When you have acne-prone skin, the best non-comedogenic makeup should be top of mind to avoid further breakouts. Iâm militant about my product selection in the pursuit for clearer skinâevery cleanser, serum, and SPF formulation is vetted and patch-tested before earning a place in my routine. But it wasnât until a recent facial with celebrity aesthetician Sofie Pavitt that I realized my carefully curated complexion might still be under siegeâthis time, by my own makeup products.
Celebrity makeup artist Andrea Ventura agrees. âItâs critical to avoid pore-clogging makeup especially if you have sensitive skin, oily skin, or acne-prone skin. For those with any of these skin types, using makeup with comedogenic ingredients ultimately traps bacteria and oil in pores, is clogging your pores, leading to more breakouts,â Ventura tells Vogue.
Vogueâs Non-Comedogenic Makeup Picks
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Rather than cross my fingers whenever I try a new powder blush or foundation, I decided to take control. Call it my beauty bag reckoningâa spring clean guided by acne-safe ingredient lists, and comedogenicity ratings. Inspired by Pavittâs advice of avoiding all comedogenics while on a skin-clearing protocol, I took to scanning every label with the scrutiny of a chemist, purging anything that didnât pass the acne-safe test. âWhy risk it? Minimize the risk of pore-clogging from triggers, and your skin will clear faster,â Pavitt previously told Vogue, and the same concept can be applied to cosmetics.
One word of warning: while many brands claim their products are non-comedogenic, donât take the label at face value. Iâve made a habit (or perhaps, obsession) of pasting ingredient lists into Sofie Pavittâs pore-clogging checkerâand letâs just say itâs exposed more than a few imposters. The result? A tighter, more intentional edit of color cosmetics. The clean-out focused strictly on complexion productsâfoundation, concealer, powdersâwhile eyes, lips, and brows got a free pass as the lesser of acne-prone areas.