You have a spot!

Your wedding day has finally arrived and your worse nightmare has come true!  You have a spot!   You know that if you squeeze 'IT' it will only make is worse, but you can’t leave it there because you know that no matter how great your photographer is working on your photos, everyone will see it!  Fear not there are a number of things you can do to look beautiful on your wedding day! 

Disguise it

It is at the moment when you look in the mirror and see the biggest spot of your life glowing like a beacon that you suddenly want to kiss the make up artist you debated about booking! If you did not book a make up artist then if the blemish is in an area where you could get away with it, apply foundation and then colour the spot with a soft brown eye pencil. This makes it look like a beauty mark and then you can simply leave it alone.

Be Gentle!

It’s hard to resist a good squeeze, but we really should leave spots alone. If you are going to play with a blemish, be gentle. The more you squeeze, the more likely you are to cause damage. Try to use a spot product for a few nights, or apply a mask in that one area before going to bed.  But if your wedding day has already arrived it may be time for some more advanced tactics…

Squeeze - carefully!

First you need to prepare the area. Take a clean face flannel that has been soaked in fairly hot water and place it on the blemish for as long as you can. Keep doing this over and over for at least five minutes. This will soften the skin and loosen the opening of the blocked pore. Put gentle pressure with your fingers, not your nails, on either side of the blemish until it breaks open. Now stop. Don’t squeeze the life out of it until you draw blood, which is what most of us do. Instead, put a blob of a deep cleansing mask onto the blemish and allow that to pull the infection out. When the mask is dry around the outside, and wet in the middle, wipe it away and repeat the process, putting more of the mask on.  By doing this you will draw out any fluid without bringing all of the blood to the surface and leaving a massive red mark. It will also help to stop the open blemish from getting re-infected. Once done, use a bit of an anti-bacterial cream to help reduce the risk of re-infection.

You may find that if it was a blocked pore, by softening the skin with warm water, the root comes out really easily. If you have to struggle, stop. You will only make a mess. This should be an easy operation. If it is not, the blemish was not ready or it was too deep. Use common sense and good judgment; after all, you shouldn’t be doing this in the first place!

Cover it

If you can cover the blemish, go ahead. Apply your foundation and then use a concealer and a small brush. By using a brush you will have control and will be less likely to draw more attention to the spot.  Don’t ‘dot’ the concealer on, use strokes.  Otherwise the concealer with appear as a raised blob and you will draw more attention to the area.  Stroke the concealer on, and apply extra layers if you need to later.

If the blemish has been opened, you are going to find that it will weep and make covering difficult. Again, that is why the mask is helpful.  The mask will often seal the spot and allow you to get the mark covered. But it is going to be difficult.  Keep your eye on the area or you will find there is a big gooey mess the first time you get a chance to look in a mirror. It is always best to try to get rid of a spot in the evening before you go to bed if possible.

If the blemish is raised and visible, keep your cover-up job to a minimum. Crusting it over with huge amounts of concealer is not really going to fool anyone, is it? Use your judgment; sometimes a little coverage to blend it down is much better than smothering it!

My advice

Booking a make up artist is one of the best investments you can make for your wedding day!