By Daisy Dumas


With and without warpaint: Cassandra, from California, strips her make-up off before showing, step-by-step, how to apply perfect foundation and concealer


Like many of her peers Cassandra Bankson has had to spend her teenage years dealing with the blight of severe acne

And now the pretty 19-year-old now faces college and her future life with the constant awareness and pain of the skin condition.

But rather than letting it get her down, Cassandra has used it to her advantage - and has bravely taken to the internet to show off her make-up trickery that will help thousands of others to deal with the condition.

Her before and after broadcast of her foundation routine has been watched more than 1.7million times.

So expert is her scar-concealing make-up application that the Californian has become a model, her skin appearing flawless in her portfolio shots.


Wearing full make-up and looking picture-perfect, the Bay Area local explains to her many YouTube fans: 'I am the most self-conscious person about my face. The worst part about it, is its gotten a lot better. I mean it's a good thing to say but it still looks awful.'

Stripping back the expert layers of primers, foundation, powders and setting sprays, Cassandra goes from fully-made-up to make-up free - showing the extent of her pimpled and blemished skin.

The teen, a horse-back riding and hiking fan, returns to the camera in a bathrobe at her 'most insecure,' with bare skin and looking a very different person.

'I feel really disgusting,' she says, her nerves catching in her voice as she explains that 'this is probably the most nerve-wracking thing I could possibly do because it is my biggest insecurity... But this is my face.'

Honest: She is frank about the skin disorder, pointing out the extent of her acne and its unsightly spread


She goes to show the extent of the problem.

'The sad part is it's a lot better than it used to be. I mean it's still all over my chest, all over my back, it's everywhere and you can see it goes down my neck, it's all to the side, it even got on my ear.

'It's gotten a lot better but it's still really, really bad. It's my biggest insecurity.'

It is a far cry from the modelling portfolio shots that can be seen on her diamondsandheels14 channel on YouTube, where the striking, even-skinned brunette lounges on car bonnets, takes to the catwalk and poses in cut-out swimsuits.

The teen, whose series of short tutorial videos have been watched by over 4 million people, then takes viewers on a step-by-step lesson as to applying a perfect foundation that covers skin blemishes.

Lotions and potions: Applying a mutitude of different cosmetics, the teen carefully covers her scars and spots


'I have extremely oily skin,' she says, giving tips about the primers and oil-reducing tricks.

She is filmed in her parents' lounge room, where the 'light is better,' the blurring of the video in parts and the family surroundings lending the films a home-spun, unintimidating credibility.

Applying liberal amounts of cosmetics, Cassandra seems well ahead of her years, confident and knowledgeable about the complex potions upon which she relies.

She is frank, even wry, about her spots: 'I always carry everything down my neck because, well, I have acne there.'

She has become something of a skin expert, with other videos explaining he physiology of skin and acne and the treatments that best target the skin condition.


Fresh-faced: The lesson almost complete, Cassandra demonstrates the art of clever make-up use

Transformation: In other films, Cassandra addresses 'contouring and shading' and teaches about acne formation. She shows her modelling portfolio in another, and would like to become a dermatologist


By the end of the video, Cassandra is transformed - her flawless complexion giving no hint of the severe breakouts that come part-and-parcel of acne.

'Voila! I have somewhat clear looking skin,' she tells the camera.

'I hope that you guys enjoy this. I hope you can have flawless skin too.'

Filmed in 2010, Cassandra told MailOnline that she has since gone on to document her daily beauty juggle with acne, taking 'viewers with through the year long journey, showing they different products, different radical ideas, medications and holistic therapies.'

The student, who is studying to become a nurse, said: 'I hope to have the opportunity to bring advanced dermatology and skincare help to other teens and adults with this condition in the future - fixing it from the source.'






source:dailymail