Concealing and Correcting Introduction

Concealer is a similar product to a foundation except it will normally have a little more coverage so it can hide dark circles, age spots, blemishes, hyper pigmentation and much more by blending these imperfections into the skin to even out the skin tone.

They will come in several different textures and colours.

As a guideline your basic concealer should be about one shade lighter than your foundation colour but be careful not to choose a colour that is too light as this wont blend onto the skin and will leave areas of the skin looking pale and even slightly ashy.

When choosing the right shade remember this as a guideline - Lighter colours make things appear bigger and darker colours will make things appear smaller.

A slightly lighter concealer will help to lift out a dark circle under the eye but if the problem you have is puffiness below the eye you want to use a slightly deeper shade closer to your natural skin tone as this will minimise the puffiness and make the skin look smoother.

When you are concealing a blemish if you are more concerned about the colour then your regular concealer will probably do the trick and blend the blemished area into the skin but if you are dealing with a raised spot or blemish go for a shade that matches your skin tone or even one that is a tiny bit darker as this will appear to flatten the area of concern.

Concealer is a great product to have in your makeup bag as its such a versatile product to perfect the skin when we make up and to use as a touch up throughout the day.

It can come in handy to take a natural day look into something a little more dressed up for an evening with very little effort.

When choosing the texture of the concealer best suited to you look at concealers that are best for your skin type and what you want it to do for you. If your concern is darkness under the eyes, you may need a good coverage concealer that has moisturising benefits that will hydrate the skin at the same time as brightening and lifting the under-eye area.

When it comes to concealing blemishes, it is better to use a slightly thicker concealer which has less moisture and is longer lasting as this will cover and give you all day wear.

You may have also seen or heard people talking about colour correcting concealers so here is a simple guide for you as to when you need to correct colour as well as or instead of just concealing alone.

Colour correcting means to even out and correct the colour of something on the skin, which could be redness, age spots, hyper pigmentation, sallowness or bluey tones such as visible veins. A colour corrector can even be used as the first step of covering tattoos.

Common Colour corrective shades and what they do:

Yellow:

Used to effectively cover purple or bluey tones that may appear in visible veins and bruising. A yellow corrector can also be used to take down dark tones under the eye.

Green:

Used to neutralise redness in the skin. This could be rosacea, acne or any facial redness.

Purple:

A great all-rounder in the correctors. Purple will brighten dull and sallow skin, even out other skin discolouration and help to hide minor imperfections.

Orange:

Used to disguise dark shadowed patches so can help with dark under eye, shadowing from hair growth and dark hyperpigmentation. A deeper orange works best on medium to darker skin tones whereas a lighter peachy colour will be best suited to a lighter paler skin.

Pink:

Used to neutralise yellowy and mild green tones. pink will have a brightening effect on the skin. Using a pale pink tone on the inner corners of the eye and high on the cheekbone can give a beautiful highlighted and lifted look.

Do remember that the colour correctors are there to do the correcting so when that’s done you can apply your skin tone concealers and foundations to give you that beautiful looking skin that we all strive for.