Here is everything you need to know about how to conceal
Concealer is one of our favorite products because it can do so much for your complexion. When used correctly, concealer has the ability to create flawless skin, make up for a few hours of missed sleep, and even make visible signs of aging less noticeable.
While concealer can be a great tool to help your look, it must be applied correctly. If not, it will highlight flaws instead of concealing them. The proper application isn’t difficult to figure out, but there are some guidelines you should follow.
Step One: Choosing the Correct Concealer for Your Skin Type
Choosing the right product from the start is key to success with concealer application. Products containing irritating ingredients can cause breakouts in sensitive skin.
A dry concealer leads to makeup-covered flaky skin.
Our bestseller and personal favorite for all skin types is our Fruit Pigmented® Long Last Concealer with Super Fruits. It contains nourishing ingredients like lavender, rosehip seed oil, chamomile, and auto-adjusting minerals to give you a natural finish that’s never cakey or dry.
Not sure which concealer is best for you? Here’s a guide to help make your decision.
Skin that is prone to oiliness
Oily skin usually has visible pores and creates more oil than dry or normal skin. Even though it might be alluring to use an oil-free concealer, sometimes our oily skin is a result of dehydration.
Steer clear of powdered concealers–they will only be absorbed by the oil on your skin. Instead, go for a natural oil-based concealer (coconut oil is a great option), which will glide on smoothly. hydrated, keeping your skin from overcompensating with excess natural oils.
Skin that is prone to dryness
Applying makeup to dry skin can be a real challenge. Your foundation will cake up and highlight any flakes or peeling, making your complexion look unhealthy.
The first step to managing dry skin is by healing it. You can do this by using natural oils and avoiding products that contain harsh chemicals which could make your skin drier.
Choose an oil-based concealer that is natural and can be applied with your fingers or a brush when you want to cover up blemishes. Check that the consistency of the product is thick enough to provide ample coverage, because dry skin will cause thin layers of makeup to disappear quickly.
Combination skin
Combination skin means that some areas of the face are oily while others are dry. In most cases, there is excess oil in the t-zone area with dryness reaching out to the cheeks.
Natural oils like coconut and castor seed oil can help improve both oily and dry skin types. As a result, ultra-clean concealers that contain these natural oils can help to hydrate and cover areas of imperfection.
Delicate skin
Companies are allowed to put a plethora of chemicals and toxins in their products, which is why having sensitive skin exists. It isn’t that your skin is weak or picky, it’s because what should be considered good for our health is actually harmful.
If you have sensitive skin, it is essential that you find a concealer that will not aggravate your existing condition. Choose from among clean concealers with no harmful chemicals, and avoid oil-free formulas which can rob your skin of moisture and irritate it further.
Second Step: Prepare Your Skin and Makeup
Prepare your skin for makeup by cleansing it and applying moisturizer. If you want your makeup to look its best and ensure that your skin is properly hydrated, try using beauty oil. It absorbs quickly and works better than most primers.
Intensive Nourishing Facial Oil deeply nourishes and protects skin for rich hydration, made from the best skin-supporting oils like vitamin E, grapeseed oil, and lavender essential oil.
Choosing the Appropriate Tools
For bigger areas, your fingers will do the trick. But for smaller and more concentrated areas of correction (like bumps and blemishes), you’ll want to use a brush.
- The brightening brush has a thin, tapered head that is perfect for targeting small areas of imperfection and highlighting areas you want to emphasize.
Brightening brushes can come in handy when you need to cover up a blemish or put on some highlight. They’re also perfect for small areas that require precision, like above the upper lip.
- A foundation brush will help you to apply concealer more evenly on your face and correct any redness. If you want to use your concealer as an alternative for foundation, then this type of brush is perfect for that too!
Third Step: Conceal Under Eye Area
If you want your concealer to look natural and avoid caking, apply it in a triangular shape under your eyes.
If you use concealer under your eyes, you’ll create a patch of skin that is a different color than the rest of your face.
If you have bluish undertones around your eyes, use a salmon colored concealer to fix the problem.
To make your eye makeup look natural, use a concealer that matches your skin tone and apply it with your ring finger to the inner corner of your eye against the bridge of your nose. Make sure you blend well.
Apply a small amount of concealer to the outermost corner of your eye, and blend it down. If you use too much on the outer edge of your eyes, it might crease in fine lines or wrinkles, which becomes more evident as we age. In this case, less really is more!
If you use concealer in this way, pursuant to an upside down small triangle, it will help avoid caking a lot of makeup under your iris. Most of the discoloration usually isn’t here anyways, and too much product in this area can cause wrinkles and crepiness to be more visible.
4th Step: Blot Out the Spots
Even if you’re not a teenager anymore, you can still get blemishes. By learning how to cover them properly, you can create the illusion of perfect skin – even during a breakout.
Gently tap the concealer onto individual blemishes to cover them.
If you want to cover up a blemish, there are different techniques for older ones that are practically healed and new, red ones.
- If you’re trying to conceal an older blemish, start by using a natural-oil based concealer and targeting the area with a brightening brush. Apply a thin layer of the concealer directly onto the blemish for best results.
- If you have recently developed blemishes…These newer bumps can be red, itchy, and raised. They also tend to give off heat that melts away the makeup you use to cover them. Use your finger or a brightening brush to apply concealer and let it dry.
Once your first layer of concealer is dry, you’ll probably want to add more layers and set it with a powder so that it will stay put.
If you desire to fix coloration issues, then this is the right technique for you.
Use concealer to create the illusion of an evenly toned complexion. Here’s how to make it work like magic for covering under eye circles and red blemishes.
- Under-eye circles can be a pain to conceal. However, using a salmon color correcting under your regular concealer can alleviate the problem by cancelling out the blue hues in your skin.
- If you want to cover up red blemishes, look for a concealer that is approximately half a shade lighter than your skin tone. Dab this color over any red spots so they blend in with the rest of your skin.
Fifth step: Paint any areas you missed
A few simple rules to follow when applying concealer to a larger area:
- Dab and tap instead of rubbing the concealer onto your skin. This method will result in less irritation and a better complexion overall, especially for those with sensitive or dry skin types.
- Focus on areas of your skin that are discolored. In general, it’s best to use concealer only where you have discoloration. If you want a highlighter, that’s an entirely different product used to bring other features of your skin forward and make them more visible. Concealer is most effective on blemishes, the blue tint under eyes, and patches of redness.
The Sixth Step: Set your Makeup with Powder
A great way to keep your concealer in place is by setting it with powder. However, you need to be careful not to use too much powder or a non-translucent powder, because this can give your skin a dry, cakey appearance that makes you look aged.
You can avoid your concealer from wearing off by applying a translucent powder in between each layer of concealer. So, start with putting on a thin coat of concealer then add some powder. After that, put another layer of concealer to stop the cakey look.
This will help make sure your makeup looks and feels smooth all day long.
By following this tip, your makeup will appear and feel smooth throughout the day
Recap
To avoid an overdone, cakey look, it’s essential that you use concealer correctly and sparingly. The aim of using concealer is to deflect attention from blemishes and under-eye darkness rather than cover them up with a ton of makeup.