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Walking through the office, I kept my head down to avoid making eye contact with any of my colleagues.

I’d already spent 30 minutes in front of the mirror that morning, layering on foundation to hide my swollen red nose and cheeks.

I thought I’d done a good job – until a female co-worker came over to my desk later that morning.

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‘You look like you’ve got “old man’s nose”, is everything ok?’ she asked.

‘What’s “old man’s nose”?’ I replied.

‘You know, when old men have been drinking too much and start to get big, swollen red noses,’ she said.

I stared at her, aghast.

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Commenting on my appearance was rude, but what upset me most was the idea people thought I had a drinking problem. I didn’t even drink!

I bolted to the toilets and burst into tears.

Then 50, it was the start of the most challenging time of my life.

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Because of my skin, for nearly three years I became a virtual recluse. I’d cancel plans with friends. I even avoided going to the supermarket in case anyone saw me.

At my office job as an NHS administrator, I wouldn’t interact with anyone unless I absolutely had to.

I cried about my appearance every day. I’ve never been a vain person, but I just couldn’t bear the reflection staring back at me in the mirror any .

It was ironic that my skin turned against me in middle age, because until six months before my 50th birthday I’d always had lovely skin. I’d never so much as had acne in my teens and hardly ever needed make up. Both my mum and grandma had beautiful skin too.

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So when, one morning, I woke up to find my nose was red, I couldn’t understand it. I hadn’t changed my skincare routine; I’d been washing my face with water and using Nivea moisturiser for years.

But the redness steadily got worse. My nose also started to look bulbous and swollen, painful to the touch, while redness bloomed on my cheeks and chin.

To begin with, I hoped all I’d need was a full-coverage foundation. But that encounter with my colleague was a devastating reality check.

That night I tearfully asked my husband of 15 years, Howard, if he thought I had ‘old man’s nose’.

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‘I’ve noticed the redness, but you don’t look like you have that condition,’ he said gently. He suggested I see the GP if I was worried.

At first, the doctor thought I had some kind of infection, so I was prescribed a cream and tablets, but after a couple of months, if anything my face looked worse.

As well as the redness, I developed weeping pustules on my nose. I looked awful.

I scoured the internet, ordering green-tinted camouflage creams to help counteract the redness.

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But they made me look sallow and I was layering so many products on my face, it actually made the redness worse.

Eventually, I was diagnosed with rosacea – a skin condition causing painful redness, swelling or broken veins on the face – but the GP couldn’t explain why I’d developed it, as it can be triggered by different things, from alcohol to exercise.

It’s estimated around 10 percent of the population suffer from it and it’s most prevalent in those aged 30 to 50, as well as being common among women.

Most devastatingly, she told me there was no cure. ‘It’s a chronic skin condition most people have for life,’ she said.

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She advised me to keep a food diary and cut out spicy foods and alcohol – which I already didn’t consume.

She also prescribed some cream to help soothe the symptoms and said I could get a prescription for the same foundation they give burns victims. And that was it.

I’d hoped that with a diagnosis, there would be a treatment plan. I’d had no idea I’d just have to learn to live with it.

My confidence was eroded a little every day. One day, Howard and I were hiking Mount Snowdon. Afterwards I went to order us some drinks and food.

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‘You look so red, have you been in the sun?’ the young chap behind the counter asked me.

‘No, I’ve got a skin condition,’ I replied, fighting tears.

It got to the point where for three years I couldn’t face leaving the house and I plunged into depression.

Hitting full-on menopause at 52 only seemed to make things worse. My face was redder and painful than ever.

I noticed people staring at me in the street. Occasionally, I’d catch someone laughing at me. It was awful.

I became obsessed, spending hours researching online and I bought every over-the-counter remedy going, spending hundreds of pounds a month on products that didn’t work.

I tried cutting out dairy and wheat, because I’d read they can trigger rosacea. But nothing really helped.

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I found out sun damage in your youth can trigger rosacea later in life. I’d lived in South Africa for five years as a teenager, and I’d never worn SPF back then.

‘It’s all my fault I look like this,’ I sobbed to Howard.

He was my rock and we made sure not to let this come between us, but I knew it was stressful for him to watch me lose my confidence, which made me feel worse.

Although our sons had left home, even they could see how depressed I’d become – it was obvious because I avoided leaving the house. My friends tried to chivvy me along, but I made excuses not to see them.

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Howard, a railway production manager, was so worried about my mental health that he urged me to go back to the GP, who signed me off work for a few weeks. He even offered to pay for me to see a private dermatologist near our home in Stoke-on-Trent, though it would have been difficult for us to afford.

I just didn’t recognise the person I’d become – and felt utterly hopeless about the future.

Then I stumbled across a face cream produced by a company called Rosalique.

I’d tried most creams out there, but the before and after photos on their website for the 3 in 1 Anti Redness Miracle Formula stopped me in my tracks.

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It was a green-tinted colour corrective formula, like many I’d tried. But it also claimed that using it every day could help to reduce redness significantly in four to eight weeks. This was down to an active ingredient called A-Bisabolol, a clinically-proven anti-inflammatory extracted from German chamomile plants, which is known to help reduce redness and promote skin healing.

It seemed many people had used it and seen their rosacea reduced – though I was sceptical. I knew skincare companies always made the most of success stories and I’d tried countless ‘miracle’ products before that had done nothing.

But as a last resort, I ordered a bottle of the £29.99 cream and started applying it every morning.

Somehow, after all my failed attempts, this was the product for me – within a month, the redness had faded. Within six months, my rosacea was barely noticeable.

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‘You look like you’ve got your sparkle back,’ my husband told me.

He was right – I could look people in the eye again.

I stopped wearing the full-coverage make-up, and invested in a light foundation instead. Some days, I was even confident enough to leave the house without any make-up on at all.

People no longer stared or made comments. It felt like I’d got my life back, and I was able to socialise, see my friends and take my grandchildren out again.

Now 60, I’m still using the Rosalique cream daily. Although I’ve had the odd flare-up, my skin has never looked better.

I’ve been so impressed that I even shared how it helped me on social media, though I wasn’t paid to do so. Since then, Rosalique approached me, and I now have a discount code I can share with others, through which I sometimes earn a small commission.

I still don’t know what triggered my rosacea, though I suspect fluctuating hormones might have had a part to play.

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There’s evidence that lower oestrogen levels can make skin sensitive and prone to conditions like rosacea.

Most people don’t realise how debilitating a skin condition like rosacea can be, but it can completely derail your life.

People make assumptions about your lifestyle that aren’t true, and it can really dent your self-esteem.

So I hope my story will give hope to people who are struggling to recognise that it is possible to manage your condition and get your spark back one day.

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AS TOLD TO BETHAN KING