I THINK I HAVE AN ADDICTION

Being Ill 

In this post, I'm going to tell you what it's like to be an aspiring makeup artist, with  an illness.

In 2013, I was diagnosed with an illness called Lupus (SLE), there are many complications with this illness, many struggles, but also many opportunities. It affects every person differently and there is a 5 in a million chance of having it! I am literally a 19 year old with a 90 year old's body, in future posts I will go into more details about different parts of how Lupus affects me.

The main thing that comes with  my Lupus is Rheumatoid Arthiritis; at 13, I was told I wouldn't have the life of 'normal' teenagers, and I wouldn't be able to do what 'normal' teenagers do. WELL, obviously I wasn't going to listen to doctors, and I have lived my life exactly how I wanted- I achieved my GCSEs in 2015, managed to have part-time jobs, achieved my A-Levels in 2017, and now studying Makeup Artistry at college.

For me, makeup has been my escape from Lupus, and has also helped me to cover it when needed.

I sometimes get a 'butterfly' rash along my cheeks and nose, no, it is not contagious, and no, it is not there 24/7. But, when it is up, I cover it with high coverage foundation on days when I'm feeling self-conscious. Sometimes, I will wear about 2 layers of foundation and 2 layers of concealer, then A LOT of powder over the top. I always make sure my foundation has an SPF, as I need to keep my cheeks protected from the sun. Oh, I'm also 'allergic' to the sun; I can't sit out in the sun, especially in Summer, as it can cause me to become ill(er).


I tend to wear bright eye makeup as much as possible, ESPECIALLY when my rash is up. I feel like it distracts people from it, as they are more focused on the colours around my eyes than the rash on my cheeks. About 6 months ago, i started wearing fake eyelashes practically every day. Personally, I think they make my eye makeup look better, but, I felt like I had to start wearing them as my natural eyelashes had started to fall out (THANKS LUPUS). Wearing eyelashes makes me feel more confident, and I don't feel like I'm being stared at because I don't have eyelashes.

Training to be a makeup artist is difficult, I'll be honest, but, I'm never going to let Lupus decide what I do with my life. Rather than thinking I can't do something, I will just try and find a different way of doing it. For example, holding makeup brushes can be very difficult for me sometimes, but, I've realised that if I use brushes with thicker handles, then I don't have to bend my fingers too much to hold the thin handle, which means I'll be in less pain.

I hope you've enjoyed my blog x