How Lauren Elyse Carved Out Her Space in Beauty by Embracing Her Vitiligo

March 05, 2018
Tembe Denton-Hurst
By: Tembe Denton-Hurst | Makeup.com by L'Oréal
person with vitiligo and silver hair wearing red lipstick

photo credit: courtesy of Lauren Elyse

Vitiligo, a condition in which pigment is lost from areas of the skin, has gained visibility in the makeup community in the past few years. CoverGirl recently debuted a national ad featuring Amy Deanna, a model with vitiligo, to celebrate their new “I am What I Makeup” campaign — where rather than covering up her patches, she uses two different foundations to accentuate the different shades of her skin. This is significant because foundation has a longstanding reputation for covering up in order to create an evenness of tone rather than celebrating the variations skin tones have — a narrative that Deanna is able to shift in just a few quick swipes.

In previous years, vitiligo was seen as something to hide, but now we’re seeing that wearing makeup with vitiligo is all about choice. It’s okay to cover it up, and it’s okay to flaunt your patches, too. We recently chatted with beauty guru Lauren Elyse, a beauty blogger who chooses not to cover her vitiligo, to discuss her fire makeup looks and her best beauty tips.

For starters, there’s no special way to apply makeup with vitiligo. It comes down to your personal preference and whether you’re trying to cover your patches or not. If the goal is to create a completely even skin tone, try a full coverage, customizable foundation like Dermablend Flawless Creator Foundation Drops. The weightless foundation is formulated with 33 percent liquid pigment (which is a lot of pigment) and can be built up to full coverage in just a few drops.

Elyse chooses not to cover up her vitiligo and simply, “had to slightly adjust how [she] applied foundation by avoiding the spots.” According to Elyse, you don’t have to change the way you do your makeup because you have vitiligo. In fact, vitiligo has helped her create bolder makeup looks and take more risks: “Once I really started to embrace my vitiligo and display my spots, I also started to express how weird and artsy I am through makeup."

The vitiligo on Elyse’s face is concentrated largely around her eyes and rather than covering it, she creates complex and innovative eyeshadow looks that leave us in awe. Her looks are inspired by everything from Greek mythology to television shows and everything in between. She’s also inspired by other creators — particularly ones who “don’t do the conventional looks you’re used to seeing. They’re all very different so I take all those different aspects and spin it into something more of my own.” Even though some of her application methods have changed as new spots have developed, her recommendation for aspiring beauty enthusiasts is simple: “Just put the makeup on your face and have fun with it.”

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