Choose a concealer in two steps: shade first, then formula. For under the eyes, choose a shade a touch lighter than your skin, in the same undertone, so it lifts the shadow without looking grey or chalky. For a blemish or a patch of redness, choose an exact match, because anything lighter draws the eye to the very spot you want to soften. Then choose the texture by the job: a liquid for the under-eye and larger areas, a cream or stick for small, precise coverage.
Two Jobs, Two Shades
Most of us ask one concealer to do two quite different jobs. Under the eyes, the aim is to brighten. The skin there is fine, and shadow shows through it, so a shade half a step lighter than your foundation, or your bare skin, lifts the area and makes it look rested. Go much further than half a step and the result can look ashy, like a pale mask around the eyes.
Elsewhere on the face, the aim is to disappear. A blemish, the redness around the nose or a small mark is already darker or more visible than the skin around it, and a lighter concealer would place a highlight on it. Here the shade should match exactly, ideally the shade of your foundation. This is why many women keep two concealers, or one formula in two shades.
What Is Undertone?
Undertone is the colour beneath the surface of your skin, and it stays the same whether you are paler in winter or a little sun-kissed in summer. Warm skin has a golden, peachy or yellow cast. Cool skin leans pink or rosy. Neutral skin sits between the two. A simple test: hold a sheet of white paper beside your face in daylight. If your skin looks golden against it, you are probably warm; if it looks pink, cool; if neither stands out, neutral.
Match the undertone first and the depth second. A concealer of the right depth but the wrong undertone tends to look grey on warm skin and orange on cool skin. Test it on the jawline or just beneath the eye, in natural light, rather than on the back of your hand, which is rarely the same colour as your face.
Liquid Concealer: For the Under-Eye and Larger Areas
A liquid is the most versatile texture. It spreads thinly, so it moves with the fine skin under the eyes, and it can be built up in light layers where you need a little more. Look at the finish as well as the coverage: a luminous or serum-like liquid suits the under-eye, while a matte liquid stays put on an oilier T-zone or over a blemish.
These are the four we would begin with. MAC's Pro Longwear Concealer is a lightweight fluid with medium to high coverage and a matte finish. Lancôme's Teint Idole Ultra Wear Concealer has a serum texture and buildable medium coverage, for the face and the under-eye alike. Shiseido's Synchro Skin Concealer gives light, buildable coverage with a natural finish, and its curved applicator dispenses a precise amount. The Everlasting Concealer from Clarins pairs high coverage with an ultralight texture and a luminosity that brightens the under-eye area. Each one comes in a range of shades.
- Pro Longwear Concealer
- Teint Idole Ultra Wear Concealer
- Synchro Skin Concealer
- Everlasting Concealer
Cream and Stick Concealer: Precision and Coverage
A cream or stick is denser. It holds more pigment in less product, which makes it the natural choice for a blemish, a mark or a patch of redness that needs real coverage in one small place. Because it is richer, it can settle into the fine lines beneath the eyes, so use it there sparingly, or keep it for the rest of the face.
Max Factor's X Pan Stik Concealer is a creamy twist-up stick with high coverage and a hydrating finish suited to dry skin. Artdeco's Ultra-Compact Camouflage Cream Concealer is a dense, cream-rich texture made to cover redness, scars and blemishes, in single shades you can mix for your own match. Sisley's Stylo Corrector Pencil pairs a high-coverage cream core with a soft sponge tip that blends the edges away. Glam of Sweden's Stick Concealer is a slim cream stick with buildable coverage and a natural finish, easy to carry for touch-ups. Each one comes in a range of shades.
- X Pan Stik Concealer
- Ultra-Compact Camouflage Cream Concealer
- Stylo Corrector Pencil
- Stick Concealer
Colour Correctors: Do You Need One?
A colour corrector cancels a colour before your concealer goes on, using its opposite on the colour wheel. Peach and orange tones neutralise the blue and purple of under-eye shadows: a soft peach on fair to medium skin, a deeper orange or terracotta on deeper skin. Green neutralises redness, from a flushed cheek to a single blemish.
You need one only when concealer alone is not enough: when it looks grey over a dark shadow, or when pink still shows through over redness. Use the thinnest layer, on the discoloured area only, and place your concealer over it. Sleek's Lifeproof Colour Corrector Concealer is a mint-green liquid with concentrated pigment, worn alone or under foundation. Essence's Correct & Conceal Anti-Redness Concealer Universal is green-tinted, with a sponge-tip wand for precise placement. Essence's Correct & Conceal Concealer is a warm terracotta shade for the eye contour, made to neutralise blue tones.
- Lifeproof Colour Corrector Concealer
- Correct & Conceal Anti-Redness Concealer Universal
- Correct & Conceal Concealer
How to Apply Concealer
Technique matters as much as the shade. A few habits make the difference between concealer that looks like skin and concealer that looks like make-up.
- Prepare the skin first. Moisturise, and give it a minute to settle, especially under the eyes.
- Apply foundation before concealer if you wear both. Foundation often covers more than you expect, so you will need less concealer.
- Start small. One or two dots are usually enough; a little goes far.
- Tap, don't rub. Press the product in with your ring finger, a small brush or a damp sponge. Rubbing simply moves it away from where you placed it.
- Under the eyes, place it at the inner corner and along the darkest part of the shadow, rather than painting a full half-moon.
- On a blemish, dot it directly on top and tap only the edges, so the coverage stays where it is needed.
How to Set Concealer
Setting holds concealer in place and helps stop it settling into fine lines through the day. Use a small amount of translucent loose or pressed powder, pressed on with a small brush or the tip of a sponge rather than swept across. Under the eyes, the finest veil is enough; over a blemish, a little more helps the coverage stay put. If the skin under your eyes is dry, you may prefer to leave powder off there and set only the rest of the face.
Where to Begin
If you are choosing your first concealer, begin with a liquid in your undertone, half a shade lighter than your skin, for the under-eyes. It is the one you will reach for most often, and once you know your shade there, finding an exact match for the rest of the face becomes simple.
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