There is no right way to apply makeup.
But there is definitely a wrong technique for makeup application.
Although we say makeup is personal, you don’t have to apply tones of makeup and the wrong shade.
You will end up looking like a clown.
Join me in this guide as I give you all the tricks and tips you should use when applying concealer.
How To Choose The Right Concealer?
As a beginner, the first mistake you are likely to make is buying the wrong shade of concealer.
Researching might not be the issue, the problem is that most people get excited when picking a concealer and end up choosing either lighter or darker concealers than their skin tone.
If you have some skin imperfections, you need to choose a concealer that matches your skin undertones.
Before we get into individual skin types, I will provide you with a table that you summarizes the color of concealer you should buy.
| Skin tone | Concealer color |
| Dark skin | Orange, peach, and red undertones |
| Fair skin | White, pink undertones |
| Light brown skin | Pink, peach undertones |
The concealer undertones for each skin given in the table above indicate the range of colors you can use for different parts of your face.
If you are using concealer for your dark circles under the eyes, you should go two tones lighter than your skin tone.
The concealer you choose should be in the range given on your skin tone.
For concealer used to contour and lift the face, let it be a shade or two darker than your foundation.
It is glad to introduce our master article ''How To Choose a Concealer'' with everything you should know about the selection of the most matching concealer for your skin.
Concealer for darker skin
Most darker skin experiences green or purplish discoloration.
To neutralize the color imperfections, you should choose a concealer with peach, orange, or red undertones.
The color of the concealer you choose should match your skin tone.
When buying a concealer in a drug store, you should apply some on the back of your palm.
Ensure the concealer blends perfectly with your skin.
For those buying the concealer online, check the various concealer shade calculators available online.
The calculators might not give you the exact shade you should use.
They will however give you concealer shade closer to your skin tone.
Some of the brands that offer quite a vast range for dark skin queens include, Maybelline, Nyx, and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.
Concealer for fair skin
There have been quite many brands that produce concealers for fair-skin queens.
However, as a beginner, you are likely to have a hard time selecting the right shade to match your skin.
Most concealers for fair skin have some white, nude, and pink undertones.
For fair skin ladies, picking darker shaded concealers makes you look unnatural.
Use concealer calculators online to estimate the shade you should pick.
You can also test the concealer on your arms.
Concealer for Asian skin
Asians have light brown or darker brown skin tones.
This is the group that has been underrepresented when it comes to concealer shades.
However, brands like Fenty and Huda beauty have made concealers that fit brown-skin queens.
Concealers for brown skins have some pink or peach undertones.
You should however use concealer calculators online to find a concealer that matches your skin.
Here is our special article on How to choose concealer shade for Asian skin as a complete guide for concealer selection for people with Asian skin.
Types of concealer formulas
Different types of concealers produce different results.
You should therefore learn your skin type to use the right concealer for your skin type.
Liquid concealer
Liquid concealer is good when it comes to coverage.
If you are trying to conceal some dark spots, liquid concealer is for you.
You can build layers while blending to achieve full coverage.
Unfortunately, liquid concealer is not good for oily skin.
If you have oily skin and you have some skin imperfections, you can first use a setting powder.
Using a setting powder will create a perfect layer between your skin and the concealer.
Some of the best liquid concealers include;
Cream Concealer
Cream concealer is one of the best concealers that you don’t need to use a lot to achieve full coverage.
On the other hand, if you Apple a lot of it, you are most likely to deal with cakey makeup.
Most brands offer cream concealer due to its popularity in the makeup world.
Cream concealer will work for dry, oily, and even textured skin.
Stick concealer
Stick concealer is good when used as a contour.
Use the concealer stick on your jaws, the nose, and on the edge of your face.
Ensure you have blended well to produce a perfect makeup look.
Stick concealer should be a shade or two darker than your skin tone.
If you are a makeup enthusiast, don’t skip the stick concealer part.
