Concealer for Dummies..
Picking out the right concealer for your precious peepers is alot harder than one might think! I'm a seasoned makeup diva and even I at times struggle with what kind of concealers to use on my clients without making them look older than they are or enhancing other flaws due to wrong choice of texture. One of the most common mistakes is picking a concealer that is way too light for your skin tone. Most women think that in order to conceal thier dark circles they need the whitest, pastiest ivory toned concealer they can find in the covergirl isle but the right solution is soo the opposite! Let me first say that I hate those chalky, runny concealers in a tube with a wand applicator! They're kind of runny to start with and dry to an unattractive matte that beautifully enhances fine lines making even a 23 yr old look semi-haggard! Ladies, please understand that we are all different shades of flesh and unless you have blonde or red hair and have a milky complexion, then you need to buy a more true to skin tone concealer with corrective colors in it. If you don't and choose to go with the ivory shades because you are trying to do the right thing and cancel out the discoloration, you will end up looking like casper the friendly ghost! Do you ever see the celebs in red carpet photos with a swipe of whiteness around thier eyes? This is where that term comes from. I will now list a concealer guideline of what color, type and or texture to use for your type of eyes... ok? Please read and study the following:
CONCEALER SHADES:
Light skin (your light skinned if you burn easily, have freckles and can see your vains under your skin more prominately, dark circles are usually blue or purple in color) You tend to have a pink undertone to your skin and your foundation/concealer colors will usually read like this; Ivory, creamy natural, buff, Light, shade numbers such as; 01,001, 002 ect. Corrective colors will be green, yellow or lavender. Your under eye skin may be super thin and crepe with fine lines developing much sooner than normal. You will benefit from firming concealers with a creamy or gel base in them.
Medium skin or Olive tones (your foundation/concealr shades usually read; Biege, almond, sand, medium beige or as dark as tan and honey) Your skin has a yellow or olive undertone and tans easily with little or no freckles or fine lines due to the increased natural sebum (oil) production in your skin. Your dark circles will usually be grey or dark brown or even dark blue and the corrective colors best suited for you are apricot tones, peach or true to skin flesh tones and yellow based flesh tones. If your not a senior citizen then chances are you don't really have alot of wrinkles or fine lines and you are able to wear a heavier texture such as a cream to powder, scarring concealers such as dermablend or coverfx. You can pretty much wear any type of concealer really... if your not into wearing makeup and hate the feel of it then go with a gel based such as Benefits erase paste! Its amazing! I swear by shade 03!
Dark skin (Your foundation/concealer shades are usually; Tan, walnut, pecan, earth ect.) Your skin is fairly dark and usually has a yellow, copper, red or even blue undertone and you are usually on the oily side. Your dark circles will most likely have a dark brown or black hue to them and like the olive skins you have little to no fine lines. Your corrective colors with have red tones, copper or coral in them and you want to keep your concealer as close to real skin tone as possible! our darker skin means there is less room for color errors, if there are any color errors you will notice them 10x more on a dark skin than any other skin tone out there, even if the color is only a shade or two off! You may fare well with thicker more pigmented concealers usually in stick or cream to powder form.
Concealer Textures;
Young skin- Liquid, creamy, light, gel or water based concealers. If your young and just need a little brightness under your eye, I suggest utilizing the foundation that get caked into the lid of your foundation bottle, sounds gross I know but its just a little thicker than the actual foundation and for some reason have better coverage. :) Its not too heavy and will provide just enough coverage for your young eyes.
Late 20's/Early 30's- You should by now, be using a anti-aging/firming eyecream and it wouldn't hurt if your concealer had the same benefits. A gel based, whipped mousse (Maybellines dream matte mouuse is WONDERFUL!) semi-creamy pot concealers are best for your eyes because they have better coverage but are not so heavy duty that they leave your eyes feelig heavy, cakey or oily. When applying, lightly pat on with your ring finger and use a damp sponge when going over it with actual foundation so the application stays dewey.
40's/Wrinkly Old ladies (lol sorry just joking)- Your first step is to generously apply your hydrating anti-aging eye cream and follow with weightless, balmy concealer. Balmy concealers are usually silicone based and lay just on top of skin so that they don't settle or get caked into deep set wrinkles and lines making you look older! Your concealer should be super creamy, light and easy on the coverage. You should not powder the concealer either as it will just add wieght to the makeup and only enhance lines! Don't be afraid of shimmer based concealers. Contrary to popular belief, you are not too old for shimmer, in fact it is your best friend now! Concealers with shimmers or "light reflectors" do exactly that, they reflect light and give the illusion of less fine lines or wrinkles. Thats an old hollywood camera trick, in order to make an older actress more vibrant and youthful looking, camera operators will "push" more light into the camera so that wrinkles or lines were less visible. Nowadays, HDTV is the norm and HD is ruthless! It hides nothing!
