It is the week before some Earth-shattering, life-altering, TRIPLE Spanx important event. Maybe you’re the keynote speaker at a symposium on nuclear physics. Maybe you are getting married. In some sick and twisted Game of Thrones finale-type massacre, karma has decided to rear it’s ugly head and BOOM! You’ve got a zit/red patch/discolouration/scar in the middle of your face that is roughly the size of Staten Island. You try every lotion and potion available, and maybe even whip up a batch of some crazy concoction you found online that involves Comet, Apple Cider Vinegar, and a desperation so thick you can taste it. Nothing works. There is only one thing left to do. FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT, BABY!
Concealer is my best friend. It complements me. I can carry it around wherever I go. The best part? It hides all my ugly in one gentle, soft stroke! So how do you find the right one? With so much selection, it’s hard to know which one to choose. After all, concealers range in coverage (Invisibility Cloak light to Grandma’s mustache thick), tones (warm? neutral? cool? medium?!?!), and textures (paste, cream, stick, gel). Below, I demystify the big questions about beauty’s most beloved tool!
1. Know Your Role
Are you a mega-make up maven or do you merely moonlight in the make up arts? Would a light wash of foundation cover your concern? Or is your beauty blunder so bad that you need the big guns? Coverage is key to achieving a natural, flawless finish. Light coverage concealers are great for the occasional spot or discolouration. Full coverage concealers are better for heavy duty jobs, like covering birth marks or tattoos. Knowing what coverage you require will help you greatly on the noble quest to concealed perfection!
2. Love to Layer
Have you ever tried putting a flesh-toned concealer over a tattoo or a black eye? If so, you know what a HOT mess it is. The discoloured area simply becomes slightly less discoloured, but is still visible, and almost begins to look green. Some jobs require double duty. Excessive redness, purplish undertones, or blue bruising all require special pre-concealer treatments called correcters. Correcters work to neutralize discolouration. Once you’ve corrected the colour, you’ll then apply concealer to bring the skin back to flesh tone. Here’s how it works:
Pick the colour of the problem area you want to conceal. Find it’s opposite on the spectrum. That colour is your correcter. For example, if you suffer with redness, you’ll need a green correcter. If you have a blue tint under the eye from excessive dark circles, you may want to try using a peach coloured correcter.
3. When Life Gives you Lemons, Make Lemonade. And Lemon Popsicles. And Lemon Pie.
Many concealers offer both concealing properties AND skincare benefits. Suffer with dry skin? Find a hydrating concealer. Have dark circles? Choose an under eye concealer enriched with a brightening complex. Covering a zit? Opt for a cover-up that also contains salicylic acid.
4. Don’t be Tone Deaf
Concealers work a lot like foundations. Each is made of specialized pigments made to match you. Some are labelled warm (yellow or golden undertone), others are labelled cool (pink undertone), and a few are even neutral (a mixture of both yellow and pink tones). There are two easy ways to determine your undertone.
*The Eye Test- grab a mirror. Look into your own eyes. Looking past your overall eye colour, examine the flecks. What colour are they? Are they silvery? Or are they yellowy? Silver denotes a cool skin tone. Yellow denotes a warm skin tone.
*The Pinch Test- examine the skin anywhere on your forearm. Press down firmly on the skin for about ten seconds. When you remove pressure, watch for blood to flow back into that area. As the blood refills, your skin will either appear slightly red until the blood flow is complete, or it will be slightly white. Red refill indicates a cool undertone and white denotes a warm undertone.
Don’t confuse undertone with surface tone. Just because you have redness on your skin does not automatically make you a cool under tone. Under tone refers to the generalized nature of the pigment of your skin. Your under tone never changes. Surface tone refers to the external factors (such as acne, scarring, or rosacea) that can change the colour of your skin, but is only temporary.
5. What’s in a Texture?
Gel, paste, cream. Each concealer comes with it’s own unique feeling. This where YOU can take total control. Things like your skin type, personal preference, and skill at blending all play into determining which texture is best you you. Oilier skins may like gels better as they feel light. Cream concealers are great for dry or mature skins. Have your favourite beauty guru test drive a few for you on your skin and examine them after a few hours. Look for staying power, coverage, feeling, and shine.
NOW GO!! GET OUT THERE!!! BE FLAWLESS!!!
amyjonesbeauty 