Cover under-eye circles, blemishes, and more
1. If you use foundation, apply it first, and then apply your concealer.
If you apply your foundation first, you’ll find that you don’t need to use as much concealer. If you apply concealer first, however, you’ll remove most of it while applying your foundation.
2. The most flattering way to apply concealer is to draw a triangle with the base under your eye and the point toward your cheek.
This shape not only conceals dark circles, but it also instantly creates the illusion that your face is lifted. Think of it as holding a flashlight against your cheek, shining the light right underneath your eye, and drawing the focus upward.
3. To prevent your eye shadow from falling off your lid and settling in the creases, prime your eyelids first with a dab of concealer.
If you can’t justify spending extra on eye shadow primer, a dab of concealer works just as well.
Cancel out a pimple’s redness by applying green concealer with a clean brush to only the pimple (not the skin around it) to avoid spreading the bacteria. Then, use a cotton swab to dab on a high-coverage liquid concealer that matches your skin tone to camouflage the pimple. Blend it into the surrounding skin and finish with setting powder.
The trick is to wait until the foundation dries and thickens a bit (it will eventually reach the consistency of concealer) before trying to blend it. If you blend it too soon, the foundation will be sheer and rub off, leaving you with very little coverage.
Lightly blend for instantly well-rested eyes and a highlight that looks natural. Great for days when you didn’t get enough sleep.
7. Dab an orange- or peach-colored concealer over dark under-eye circles with your ring finger.
Your ring finger, which is your weakest, will apply just the right amount of pressure to blend in the concealer without pulling at your delicate eye skin, and the orange or peach tones will cancel out the blue shadows that your under-eye circles give off. Top the orange or peach formula with a cover-up that matches your skin.
Peach shades cancel out blue circles or bruising, green hide red blemishes, and yellow-toned concealers correct almost all uneven skin tones.
Mix products on the back of your hand. Then apply the mixture under your eyes, on the outside by your temples, and over your brow bone to brighten the area and hide puffiness.
If your concealer tends too look cakey in the fine lines around your eyes midday, split a tissue into two layers, and use one of the sheets to remove excess oil.
You’ll be amazed at how sharp your lips will look afterward.
Then, blend in the cover-up with your fingertip, since the warmth of your finger will soften the formula and diffuse it more easily than a brush would.
13. Amp up your going-out makeup by contouring and highlighting your facial features with two concealers: one two shades darker than your skin tone and one two shades lighter.
If you’re using pencil concealers, you have more control of the placement, which makes contouring easy. Just draw the lighter shade of concealer on the areas that naturally catch light, and use a darker one to shade in the areas that are naturally shaded. Then, blend with a buffing brush like this one from Tarte Cosmetics.
This will help hydrate your skin while adding a subtle, tinted finish.
Unless you were born with flawless skin, you’ll need to use different kinds of concealer for different areas of your face, depending on how much coverage you need.
