How to Put on Concealer

If the many shades and textures of concealer on the market have intimidated you into staying away from the product, you may be surprised to learn that you don't need the skills of a professional makeup artist to use concealer. If you are relatively new to the use of cosmetics and your face is the only one you care to apply makeup to, forget about the concealer palettes and the oddly colored concealers in shades like lavender and mint green. While you can expand your knowledge about concealer and makeup in general in the future, for now you can have better-looking skin with only two kinds of concealer.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Oil-free moisturizer
• Face primer
• Foundation
• Creamy undereye concealer
• Stick concealer
• Pointy concealer brush
• Translucent powder
• Fluffy face brush or makeup wedge

1. Moisturize, prime and apply foundation on a clean face as usual. Concealer should be applied after foundation so you don't use more product than necessary, as foundation will cover some blemishes and unevenness in skin tone. To make sure you don't waste any makeup, invest in a foundation with the coverage you need. Almost flawless skin only needs light coverage, but those with heavily scarred or broken out skin can use intensive coverage foundation. Those who fall somewhere in between are best suited to a base with medium coverage.

2. Use a creamy concealer to cover undereye circles with. Look for one with a salmon hue rather than using a flesh-colored one; salmon-hued concealers brighten up the undereye area without creating the unnatural raccoon effect that a too-light flesh tone concealer will. Be especially gentle when applying makeup on your delicate undereye area--pat the concealer in instead of blending roughly. Include the inner corners of the eyes by the bridge of the nose in your application to eliminate the darkness here.

3. Find a stick concealer for any blemishes you want to camouflage on the rest of your face. The spots you conceal will get darker once powdered over, so make sure you pick a stick concealer half a shade lighter than your foundation. Stick concealer has a drier consistency than undereye concealer--the dry texture is necessary for the product to adhere to blemishes throughout the day rather than slipping off as a creamy concealer will. Apply stick concealer by swirling a pointy concealer brush in the product and dabbing the concealer on the spots that need coverage. Stipple the edges of your concealer application for a seamless finish.

4. Set your foundation and concealer with translucent powder. If you have an almost flawless complexion that does not require a lot of concealer, you may dust the powder on with a fluffy face brush. If you worked hard to camouflage a considerable number of spots on your face on the other hand, pat the translucent powder over your face with a makeup wedge. This will keep the product in place instead of potentially erasing it.

Resources

• Videos on concealer application