While under-eye concealer should be lighter than your natural skin tone (or red-orange if you're colour-correcting), you want your all-over concealer to match your skin colour as closely as possible.
Blot before setting.
Once you've applied your concealer and blended it out, take a sheet of your go-to blotting paper and gently press it on your under-eye area, over your concealer. This will help any excess product or lingering oils from settling into fine lines and creases for a more flawless finish overall.
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.
Makeup artists suggest trying different shades of concealer with a swatch test along your cheek and jawline. Applying a small amount of each concealer to your face is the best way to determine your shade match, but another option is to apply each shade to the inside of your wrist.
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.
L'Oréal Paris Infalliable Full Wear Concealer
This drugstore favorite has a waterproof, full-coverage formula that won't budge or seep into creases and dry patches for a full 24 hours. This matte finish concealer comes in 25 shades to utilize for color correction, concealing breakouts, and even contouring.
Orange, red and peach colors can help correct the blue and purple-ish hues that come from under-eye circles, as well as dark spots caused by aging or sun damage. Consider using an orange concealer for a blue bruise, whereas peach is great for covering less-pigmented blue spots.
Opt for a lighter eyeshadow rather than a dark, smoky shade on your eyelids and around the eyes, like Jenna Dewan Tatum. "Highlighting the corners makes eyes look brighter and fresh," says Ahnert. "Use a light color shadow in matte or shimmer to inner corner, lower lash line in outer corner, and the inner lid."
It's also essential to apply and blend concealer into the inner corners of the eyes. These inner corners can be just as dark as the circles—using concealer as a highlighter can brighten your face and make you look more awake (even if you only had a few hours of sleep the night before).
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. It makes a big difference."
If you're looking for a lighter-weight alternative to foundation but don't want to rely on a tinted moisturizer or CC cream, we recommend using concealer alone. It's true, with the right long-wearing or hydrating concealer formula, you'll be able to cover imperfections, even out and keep your complexion looking fresh.
"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.
While it's understandably tempting to pile on layers of concealer to mask dark circles, packing on product might be the cause of your creasing. “Applying too much concealer is the number-one culprit of creasing; your skin simply can't handle the amount of product,” says Deenihan.
L'Oréal Paris Age Perfect Radiant Serum Foundation
It has been formulated specifically not to settle into lines, its lightweight blend of hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and aloe hydrates as it helps skin look more even.
While there are many stellar options on the market, Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer is a reigning champion. Dubbed the best by makeup artists and beauty fanatics alike, the award-winning formula does everything from contouring and highlighting to color-correcting.
All you need to do is apply a bit of concealer on to the spot or blemish you want to hide and dab it in using your finger or a damp makeup sponge. Follow it up with foundation and you're good to go.
Swap your concealer for foundation in a pinch
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 look too sheer and rub off, leaving you with some not-so-concealed spots.
Since dark circles have a bluish hue, shades of peach and orange will be perfect for canceling them out. Use peach if you have a fair to light skin tone, bisque if you have a light to medium skin tone, or orange if you have a deep medium to dark skin tone.
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.