This is a general recommendation for concealer choice, of course if you have special circumstances such as birth marks, burns, scarring ect you will need heavy duty concealers and will need a consultation with a skin therapist or makeup artist in order to get the right product for you. Dermablend and coverfx are two of my favorites both sold at most department stores. So good luck and post questions if you have them!
CONCEALER SHADES:
Light skin (your light skinned if you burn easily, have freckles and can see your vains under your skin more prominately, dark circles are usually blue or purple in color) You tend to have a pink undertone to your skin and your foundation/concealer colors will usually read like this; Ivory, creamy natural, buff, Light, shade numbers such as; 01,001, 002 ect. Corrective colors will be green, yellow or lavender. Your under eye skin may be super thin and crepe with fine lines developing much sooner than normal. You will benefit from firming concealers with a creamy or gel base in them.
Medium skin or Olive tones (your foundation/concealr shades usually read; Biege, almond, sand, medium beige or as dark as tan and honey) Your skin has a yellow or olive undertone and tans easily with little or no freckles or fine lines due to the increased natural sebum (oil) production in your skin. Your dark circles will usually be grey or dark brown or even dark blue and the corrective colors best suited for you are apricot tones, peach or true to skin flesh tones and yellow based flesh tones. If your not a senior citizen then chances are you don't really have alot of wrinkles or fine lines and you are able to wear a heavier texture such as a cream to powder, scarring concealers such as dermablend or coverfx. You can pretty much wear any type of concealer really... if your not into wearing makeup and hate the feel of it then go with a gel based such as Benefits erase paste! Its amazing! I swear by shade 03!
Dark skin (Your foundation/concealer shades are usually; Tan, walnut, pecan, earth ect.) Your skin is fairly dark and usually has a yellow, copper, red or even blue undertone and you are usually on the oily side. Your dark circles will most likely have a dark brown or black hue to them and like the olive skins you have little to no fine lines. Your corrective colors with have red tones, copper or coral in them and you want to keep your concealer as close to real skin tone as possible! our darker skin means there is less room for color errors, if there are any color errors you will notice them 10x more on a dark skin than any other skin tone out there, even if the color is only a shade or two off! You may fare well with thicker more pigmented concealers usually in stick or cream to powder form.
Concealer Textures;
Young skin- Liquid, creamy, light, gel or water based concealers. If your young and just need a little brightness under your eye, I suggest utilizing the foundation that get caked into the lid of your foundation bottle, sounds gross I know but its just a little thicker than the actual foundation and for some reason have better coverage. :) Its not too heavy and will provide just enough coverage for your young eyes.
Late 20's/Early 30's- You should by now, be using a anti-aging/firming eyecream and it wouldn't hurt if your concealer had the same benefits. A gel based, whipped mousse (Maybellines dream matte mouuse is WONDERFUL!) semi-creamy pot concealers are best for your eyes because they have better coverage but are not so heavy duty that they leave your eyes feelig heavy, cakey or oily. When applying, lightly pat on with your ring finger and use a damp sponge when going over it with actual foundation so the application stays dewey.
40's/Wrinkly Old ladies (lol sorry just joking)- Your first step is to generously apply your hydrating anti-aging eye cream and follow with weightless, balmy concealer. Balmy concealers are usually silicone based and lay just on top of skin so that they don't settle or get caked into deep set wrinkles and lines making you look older! Your concealer should be super creamy, light and easy on the coverage. You should not powder the concealer either as it will just add wieght to the makeup and only enhance lines! Don't be afraid of shimmer based concealers. Contrary to popular belief, you are not too old for shimmer, in fact it is your best friend now! Concealers with shimmers or "light reflectors" do exactly that, they reflect light and give the illusion of less fine lines or wrinkles. Thats an old hollywood camera trick, in order to make an older actress more vibrant and youthful looking, camera operators will "push" more light into the camera so that wrinkles or lines were less visible. Nowadays, HDTV is the norm and HD is ruthless! It hides nothing!
This is a general recommendation for concealer choice, of course if you have special circumstances such as birth marks, burns, scarring ect you will need heavy duty concealers and will need a consultation with a skin therapist or makeup artist in order to get the right product for you. Dermablend and coverfx are two of my favorites both sold at most department stores. So good luck and post questions if you have them!
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