The Art of Concealing

Your basic concealer is not the only item in your makeup bag which can help. Colour correctors are in fact the secret behind many a flawless skin. The principle of colour correction is that opposites neutralise one another.

Your correction chart:

• Green helps neutralise redness on all skin tones.  
• Orange neutralises blue/purple (dark circles and dark spots). Use a shade that works with your skin tone: peach for fair to medium skin, orange on medium to darker complexions (good for under eyes on Indian complexions), orange-red on very deep complexions.  
• Yellow helps hide the look of blue and purple shadows and discolorations.  
• Purple cancels yellow. It brightens dullness and sallowness on medium to dark complexions. Use pink for lighter complexions.

 
Your layering list:
First up: Any foundation/concealer/primer is going to work best over a moisturised skin, so before you do anything, apply your moisturiser.
Now the magic makers:

• Dab the corrector on lightly with a beauty sponge – we love Cala Beauty Blending Sponge - or brush. If you correct the issue, you won’t need so much concealer or foundation afterwards.  
• Follow this with your foundation. You don’t want to shift or smudge your corrector so make sure you dab it on lightly either with a brush or beauty sponge.  
• Finally, using a concealer brush, lightly touch up the problem areas with a flesh toned concealer.  
• Remember that your eyes, lips and cheeks also play a role. Highlight the areas you want to focus on and tone down where you don’t want too much attention. Be smart too with your make-up shades – if you have pigmentation, steer clear of blue and purple shades as they may highlight the colour of the pigmentation.

Cool colour correctors:
These have a good selection of correctors in multiple shades from purple to green to yellow: Catrice AllRound Concealer Palette, Essence Correct to Perfect CC Concealer Palette, LA Girl Pro Concealer and Yardley High Definition Concealer Pen Anti Redness.

Concealers we like:
Brightening/radiance: Clarins Instant Concealer and Revlon Youth FX Fill & Blur Concealer in Light Medium.
Great shade selection: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer and LA Girl Pro Conceal HD Concealer.
Heavy duty: Coverderm Concealer and Essence Full Coverage Concealer.

Read More. Are You Absolutely Sure You're Not Using Your Concealer All Wrong?

Makeup Cover Up Tips

Tired and Ashen Skin

The easiest, quickest way to create a bright-eyed, bushy tailed appearance is to prime, add radiance as well as a touch of colour to your face.

Prep/prime: We love Clarins’s Skin SOS in a tube - Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, which gives you instant radiance and banishes the look of fatigue. Also great: Dermatin Pre-Cosmetic Illuminator Perfection Primer, Almay Smart Shade Perfect - Correct Primer (cancels out redness and dullness) and Catrice Light Correcting Serum Primer in Candlelight which gives skin a subtle glow.

Pick a radiance-enhancing foundation: Skin shakes off the grey, looks fresh and pore-less with Rimmel Match Perfect Foundation and L’Oréal 24 Hour Infallible Stay Fresh Foundation.

A pop of blusher or bronzer on the cheeks, chin, bridge of the nose and at the hair line is an instant flush of freshness.

 

Flushed and Ruddy Skin

You have rosacea, which gives you high colour. Or your skin is the type that flushes red when you’re nervous or excited. Or maybe you just need to minimise redness on a pimple or blemish. We’ve got you covered.

Prep: If you have high colour, it’s very important to calm your skin and dampen the redness with an anti-redness (AR) cream such as BioNike Defence Rosys Anti-Redness Cream and Bioderma Sensibio AR Anti-Redness Care for Sensitive Skin. It not only soothes and reduces the high colour but has a long-term treatment effect.

Correct/Prime: This is where your green corrector or primer plays its role. Use it all over for flushing, or strategically on red patches. We also love BioNike Defence Color Primer Tone Evening Base.

Foundation: Apply foundation by dabbing it on lightly (use a beauty blender) rather than with a wiping motion so you don’t remove your corrector. You can build up coverage by layering. If you need light coverage, we love Bioderma Sensibio AR BB Cream which continues to damp down redness. For full coverage, try Vichy Dermablend Fluid Corrective Foundation.

 

Dry and Dull Skin

If winter is really getting your skin down, or you have naturally dry skin, it can look dull and rough, without radiance.

Prep: Use a serum or moisture concentrate with moisture-grabbing and skin protecting ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerine. Try Avène Hydrance Optimale Hydrating Serum for Dehydrated and Sensitive Skin, Vichy Aqualia Thermal Serum or Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm for Very Dry Skin.

Pick a Moisturising Foundation: Use a radiance-enhancing moisturising foundation – try BioNike Defence Colour Nude Serum Foundation or Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation.

 

Oily and Shiny Skin

It’s really irritating if you have an oily complexion or T-panel to know your face is going to be shining like a beacon in a very short time, and then your make-up may slip right off or change colour. The first step is to use a skin-care range specifically for oil-prone skins, including a shine control product. Most of these have oil-absorbing properties and mattifying powders in them to keep your skin shine-free for hours.

Prime: Choose an oil-absorbing and correcting primer like L’Oréal Infallible Mattifying Base.

