"Always go a shade lighter than your foundation." The lighter tone will cancel out dark discoloration, but be careful not to go too fair. Concealers that are more than one shade lighter than your skin tone can leave you with a ghostly shadow. If you bought the wrong color, there's a quick fix.
The general rule of thumb is that you should always opt for a shade lighter than foundation when choosing your concealer colour. Doing so helps to mask darker discolouration, but be careful not to over-correct! Knowing how to pick the right concealer is essential to ensuring that your look does not appear ghostly.
While concealer for the general areas of your face should match your skin tone, under-eye concealer should be one or two shades lighter than your natural coloring. Using a lighter concealer for your eye area helps cover up under-eye circles and creates a brightening effect.
The vein test
In natural light, look at the appearance of your veins beneath the skin. Green or greenish-blue veins suggest a warm undertone, whereas blue or purple veins suggest a cool undertone. If you can't tell whether your veins are green or blue, you likely have a neutral undertone.
2. Select the right shade. “You can't have a concealer that's too light,” she said, adding that women should choose concealer that's one to two shades lighter than the color of their foundation. “One to two shades … the right color blends itself.
When covering your under-eye area, you want a color one to two shades lighter than your skin. You don't want to go too light, though, as this can leave a stark contrast between your eye area and the rest of your face.
For the undereye area, be sure to select a shade of concealer that's no more than one or two shades lighter than your natural skin tone to avoid an obvious white circle around the eye area. For your face, select a concealer that matches the color of your foundation exactly.
So, a general rule of thumb is always to go for a concealer based on your foundation shade. According to beauty experts, one should get two different shades of concealer — one lighter and one deeper than the foundation. Ahead, we will share some tips on how to pick the right concealer shade based on your skin tone.
If your concealer is too light, it can give you a ghostly appearance, and it might still appear too obvious even after you've blended it out. A concealer that's too light can look ashy or chalky on the skin, and it can also highlight any fine lines and wrinkles you have.
So, do you use concealer before or after foundation? The proper way to apply the two products is to first smooth on a foundation and then apply your concealer. Foundation will create that even canvas we talked about earlier, and then concealer can be used to spot correct any outstanding areas that need extra coverage.
Since dark circles are primarily blue, reach for shades in the orange family. If you have light or fair skin, use a more peachy color. If you are more in the light to medium skin tone range, look for a bisque color corrector. If you have a dark skin tone, reach for an orange-based concealer.
Step 1: Apply hydrating eye cream using the tip of your ring finger, lightly massage until it is absorbed completely. Step 2: Take a tiny amount of primer and smooth it on your eyelid and below the eye area. Step 3: If you have severe dark circles, start by applying an orange colour corrector and blend it well.
Opt for a sponge for finishing touches, like cleaning up streaky bronzer or absorbing excess foundation or concealer. Sponges work wonders in applying a light layer of blush or highlighter, and can be used with cream products for a more natural finish.
For Better Performance
When your makeup sponge is damp, it makes product application way easier. It goes on more smoothly and ends up in an even, streak-free finish. This is an especially good method if your skin is dry, as there's no brush creating flakes across the surface. Your skin will love the extra moisture!
Fingers: They're so handy and never require brush cleaner. Totally get it. And using them to apply concealer can work just fine. In fact, when it comes to the delicate skin under your eyes, the warmth of your finger can help warm makeup so it blends on more easily and seamlessly.
Concealers can separate under the eyes and there are many reasons why this can happen. It's either your skin is too dry, too oily or you're choosing the bad concealer formula. In some cases, keeping your concealer past its expiration date might cause it to break up and perform badly on the skin.
The Takeaway
While the majority of experts recommend applying a light layer of foundation before concealer, we admit there are instances where you benefit from a concealer first—if you're getting photographed, your concealer shade isn't the same as your foundation, and if you're color-correcting discoloration.
Under-eye concealer (also called color corrector) is a beauty product applied below each eye to cover up dark circles or discoloration. Unlike foundation, under-eye concealer is not a full-coverage product, it's sole purpose is to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and hide discoloration.
Leave The Concealer For at Least 10 to 20 Minutes
You can use this time to line your lips, style your hair, or fill in your eyebrows. Working with dark eyeshadow or doing a smokey eye look is not recommended during this time, since it can cause fallout under the eyes area.
Just don't pack them both on, “A common mistake people make is using powder foundation on top of a liquid foundation,” Major says. This can result in a cakey finish. Mature skin or dry skin types should reach for a liquid foundation, as powder foundation can settle into fine lines and wrinkles.
Never put concealer or foundation on your eyelids as a base, it will cause your eye makeup to crease.
Do your eyebrows after foundation. Some people choose to pencil their brows on before foundation and concealer so they can later use concealer to carve out their shape and ensure there are no jagged edges.
You shouldn't apply eye cream to your eyelids or too close to your lash line. This puts you at risk of getting the product into your eyes, which can be super uncomfortable. "As your body temperature rises, the product can travel on its own," explains Dr. Chimento.
Folks with more acne-prone skin or other skin conditions, however, might want to cover their entire face with concealer, to which Medhin says: If you need to, go for it. "You can also use concealer the same way you would use a full coverage foundation," she explains.