Parks partnered with IT Cosmetics for its Keep It Real social campaign and talked all things beauty with PEOPLE Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty star Phaedra Parks considers herself an amateur makeup artist and a "hack girl." She's a bit of an expert with skincare ingredients and likes to know everything about everything that's going on her face — and she had to learn the hard way, she says. "I've always had very sensitive skin," she tells PEOPLE exclusively.
"As a child, I was allergic to everything — everything gave me hives. I was like the face of Benadryl as a child; anything that touched me, I was allergic to, it seemed like. That made me very aware of harsh chemicals and made me really start researching the best things for sensitive skin.
" It was through all this skin-loving research that she eventually found IT Cosmetics and partnered with the brand for its latest Keep It Real social campaign. Related: Parks, 50, is quick to admit that she cares a lot about her skin, and one of her favorite things about IT Cosmetics is that it has skincare baked right into the formula of the makeup. As a glam girl who spends a lot of time on TV — and a lot of time wearing makeup — she loves a product that does double duty.
"I've got wonderful skin under my makeup," she says of the skin she cares deeply for every single day. "But makeup is here to enhance that. I'm a product girl and I love bright skin.
I think makeup should not be used to disguise you, but just make you more perfe.