin and then removed with a muslin soaked in warm water. This even removes layers of waterproof mascara and effectively cleans the skin without aggravating it or stripping it of its natural oils. Best cleanser ever and I've tried them all.

Factors that aggravate for me are: sugar, alcohol (sigh), spices, especially chilli, sunshine (SPF 50 is a must, I like Biore watery essence) and stress.

What does that matter? I’m fully aware of what it is.

It has worked for me, as well as other people I know, my skin has never looked better. Thousands of products on the shelves and sometimes it’s a little bit hard to decide what is useful. I didn’t realise how many things I owned were classed as actives contributing to the issues. How many of the ingredients on each product do you know about? This is where chat gpt helps. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Not everybody can afford treatments such as laser and dermatologist advice.

If you have redness, stop using anything with niacinamide in it. You need a serum and moisturiser that is calming and gentle.
I am a big fan of Korean skincare. Using a centella asiatica serum and calming oil free moisturisers has fixed my redness.
A brand called Purito makes an excellent centella serum that is cheaper than your No.7 and will work better. They also have numerous centella creams, ditto.
Another company called Skin 1004 makes Madagascar Centella serum and ampoules that are cheaper than Purito and are widely recommended.

I have ridiculously sensitive skin and use the Aveeno skincare range to keep it calm.

Oh OP I know exactly what you’re going through. I used to use Liz Earle and it destroyed my skin barrier. I had dreadful rosacea with huge lumpy red flare ups. It took me way too long to realise it was the cleanse and polish from Liz Earle.

I found the barrier repair system from Byoma works wonders, so simple and gentle (and inexpensive). Give it time and keep it simple but most importantly avoid essential oils and fragrances.

Like many others I can highly recommend the Eborian red correct cream as a makeup base.

Good luck.

My first instinct is that you’re using some very cheap products. But I second asking Chat GPT.

Zone in on La Roche Posay who have a specific rage for redness: https://www.laroche-posay.us/our-products/skin-concern/visible-redness?srsltid=AfmBOorILz4iukRyjMEwR06C3XRE37QvcXpLA-HCQYqocZyurfZGiOlj

My ‘guru’ is Sali Hughues who is the beauty person at the Guardian who I find very knowledgeable and doesn’t seem to be selling selling selling on her Instagram page.

You need Azelaic acid

Are Liz Earle and No7 products classed as cheap products??

Will look into La Rosche Posay as have heard they're good.