Waterproof concealer
Although we cannot classify waterproof concealer as a type of concealer, it deserves a mention.
Most brands are aiming to make your makeup last longer by producing waterproof concealer.
When applying waterproof concealer, do not use water-based primers and foundations. Your concealer will not blend well if you make that mistake.
You can layer waterproof concealer with a setting and a finishing powder to remove the shiny appearance.
Here you'll find the complete article about 'Best Waterproof Concealer For Swimming' from Onviw.
Some of the best liquid concealer include;
How to Apply concealer?
As we said before, makeup is personal.
How it makes you feel and look, is totally up to you.
If you go through some videos online, you will find girls who use concealer to hide blemishes, to hide dark circles under the eyes, as a contour, facelift, and others for the no-makeup makeup look.
Each of the mentioned intentions of Concealer has a way it is applied.
We will discuss the process briefly, but before we will discuss the process you have to follow to achieve the perfect concealer routine.
1. Prep your face
The first step when applying makeup is prepping your face for the process.
Most makeup products have some ingredients that can react with your skin to give you more skin imperfections.
If you haven’t created a skincare routine, you haven’t been doing your skin some justice.
Fortunately, I want your skin to feel good.
You can use this routine I use to prep my face is doing my makeup.
- Scrub your face:
You should scrub your face with a gentle scrubber at least thrice a week.
Scrubbing your face and your neck area will remove the dead skin and makeup buildup.
- Mask your skin:
After scrubbing your face you should mask your face.
Ensure you are using important ingredients that will help your skin.
Some facial masks contain vitamin E and skin correctors.
Masking your face with some moist masks helps moisturize dry skin.
- Use a color corrector: Color correctors contain some ingredients that help your skin clear all blemishes and provide an even skin tone.
Before buying a color corrector check if it has bleach.
- Use a toner:
A toner will take the skin correction to another level.
Applying a toner clears all the blemishes giving you an even tone and glowing skin.
- Use some serum:
To provide your skin with a relaxed feeling and youthful look, use a serum.
Ensure the serum you are buying has some vitamin E and Vitamin C.
- Apply some moisturizer:
Another way you can protect your skin is by applying a moisturizer on your skin after following all the steps above.
- Applying a primer:
After finishing your prepping face, you can then apply a primer.
A primer will create a protective layer between your skin and the makeup.
First, you need to know the type of makeup you are using before applying a primer.
If you are using water-based makeup, then you should use a water-based primer.
On the other hand, if you are using mineral-based makeup products, then you should use a mineral-based primer.
Do not use a water-based primer if you have oily skin.
2. Apply the concealer
After prepping your face, the next step is to apply the concealer.
How you apply the concealer depends on what you want to achieve.
Here is our complete guide on How to apply concealer.
Concealer for dark circles around the eyes
Choose a concealer 2 shades lighter than your normal even tone.
This will make even the color of the makeup.
- Use liquid concealer so to that you can build layers until you achieve the coverage you want.
- Apply concealer with an angled wand. Apply from the inner corner of your eyes going outwards.
- Do not apply a lot of concealers especially if you are using a pigmented concealer.
- Ensure you blend your concealer with a concealer brush, your hands, or a dumb beauty blender. Do not drag your concealer. Pat gently until it is incorporated into your skin.
- Apply a different shade of concealer on other parts of your face and blend it until the concealer on your eyes and other parts of the face blend perfectly.
- Do the other eye makeup and the. Apply a finishing powder and a spray to lock in the makeup.
Concealer for a face lift
If you cannot afford a permanent facelift, you can use concealer to lift your face.
- Use a concealer wand to apply concealer on all the defined places on your face.
- Apply concealer on the center of your face, on top of your brows, at the corner of the eyes and the nose, and on the sides of the brows.
- Blend using a brush, your fingers, or a damp beauty blender.
After blending the concealer you will notice your face is more lifted than when not wearing a concealer.
Concealer as a contour
You can also use a concealer as a contour.
