Bad skin, bad hair and bad moods - that pretty much sums up my teenage years. When I wasn't slamming doors and rolling my eyes, I was scouring the chemists and market stalls of Manchester looking for make-up. Blue mascara aside, it was a fruitless task. There was make-up to be had, obviously, but none of it suited me.

Not that I let that stop me. I'm pretty sure my make-up obsession sprung from the fact that if I was going to bother at all, I'd have to get really into it just to have a hope of finding anything that worked on my skin. None of the major brands did make-up for dark skin, ruling out foundation, powder and concealers. As a result, I made do with what I had, and spent a ridiculous amount of time and money experimenting. I also developed an expensive American magazine habit, which meant I would look longingly at brands like Fashion Fair and MAC long before I could lay my hands on them.

While my white friends were busy getting intoxicated by the bright lights of Boots and Superdrug, I'd be skulking around the same aisles wondering why there was nothing for me. The likes of MAC and Iman didn't come to this country until 1995 and 1997 respectively. That's an awfully long time to wait for a face powder. And once they did arrive, my problems weren't over - decent ranges for black skin are expensive, which makes me wonder what today's black teenagers do.

A quick call to my teenage cousin, Showhat, confirms, sadly, that things haven't changed much: "My black friends buy MAC, because they can't use anything else. But my white friends use cheaper stuff, like Boots 17, or Maybelline, or chemists' own brands." Yes, there are more brands for black skin these days, but the majority are way outside those on a pocket-money budget. I know it's annoying, and I know it's not fair, but my advice for those with Saturday jobs rather than day jobs is to save up. If you can't afford the good stuff, then don't bother, and concentrate on your skincare routine. Cheap face powder is worse than no face powder at all.