When it comes to concealers, there’s a plethora of products on the market.  Some for dark circles, come for blemishes, some that just say ‘concealer’ on the packaging…

But which is which, what’s the best for each area requiring concealers, and where on earth do you put the stuff!

Under Eye Shadows

If they’re not particularly dark, you just want something to take away that hint of darkness, try a light reflecting concealer, or as we call them, distractors!  They distract the eye away from shadow, reflecting light away.  Most famous of all of those is Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat, but Clinique do an excellent version too, the Airbrush Concealer.

While both of these are excellent at deflecting light away from that area, please be very wary if you expect to get photographed under flash conditions.  By the very nature of them being light reflective, they will bounce back that photographer’s flash, leaving you with bright white patches under your eyes.  And definitely don’t use this to cover facial blemishes.  True story, a photographer once told me of a wedding that he’d shot, where a bridesmaid had used this liberally on various spots on her face.  He spent days airbrushing out all of the indoors shots, as they all reflected the blobs of concealer…

Application area – directly onto the dark areas you want to deflect light away from.

Application tip – dot on, right into the corner and blend either with your ring finger, or with a small fluffy brush.

Dark Circles

If you are suffering from dark under eye circles, first up, get some more sleep!  If that’s not possible, and I know, I burn the midnight oil on many an occasion, then it is possible to disguise them.  Don’t try and conceal them with layer upon layer of concealer, it will simply sit there and look heavy.  If you’re even showing slight signs of collecting one or two crinkles under your eyes, it will sit in them, making you look older.  Do find a creamy consistency to your under eye concealer, it will be more elastic, moving with the delicate under eye area, which is one of the most mobile, and most frequently ‘moved’ areas of your face.  Leave the dry concealers for other blemishes.  Be careful how much powder you put on this area too.  You will need some to help the product last, but don’t go overboard, just enough to set the product in place.

If however, you have such dark circles that nothing seems to cover them, consider a colour neutralising concealer, you need a salmony peachy yellow toned concealer to knock that out, just a fine layer to cancel out the darkness, and then apply  concealer as above. Try the Ben Nye Coverall concealer wheel

Our current favourite is the Mally Cancellation Concealer System which is a pairing of creamy concealer that you pat on and blend the edges, then a super finely milled powder that you dust on lightly with the brush provided. Her claim is that it is ‘bullet proof’ and that it won’t budge.  I agree!  This keeps dark circles hidden for over 14 hours.

Another recommended concealer for ease and convenience is the NEW CID Cosmetics I-Conceal brush on concealer which has the click-twist in built brush delivery system of light reflecting concealers, but covers like a non light reflector.  Good for on the go if you do feel you need a top up, but if you don’t want to carry products with you, this will last a good 10 hours, enough for a working day!

Application area – on the dark areas and slightly over, so that when you blend the edges, you’re not blending so much away that you end up showing the dark circles again.

Application tip – with a mirror fixed directly in front of you, look at yourself straight on, then keeping the mirror in place, tip your head down, so you’re looking at your reflection through your upper eyelashes, with your chin towards your chest. Those dark circles just got huge!  Conceal those magnificent dark circles, then, when you raise your head again, hopefully, you will have all but invisible circles!

Blemishes – Dry

Covering blemishes and spots that have got to that part of being dry are very difficult to cover, but with a few tips, they can be made practically invisible.  Firstly, if you’ve got a cracked, dry spot or blemish, you need to get rid of the dry skin, otherwise, all you’re going to do is make that dry patch magnified.  Don’t go picking the skin off though, you need to soften it and gently slough it off. Ideally you want a rich thick balm type product, Lucas PawPaw Ointment is the favourite here, but even a rich cuticle balm would do.  Or if you have none of those to hand, a good old blob of eye cream, big enough for it not to absorb completely.  Leave that on for as long as possible, 15 minutes minimum, ideally around 30.  Then, gently massage the area as you wipe away the product.  You should take the excess dry skin away with the cotton pad, leaving new skin underneath that you can easily conceal.

You want a creamy concealer for dry areas, even if you have just removed the dead skin, that new skin is fresh, young and tender, so a softer product is required. Again, try the concealers mentioned above, they’re soft enough.

Application area – directly on the blemish and blend out.

Application tip – use a bullet tipped eyeshadow brush, and move in gently buffing circular motions.

Blemishes – Red

If you have an angry spot and it’s bright red, you need to knock out the colour before trying to conceal.  All that will happen is that the colour will keep seeping through and you’ll end up putting on layer upon layer.  To knock out the red, you need a yellow concealer.  It neutralises the redness, leaving skin that can have foundation applied straight over the top. Benefit’s You’re Bluffing yellow stick concealer is perfect for this, but it will slip a bit if you rub foundation on with your fingers, be careful to pat it on in that area.  This is generally the only time you would put concealer on first.

Blemishes – Small areas of discolouration

This is where those thicker, drier concealers that we’ve all inadvertantly bought for under eyes and dismissed as having magnified dark circles come in. They’re for blemishes, not dry blemishes, that just makes the dry area considerably worse, and not really for large areas of discolouration; birthmarks etc.  These are for those stubborn faded scars left over from teenage spot picking, or for early liver spots.  Just general areas that need a little extra help. There are no hard and fast rules of application here, just, if they show after your foundation is on, you want to dot a tiny spot on the area, and blend it out. Favourite here is MAC Studio Sculpt concealer which has just enough time for you to buff the edges before it sets in place.

Application area – anywhere that you feel needs a little extra help

Application tip – a small synthetic concealer brush is ideal, but use a side to side motion to buff the edges, not an up and down one, that will remove the product.

Skin Discolouration/Tattoos/Camouflaging

To do this particular area of concealing justice, it will require an article in it’s own right.  There are many different reasons for wanting to camouflage something, it could be an injury scar, an post operative scar, a birth mark, tattoo, or anything else that you want to tuck away and keep private.

And with so many products on the market that do conceal and camouflage, it is worth looking into brands where they will either teach you how to apply the makeup, or if it is for scar covering, whether it will be a treatment product aswell.

From a professional point of view, having covered many a tattoo and a fair few birth marks, I invariably look to Charles Fox for their expertise and product suggestions, and I would urge anyone who wants to do long term camouflaging to book an appointment with their experts there.

Sam Donald

Makeup Artist. Writer. Mother of 4 small children; generally fairly tired…