What you do is choose a concealer two shades darker than your foundation.
For concealer, use a stick concealer.
Apply on the edges of your face, your nose bridge, the chin, and the jaw bones.
Use a damp beauty blender to ensure the concealer is all blended.
A clean girl makeup look
Have you ever seen those girls who always look so clean and their skin ever glowing? These girls use concealer to achieve the makeup look.
Follow these steps to achieve the clean girl TikTok look;
- After prepping your face and applying a primer, use a concealer wand to apply concealer on your face.
- It would be better if you used a concealer one or two shades lighter than your skin undertones.
- To blend the concealer perfectly, choose a liquid concealer.
- Apply the concealer on the part of the face that is hidden.
- Apply on the corners of your face, between the nose and the upper lip, On the corners of the nose, at the beginning of the nose bridge, and on the chin.
- Use a dampened beauty blender to blend the concealer.
You can give the makeup a touch of a finishing powder and a setting spray to lock in the makeup.
3. Apply a foundation
After applying a concealer, the next thing is to apply a foundation.
Use a foundation one shade lighter than your concealer.
This will make your makeup look perfect.
Do not use a lot of foundation to prevent the makeup from becoming cakey.
Use a dampened beauty blender to blend in the concealer.
4. Use a blush
Use some blush that compliments your makeup as a touch-up.
Apply blush on the jaw bones, the chin, and the nose bridge.
Choosing the right brushes for concealer application might be very hard.
All About Concealer Brush article is here to help you.
5. Apply a finishing powder
After applying the makeup, use a finishing powder to lock in your makeup.
You can also use a setting spray to lock in the makeup.
How to remove concealer?
If you use the guide above to apply your makeup, your makeup will last up to 12 hours without needing a touchup.
At the end of the day, you will need to remove the makeup (see how to remove eye concealer).
Removing makeup is not very complicated.
- Use some wet wipes to wipe off the makeup.
- Use some exfoliating gloves and a cleanser to remove the excess makeup after using the wet wipes.
- Rinse your face with some warm water and apply a toner.
- Use a moisturizer and relax.
Do not ever attempt to sleep with makeup on. The pigments inside the makeup will block your pores giving you skin imperfections. Fortunately, we have the best article about How To Remove Concealer.
How long does concealer last?
A concealer will last up to years after manufacturing and one year after the first use.
So, when buying a concealer, ensure it has not stayed on the shelf for more than 6 months.
Your makeup might start showing signs of expiry even before the expiry date has reached.
This depends on the ingredients used in the makeup and how you store your makeup.
For more info, Here is our separate article about How Long Does Concealer Last.
Can you use expired concealer?
Using expired concealer might have some implications for your skin.
You might end up getting some skin imperfections or permanent scars.
Ensure to check the expiry date of the concealer before buying.
The concealer should be a year away from the expiry date if you want to use it to the maximum.
The expiry date will be written on the package of the concealer.
Some brands produce concealer that contains ingredients that get bad faster than other brands.
Using an expired concealer for a few might not have any implications for your skin.
However, using it for longer might affect your skin.
Expired concealer will react with oxygen to produce toxins that are not helpful to your skin.
Conclusion
A concealer is one makeup product that should never lack on your makeup routine.
As a beginner, you are most likely to make a mistake when choosing a concealer is picking a concealer darker or lighter than your skin tone.
To avoid the confusion of choosing a concealer in the wrong shade, use the concealer shade calculator online to find a concealer that is closer to your skin tone.
If you are buying a concealer online, make you are reading the reviews provided on websites.
Do not forget to prep your face before applying a concealer.
Prepping your skin before concealer application ensures you get rid of all makeup buildup.
It also provides a protective layer between your face and the makeup.
Do not attempt to use a lot of concealers since you will probably end up with cakey makeup which looks dirty.
The guide above provides a step-by-step process on how you can apply concealer when aiming at achieving different looks.
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