Foundation: Pick a foundation for oily skin that is mattifying and oil-free, which absorbs excess oil, doesn’t change colour and leaves you shine-free all day. Layer it on gradually to avoid a caky look. We like Clinique Super-Balanced Makeup, Rimmel Fresher Skin SPF 15 Foundation and Maybelline Fit Me Foundation Matt and Poreless. Set with LA Girl Pro Powder High Definition Setting Powder.

Mattify: Keep an oil-free powder compact (Essence All About Matt Fixing Compact Powder) with you for touch-ups and use blotting papers (Palladio Oil Absorbing Blotting Tissues with Rice Powder) if you’re having a really oily day.

 

Pimples and Breakouts

And so to that lovely breakout threatening to erupt. Your only option for a quick fix is disguise.

Prep with a colour corrector: Brush on a green corrector, building layers over the redness to tone it down.

Foundation: Apply your foundation as normal, being careful not to smudge your corrector.

Concealer: Choose a colour that matches your skin tone. Dab it on gently so you don’t shift either the corrector or foundation. Do double duty with a medicated concealer such as Yardley Oatmeal Blemish Stick.

 

Large Pores

Open pores go hand in hand with oily skin as, over time, they get dilated.

Prep: You can improve their appearance long-term with pore-correcting products that control the excess oil and clear the pores of debris, such as Bioderma Sebium Pore Refiner (which is also a great primer).

Prime: Primers with silicone act a bit like Polyfilla, smoothing over hollows and ridges, for a smooth surface. Try Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer Neutral or Catrice Prime and Fine Pore Refining Anti Shine Base. Give your skin a good cleanse at night to clear the pores.

Foundation: Choose a foundation that will give your skin a poreless, airbrushed effect, such as Revlon PhotoReady Air Brush Effect Makeup and Yardley Airbrush Foundation SPF 25. Application technique is key here: buff it on with a beauty sponge, rolling it on to the skin lightly, so it doesn’t settle in pores.

Read More. Expert Advice on How to Beat Blackheads (and Pores) For Good

 

Dark Under Eye Circles

Prep/prime: Using a light-textured eye-brightening, dark circle-reducing eye cream (with an added measure of de-puffing action) will go a long way to making your eyes look less heavy. We like BioNike Defence Anti Bags & Dark Circle Eye Cream and L’Oréal Skin Perfection Anti Fatigue Eye Awakening + Correcting Cream. If you’re fresh out, try an old home remedy – compresses made from cold tea bags or some frozen peas. While doing this, lie with your head higher than your feet. We’re sure you have the time…

Correct: Survey your dark circles and choose the correct shade of orange for your skin tone to counter them. Peach, orange and terracotta shades are best for neutralising the blue, grey shadows and brown pigmentation of under-eye circles (see our chart). Apply to cover the full shadow.

Conceal: Choose a concealer close to your skin tone. Very importantly, apply the concealer – by dabbing lightly, not rubbing, remember - in an upside-down triangle from under your lash line, so you completely cover the under-eye area.

Foundation: Apply your foundation and make sure you buff gently to blend the concealer and foundation seamlessly.

Eye make-up: Go easy on the eye make-up as you could draw attention to the area. Use neutral colours and create a sculpted eye contour by brushing a medium-coloured shade (like taupe) on the eye socket area. Blend well. Sunglasses also hide a multitude of sins.

Read More. Expert Advice on How to Totally Fix Dark Circles Under Your Eyes

 

Two-Tone Skin

One of the biggest challenges South African women (especially women with medium to deep complexions) face is uneven skin colour because of excess pigmentation. And, we’re not going to lie, this is a tricky one.

Prep: Start the night before (and every night) with a pigmentation-treating serum (La Roche Posay Pigmentclar Serum Anti Dark Spot Concentrate or Ponds Flawless Radiance Anti-Spot Even Tone Serum 30ml) and use a moisturising day cream with pigmentation-busting ingredients as your skin primer. Most importantly, apply a light-textured, make-up friendly sunscreen to prevent more dark pigmentation.

Correct/conceal: On very dark areas under the eye, on cheekbones and around the mouth and jaw line (which are usually blue undertoned), use a warm colour corrector in a shade of orange. Apply a concealer that matches your natural skin tone over it - dabbing lightly, not rubbing - to even things out.

Foundation: There are different schools of thought about how you correct uneven skin tone, especially when there is a great difference between the tones. It’s all about time and how skilled you are as a make-up artist. One pro suggestion that is easy and effective is to find a good coverage foundation that matches the tone on your neck. Apply it with a rolling, pressing action so you don’t rub away all your hard correcting/concealing work.
We like: L’Oréal True Match Foundation, Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer, Catrice Camouflage Cream and Almay Even Skin Makeup.

Finish with Bronzer: This next step is very important. Take a bronzer in a tone that works with your skin and brush it on in a ‘3’ motion – Forehead down to cheeks, down to jawline. This unifies the whole face. This may take some practice, but the end result is well worth the effort.

Read More. Your Complete Guide: How to Get Rid of Acne Scars & Dark Marks

Long-Term Solutions

Problems that are not easy to treat, such as permanent redness (rosacea), dilated capillaries (aka broken veins), scars and pigmentation can be treated effectively with the new-generation professional skin treatments available at dermatologists and aesthetic doctors. See our guide here.

Read More. The Best Cosmetic Procedures - How to Improve Your Face and Body Without Surgery